BYE BYE 2014...

Going over this year; it was happy and uneventful, even though half of it was spent working very hard to clear the rest of my papers at the University (taking the final exam in April) so I'll finally get my B.Ed in English Education. I also got to  finish the manuscript for my third children's book (STILL waiting for the editor's response on that) and while I hoped to finally write my novel, I ended up changing the story's plot over and over again! 
Yet there were the good parts. I got to go to Dubai with some friends, I clocked 35 and celebrated in a small way and created a third blog MY BOOK CABINET.  I  also learnt to stop being such a worrier and be more optimistic about the future and achieving my goals. Of course there was the reminder from some family members and friends that at 35 I'm not getting any younger and see about finding a husband and having babies. 

I believe 2015 will be a good year and I hope to achieve a lot of things. For example, finding a steady good paying job,  finally finishing my novel and getting it published with more to follow, finally moving to Canada and having my own life as a successful writer and other stuff like maybe finally a man who's definitely the one. While I'm not enthusiastic about marriage, it's not like I've completely ruled it out; I just don't want to be constantly reminded about my single status, it's not like it's a sin anyway (or anybody's damned business). I also hope there would be less reports about terrorists' attacks, shootings and whatever and  I and every member of my family will be there this time in 2015 to welcome 2016. 

So... bye bye 2014... PLEASE 2015, be a great year! 

CARBO FAN FICTION- CARLY'S DIARY PART 13

PART 13

Melanie composed the email herself; making sure it showed no exaggeration but at the same time explaining  to Bo the seriousness of Carly’s condition and the urgency of his presence.

BAH! HUMBUG!: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Like most of the read classics in my book cabinet, I read the simplified and coloured edition of Charles Dickens' 'Christmas novella' ; back when I was about 10 years old. That was the first time I was introduced to Dickens' unforgettable character, Ebenezer Scrooge a grumpy, cold-hearted old miser who actually hated Christmas!  That part was what got my interest because the author's opening line Marley's dead: to begin with- rather put me off a little.


How can I describe this Christmas tale? One word: UPLIFTING. The tale is about an old miser who paid a night visit by his late business partner Jacob Marley who (after lamenting of what he could have done besides making money during his life time) warned Scrooge he would be haunted by three spirits, "you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate",  Marley explained, so it looked like the three spirits were coming to open his eyes to his mundane and friendless life, which never bothered Scrooge before.

'Without their visits,' said the Ghost, 'you cannot hope to shun the path I tread. Expect the first one tomorrow, when the bell tolls one. Expect the second one on the next night at the same hour. The third upon the next night when the last stroke of twelve has ceased to vibrate. Look to see me no more; and look that , for your own sake, you remember what has passed between us!" 

And so did Marley's words came to pass. The first 'spirit' was the Ghost of Christmas Past- who took him to the time Scrooge was a boy, which causes a huge hit of nostalgia on Scrooge especially when he got to see his little sister Fan again, Fan had died young and left behind a son (who was more than kind and good-natured enough to invite his grumpy uncle to Christmas lunch but was coldly turned down). Then he saw himself as a young man just starting his path with young Marley under the employ of jolly Mr. Fezzwig then the sober scene of his fiancée Belle breaking up with him because he loved money and making money than wanting to marry and have a family with her... very sad and Scrooge couldn't bear seeing this repressed memory of his greatest mistake, - 'Spirit... show me no more! Conduct me home . Why do you delight to torture me?' 

The Ghost of Christmas Present came next and Scrooge saw people enjoying and celebrating Christmas which he'd described as 'HUMBUG!', his nephew's Christmas party where Fred spoke how he pitied his uncle who had money but no friends and then the humble house of his poorly paid clerk Bob Cracthit who was having a simple Christmas with his family, the brightest person there despite his fragile health Tiny Tim, the youngest child. One thing to note here, even though they were poor, the room was filled with love and Tiny Tim lifting their spirits with the words, 'God Bless us, Everyone!', which stabbed Scrooge with the guilty realisation that the very low salary he paid Bob couldn't cover Tiny Tim's medical bills.

