Books
The Creature in the Woods: The Role of the Wendigo in Stephen King’s ‘Pet Sematary’
Mary Lambert’s 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s arguably bleakest novel, Pet Sematary, was fairly faithful to the source material. But it left out one crucial component from the novel. One that gives much deeper insight to what made the Micmac burial ground turn sour, remained an evil presence looming large over the entire story, and provided some of the most intense moments of horror – the Wendigo.
Though the latest trailer for the new adaptation of King’s beloved book marks some major departures from the original story, the trailer gives a little tease that the Wendigo will finally make an appearance in some capacity. But what exactly is the Wendigo, and why is its inclusion a big deal?
Obviously, novel spoilers from here on out.
In the novel, the journey past the children’s Pet Sematary to the stony Micmac burial ground is much farther and more harrowing than the ’89 film suggests. The dangerous deadfall Jud takes Louis Creed over is only the beginning as they walk three more miles through treacherous land the Micmacs referred to as Little God Swamp, a boggy place full of quicksand, strange lights, and creepy sounds, all while knee deep in thick fog. Part way through Little God Swamp, Jud stops Louis and listens to the sound of breaking branches as something ominously moves toward them.
“Now the thing out there seemed so close that Louis expected to see its shape at any moment, rising up on two legs, perhaps, blotting out the stars with some unthought-of, Immense and shaggy body.” Then, “a shrill, maniacal laugh came out of the darkness, rising and falling in hysterical cycles, loud, piercing, chilling” (p. 122-113).
Despite being frozen in fear at the massive thing closing in, Jud urges them on ahead to the burial ground, and dismisses what they saw as St. Elmo’s Fire and the cries of a loon. He explains that the burial ground was abandoned long ago once one of the Micmacs claimed to have seen a Wendigo there, though Louis doesn’t yet understand what that means.
It’s not until Ellie’s cat Church returns home from his burial there that Jud elaborates a bit more on the Wendigo – an evil spirit of folklore that Jud interpreted as a metaphor for the Micmacs’ need to turn toward cannibalism during a particularly harsh winter. The Wendigo would walk through their village while they slept, and whoever it touched would develop a taste for human flesh. The evil spirit cursed their burial ground, causing it to turn sour, and those buried there return from the dead touched by the Wendigo. Or rather, possessed by it.
While King’s novel is heavily themed around grief, the Wendigo manipulates that grief throughout the story. It’s the power of the Wendigo that drives Jud to bring Louis to the Micmac burial ground in the first place, against his better judgment. It’s also this power that causes the truck driver to run Gage down. It’s what continues to lure a man broken by grief to its lair, in hopes of receiving a new host. It’s what intervenes when Jud wants to stop Louis from making a drastic mistake in burying Gage in the Micmac burial ground, and what continues to throw obstacles in Rachel’s attempts to get home to Louis on that fateful night. As Louis, driven mad by what’s happened, makes one final trip to the Micmac burial ground, the Wendigo chillingly laughs in triumph.
“Then, from the deep woods behind the deadfall, woods so deep that the light looked green and tarnished even on the brightest days, a low chuckling laugh arose. The sound was huge. Steve could not even begin to image what sort of creature could have made such a sound” (p. 372).
The Wendigo is pure evil, and the chilling puppet master orchestrating every tragedy and mistake that befalls the characters in the story. While it remains to be seen just how much of a role the creature will play in the new film, its inclusion means a new layer of horror yet to be introduced in what was once a familiar story.
Books
Urban Legends, Serial Killers, and Space Epics: 10 Horror Books We Can’t Wait to Read This June
We have entered summer reading season.
Schools are emptying, beaches are filling, and it’s a great time to pack a tote full of brand-new books and get some reading done in the shade. But even if the sun is bright, your fiction can still be dark, because June is absolutely packed with great new horror releases from rising stars and genre icons.
From a Psycho retelling to a dark twist on Peter Pan lore to a new book from a Pulitzer Prize winner, these are the horror titles we can’t wait to crack open this June.
The Children by Melissa Albert – June 2
A blend of dark fantasy, Gothic family saga, and horror novel that’s received rave reviews from Stephen King and more, The Children follows the adult children of a legendary fantasy author who died when a fire consumed their home. Now, living their own creative lives, Guinevere and Ennis must revisit the secrets from the night of the fire, the darkness surrounding Ennis’s new art installation, and the truth of their family legacy in both fact and fiction. It sounds like a wonderful twisted nest of secrets and magic, and I’m eager to dive in.
Marion by Leah Rowan – June 2
Just when you thought we’d run out of interesting ways to riff on Robert Bloch and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Leah Rowan comes along with Marion. As the title suggests, it’s the story of the Bates Motel’s most famous victim, but this time, she doesn’t die in the shower. She takes control of the knife and the narrative in this daring retelling of a proto-slasher classic. The story we know is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to find out the end.
