"Jerusalem's Lot" is a short story by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

, first published in King's 1978 collection '' Night Shift''. The story was also printed in the illustrated 2005 edition of King's 1975 novel '' 'Salem's Lot''.

Setting and style

"Jerusalem's Lot" is an

epistolary Epistolary means "in the form of a letter or letters", and may refer to: * Epistolary ( la, epistolarium), a Christian liturgical book containing set readings for church services from the New Testament Epistles * Epistolary novel * Epistolary poem ...

short story set in the fictional town of Preacher's Corners,

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, in 1850. It is told through a series of letters and diary entries, mainly those of its main character, aristocrat Charles Boone, although his manservant, Calvin McCann, also occasionally assumes the role of narrator.

Plot

Charles Boone, in letters addressed to "Bones", describes the arrival of himself and his

manservant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

, Calvin McCann, at Chapelwaite, the neglected ancestral home of Charles's estranged late cousin Stephen. Calvin learns that many people in the nearby

town of Preacher's Corners think Charles and Calvin are mad for living in the mansion. The house is said to be "a bad house" with a history of sad events, disappearances, and mysterious noises which Charles attributes to " rats in the walls". Calvin finds a hidden compartment in the library containing an old map of a deserted village called

Jerusalem's Lot "Jerusalem's Lot" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in King's 1978 collection '' Night Shift''. The story was also printed in the illustrated 2005 edition of King's 1975 novel Salem's Lot''. Setting and style "Jerusalem's Lo ...

, a mysterious area the townsfolk avoid. Their curiosity piqued, Charles and Calvin set out to explore the village. The two men find a decayed

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

settlement. Nothing has set foot in the town since its abandonment, including animals. As the two explore a church, they discover an obscene parody of the

Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

and an

inverted cross The Cross of Saint Peter or Petrine Cross is an inverted Latin cross traditionally used as a Christian symbol, but in recent times also used as an anti-Christian and Satanic symbol. In Christianity, it is associated with the martyrdom of Pete ...

. At the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

, they find a book filled with

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

runes Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...

entitled ''

De Vermis Mysteriis ''De Vermis Mysteriis'', or ''Mysteries of the Worm'', is a fictional grimoire created by Robert Bloch and incorporated by H. P. Lovecraft into the lore of the Cthulhu Mythos. Creation Ludvig Prinn's ''Mysteries of the Worm'' first appeared in ...

'', or "The Mysteries of the Worm". When Charles touches the book, the church shakes and the two feel something gigantic moving in the ground beneath them. The evil of the place overcomes both men, and they flee the village. The Preacher's Corners' inhabitants begin fearing Charles. They chase him from one house with rocks and guns. Charles asks Mrs. Cloris, Chapelwaite's former maid, for information about Jerusalem's Lot. She reveals a rift in Charles' family caused by his grandfather, Robert Boone, trying to steal ''De Vermis Mysteriis'' from his brother, Philip (presumably to destroy it). Philip was a minister involved in the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

who, on October 31, 1789, vanished along with the population of Jerusalem's Lot. Charles dismisses it as superstition but cannot forget what he saw in the church. Calvin discovers a diary in the library, encrypted with a rail fence cipher. Before he can decipher it, Charles takes him into the cellar to check for rats. Hidden behind the walls they find the

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...

corpses of two of his relatives, Marcella and Randolph Boone. Charles recognizes them as "

nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...

". The two flee the cellar, and Calvin seals the trapdoor to prevent pursuit. As Charles recovers from the encounter, Calvin cracks the cipher. The diary, written by Robert Boone, details the history of Jerusalem's Lot and the events leading to the mass disappearance. The village was founded by one of Charles' distant ancestors, James Boon, who was the leader of an

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

. Philip and Robert took up residence in Chapelwaite, Philip was taken in by Boon's cult, and acquired ''De Vermis Mysteriis'' at Boon's behest. Philip and Boon used the book to call forth a supernatural entity referred to as "The Worm". In his final entry, Robert curses the

whip-poor-will The eastern whip-poor-will (''Antrostomus vociferus'') is a medium-sized (22–27 cm; 8.7-10.6 ins.) bird within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, from North America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, but less of ...

birds that have descended upon Chapelwaite. Charles feels compelled to return to Jerusalem's Lot. Calvin tries to prevent it but finally relents, accompanying his master. They discover a butchered lamb on the church altar, lying on top of ''De Vermis Mysteriis''. Charles moves the lamb and takes the book to destroy it, but a congregation of undead appears, including Philip and Boon. Charles becomes possessed and begins chanting, summoning forth the Worm. Calvin knocks down Charles, freeing him from possession. Charles sets fire to the book. The Worm lashes out from below, killing Calvin before disappearing. Before Charles can recover Calvin's body, Boon forces Charles to flee. In his final letter to "Bones", Charles announces his intention to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, ending the Boone family line. An "editor's note" attributes Charles's letters and the death of Calvin to insanity rather than supernatural occurrences in Jerusalem's Lot. The editor notes that Charles was not the last of his line: a

bastard Bastard may refer to: Parentage * Illegitimate child, a child born to unmarried parents ** Bastard (law of England and Wales), illegitimacy in English law People People with the name * Bastard (surname), including a list of people with that na ...

relative still exists—the editor himself, James Robert Boone, who has moved to Chapelwaite to restore the family name. James notes that Charles was right about one thing: "This place badly needs the services of an exterminator. There are some huge rats in the walls, by the sound." The note is dated October 2, the same date as Charles' first letter.

Adaptations

Comics

Artist

Glenn Chadbourne Glenn Chadbourne is an American artist. He lives in Newcastle, Maine. He is best known for his work in the horror and fantasy genres, having created covers and illustrated books and magazines for publishers such as Cemetery Dance Publications, ...

adapted "Jerusalem's Lot" for ''

The Secretary of Dreams ''The Secretary of Dreams'' is a series of graphic short story collections authored by Stephen King and illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne. Cemetery Dance Publications released the first volume in December 2006. ''Volume 1'' This volume includes s ...

'', a collection of comics based on King's short fiction released by Cemetery Dance in December 2006.

Television

In December 2019,

Epix Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment LLC subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a subsidiary of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. The channel's pr ...

announced it had commissioned a straight-to-series order of 10 episodes for a television adaptation starring

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring as Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's '' The Pianist'' (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Acto ...

as Captain Charles Boone. In March 2020,

Emily Hampshire Emily Hampshire (born 1979) is a Canadian actress. Her best known roles include Angelina in the 1998 romantic comedy '' Boy Meets Girl'', Vivienne in the 2006 film '' Snow Cake'', Jennifer Goines in the Syfy drama series '' 12 Monkeys'' (2015� ...

joined the cast in the role of Rebecca Morgan. The show is titled ''

Chapelwaite ''Chapelwaite'' is an American horror television series based on the short story " Jerusalem's Lot" by American writer Stephen King. It is written by Peter and Jason Filardi, and premiered on Epix on August 22, 2021. The show has been renewed ...

.'' Filming of ''Chapelwaite'' was set to begin in March 2020, but had to be postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On July 5, 2020, filming began in Nova Scotia, and was set to wrap up on December 18, 2020. The show premiered on August 22, 2021.

References