'Spirit, tell me if Tiny Tim will live.' 

'I see a vacant seat in the poor chimney corner and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.' 

'No, no... oh no, Kind Spirit! say he will be spared.' 

Before the Ghost of Christmas Present left, he showed Scrooge two emaciated children; the boy was Ignorance, the girl was Want and warned Scrooge to beware the first especially. And when Scrooge cried if they had no source of help, the Ghost calmly repeated Scrooge's earlier cold words, 'Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?'  Talk about a guilt trip! 

Then the final 'spirit' appeared to Scrooge... the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come- the most memorable because it never spoke and:

It was shrouded in a deep  black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand.  

What Scrooge saw now, after viewing his mistakes of the past which shaped his present, the consequences. He saw people talking about a wretched man who just died and his funeral would only be attended if food was provided (eww by the way), and the man's possessions being sold cheaply. The next scene was a debtor and his family who were glad of the man's death as they would have more time to pay or not pay at all and the last, very scene of the Cratchit family as they mourn (though they try so hard to be brave) Tiny Tim's death, which upsets Scrooge greatly. The spirit then takes Scrooge to the graveyard and the moment of truth is revealed to him via a neglected gravestone, the wretched man is him to his horror; unloved, unmourned, forgotten.

Spirit! Hear me, I am not the man I was! I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why would you show me this if I am past all hope? 

Christmas morning, Scrooge is a changed man (and then some), spending Christmas with Fred and his family who were surprised yet delighted to see him, sending a turkey incognito to the Cractchits and making a donation, incognito of course for it is not said that one who is silent in his good deeds reap the bigger reward? And of course a huge pay raise for Bob which contributes to Tiny Tim's survival.

Like Oliver Twist, this story is more than meets the eye- it's not just about an old man who found redemption. It glaringly portrayed Dickens' sympathy for the poor, particularly poor children (Tiny Tim being a representative in the story) the joy of giving and sharing, especially on a festive season like Christmas and how the wealthy should do their part in helping the poor. And let's not forget, how past mistakes could shape one's present and future; Life is short and it's never too late to repent. 

Quote from book:

Many laughed to see this alteration in him, but he let them laugh and little heeded them, for he knew that no good thing in this world ever happened, at which some did not have their fill of laughter. His own heart laughed and that was quite enough for him. And it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well if any man alive possessed the knowledge." The story closes with the narrator repeating Tiny Tim's famous words: "God bless us, everyone!

CARBO FAN FICTION- CARLY'S DIARY PART 12

PART 12

Frankie was very pleased to see Shawn D, while Molly exclaimed over the now  handsome adult version of the little boy she remembered. Shawn D explained how Roman had called him to inform him of Starr’s birth and Carly’s condition; after finally able to get off work, he’d flown in last night.

JUSTICE FOR ARNELLA KAMANZI

I first saw the infamous video some time back  and I was immediately sickened and horrified at what I saw; a maid physically abusing an 18 month old baby left in her care and she had no idea there was  a hidden 'nanny cam' placed in the room when she was hurting that poor little girl. It wasn't until I read the story in detail yesterday I discovered that the little girl's father was the one who planted the nanny cam after he noticed the poor child's bruises and limping walk. To his credit, he didn't fly off the handle and accuse the maid outright (which would have put her on her guard),  instead the camera was planted to get proof , a risky move since the child may have gotten beaten to death (but THANK GOD that didn't happen ) which he handed over to the police and Jolly Tumuhiirwe was arrested.
I used to think the practice of planting nanny cams was a blatant breach of trust but NOT anymore. What happened to Arnella Kamanzi was really terrible; I can't imagine why anyone would want to harm a helpless baby like Tumuhiirwe did. Didn't she have a shred of conscience when she hit and kicked the poor thing? And the audacity to tell the court she did it because Mrs. Kamanzi had beaten her hence the attack on the poor child was actually pay back. I have no idea if what she said about Arnella's mum was true but that does NOT justify physically abusing an innocent child.

