# What happened after the end of Pet Sematary? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2006, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836 "2006-07-10T07:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/21 "2006-07-10T23:37:20Z")
> [@Ensign Edison](#): > > Warlock, he asked if the wife went around killing more people afterwards. While the text does leave it unclear as to whether she kills him, certainly there’s no way it indicates what happens after his hypothetical death. Exactly _my_ point. > [@](#): > > Either way, how is “Nothing happens” a useful answer to “what happens **after the end** ” (my bolding)? I don’t see how you got the impression that the OP didn’t realize the book ended there and needed to be informed, is all. It looked more like you were being a random wiseass. But if you were just trying to help out and misunderstood, my bad. How is “Nothing happens” a useful answer to “what happens **after the end** ”? Because THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS. That’s what was asked, and that’s what was answered. The only reason that I would have to get the “impression that the OP didn’t realize the book ended there and needed to be informed” is _because they asked_. Perhaps they misphrased, perhaps I misunderstood, perhaps you did; but I was NOT trying to be a “random wiseass.” If it helps, I haven’t taken any offence at your posts, but I thought they were rather uncalled for. No biggie, though. The OP did ask what happened after the novel/movie was over, as if there _was_ something that happened after the novel/movie was over…but there isn’t. I stand by my answer to the OP: Nothing. Believe it or not, some people (psychotic or not) need reminded of this about fiction. See: some overly-devoted soap-opera fans. I’m not accusing the OP of being this delusional, but they are a total stranger to me, and I’m certainly not going to make the mistake of assuming blindly that they are _not_. Nothing happened. People may imagine/fantasize/speculate to their hearts’ content, but what Actually Happened was NOTHING. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/22 "2006-07-11T03:44:00Z")
One reason it’s helpful to distinguish between “what do you think happened” and “what happened” when discussing movies, books, etc., is to avoid crap like the seemingly endless debate about what’s in the briefcase in _Pulp Fiction_. It’s fun and interesting to speculate, but to claim your interpretation as fact is wrong – because the movie never says what’s in the briefcase; it’s intentionally ambiguous. People don’t have to be “psychotic” to believe there might be a factual answer based on clues they didn’t interpret correctly. It’s very likely that **Feces Of Death** meant to ask about speculation, but it’s possible (since he or she hasn’t clarified) that he thinks there’s a factual answer to the question. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/23 "2006-07-11T04:00:13Z")
She starts to kill him, but a timely intervention by Dr. Phil McGraw saves their marriage and makes Louis realize that even if she is half demon spirit, the other half is the girl he married and the demon is what animates her now so he accepts her as she is, while she realizes that while he is basically demon food and pathetic for burying his son and wife in an accursed abomination of a loophole to death, if he hadn’t done that she’d never have a body to possess and would be stuck in the mud under a pile of rocks in suburban Maine or in a cat, so she needs to appreciate that. The two end up going on a second honeymoon in Barbados and realizing that though they’ve both grown and changed as people, they’ve grown and changed together. Unfortunately it turns out that Dr. Phil is an evil being far worse than anything the Pet Semetery was built for and all America eventually dies in a spell he sends via cell phone born plague except for Oprah, who kicks his ass with the followers she summons in dreams to her Indiana lake house in the end. But you’re left wondering in the end, Is she really the evil one? Or is that Star Reynolds, whose departure from The View was really the first step in the path to world dominion… No wait, I’m thinking of _The Da Vinci Code_. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/24 "2006-07-11T04:28:56Z")
[QUOTE=Interrobang!?] One reason it’s helpful to distinguish between “what do you think happened” and “what happened” when discussing movies, books, etc., is to avoid crap like the seemingly endless debate about what’s in the briefcase in _Pulp Fiction_. It’s fun and interesting to speculate, but to claim your interpretation as fact is wrong – because the movie never says what’s in the briefcase; it’s intentionally ambiguous. People don’t have to be “psychotic” to believe there might be a factual answer based on clues they didn’t interpret correctly. It’s very likely that **Feces Of Death** meant to ask about speculation, but it’s possible (since he or she hasn’t clarified) that he thinks there’s a factual answer to the question. [/QUOTE] The very title of the thread says “after the end”. What do you mean, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Feces\_Of\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8797f3/32.png) [@Feces\_Of\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feces_Of_Death)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/25 "2006-07-11T04:39:46Z")
