HBO has released the trailer for its new paranormal horror TV show ahead of its premiere next month. The upcoming series may recall Stephen King‘s classic horror movie, Pet Sematarybut it centers on a real, decades-old murder in Louisiana.
Titled The Pet Cemetery Murders: The Ghost Storythe HBO three-part documentary series follows the investigation behind Dorothy Lou Thompson’s 1985 murder and the unusual events that surrounded the case.
The TV show is directed by Philip Cairney and produced by award-winning Johanthan Chinn. Oscar winner Simon Chinn also serves as executive producer for Lightbox, the company behind HBO documentaries including The Princess and Tina.
Check out The Pet Cemetery Murders: The Ghost Story trailer below (watch more trailers):
What is happening in The Pet Cemetery Murders trailer?
The trailer introduces Thompson’s murder and the investigation surrounding her death. It also explores the strange ghost accounts that emerged decades after the case went cold. The documentary showcases interviews with law enforcement officers, local journalists, historians, and Dorothy’s neighbors.
The preview opens with a lady saying, “Dorothy was not answering the door when I am knocking,” and later adding, “How do you lose a person?” It then shows investigators explaining that they searched the property but found no signs of a struggle.
Thompson was later found dead, chained in the Mississippi River. A police official says they looked into everything and talked to everyone, but reached a dead end. That changed when one man called them in 2009 with information about the murder at the pet cemetery. He also says, “It’s her [Dorothy] ghost that I saw.”
The 2-minute trailer then showcases real investigation footage with the witness and the unusual events he describes. As Detective John Daron reopens the case, the trailer teases a complex web of family secrets, dead husbands, and mob ties.
The three-part documentary premieres on October 11 on HBO and HBO Max. The remaining two episodes will air on the following Sundays at 9 PM ET/PT.