The Graveyard

Lore & Background

The graveyard lies adjacent to the Sawyer homestead, a sprawling property that includes a gas station, a farmhouse, and a slaughterhouse. It is not a consecrated cemetery but a dumping ground where the family disposes of bodies after their gruesome rituals. The graves are shallow and unmarked, often disturbed by animals or the elements, reflecting the family's lack of reverence for the deceased. Leatherface, the family's primary executioner, is known to drag bodies here after his killings, adding to the macabre collection of bones and rotting flesh that litters the area.

Reader's Guide

The graveyard is a key location in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre universe, serving as the final destination for the Sawyer family's victims. It is a place of horror and neglect, where the family's lack of humanity is most evident. The graveyard appears in the original 1974 film as a backdrop for the family's depravity, with Sally Hardesty briefly encountering it during her escape. It matters because it reinforces the theme of death as a mundane, unceremonious end in the family's world, contrasting with the sacredness typically associated with burial grounds. For fans, it is a chilling reminder of the family's complete disregard for life and the law, making it a haunting symbol of their reign of terror.

Did You Know?

• The graveyard was not a real cemetery but a set built on location, using fake tombstones and props to create the desolate look.
• In the original film, the graveyard scenes were shot in the heat of a Texas summer, adding to the oppressive atmosphere.
• The crosses in the graveyard are often crooked or broken, symbolizing the family's twisted version of morality and religion.
• Some fans speculate that the graveyard may contain victims from before the events of the first film, as the Sawyers had been active for years.