Ending interpretation (spoilers for this and Cell)

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GNTLGNT

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The whole book is based on the premise of Indian burial grounds and mythologies of the afterlife so I don't think he went too afar afield by introducing the Wendigo which, by the way, is a central legend to that part of the country. It seemed apropos to me.
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SoonerJay

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Jun 19, 2018
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One of the few things that I thought didn't work so well in the book was the introduction of the wendigo or the idea of the wendigo while Louis was on his way to the burial ground. It just felt dropped in and generic. Stephen King might as well have brought Bigfoot or some other mainstream legend into play (perhaps Bigfoot could have had a marker in the Pet Sematary - 'Bigfoot - he was elusive'). The unknown quality of the burial ground and its powers is terrifying - and so bringing a well-known native American legend such as the wendigo detracts from this, for me. I found the unexplained face that was ahead of him for a long time on the path much scarier.

The wendigo was introduced very early in the story. The day Church comes back and Jud is describing the back story of the Micmac cemetery, Jud tells of how there were times when winters were so harsh that the Micmacs had to resort to cannibalism and the remains of those cannibalized were buried at the Micmac cemetery. He talks about how the wendigo gave those it touched a taste for human flesh. He talks about the fur traders and indians who wouldn’t set foot in those woods and some of the mysterious deaths that occurred in those woods. The maniacal scream that turned to laughter was the wendigo.

The floating head you mentioned had ram’s horns, flaring nostrils, yellow scaly skin, and a lizard like tongue....that was the wendigo. Then Louis sees him in the flesh walk right in front of him.

It’s also implied that that is what Jud saw during his first trip that he refuses to talk about.

If you don’t like the wendigo, that’s fair enough....but the wendigo definitely wasn’t dropped in at the end of the story. The wendigo is the main antagonist of the story. The wendigo is the entity that embodies Church, Spot, Hanratty, Gage, etc. The wendigo is the mastermind behind everything that happens in the story.


Din Corloene would’ve told Tom Hagen, “But I never knew until this day, that it was....the Wendigo all along.”
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
The wendigo was introduced very early in the story. The day Church comes back and Jud is describing the back story of the Micmac cemetery, Jud tells of how there were times when winters were so harsh that the Micmacs had to resort to cannibalism and the remains of those cannibalized were buried at the Micmac cemetery. He talks about how the wendigo gave those it touched a taste for human flesh. He talks about the fur traders and indians who wouldn’t set foot in those woods and some of the mysterious deaths that occurred in those woods. The maniacal scream that turned to laughter was the wendigo.

The floating head you mentioned had ram’s horns, flaring nostrils, yellow scaly skin, and a lizard like tongue....that was the wendigo. Then Louis sees him in the flesh walk right in front of him.

It’s also implied that that is what Jud saw during his first trip that he refuses to talk about.

If you don’t like the wendigo, that’s fair enough....but the wendigo definitely wasn’t dropped in at the end of the story. The wendigo is the main antagonist of the story. The wendigo is the entity that embodies Church, Spot, Hanratty, Gage, etc. The wendigo is the mastermind behind everything that happens in the story.


Din Corloene would’ve told Tom Hagen, “But I never knew until this day, that it was....the Wendigo all along.”
...the Wendigo is one of my favorite "mythical" creatures.....just a savage with zero fu*ks given.....
 
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Alan_Sefton

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Dec 6, 2017
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The wendigo was introduced very early in the story. The day Church comes back and Jud is describing the back story of the Micmac cemetery, Jud tells of how there were times when winters were so harsh that the Micmacs had to resort to cannibalism and the remains of those cannibalized were buried at the Micmac cemetery. He talks about how the wendigo gave those it touched a taste for human flesh. He talks about the fur traders and indians who wouldn’t set foot in those woods and some of the mysterious deaths that occurred in those woods. The maniacal scream that turned to laughter was the wendigo.

The floating head you mentioned had ram’s horns, flaring nostrils, yellow scaly skin, and a lizard like tongue....that was the wendigo. Then Louis sees him in the flesh walk right in front of him.

It’s also implied that that is what Jud saw during his first trip that he refuses to talk about.

If you don’t like the wendigo, that’s fair enough....but the wendigo definitely wasn’t dropped in at the end of the story. The wendigo is the main antagonist of the story. The wendigo is the entity that embodies Church, Spot, Hanratty, Gage, etc. The wendigo is the mastermind behind everything that happens in the story.