Headlights by CJ Leede – June 9
Through her first two novels, Maeve Fly and American Rapture, CJ Leede emerged as one of the most exciting new horror voices of the 2020s, and she’s just getting warmed up. Leede’s third novel follows an FBI agent on the brink of retirement, running from his past and from the unsolved case that haunts him most, as he’s slowly pulled back into a gruesome serial killer narrative. Victims start turning up again, wearing someone else’s skin like a cape, with no memory of how they got that way, or how they got a lone strand of unidentified hair tied around their tongue. Both a riff on The Shining and a journey into the dark Colorado night, Headlights is one of the year’s most exciting horror lit events.
It Came From Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo – June 9
Cynthia Pelayo‘s novels have always felt like dark fairy tales, and with her latest, she’s taking things into the realm of one of the most famous children’s stories ever. It Came From Neverland follows a version of Wendy Darling who, while working as a schoolteacher and as an aid to rehabilitate World War I soldiers, finds old fears returning when a student goes missing. It seems that an entity Wendy knows only as “Peter Pan” is back on the prowl, and unlocking her memories might be the only way to stop it. That’s right, it’s a dark Peter Pan retelling as only Pelayo can do it, and you know you want a piece of that.
The Other by Annie Neugebauer – June 9
Annie Neugebauer’s The Extra ranks as one of the most clever and frightening horror novellas in recent memory, but that was only the beginning. This June, Neugebauer returns with the next book in what’s been dubbed “The Outsiders Sequence.” This time, Neugebauer’s strange world of doppelgangers and mimics turns to a couple on a hike who run into their exact duplicates, setting off a chain of events that will test their understanding of each other in terrifying ways. Neugebauer’s one of horror’s finest rising stars right now, so if you haven’t jumped on board The Outsiders Sequence yet, pick up The Extra and get ready for The Other.
Marla by Jonathan Janz – August 18 (Editor’s update: Release has now shifted from initial June 23 publication date)
Speaking of rising stars in the horror world, we’ve got Jonathan Janz, whose work has hit another level in recent years thanks to work like Children of the Dark and Veil. Now he’s back with Marla, the story of a local woman surrounded by urban legend, and her possible connection to a string of crimes in the community of King’s Branch. Is Marla a witch, a killer, a victim, a helpless child? We’ll have to read and find out in what feels like a perfect jumping-on point for new Janz readers.
The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus – June 23
Daniel Kraus has long been a favorite among genre readers, but thanks to his recent Pulitzer Prize win for his brilliant novel Angel Down, he’s more visible than ever, and all that visibility comes as he’s about to unleash a space epic with all the hallmarks of epic sci-fi and horror alike. The Sixth Nik promises everything from a sentient spaceship to a rogue planet full of plague to a nine-year-old “cultist” with an enhanced brain. This is Kraus playing in a brand-new sandbox, and genre readers everywhere won’t want to miss that.
Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen – June 23
E.L. Chen‘s latest novel is described as a love letter to ’80s slasher films, and anyone who’s taken a dive into the meta-horror of Scream or My Heart is a Chainsaw will want to sit up and take notice. The book follows a group of friends who grew up in a town famous as the location of a slasher movie, where they frequently played the characters during midnight shows. As adults, they return to their hometown, and to the location of the slasher movie, only to find that someone’s out to get them, someone wearing a very familiar mask. This sounds like a blast, and the latest in an ever-growing strand of slasher novels reinventing the genre on the page.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay – June 30
Modern horror master Paul Tremblay‘s latest novel sounds like his most ambitious yet, and that’s really saying something. Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep follows Julia, a former pro gamer who gets an offer she can’t refuse: For a hefty payday, she must pilot a man named “Bernie” across the country for her mother’s tech company. The catch? Bernie’s in a vegetative state, and his mobility comes from the AI chip in his head. As Julia moves Bernie’s body, Bernie’s mind moves through an unfathomable nightmare world, but where are they heading, and what’s Bernie really meant to find? Every new Paul Tremblay book is an event, and this one feels particularly special.
Red X by David Demchuk – June 30
This one’s technically a reprint, but David Demchuk’s Red X is so revered among the horror community, and particularly other horror authors, that it feels worth highlighting, especially during Pride Month. Complex and metatextual, Red X is about a series of disappearances and a demonic entity plaguing the gay community of Toronto, but it’s also an autobiographical sketch of an author navigating death, survival, queer culture, horror as a means of expression, and more. In short, it’s an essential, and this new edition, complete with fresh writing by Gretchen Felker-Martin and Anthony Oliveira, is a must-have.
You must be logged in to post a comment.