Louis Creed, a doctor from Chicago, moves to a rural town in Maine with his wife Rachel, their two young children, Ellie and Gage, and their cat, Church. They move into a house that is near a busy road with frequent, fast-moving trucks. Their neighbor, Jud Crandall, befriends the family and warns them about the dangers of the road. He also shows them a pet cemetery in the woods behind their home, where local children have long buried their pets. The cemetery has a history and an air of mystery, with a foreboding presence that seems to hang over it.

Tragedy strikes when Church is killed on the road. To spare Ellie the pain of losing her beloved pet, Jud takes Louis beyond the pet cemetery to an ancient Micmac burial ground with rumored supernatural powers. He convinces Louis to bury Church there, hinting at the possibility of the cat returning to life. The cat does indeed come back, but it is changed, its behavior now vicious and strange. The resurrection sets off a chain of events that unravels the serenity of Louis's life, as he finds himself drawn into the dark power of the burial ground and the ancient, sinister forces that lurk beyond the pet cemetery.