So now, the 'monster maid' has been sentenced to 4 years in prison and she's just lucky she didn't do what she did here in Nigeria; I can only imagine how the parents and family of the child would've heavily descended on her before handing her over to the police. With what happened to Arnella, many families across the world, not just Uganda, would be more vigilant and careful when hiring maids and nannies to look after their children; character references from previous employers should be the main criteria before hiring at all. Arnella was very lucky and her father very clever and I think many more parents with young children should install nanny cams in their homes to make sure the nannies are really doing their jobs. That nanny cam along with the grace of God saved Arnella Kamanzi's life and I pray she is healing both physically and psychologically and will have no memories of that horrible incident.
As for Jolly, I hope she uses her time in prison to think over what she did and try to find some redemption. In court she asked the magistrate and the world to forgive her. SEE VIDEO
 Jolly, you should seek forgiveness from God.

CARBO FAN FICTION- CARLY'S DIARY PART 11

PART 11

Melanie wept as she watched Carly take off her engagement ring, her cheeks wet with tears as she kissed it, placed it in Bo’s hand and kissed him one last time before turning away to climb up the boat’s stairs, then at Bo who was staring up after her, tears rolling down his cheeks.

CARBO FAN FICTION- CARLY'S DIARY PART 10

PART 10

Melanie never envisioned she would feel anything but anger and resentment towards Bo Brady for what he put her mother through but as Isabella’s ghost took her further into his past with Carly, she found herself   feeling heart wrenching compassion and pity for him and hating Emmy Borden more.

MY TALE YET UNTOLD

Writers aren't allowed to give themselves excuses NOT to write. The main thing we firmly tell ourselves is GET ON WITH IT! After completing the manuscript of my third children's book (at least I pray it will become a book eventually) my mind turned to the next thing; my first novel. After discarding several ideas, I decided to try my hand in writing  a 'coming of age' story. But after a few lines I drew a blank... except when I write fanfiction; probably because I'm trying to create my own characters now and leave subtle messages in the story besides telling the story. And there's still the fear; that I wouldn't measure up to the really established writers out there; writers like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie- who has three novels and a collection of short stories under her belt. I actually met her years ago at the University of Lagos when she introduced her second novel, Half Of A Yellow Sun (now a major motion picture). While signing my copy of Purple Hibiscus (her first novel) I nervously showed her my two children's books which she briefly leafed through, nodded approvingly then asked me, what it only children's books I would keep writing?
That question struck a chord in me and I began asking myself the same question since then. My children's books (particularly the animal fables) are much liked, but should I stick to them ore try harder to be a novelist? Some say, "do what you know", but others say, "expand your horizons and think outside the box". To test myself, I indulged in "practice writing"- writing Days of Our Lives fanfiction and from the kind responses, it seems I can actually be a novelist. 
With all the advice and tips I've gleaned from the Internet on the best way to write a novel, I'm focusing on the best one... GET ON WITH IT; JUST WRITE! Ms. Adichie and other writers didn't sit down and dream or wait for inspiration and I don't intent to do that either. I shouldn't be afraid of mediocrity, but of not achieving my objective at all; which I will do via hard work and determination. And eventually,  my tale will finally be told.

CARBO FAN FICTION- CARLY'S DIARY PART 9

PART 9

Melanie found herself in the Brady Pub, or rather what it used to be; the Fish Market. She couldn’t help but think how beautiful young Carly looked in the red and black pants suit she was wearing, her hair pulled back from her face. But her expression was rather sad as she sat at one of the tables with Caroline.

WHAT NIGERIAN T.V REALLY NEEDS...

Let's take a look at what we have on Nigerian T.V these days...

 Tinsel, Super Story, Dear Mama, Civilian Barracks, Face To Face, Papa Ajasco and Company, One Big Family, So Wrong; So Right, reality shows like Gulder Ultimate Search, Project Fame, Nigerian Idols, foreign shows including telenovelas (unfortunately several of them are airing at the same time hence, hard to follow),  Avatar: The Last Airbender, iCarly, etc.
 In the past, there was Desperate Housewives( for a short time), N.Y.P.D Blue, 24, Profiler, The Pretender, Matlock, Diagnosis Murder, Jake & The Fat Man,The Wonder Years, Dr. Who, Watch Over  Me, Twin Peaks, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel etc.

