Dare you walk the path that leads to the Pet Sematary? Stephen King’s most terrifying book is celebrated in this spectacular 40th anniversary edition. Illustrated by award-winning series artist Edward Kinsella.
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‘Other books were scary; Pet Sematary was true horror.’
Guardian
Which of Stephen King’s books is the scariest? It is a question that has been fiercely debated for years, but few could disagree that Pet Sematary is one of the strongest contenders. King himself hid the book away when it was finished, finding it ‘so startling, and so gruesome’ that he was half afraid of it himself. Like Churchill the cat however, Pet Sematary was to get a second chance at life when King’s wife Tabitha convinced him it was too good not to find its way into the hands of readers.
Uniquely terrifying and terrifically entertaining, Pet Sematary disinters the darkest of taboos. What if you could bring someone back from the dead? And what if it cost their soul – or yours? For the 40th anniversary of a horror masterpiece, artist Edward Kinsella has provided 11 illustrations filled with dread and an eerie endpaper design featuring a spiral of epitaphs taken from the Pet Sematary itself. The binding design is blocked with an image of Church the cat looming out of the dark, and in an appropriate final touch, chapter headings are set in ‘Kingthings Trypewriter’, the same font that made an appearance in Folio’s bestselling edition of The Shining.
Winner of the Gold Cube Award from The Art Directors Club of New York. Also winner of the Gold Award from the 3x3 International Illustration Awards 2023.
Production details
Bound in blocked cloth
Set in Miller with Kingthings Trypewriter
480 pages
Black & white illustrated title page and 10 colour illustrations
Printed endpapers
Plain slipcase
10˝ x 6¾˝
Sometimes dead is better
‘The novel that I would have killed to adapt… [is] Pet Sematary.’
Guillermo del Toro
When Louis Creed moves his young family to their new house, it seems like an idyllic place for Ellie and Gage to grow up. Jud, their elderly neighbour, is kindly and wise, and there’s plenty of countryside for Churchill the cat to explore. It’s perfect, save for the busy main road that runs in front of the house…When the inevitable happens and Church meets his end, Jud shares a secret with Louis: beyond the Pet Sematary where children bury their animals there is a stranger, darker burial ground, one that holds power over life and death. Louis believes it is an act of kindness to bring back the beloved family pet, but it ends up being the first step on a path that leads to an unimaginable horror.
A lavish illustrated edition
Like all of King’s novels, Pet Sematary is relentlessly addictive, packed with complex characters and agonising dilemmas. Louis Creed is an ordinary father who, consumed with unimaginable grief, makes a terrible choice. And it is a choice that any of us might make. Edward Kinsella continues his outstanding work on the Folio Stephen King collection, providing illustrations that offer an enthralling glimpse of the human and inhuman horrors at the heart of the book. Complete with a striking binding design and an unsettling set of endpapers, this special anniversary edition of one of the scariest books ever written takes King’s nightmare to new heights.
ABOUT STEPHEN KING
Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine, in 1947. He graduated with a BA in English from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, and taught high-school English in Hampden, Maine, before becoming a full-time writer in 1974, following the publication of his first book, Carrie. He is the author of more than 50 novels, all of them worldwide best-sellers, including Salem’s Lot (1975), Pet Sematary (1983, Folio 2023) and Misery (1987, Folio 2021). He has also written six works of non-fiction and nearly 200 short stories. Many of his books and novellas have been turned into celebrated films, and have earned him Bram Stoker Awards, World Fantasy Awards and British Fantasy Society Awards. In 2003 the National Book Foundation awarded King the Medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters, and in 2015 he received a National Medal of Arts from the United States National Endowment for the Arts for his contribution to literature.
ABOUT EDWARD KINSELLA
Edward Kinsella was born in St Louis, Missouri. He graduated with honours from Ringling School of Art and Design in 2006, and his work has since been commissioned by a variety of prestigious magazines and publishers. He has also shown his fine art and illustration in a number of gallery exhibitions. His accolades include gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, and a Gold Award from Spectrum. Kinsella has previously illustrated the Folio editions of The Shining (2016), East of Eden (2017), Misery (2021) and Pet Sematary (2023).
Reviews Powered By
Average Score for 42 Review(s)
Great book every Collector needs this one, great it was on sal
Review by
Remco
on 22nd February 2025
Took advantage of the yearly sale!
Review by
CODY BOGNER
on 6th February 2025
I love that these the Stephen King books are exactly consistent one to the next. The art work could be better (ie. less generic feeling)
Review by
HappyBuyer
on 6th February 2025
I love it. I was so excited to see it on sale. I’m very happy with this purchase.
Review by
TYESHA TROMBETTA
on 2nd February 2025
A horror story done really well with great illustrations and in a lovely slipcase. High quality book to keep and read.
A taut, gripping thriller, Misery is arguably Stephen King’s greatest novel. Award-winning illustrator Edward Kinsella's deeply haunting artwork and striking binding design make this the ultimate collector's edition.
Cormac McCarthy’s sparse and beautiful writing is perfectly mirrored by Gérard DuBois’s hauntingly understated images for this Folio Society edition of the Western thriller No Country for Old Men.
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