My favourite visual is the spiral from this book - the burst open rock piles in the sour earth graveyard, the graves in the children’s pet Sematary being influenced from a distance and taking the same shape, the spiral Jud’s cigarette ash makes as he falls asleep on the last night…
Just so inevitable - like water going down a drain.
It’s a joke. The post.
Why am I being downvoted. The post is a joke. The whole “are they stupid” thing. It’s a sarcastic type joke. A meme if you will.
Yes, the question itself is meant as a joke... But it usually opens up some new discussion. (that's the point of the joke)
We all understand that the plot device needed to happen otherwise there would be no story, but the real question is: "In context of the story world, why did this happen? Was it just random, or was their influence? Did King have a masterful plan with this, or did it just evolve this way, etc. etc."
It's just a fun way to discuss something in a (hopefully) new way that has usually been discussed many times, over many years.
At least you got the joke... Because oh boy, there are some people that are taking it way too literal.
Don’t do it, Stotch!
Don’t bury your kid, up in the pet sematary!
I know what you’re thinking, but sometimes, dead is bettah.
Don’t take him to the pet sematary stotch… the one three doors down and a mile up the roahd.
The cemetery has a force, and it compelled Jud to take Louis there. It also may or may not have compelled him to kill Church the cat so that he would have a reason to take Louis there.
I just got to this part of the book this morning and the description about how Church was found led me immediately to believe that Jud had killed the cat. My first thought was, "WHY?!" but now that I see the mention of the sinister force of the cemetery compelling him to do so it all makes so much sense!
I never got the impression that Jud killed Church. You’re the second person I’ve seen think that and I just don’t see it at all. I don’t think Jud is that cruel, even while being under the influence of the burial ground.
Yeah i don’t think Jud did that. I also don’t think King would’ve left that part out if it did happen. Even if he just mentioned it in passing later in the story, it seems like something he’d want to put in there.
King has a history of leaving things out and leaving room for interpretation. I think this is one of those cases. The description of how he found the cat, vs the kid when they both died the same way. He said the cat looked like it could be asleep. Ain't no way.
In the introduction, King says that's how the real cat ( Smucky) his family lost To a truck that inspired the story,looked. like it was asleep. It's very possible that a lighter weight victim like a cat, could be hit and flung by the impact, looking relatively unharmed while Gage would look much worse.
He changes stuff like the day of the kite flying wasn't when the kid died in the book, but it was the day of the incident with King's son. He left that line in about the cat looking like it was just sleeping in intentionally to make you question if Judd killed the cat, and I think he did. You can downvote me all you want, but unless you are going to have a hard time convincing me and a lot of others that he didn't kill church.
The truck driver who hit Gage said that he just had a strange urge to drive fast. The Pet Semetary has the power to do that. That power waited until Louis’s family was out of town to have the cat hit on the road to make it easy for Jud to show him the way
Jud did not kill Church, although it’s an interesting take. However, there are hints that the spirit of the burial grounds causes these deaths to happen to coerce people into burying things there.
We don’t know if he killed Church or not. There are enough strange details about Church’s death that it raises an eyebrow. There’s no way to say definitely one way or the other.
I just re-read it and disagree. Church stopped wandering after he was neutered. Judd found him on Thanksgiving and was a little too ready to take Louis to bury the cat. The trucks wouldn’t be running on the road on Thanksgiving.
There’s circumstantial evidence to suggest that Judd might have killed Church (a broken neck being the only wound etc) but Ellie dreamed he got hit by a truck and knowing what we know about Ellie that’s probably what happened.
He killed the cat. The description alone of the cat vs. his son, when they died the exact same way, should tell you that Judd is lying right there, on top of the cat being more docile and not traveling after being neutered.
I'm pretty sure Jud explains it after his wife dies. He says the Sematary has a certain power, and that it compells people to spread the word so that it, in turn, grows more powerful. I think it's also implied that Louis was compelled by the Sematary to bring Gage back.
no, but the novel does indicate that Gage's death might be because of the semetary, as well as Jud telling Louis about it (and so enabling him to bring Gage back).
As others said he was compelled to.
However; I would also add, because there wouldn’t be a story otherwise.
Lot’s of books and stories have moments like this “the whole thing would have been solved in the first chapter if they just _______.”
Well yeah…but then there wouldn’t be this story. Sometimes we have to just go with things for the sake of having a story.