The Soap Operas: The Bold & The Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, Passions, Dallas, Generations, Another Life, Santa Barbara, General Hospital, The Young and The Restless and Sunset Beach. And there were the sitcoms; The Cosby Show, 'Allo, 'Allo, Some Mothers Do 'Ave Them, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Cosby, Sanford and Son, Family Matters, Friends, For Your Love, Different Strokes, The Jeffersons, Good News, Dharma and Greg, Just Shoot Me!, The Golden Girls and so on. Nigerian T.V had Family Circle, Everyday People, House Apart, Palace and Fuji House of Commotion- a spin-off of Checkmate.

America in particular has a huge T.V history; sitcoms, series and soap operas. The one I'm particular impressed with is Guiding Light; the longest running soap in history as it began as  a radio program in 1937 to 1949 and then made its television debut in 1952 and went on until 2009.
Nigeria has its own share of past memorable shows... but how many people still remember them enough to list them and talk about them; and I mean people who are old enough to remember them at all and yearn to watch them again. Nothing against the new Nigerian shows but they do not hold a candle to the past shows, shows that seem to be locked away in the studios' vaults these days and half forgotten.

 NTA 10 occasionally shows The New Village Headmaster (which started as The Village Headmaster)  and it's really a treat to see the old stars; some of them-alas- late now; Justus Esiri (Headmaster C. Ali), Joe Layode (Mr. Garuba), Oba Funsho Aleolu; Alaaye of Ode- Remo (Councillor Eleyinmi), Oba Wole Amele; Alara of Aramoko (who played the very quarrelsome  Councillor Balogun) and  Elsie Olusola (who played the village seamstress 'Sisi' Clara and was the real life  wife of the now late creator of the show, Chief Segun Olusola).
But seriously, are we expected to simply forget the past shows all together and remember them via word of mouth? I don't think so.
Oh no... if other countries- from the old to the present generation fans can vividly talk about their old shows- the sitcoms and T.V series in particular, we should be able to do the same from now on. And how are old shows really and vividly remembered? Via Reruns!
How hard is it to set aside  a particular slot and bring back the old shows for the veteran fans to re experience and the new ones to feast their eyes on and enjoy? There are several I can mention and very certain Nigerian fans will love to see again, the veteran actors and actresses besides the actual shows, let us go back and see how Nigerian entertainment was back in the 70s- 90s and compare them with what we have today. Reruns is what Nigerian T.V needs, going down memory lane instead allowing the memories to die. In other countries, old shows aren't just re-run on T.V, they come out on DVD!
I can definitely mention more than a few shows that should have reruns- aside from The Village Headmaster. Even if they can't be made into DVD (because of piracy) it doesn't mean it can't be brought back to the screens.

Basi & Company: comedy/satire created by Ken Saro Wiwa about the misadventures of a con man/loser (Albert Egbe, later Zulu Adikwe) who would rather rely on  'get rich quick' schemes to become the millionaire he so badly wants to be instead of  getting an honest job. "To be a millionaire, think like a millionaire." was his  catchphrase.

SECOND CHANCE: NTA's version of  the classic British sitcom; Mind Your Language; the long suffering English language teachers (played by Sonny Irabor and the late Funsho Alabi) attempting to teach students of different ethnic tribes (in the original the students were of different nationalities) how to speak proper English, with hilarious results. Also starring were Olu Jacobs and Lai Ashadele.

COCK CROW AT DAWN: Bello (the late George Menta) returns to his village with his family after harrowing experiences in the city and must cope not only with  the new country life but also with  his stern and resentful uncle whose care he'd left the farm. The iconic theme song was performed by Bongos Ikwue. Click  on link to listen.