Why all the sarcastic remarks? Obviously I know it is the end of the book. I said what happened after the END. If you don’t have something creative to add why are you posting in this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/26 "2006-07-11T05:04:55Z")
[QUOTE=Feces Of Death] Why all the sarcastic remarks? Obviously I know it is the end of the book. I said what happened after the END. If you don’t have something creative to add why are you posting in this thread? [/QUOTE] If you want to know what happened after the END™, why do you ask us? Stephen King is the god of that particular universe, only he knows- what we have is our versions and they’re no more valid than your’s. What do _you_ think happened? ---
**Author:** ![Feces\_Of\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8797f3/32.png) [@Feces\_Of\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feces_Of_Death)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/27 "2006-07-11T05:21:44Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] If you want to know what happened after the END™, why do you ask us? Stephen King is the god of that particular universe, only he knows- what we have is our versions and they’re no more valid than your’s. What do _you_ think happened? [/QUOTE] Sorry I did not realize I had to justify a reason for asking a hypothetical question. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/28 "2006-07-11T05:53:44Z")
[QUOTE=Feces Of Death] Sorry I did not realize I had to justify a reason for asking a hypothetical question. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Well now you know. [Let him off with a warning this time but put a microchip in his ear for monitoring- if he tries this again send him to the Doper Reeducation Camp in Scranton… or the one in Baraboo Wisconsin, use your discretion.] ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/29 "2006-07-11T11:51:15Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] She starts to kill him, but a timely intervention by Dr. Phil McGraw saves their marriage and makes Louis realize that even if she is half demon spirit, the other half is the girl he married and the demon is what animates her now so he accepts her as she is, while she realizes that while he is basically demon food and pathetic for burying his son and wife in an accursed abomination of a loophole to death, if he hadn’t done that she’d never have a body to possess and would be stuck in the mud under a pile of rocks in suburban Maine or in a cat, so she needs to appreciate that. The two end up going on a second honeymoon in Barbados and realizing that though they’ve both grown and changed as people, they’ve grown and changed together. Unfortunately it turns out that Dr. Phil is an evil being far worse than anything the Pet Semetery was built for and all America eventually dies in a spell he sends via cell phone born plague except for Oprah, who kicks his ass with the followers she summons in dreams to her Indiana lake house in the end. But you’re left wondering in the end, Is she really the evil one? Or is that Star Reynolds, whose departure from The View was really the first step in the path to world dominion… No wait, I’m thinking of _The Da Vinci Code_. Sorry. [/QUOTE] I don’t know. I must say _this_ version seems more valid than mine. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/30 "2006-07-13T01:47:34Z")
[QUOTE=Feces Of Death] Why all the sarcastic remarks? Obviously I know it is the end of the book. I said what happened after the END. If you don’t have something creative to add why are you posting in this thread? [/QUOTE] If I might address this: I personally wasn’t trying to be sarcastic, I was trying to answer the questions that you asked. They were (IMHO) not phrased as requests for speculation or creativity, but rather phrased as requests for factual answers. You haven’t changed my mind about this, however. > [@Feces Of Death](#): > > I said what happened after the END. That’s just _it:_ NOTHING happened after the end. It was THE END. Now if you’d like us to write the next chapter, or speculate on a sequel, or whatnot, that’s fine. But you didn’t. If I misunderstood you, my apologies; but in all fairness, I answered the question that you _did_ ask, even if it wasn’t the one that you _meant_ to ask. There is nothing hypothetical about “What happened after the end?” “What do you think would have happened next if the book/movie continued?” would be hypothetical…but that’s not what you asked. Look, I’m not a mind-reader (I can’t speak for the rest of the Dopers). I can only go by what you post. You evidently meant it as a hypothetical question (per your latest post), but you certainly didn’t phrase it that way. Honest mistake on someone’s part, I’m guessing. Sorry if I imposed. ---
**Author:** ![Zena1818](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b5e925/32.png) [@Zena1818](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zena1818)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/31 "2015-09-29T18:57:39Z")
When the main character of pet semestary 2 goes to that shop he asks about the semetary and the owner or clerk tells him about the creed family and what happened he tells the boy that doc creed buried his wife in there and she came back and said the story goes when she came back she tried to kill him so he killed her again but not before he was fatally wounded himslef. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/32 "2015-09-29T19:44:07Z")