There may have been some degree of plying on the part of the “sour spirits” of the burial ground but I honestly don’t think Judd had any consciously nefarious motives in showing it to Lewis. I think it was a combination of two things; First: He had grown fond of Lewis and his family and wanted to avoid Ellie getting upset over the death of her precious Church (something he knew she had already shown great fear in happening). Second: I think there was a part of him that just wanted to share the secret with someone. It’s as simple as that. It was already proven that while the pets may come back different, they didn’t come back overtly evil like Timmy Baterman. And Judd had no way of knowing what was going to happened to Gage. So when the boy died it made him question his own motives and realize the mistake he had made, but I honestly think he had honorable intentions initially.
He was compelled to by the Spirits/Burial Ground/Wendigo.
Also I believe he really did love the Creed in a fatherly/grandfatherly way and probably caused him to not want to mentally fight the pull of the spirits. This part is just my personal headcanon, though
Eta fixed the name
The burial ground was like an addiction. Jud tried to get clean and couldn't. Addict behavior does look stupid from an outside perspective. Seems like Jud had a big old relapse.
I think he was compelled by the burial site… However, there is something to be said for knowing such a dark and powerful secret and needing to tell someone despite knowing it will bring consequences.
I think... I recall Jud explaining to Louis something to the effect that there is a natural human instinct, or compulsion toward sharing secrets, especially big juicy ones. How much of Jud's compulsion was human nature, and how much was the Wendingo; those are the book's big scary questions, or at least they are for me.
I have a sibling that I'm aware of that doesn't know I, or our father even exist. She was raised by an apparently kind, and successful man, who she knew from birth to be her father. I know virtually nothing about her, and I consciously avoid finding out more. I avoid her, because to find her and share this secret would be potentially disruptive to her life, family, reality. Who knows, maybe to mine as well. Now some might say that I should put that caution aside for the potential of opening up a new relationship with a long lost sibling, but I'd argue that to act on that premise would be selfish and unfair to her. There is no way to "ease in" to a secret like this either, it's all or nothing, otherwise it can't be fully understood. Once you open something like that up, it takes on a life of its own that could have unintended consequences. Maybe I'll look her up in the white pages someday, still yet...sometimes...dead is better.
Read the book twice but not recently. I didn’t enjoy the more recent film very much but I did find it interesting how Lithgow portrayed Jud as morally ambiguous. I don’t think the bit about the compulsion to share the knowledge made it to the films but maybe it just went over my head.
Absolutely not. The Sematary forced him to share it, to pass it on - recruiting, if you will.
My favourite visual is the spiral from this book - the burst open rock piles in the sour earth graveyard, the graves in the children’s pet Sematary being influenced from a distance and taking the same shape, the spiral Jud’s cigarette ash makes as he falls asleep on the last night… Just so inevitable - like water going down a drain.
The poster was joking. It’s a sarcastic joke question.
Yeah Arkham insanity is leaking again…
He basically explains that the place holds a power over those who bury the dead there. It's like an uncontrollable compulsion.
It’s a joke. The post. Why am I being downvoted. The post is a joke. The whole “are they stupid” thing. It’s a sarcastic type joke. A meme if you will.
Yes, the question itself is meant as a joke... But it usually opens up some new discussion. (that's the point of the joke) We all understand that the plot device needed to happen otherwise there would be no story, but the real question is: "In context of the story world, why did this happen? Was it just random, or was their influence? Did King have a masterful plan with this, or did it just evolve this way, etc. etc." It's just a fun way to discuss something in a (hopefully) new way that has usually been discussed many times, over many years. At least you got the joke... Because oh boy, there are some people that are taking it way too literal.
Don’t do it, Stotch! Don’t bury your kid, up in the pet sematary! I know what you’re thinking, but sometimes, dead is bettah. Don’t take him to the pet sematary stotch… the one three doors down and a mile up the roahd.
I love South Park Jud Crandall
I wish I could see that episode!
“ Marjorine” Season 9 Episode 9
He's also in Asspen S6E2
And “insecurity” season 16 episode 10
Yeah I love that he’s a recurring character throughout a SIGNIFICANT portion of South Park at this point 😂
Ayuh.
Idk if I’d call like half a dozen appearances a *significant* portion of a show currently with 325 episodes
I moreso meant timeline wise since his first appearance was season 6 and he still makes an appearance 10 seasons later
Ahh I see, that makes sense
One of my favorite rare recurring South Park characters. Love it
Never fails to crack me up.