BEHIND THE CLOUDS: A drama series that revolved around the lives of families living in Jos. In particular was the Okonzua family ruled by a very stern father (Zack Amata) rigidly opposed to his daughter Efe's (Evelyn Ikuenobe-Otaigbe) music career, Efe receiving  support from younger brother Nosa (late MacArthur Fom) and their caring mother, Adesuwa (Franca Brown). There was also the story arc involving Funmi-Efe's friend  and Bayo- Efe's boyfriend (Ene Oloja and Dan Emeni) who found themselves on opposing sides when their estranged father, Jide  (late George Menta) returns, much to the dismay and anger of their uncle, Dapo (late Matt Dadzie). The series later lost stream for a number of reasons;

                                          

       Efe and Bayo's story arc  grew sour and irritating

Being Behind The Clouds  'super couple', it was rather disappointing to see Bayo becoming  more jealous and rather possessive of Efe,  which led to them fighting for a while. Even after they made up, the story arc where Efe was mistakenly pronounced pregnant by her doctor during an unexpected illness led to them drifting apart again, because Efe stubbornly refused to forgive Bayo for his behaviour towards her during the mistake. They bump into each other again under unexpected circumstances but the soap was cancelled before fans could see them properly reconciled.

                                                  

                                                     

 Zach Amata's long and unexplained  absence

Zack Amata, who played Efe and Nosa's stern father was absent from the show for a long while. Hence,  for a long time, viewers had to put up with the 'Papa Efe is missing' storyline in Behind The Clouds , which prompted  the addition of late Christopher Erakpotobor as his visiting brother. 

Ironically enough, Amata returned not long after the tragic passing of MacArthur Fom, who played his son, Nosa. The reason for 'Papa Efe's' long absence from his family was never explained in the soap. 


                                                          

 

MacArthur's Fom's death  

The handsome young actor was a huge  fan favourite, so his  unexpected death- on the 5th of December, 1989- left the soap's cast members and viewers  in shock and deep grief. His character was  written out of the soap and was never recast. But  let's be real... would fans have tolerated another actor playing Nosa? 

 For the rest of Behind The Clouds' run, Nosa was referred dead but the  cause of the character's off screen death was never mentioned or explained. In the memorable  episode where Papa Efe (Zack Amata) asked after Nosa from his wife (Franca Brown) had fans at the edge of their seats. But when Adesuwa began with 'It's a long story...', the scene cut to a commercial. Back to the  scene, Adesuwa was shown weeping while Papa Efe's comforting hand was  on her shoulder, his expression sad. 
 In the real world, Fom's actual cause of death was  Cerebral Spinal Meningitis. 



                                                          

 Ene Oloja's departure 

The actress who played Bayo's sister, one of Efe's closest friends  (and their late mother in a flashback) Ene Oloja left the soap and shortly after,  her then marriage was announced in the papers. 
Funmi's recurring presence in the soap was cut when she was transferred to a remote area, no thanks to  the angry father of a spoilt brat she administered punishment to during school hours. Funmi made one more appearance several episodes later, when Bayo and a friend went to visit her. 


Fortune's story arc. Fortune- the son of a club owner (played by Matt Dadzie's then wife, (Gladys Bilqis Goubadia Dadzie) was played by Charles Oloja. Fortune  was a temperamental young man, many times causing his mother embarrassment and seemingly having no direction in life. When he had an accident, his father offered his blood to save him only to get a shock when it's revealed he's not a match, hence not Fortune's  father. His father allegedly turned out to be one of his mother's close friends and Fortune was last seen going to the man's house with a travelling bag. 

                                

Felicia's temporary and permanent departure

 Felicia, a journalist, was Efe's friend besides  Funmi in the soap, ended up sharing  her flat with Efe after Efe's father finally threw her out of the house. Her story arc was mainly dating a married lawyer, Buba,  and becoming pregnant by him early in the series.  Felicia was more interested in being an independent single mother than Buba's wife. Even after Buba proposed to her and Buba's wife finally accepted the situation and wanted to welcome her and her eventual baby boy to the family, she coldly rebuffed them- so this character was not exactly a fan favourite.  While still pregnant, Felicia disappeared for several episodes, her sudden return was baffling as she was shown returning home in a taxi with no bag, and silently weeping in her sitting room. Her absence was explained, she had been kidnapped...most likely  for something she'd written in her professional capacity as a journalist. 
After her son is born, Felicia took him on a trip to Lagos and was never seen again for the rest of Behind The Clouds' run.



