Beetlejuice’s Full Backstory: His Life, Death & Afterlife Explained

The following contains spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, now playing in theatersBeetlejuice Beetlejuice reveals the origins of Betelgeuse and how he died, fleshing out the lore of the universe and explaining his proudly anti-social personality. Played by Michael Keaton in the original film and inspiring everything from an animated show to a Broadway musical, Betelgeuse was an instantly iconic horror/comedy fusion. The undead exterminator who is committed to helping ghosts kick people out of their homes, Betelgeuse is actually a relatively minor presence in the original film compared to the movie’s focus on the Deetz and Maitlands. This left lots of subtle mysteries about the character, including the character’s origins.

This aspect of the character ends up playing an important role in the plot and ending of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, with the character’s history coming back to haunt him in a very literal sense. Across the course of the film, Betelgeuse delves into his mortal fate and reveals what befell him centuries before the modern day. These revelations also quietly do a lot of work explaining the titular character of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and why he acts the way he does, justifying his heartless approach to the afterlife by revealing how it stems from the brutal conditions of his life and death.

Who Beetlejuice Was When He Was Alive & When He Lived

Betelgeuse’s Origins Takes Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Back To The 14th Century

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reveals more about the origins of Betelgeuse, including his fate on the mortal plane and how he came to the afterlife. After discovering that his ex-wife Delores has reassembled herself and is on the hunt for him, Betelgeuse recounts the specifics of his life and death to his employees at his living exorcism business. It turns out Betelgeuse was alive in the 14th century and seemingly born in Spain, given his shift into Spanish for the story. It turns out Betelgeuse was a survivor of the Black Plague, a disease that ravaged Europe and killed millions of people.

While others struggled to survive or worked to protect others, Betelgeuse was content in his life as a grave robber, digging through the piles of corpses that were used to contain the multitudes of dead people in the countryside. This actually highlights a good reason why Betelgeuse is so antagonistic to others, as his morals were defined in an era where almost half of all people died from the disease. Death was commonplace, and he likely lacked connections. Surviving in that age required Betelgeuse to be heartless, with no respect for the dead or anyone else he crossed paths with.

Beetlejuice’s Marriage To Delores Explained

Delores & Betelgeuse Fell In Love Amid The Black Plague

Beetlejuice implied that Betelgeuse had been married at some point in his life, with the undead figure even pulling out the ring (and finger) of a former wife while trying to marry a teenage Lydia. This backstory tease ends up inspiring a major element of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, as Betelgeuse’s ex-wife Delores is a major threat to him throughout the film. In the extended flashback to Betelgeuse ‘s origins, it’s revealed Betelgeuse’s grave robbing actually ended up introducing him to Delores, who was stalking the fields of the dead in the same era when she came across the grimy grave robber.

Delores and Betelgeuse initially seemed drawn to each other through animal magnetism, an attraction Betelgeuse fully embraced. Seemingly wealthier than her new husband, Delores and Betelgeuse went through a seemingly supernatural wedding ceremony where a goat was sacrificed and chickens were killed to celebrate their union. This plays into the reveal that Delores was actually the leader of a cult, who sought to uncover the secrets of immortality. The wedding is a darkly gothic affair, which Betelgeuse embraced. Although Betelgeuse thought the wedding was legitimate, the film reveals Delores actually had a deadly ulterior motive behind wanting to marry Betelgeuse.

How Beetlejuice Died & When It Happened

Betelgeuse’s Wedding Night Was Cut Short

What should have been the beginning of Betelgeuse’s life with Delores ended up actually being the final night of his life, as the character’s flashback reveals his new wife had darker plans for him. As the leader of the cult, Delores married Betelgeuse specifically to sacrifice him in a bid to gain new supernatural power. After spending the night together, Delores tricked Betelgeuse into drinking poison instead of wine. Although his actual death isn’t shown on screen, this confirms how Betelgeuse died. It gives the film new explanations for the often toxic-looking liquids that often seep out from his body.

It also justifies his suit by revealing he was well-dressed when he perished. However, Delores’ over-confidence got the better of her, as the flashback reveals she taunted her husband with the truth. Because the poison was slow acting enough, this gave Betelgeuse the chance to avenge himself by grabbing an ax and butchering Delores. Chopping her into bits, Betelgeuse inadvertently bought himself centuries away from her in the afterlife, as she arrived in pieces and was kept in separate crates for hundreds of years until a stroke of luck freed her, allowing her to reconnect her body and hunt him.

Why Beetlejuice Became A Civil Servant In The Afterlife

One Of The Most Consistent Fates In The Afterlife Involves Working In A Bureaucracy

The afterlife of Beetlejuice is a uniquely bizarre yet strangely grounded place. While some souls are ushered onto the Soul Train to reach the Great Beyond, others are trapped on Earth as ghosts unless they can find a loophole to move on (which Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reveals was the final fate of the Maitlands from the previous film). For everyone else, it appears that the spirits of the deceased are tasked with carrying out jobs in the civil service bureaucracy that runs the afterlife. For Betelgeuse, that meant becoming an “exterminator” who can help haunt living people out of their abodes.

Beetlejuice hinted Betelgeuse took this job too seriously and with dangerous relish, forcing him to open an “independent” business. This makes him uniquely dangerous and with few rules. Betelgeuse is clearly expanding by the time of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, with a staff of shrunken-headed people like Bob. This civil service seems to be the fate of anyone who can’t move on but isn’t trapped on Earth, as other characters (like Lydia’s ex Richard) share similar fates. Betelgeuse’s dismissal of everyone else makes more sense after the revelations of his origins, underscoring why he’d so happily embrace the chaos of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.