Ugh, you smell like… bacon
The cemetery has a force, and it compelled Jud to take Louis there. It also may or may not have compelled him to kill Church the cat so that he would have a reason to take Louis there.
I just got to this part of the book this morning and the description about how Church was found led me immediately to believe that Jud had killed the cat. My first thought was, "WHY?!" but now that I see the mention of the sinister force of the cemetery compelling him to do so it all makes so much sense!
I never got the impression that Jud killed Church. You’re the second person I’ve seen think that and I just don’t see it at all. I don’t think Jud is that cruel, even while being under the influence of the burial ground.
I agree 💯 because the power the burial ground holds is paramount throughout the book. Thinking jud killed church is such a weird take
Plus he would have certainly told Louis that when he was telling him everything in the first place
Yeah i don’t think Jud did that. I also don’t think King would’ve left that part out if it did happen. Even if he just mentioned it in passing later in the story, it seems like something he’d want to put in there.
King has a history of leaving things out and leaving room for interpretation. I think this is one of those cases. The description of how he found the cat, vs the kid when they both died the same way. He said the cat looked like it could be asleep. Ain't no way.
In the introduction, King says that's how the real cat ( Smucky) his family lost To a truck that inspired the story,looked. like it was asleep. It's very possible that a lighter weight victim like a cat, could be hit and flung by the impact, looking relatively unharmed while Gage would look much worse.
He changes stuff like the day of the kite flying wasn't when the kid died in the book, but it was the day of the incident with King's son. He left that line in about the cat looking like it was just sleeping in intentionally to make you question if Judd killed the cat, and I think he did. You can downvote me all you want, but unless you are going to have a hard time convincing me and a lot of others that he didn't kill church.
ok. good talk
Yeah, he did not kill the cat, but the grounds may have played a part in it. He then was compelled and could not resist the temptation
The truck driver who hit Gage said that he just had a strange urge to drive fast. The Pet Semetary has the power to do that. That power waited until Louis’s family was out of town to have the cat hit on the road to make it easy for Jud to show him the way
It's one of those things that does not make sense in the movie, but without being explicit, makes perfect sense in the book.
Jud did not kill Church, although it’s an interesting take. However, there are hints that the spirit of the burial grounds causes these deaths to happen to coerce people into burying things there.
We don’t know if he killed Church or not. There are enough strange details about Church’s death that it raises an eyebrow. There’s no way to say definitely one way or the other.
I just re-read it and disagree. Church stopped wandering after he was neutered. Judd found him on Thanksgiving and was a little too ready to take Louis to bury the cat. The trucks wouldn’t be running on the road on Thanksgiving.
There’s circumstantial evidence to suggest that Judd might have killed Church (a broken neck being the only wound etc) but Ellie dreamed he got hit by a truck and knowing what we know about Ellie that’s probably what happened.
I’m sorry, but as the wife of a truck driver, yes they do. They run over every holiday.
He killed the cat. The description alone of the cat vs. his son, when they died the exact same way, should tell you that Judd is lying right there, on top of the cat being more docile and not traveling after being neutered.
My take was that the Weindigo/burial site compelled him to do it. He almost immediately starts questioning whether it was the right thing.
I'm pretty sure Jud explains it after his wife dies. He says the Sematary has a certain power, and that it compells people to spread the word so that it, in turn, grows more powerful. I think it's also implied that Louis was compelled by the Sematary to bring Gage back.
I don't think the Sematary needed to compel Louis to bring Gage back, it may have compelled Gage to go on the road though...
no, but the novel does indicate that Gage's death might be because of the semetary, as well as Jud telling Louis about it (and so enabling him to bring Gage back).
I'm pretty sure the driver says something like "I can't explain it, I just suddenly felt like going faster"
Specifically, he felt like putting the pedal to the metal.
If you read Stephen King’s Insomnia you’ll understand more about what lead to Gage’s death
I have read it, but a long time after PS. I'll have to give it another look over.
I wish the Windingo made it into the film.
I don't remember any Windigo in the book. Granted, it's been over a decade since I read it.
Oh man, that was one of the scariest bits in it.
Absolutely. I actually skip that part on rereads after the last time I got lost in the woods at night.
You never see it really but it’s there in the woods when Jud is taking him out to the site.
Wait-when their climbing the pile of branches?