                                                 MIND BENDING

Created by Lola Fani-Kayode (creator of Mirror In The Sun); this drama/documentary mini-series was made up of  four stories- each split into episodes- about three drug addicts and an alcoholic. Through each story, the effects and consequences of drug addiction and alcoholism were realistically presented.


                                     MAGANA JARI CE (Eloquence Is An Asset)

 Adapted from Abukakar Imam's book, I would describe this as a Hausa version of  The Arabian Nights. In every episode of this series, a fluently talking parrot narrated a tale to its reluctant and sometimes irritated master; each tale acted out by a cast of talented actors and actresses.


                                                      THE THIRD EYE

Detective drama series featuring veteran actor  Olu Jacobs as Inspector Best Idafa whose over enthusiastic and inquisitive daughter Uze (Yomi Adeyemi Wilson)  provided (most of the time unintentionally) vital clues to solving his cases.  After Olu Jacobs and his character  later departed,   another detective was introduced in the series,  played by Nobert Young.


                                                           RIPPLES

  Created by Zeb Ejiro, this soap mostly revolved round the Dehinde-Phillips family who experience tragedy and family turmoil after the only son Melvin (Patrick Doyle)  is killed  in a car accident but leaves the bulk of his estate to his ex girl friend Onome and their son Elo,  instead of his widow Mimi (Bimbo Odekunle) and their daughter, Doris.
 Richard Mofe- Damijo (credited as Evans Damijo at the time) played a police officer investigating Melvin's death and had a romantic relationship with Mimi for a time, then moved on with an old girlfriend Daphne (Barbara Soky), which didn't work out either.

Other story lines included a turbulent romance and marriage between Melvin's sister Bukky (Yetunde Funmi Idowu, later played by two other actresses) and Nnamdi Udogwu (Sola Fosudo) who have an on and off and on again relationship all through the series. The main villain is Talab Abass (Alex Usifo) who was suspected of being behind Melvin's accident but was never  convicted as they could never really  prove he was responsible. As more characters and an additional family were brought in, the soap somewhat lost it's direction and got boring. But airing the earliest episodes won't hurt.

CHECKMATE: Long before Tinsel, Amaka Igwe's creation reigned, filling the void left by Behind The Clouds' cancellation. The families featured in this soap; the Haastrups  (centering on the 3 siblings Anne, Benny and Richard), the Edems, The Fujis, The Kadris, the Ola- Daniels basically had one thing in common, family disharmony. And let's not forget the Udoka (Bimbo Manuel)  and Ada (Mildred Iweka) story line; how Udoka's family did all they could to break up  their marriage and force a village girl, Nkemji (Uche Osotule) on him as Ada was an 'osu'. This soap which ended on an ambiguous note, had a comedy spin off  years later, The Fuji House of Commotion.

SAMANJA:    (which means sergeant major) was a comedy series starring Hausa actor Usman Baba Pategi as the main character Samaja; a soldier in the Nigerian Army and the comical  antics of his men as they work and fight in the barracks and headquarters.

NEW MASQUERADE: Comedy series revolving around two main households, and their neighbours; one headed by Chief (Dr.) Zebrudaya " alias 4.30" (Chika Opalla) and consisting of his wife Ovularia (Liz Iboeme) and their bumbling houseboys- Clarus (Davis Ofor) and Giringory (late James Iroha, who was the series creator). The other household was  headed by 'Prince' Jegede Sokoya (late Claude Eke) who nearly always quarrelled with his wife Akpenor (late Christie Essien Igbokwe), later in the series he got an even more temperamental wife, Ramota. Other memorable characters is the free loading, presumptuous Nati, played by  Romanus Amuta , the conniving but likable Zaki (Tony Akposheri) and equally bumbling Cyracus (Christopher Ekweonye).



Seriously, these shows have to come back!

Never step into THE PET SEMATARY!

