Today, Pet Sematary is considered one of Stephen King's greatest novels, but it turns out the author almost didn't even release it at all. While King has written stories containing all kinds of dark and harrowing events, Pet Sematary is arguably his most disturbing book to date. A lot of that stems from the fact that while supernatural elements are very much in play, the real villain tormenting Louis Creed is the pain of grief and loss, and the agony of knowing a loved one is gone forever. Given that hell, who wouldn't at least consider using the cursed burial ground?
Pet Sematary was first published in 1983, then adapted into a well-regarded movie by director Mary Lambert in 1989. King himself wrote the script for the film, and thus, it stuck pretty close to his source material. Lambert would also direct the loose sequel Pet Sematary 2 in 1992, which purports to reveal the ultimate fate of Louis Creed via a quick dialogue exchange. Finally, in 2019, Pet Sematary became a second movie, with that adaptation differing from the book in major ways, such as killing off Ellie instead of Gage.
However, those three movies wouldn't exist had Pet Sematary not made its way out of King's mind, onto the printed page, and then onto store shelves. That scenario came very close to happening though, as King sat on the book for almost four years before finally agreeing to release it to the public.
Why Stephen King Took 4 Years To Release Pet Sematary
Stephen King first got the idea to write Pet Sematary in 1979. King was working at the University of Maine, and he and his family were renting a house in the nearby town of Orrington. The house was next to a road on which many animals' lives were claimed by speeding trucks, and one of those casualties ended up being his daughter Naomi's cat Smucky. Later, King's son Owen almost got hit, and both incidents obviously made their way into the book, albeit in worse fashion. After King finished writing Pet Sematary though, he found himself disturbed and repulsed by what he'd written, especially due to how close similar events came to taking place, minus the graveyard that resurrects things. King stuck the finished book into a drawer, and says he never planned on releasing it at all.
The only reason Pet Sematary ended up being released in 1983, after four years in limbo, is that King owed his old Doubleday publishing house a new book, and at the same time, also wanted to get free of a really bad contract he had signed early in his career. By putting out Pet Sematary, he was able to accomplish both goals, although he still finds the book kind of off-putting, and is somewhat mystified to this day by how many people love it. Yet love it fans do, with many considering it King's scariest, most effective novel.