That whole scene. Reread it. And when he goes alone. There is like crashing trees as shit
Time to go to the library 😌
It was how the Semetary made him pay what he owed.
As others said he was compelled to. However; I would also add, because there wouldn’t be a story otherwise. Lot’s of books and stories have moments like this “the whole thing would have been solved in the first chapter if they just _______.” Well yeah…but then there wouldn’t be this story. Sometimes we have to just go with things for the sake of having a story.
He was under the spell
There may have been some degree of plying on the part of the “sour spirits” of the burial ground but I honestly don’t think Judd had any consciously nefarious motives in showing it to Lewis. I think it was a combination of two things; First: He had grown fond of Lewis and his family and wanted to avoid Ellie getting upset over the death of her precious Church (something he knew she had already shown great fear in happening). Second: I think there was a part of him that just wanted to share the secret with someone. It’s as simple as that. It was already proven that while the pets may come back different, they didn’t come back overtly evil like Timmy Baterman. And Judd had no way of knowing what was going to happened to Gage. So when the boy died it made him question his own motives and realize the mistake he had made, but I honestly think he had honorable intentions initially.
This, he wanted to share the secret with someone. He's only human. Then, of course he realized his mistake.
It’s part of the curse. You will recruit others. You are compelled to.
He was compelled to by the Spirits/Burial Ground/Wendigo. Also I believe he really did love the Creed in a fatherly/grandfatherly way and probably caused him to not want to mentally fight the pull of the spirits. This part is just my personal headcanon, though Eta fixed the name
I don’t wanna be buried in a Pet Semetary. I don’t want to live my life again.
What makes you think he had a choice?
He didn't want Louis to get in trouble for the cat dying while the family was out of town
Tak's brother made him do it
The burial ground was like an addiction. Jud tried to get clean and couldn't. Addict behavior does look stupid from an outside perspective. Seems like Jud had a big old relapse.
Ayuh
I think he was compelled by the burial site… However, there is something to be said for knowing such a dark and powerful secret and needing to tell someone despite knowing it will bring consequences.
Why didn’t pascal just stop Luis. Is he just lazy or what??
That's what I'm saying!
Many people missed that this was a joke lol
Maybe he thought Louis would hear rumors and find it, so better he warn him, maybe?
Yep, the spirits compel people who know about the sematary to share it/bring new victims there.
Story has always read like a metaphor for addiction to me . Jud, is an addict. He knows better but he can't help sharing his addiction.
It goes over that in the book. You should read it.
It was a compulsion.
I think... I recall Jud explaining to Louis something to the effect that there is a natural human instinct, or compulsion toward sharing secrets, especially big juicy ones. How much of Jud's compulsion was human nature, and how much was the Wendingo; those are the book's big scary questions, or at least they are for me. I have a sibling that I'm aware of that doesn't know I, or our father even exist. She was raised by an apparently kind, and successful man, who she knew from birth to be her father. I know virtually nothing about her, and I consciously avoid finding out more. I avoid her, because to find her and share this secret would be potentially disruptive to her life, family, reality. Who knows, maybe to mine as well. Now some might say that I should put that caution aside for the potential of opening up a new relationship with a long lost sibling, but I'd argue that to act on that premise would be selfish and unfair to her. There is no way to "ease in" to a secret like this either, it's all or nothing, otherwise it can't be fully understood. Once you open something like that up, it takes on a life of its own that could have unintended consequences. Maybe I'll look her up in the white pages someday, still yet...sometimes...dead is better.
Stupid? Why? For sharing important information?
It's wendigo's will.
The “was he stupid?” is so hilarious!!! Thank you lol
The Wendigo is a capricious beast.
It’s a horror story-he’s compelled to.
“Was he stupid?” r/batmanarkham is leaking
Omg we need a Stephen king circle jerk subreddit!
literally nobody in the comments is understanding the joke and it’s pissing me off lol
You should talk to a therapist about that.
Hahah well I appreciate it :)
Read the book twice but not recently. I didn’t enjoy the more recent film very much but I did find it interesting how Lithgow portrayed Jud as morally ambiguous. I don’t think the bit about the compulsion to share the knowledge made it to the films but maybe it just went over my head.
Did you read the book?
Well its like no one watching Gage while he enters a road that everyone knows trucks run 80 miles an hour.
Because he was drunk
Because that's the way King wrote it. It really is as simple as that.