In the spirit of Halloween; I choose to go over one of Stephen King's earlier works; Pet Sematary- a book, according to trivia I gleaned, he almost didn't hand over to be published because the story scared a lot of people... including himself.
And no wonder. The first edition cover is enough to terrify anyone but the story itself... how many would want to read it again? It's not just the story itself, but more about the question derived from reading it and that is... is death really better?

The plot: The Creed family moves to Ludlow, Maine (Maine the setting of most of King's works). The family consists of the father Louis, his wife Rachel (who has a morbid fear of death due to witnessing her sister's agonising death from spinal meningitis), their little daughter Ellie and their baby boy, Gage. They immediately befriended their neighbor across the road, Judd Crandall who takes them on a tour to the nearby Pet Cemetery; to Rachel's dismay, which affects her for a time and is constantly afraid her daughter would keep asking questions about death as she had a cherished pet cat, called Church. And Ellie did ask... "Daddy, why don't pets live as long as people?"

There is an aura of doom via two warnings; Judd told Louis to mind the road that runs across their house as it is constantly used by huge trucks and a warning from the ghost of a recently deceased patient he was unable to save; Victor Pascow. Pascow takes him to on a late night visit to the Pet Sematary and ominously says... 

"The door must not be opened. Don't go beyond, no matter how you you feel you need to, Doctor. The barrier was not made to be broken. Remember this: there is more power here that you know. It is old and always restless. Remember."

What barrier? What power? the reader wonders.  Louis of course was inclined to think the nightly visit was a dream, until he woke up in the morning and found his feet and the bed sheets dirty. If I were in his shoes, I would've thought it was a bad case of sleepwalking and dreaming at the same time! But he ignored it, thinking it was all a bad dream.

Then came Ellie's worst fear, while she and Gage and their mother are away, Church is run over by a truck on the road. Judd then does something that one would say was a mistake but actually, as he explained to Louis later; an action to be learned from. He took Church to the Pet Sematary but instead of the usual burying place where long dead pets were buried, took him to a further portion of the place- which is an ancient burying ground used by the Mimac Indians a long time ago. This portion has the power to bring the dead back to life. 

And sure enough, Church returned to the house as though nothing happened to him. But Louis immediately noticed something was not quite right with the cat. He's not animated at all, instead zombie-like and he smelt of sour earth, of death; plus he wouldn't eat the mice and birds he kept killing. Ellie no longer cherishes her pet on her return and urged her father to keep it away from her. While Judd did this favor to keep Ellie from grieving, he also tried to show her through her father's eyes that... sometimes death was better. 

And a huge tragedy hit the Creed family some time later, 2 year old Gage is hit by a truck on the road Judd warned them about, but of course the poor child was too young to know or care about the dangers of playing on the road. Judd sensed his bereaved friend was going to put the gruesome action to the test and warned him not to; just like Church and just like the last human who was buried there several years ago (and turned out to be an abomination), Gage WILL NOT be the same. It  was best to let the dead rest in peace, he was trying to tell him.

But intense grief could make anyone do anything. Even with what he was told by Judd and by Pascow long before Gage's death, Louis took  his dead child to the cursed ancient burial ground in the Pet Sematary.... with terrible consequences; just like he was warned about. He refused to accept that sometimes, no matter how sad and agonising,  the dead were better off dead... and by his action, his family and his life was no longer the same. For first time readers, I will not add spoilers except that Louis ended up burying two corpses that terrible night.

Like most of Stephen King's works; this was adapted to a movie in 1989 and got good reviews mostly because the screenplay was written by King himself and  King did a cameo as a priest officiating a funeral.



According to Publisher's Weekly, Pet Sematary is "The most frightening book Stephen King as ever written!'" Since the main theme of this novel is death and resurrection; and combined with the supernatural elements, no wonder he almost threw it away. But he lived up to his reputation as the master of horror with PET SEMATARY  and both the book and movie is an ideal thing to view on Halloween... that is if you're into scary stories!








HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!  

Quote from book: 

He suddenly thought of Ellie telling him, He called "Lazarus, come forth"... because if He hadn't called for Lazarus by name, everybody in that graveyard would have risen.