10 Weird Secrets Behind Tim Burton Movies

3. The Netherworld Employees

One of the more subtle jokes in Beetlejuice is that if you end your own life, you will end up as a civil servant in the afterlife. The receptionist in the netherworld, Miss Argentina, references this when she announces how her own life ends saying “If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have had my little accident”, and the joke is maintained throughout the entire film.

If you look closer, every employee in the netherworld has some clear indication of how they met their demise before their ‘chosen time’. For example, Miss Argentina’s wrists, Juno, the Maitlands’ case worker's throat, and the mailman who spends eternity swinging.

This dark joke is a gift that keeps on giving if you pay close enough attention. It’s creepy, it’s meant to be, and soon as you see it you’ll never un-see it.