The book implies that he basically went crazy waiting for his wife to show up… and when she shuffles in, he calls her “Darling.” The movie makes this explicit, as Mrs. Creed now looks like something left over from _The Walking Dead,_ and yet he’s happy and embraces her. If the sequel wants to say they died, well, peachy. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/33 "2015-09-29T20:06:58Z")
Didn’t the book imply there was nothing of the dead animal/person left and the body was essentially being used as a vessel for a wendigo? Why would anyone in that town unless they had gone insane by grief continue using the burial ground, especially for something as frivolous as a damn pet? You’d think the first one to do it would pretty much put an end to that nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/34 "2015-09-29T20:46:03Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Didn’t the book imply there was nothing of the dead animal/person left and the body was essentially being used as a vessel for a wendigo? > > Why would anyone in that town unless they had gone insane by grief continue using the burial ground, especially for something as frivolous as a damn pet? You’d think the first one to do it would pretty much put an end to that nonsense. 1. Not so much possession, but it did state that things “went bad,” or “came back wrong.” A beloved family dog would be lethargic or mean, a cat would begin hunting small animals and killing them, and so forth. They’d turn evil to some extent. And the next door neighbor starts off by revealing the Burial Ground to the Creeds as a way to ease the pain of losing a pet… but later questions his own motives in doing so, and ponders whether the Burial Ground had power over him that made him share the secret… 2. It’s suggested that not all that many townspeople KNOW about it, and those that do, tend to keep it to themselves. It’s revealed that previously, one man DID bury his dead son there… and the group who knew about the Burial Ground found this to be a colossal mistake. But the guy who buried his son wound up shooting the son and himself, if I remember correctly, and they figured the problem was solved… …except that they kept burying pets there. And again, Creed’s neighbor, who showed him the Burial Ground, only towards the end of the book begins to question WHY they did these things… … in short, your question’s a valid question, but the answer is “spoooooky maaaaagic…” which ain’t such a satisfying answer. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/35 "2015-09-29T21:02:03Z")
There are no hints of a solution that I could find online. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/36 "2015-09-29T21:33:38Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > 1. Not so much possession, but it did state that things “went bad,” or “came back wrong.” A beloved family dog would be lethargic or mean, a cat would begin hunting small animals and killing them, and so forth. They’d turn evil to some extent. And the next door neighbor starts off by revealing the Burial Ground to the Creeds as a way to ease the pain of losing a pet… but later questions his own motives in doing so, and ponders whether the Burial Ground had power over him that made him share the secret… > > 2. It’s suggested that not all that many townspeople KNOW about it, and those that do, tend to keep it to themselves. It’s revealed that previously, one man DID bury his dead son there… and the group who knew about the Burial Ground found this to be a colossal mistake. But the guy who buried his son wound up shooting the son and himself, if I remember correctly, and they figured the problem was solved… > > …except that they kept burying pets there. And again, Creed’s neighbor, who showed him the Burial Ground, only towards the end of the book begins to question WHY they did these things… > > … in short, your question’s a valid question, but the answer is “spoooooky maaaaagic…” which ain’t such a satisfying answer. Ah I missed the implication the wendigo was manipulating even living people to cause mayhem I guess. I was thinking the people were replaced because Gauge the baby was taunting Jud about what his dead wife was doing sexually with his friends, seemed not like something a kid of his age would be an expert on. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/37 "2015-09-29T21:58:04Z")
I don’t remember what Gage said to Jud, but in the book there was a similar scene set in the 1940s in which a resurrected serviceman tells Jud and others things he can’t possibly know. The implication… to me, anyway… was either that he was possessed by a demon from hell, or perhaps that the boy’s soul had been someplace rather unpleasant, and that he had had an ugly change in perspective. Hell, maybe both. It’s plainly implied that only the dead could know some of the things that the guy said. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/38 "2015-09-30T18:32:59Z")
Wow. Was 2006 a cranky year for you guys? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/39 "2015-10-01T13:44:23Z")
> [@grude](#): > > [snip]… a vessel for a **wendigo**? Yeah, that’s a pretty useless font, huh? . ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836/40 "2015-10-01T16:37:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Wow. Was 2006 a cranky year for you guys? You must be new. This board is always cranky. BTW, I didn’t think PS 2 was all that bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-after-the-end-of-pet-sematary/363836.md?page=3)