Jerusalem's Lot, Maine (often shortened to 'Salem's Lot or just the Lot) is a fictional town and a part of writer

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 ...

's fictional Maine topography. 'Salem's Lot has served as the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories. It first appeared in King's 1975 novel ''

'Salem's Lot ''Salem's Lot'' is a 1975 horror fiction, horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot (Stephen King), Jerusalem's Lot (o ...

'', and has reappeared as late as his 2019 novel '' The Institute'' (see list below). The town is described as being located in Cumberland County, between (or including parts of) the towns of Falmouth, Windham, and

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, near the southern part of the state about 10 miles north of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. A map on King's official website, though, places 'Salem's Lot considerably further north, approximately in Northwest Piscataquis. King, a native of Durham, Maine, created a trinity of fictional Maine towns – Jerusalem's Lot,

Castle Rock Castle Rock may refer to: Geography Islands * Castle Rock (Alaskan Island), an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Alaska * Castle Rock, Hong Kong (螺洲白排), an island of Hong Kong, part of the Po Toi Islands * Castle Rock (Massachusett ...

and

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

– as central settings in more than one work.

Origin and inspiration

In '' Danse Macabre'', King's non-fiction, semi-autobiographical review of horror in all media forms, King confesses that 'Salem's Lot was largely derived from the town of Durham, Maine; specifically the area in which he resided as a youth known locally as "Methodist Corners." The Marsten House of Salem's Lot was based upon a vacant house of the same name in Methodist Corners; he and his friends had explored the real Marsten House as children.http://www.librosgratisweb.com/pdf/king-stephen/danse-macabre.pdf Pg. 159 Besides the oft-used trinity of Jerusalem's Lot, Castle Rock, and Derry, King has created other fictional Maine towns, including Chamberlain in ''

Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...

'', Ludlow in '' Pet Sematary'' and '' The Dark Half'' (unrelated to the real Maine town of Ludlow), Haven in '' The Tommyknockers'', Little Tall Island in ''

Dolores Claiborne ''Dolores Claiborne'' () is a 1992 psychological thriller novel by Stephen King. The novel is narrated by the title character. Atypically for a King novel, it has no chapters, double-spacing between paragraphs, or other section breaks; thus, t ...

'', ''

Storm of the Century ''Storm of the Century'', alternatively known as ''Stephen King's Storm of the Century'', is a 1999 American horror television miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley. Unlike many other television adaptations of King' ...

'' and "Morning Deliveries" (the last of which appeared in the book of short stories called '' Skeleton Crew''), and Chester's Mill in '' Under the Dome''.

Fictional history and myth

The town that would become Jerusalem's Lot was founded in 1710 by a preacher named James Boon, the leader of a cult of

schismatic Schismatic may refer to: * Schismatic (religion), a member of a religious schism, or, as an adjective, of or pertaining to a schism * a term related to the Covenanters, a Scottish Presbyterian movement in the 17th century * pertaining to the schi ...

Puritans. The cult became notorious in the region for its open embrace of witchcraft and for its amoral sexual practices, including inbreeding.Stephen King, ''Night Shift'', "Jerusalem's Lot" Jerusalem's Lot became an incorporated town in 1765, but was abandoned in 1789 after Boon and his followers mysteriously vanished. The mass disappearance occurred not long after Philip Boone, a wealthy individual and unknowing descendant of James Boon, obtained an occultic book known as '' De Vermis Mysteriis''; Philip Boone disappeared along with the rest of the village. When Jerusalem's Lot was incorporated in 1765, Maine was still part of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

. The town got its name from a myth about one of the earliest residents, Charles Belknap Tanner, who raised pigs; one of these pigs was named Jerusalem. One day, Jerusalem escaped from her confines into a nearby forest, and became aggressive and wild. Tanner began warning young children who trespassed on his property to "Keep 'ee out o' Jerusalem's wood lot," lest the pig devour them. Eventually, the phrase "Jerusalem's Lot" was adopted as the town name.Stephen King, ''Salem's Lot'', part 1 chapter 2. At an unknown date sometime after Boone and McCann's exploration, people began inhabiting the town again. The town had a representative named Elias Jointner in the House of Representatives by 1896. As chronicled in the novel ''

'', Jerusalem's Lot has been identified as a residence for great and mysterious evil, particularly vampires.

Literary works set in Jerusalem's Lot

Works that reference Jerusalem's Lot

Television

Jerusalem's Lot appears in episode eight of the King-produced 2018

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

web television series ''

''. Henry Deaver's son Wendell takes a bus to Jerusalem's Lot after being sent away from Castle Rock by his father. A traffic sign in the episode indicated that the town was located 24 miles from Castle Rock. The town is the central setting of the second season of the series. The 2021 Epix television series '' Chapelwaite'', starring Adrien Brody and Emily Hampshire, is based on the short story "Jerusalem's Lot" and novel ''

''.

References

{{'Salem's Lot 'Salem's Lot Cthulhu Mythos locations Fictional populated places in Maine Fictional populated places created by Stephen King Castle Rock (franchise) Fictional elements introduced in 1975