Din Corloene would’ve told Tom Hagen, “But I never knew until this day, that it was....the Wendigo all along.”
 
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Alan_Sefton

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Dec 6, 2017
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Sorry for the botched quote job.
Hi there, SoonerJay. All seems logical enough what you say. I was basing my thoughts of the novel from when I first read it as a 13 year old - I don't know much about the wendigo legend so it could well influence things in the story to a greater level than I imagined. I like the idea of the wendigo also being the terrifying head that could be seen floating in the distance. I suppose my feeling is that I prefer the secrecy of the story - the mystery of the burial ground. To put it all down to the wendigo would be disappointing, for me. Another reason I have doubts about it being responsible for everything is because of what Louis said to himself: 'In a play where that [the wendigo] is among the cast of characters, do you really think this will have a happy ending?'

Would LOVE for there to be another PS - perhaps a prequel novel.
 

Doc Creed

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Can you imagine the scene with Ellie returning home? As her grandparents pull into the driveway she probably asks them about Judd's house which is a burnt hulk and ashes. I wonder if, when they arrive at the Creed house, it's morning time. Does Ellie see Louis' mutilated body on the kitchen floor? Is Rachel's corpse ambling around the house? Does one of the Goldman's call to her when they see her through a milky window? I imagine the sun is shining and birds are singing and Ellie's heart murmurs, her premonitions stop her from entering the house. My mind keeps flipping through possible scenarios.
What if Ellie returns to that house at night?
 
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jujuhound

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Nov 16, 2017
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I tend to think Irwin would have gotten the authorities involved or shown up himself after a failure to hear from Rachel within a reasonable timeframe. Unless she ended up on the phone with her Dad after returning from the grave, somebody would have come knocking and see that things were amiss. Assuming Louis survives, you'd either find him in prison or an institution. He could have fled, I suppose, but it is clear he never sees Ellie again from King's Twitter post.
 

Doc Creed

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I tend to think Irwin would have gotten the authorities involved or shown up himself after a failure to hear from Rachel within a reasonable timeframe. Unless she ended up on the phone with her Dad after returning from the grave, somebody would have come knocking and see that things were amiss. Assuming Louis survives, you'd either find him in prison or an institution. He could have fled, I suppose, but it is clear he never sees Ellie again from King's Twitter post.
.
 
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Joseph Burdette

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There is an 'ending ' of sorts in the boo, SK talks about a young couple that buys the house later in-spite of the ghost stories, and they have a dog. I don't know if this means Louis did die, or if he and Rachel ended up in the woods. It is clear someone finds out something though. This is why I wished Pet Sematary had some closure. Even if it had been a collection of other stories about the town and the people who used the place.
 

jujuhound

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Nov 16, 2017
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There is an 'ending ' of sorts in the boo, SK talks about a young couple that buys the house later in-spite of the ghost stories, and they have a dog. I don't know if this means Louis did die, or if he and Rachel ended up in the woods. It is clear someone finds out something though. This is why I wished Pet Sematary had some closure. Even if it had been a collection of other stories about the town and the people who used the place.

If I had to guess, the best case scenario of closure for Louis would be somehow avoiding (or beating) charges along the lines of murder, manslaughter and arson. Only to move away from town to try and start anew but spend the rest of his days enduring whispers, stares, anonymous notes and phone harassment no matter where he lives.

I don't recall Gage being reburied after the failed experiment in the woods. Where is the body? That poses a problem.

The Baterman fire was determined to be set years before, it won't take (presumably) more sophisticated law enforcement during the present Creed-era that long to determine the fire was set at Jud's.

Authorities either find reanimated Rachel walking around, the body of a Rachel killed for the second time or no body at all with Louis feebly explaining she went to get groceries and never came home or that she had left him. This leaves Rachel as a missing persons cases with the police. None of those scenarios bode well.

One closure scenario I wouldn't rule out is that Irwin kills Louis in blind rage over Rachel's death/disappearance, presumably before any arrest or sentencing. His character was capable of it.

Like others have said, there are a few remarks where Louis seems to look back on these horrors in the past tense. If I had to vote, any defense lawyer, court judge and jury worth their salt see that Louis is now a nutjob and label him "insane" which probably keeps him out of prison.

My firm conclusion is Louis Creed ends up in a place just like Juniper Hills just like Henry Bowers did.
 
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