''Salem's Lot'' is a 1975 American
horror novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
by author
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of
Jerusalem's Lot (or 'Salem's Lot for short) in Maine, where he lived from the age of five through nine, only to discover that the residents are becoming
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
s.
The town is revisited in the short stories "
Jerusalem's Lot" and "
One for the Road", both from King's story collection ''
Night Shift
The shift plan, rota or roster (esp. British) is the central component of a schedule (workplace), shift schedule in shift work. The schedule includes considerations of shift overlap, shift change times and alignment with the clock, vacation, train ...
'' (1978). The novel was nominated for the
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
in 1976
and the
Locus Award
The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet.
Originally a poll ...
for the All-Time Best Fantasy Novel in 1987.
In two separate interviews in the 1980s, King said that, of all his books, ''Salem's Lot'' was his favorite. In his June 1983 ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' interview, the interviewer mentioned that because it was his favorite, King was planning a sequel, but King has said on his website that because ''
The Dark Tower'' series already continued the narrative in ''
Wolves of the Calla'' and ''
Song of Susannah'', he felt there was no longer a need for a sequel. In 1987, he told Phil Konstantin in ''The Highway Patrolman'' magazine: "In a way it is my favorite story, mostly because of what it says about small towns. They are kind of a dying organism right now. The story seems sort of down home to me. I have a special cold spot in my heart for it!"
''Salem's Lot'' has been adapted into a
1979 two-part miniseries directed by
Tobe Hooper
Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of al ...
and a
2004 television miniseries directed by
Mikael Salomon. A
feature film adaptation, written and directed by
Gary Dauberman
Gary Dauberman is an American screenwriter and director. He is best known for writing The Conjuring Universe horror films ''Annabelle (film), Annabelle'' (2014), ''Annabelle: Creation'' (2017), ''The Nun (2018 film), The Nun'' (2018), and ''Annab ...
and starring
Makenzie Leigh,
Lewis Pullman, and
Spencer Treat Clark, was released on
Max
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE)
* Max (gorilla) ...
in October 3, 2024.
Plot
Ben Mears, a writer, has returned to
Jerusalem's Lot,
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
, after 25 years to try to write his next novel. He quickly becomes friends with high school teacher Matt Burke and starts a romantic relationship with Susan Norton, a young college graduate with ambitions of leaving town. Ben returned to "the Lot" to write a book about the long-abandoned Marsten House, where he had a bad childhood experience when he saw a hanging ghost. He learns that the house—the former home of
Depression-era
hitman
Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
Hubert "Hubie" Marsten—has been purchased by
Kurt Barlow, ostensibly an Austrian immigrant who has arrived in the Lot to open an antique furniture store. Barlow is supposedly on an extended buying trip; only his business partner,
Richard Straker, is publicly seen. The truth, however, is that Barlow is an ancient
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
, and Straker is his human
familiar.
The duo's arrival coincides with the disappearance of a young boy, Ralphie Glick, and the death of his 12-year-old brother, Danny, who becomes the town's first vampire turned by Barlow. Barlow also turns town dump custodian Dud Rogers and telephone repairman Corey Bryant. Danny turns other locals into vampires, including the graveyard digger, Mike Ryerson, a newborn baby, Randy McDougall, a man named Jack Griffen, and Danny's mother, Marjorie. Danny fails to turn his classmate Mark Petrie, who resists him by holding a plastic cross in Danny's face. To fight the spread of the new vampires, Ben and Susan are joined by Matt Burke and his doctor, Jimmy Cody, along with Mark and the local priest,
Father Callahan. Susan is captured by Barlow, who turns her. She is eventually staked through the heart by Ben.
When Father Callahan and Mark go to Mark's house to explain the danger that his family is in, the power is suddenly cut off, and Barlow appears. After killing Mark's parents, Barlow takes the boy hostage. Callahan pulls out his cross to drive him off until Barlow challenges him to throw the cross away. Callahan, not having faith enough to do so, is soon overwhelmed by Barlow, who forces Callahan to drink his blood, making him "unclean." When Callahan tries to re-enter his church, he receives an electric shock, preventing him from going inside. Defeated, Callahan leaves Jerusalem's Lot.
Matt suffers a fatal heart attack, while Jimmy is killed when he falls from a rigged staircase and is impaled by knives set up by the vampires. Ben and Mark destroy Barlow, but they are lucky enough to escape with their lives and are forced to leave the town to the now-leaderless vampires. Ben returns the following day to retrieve and bury the bodies of Mark's parents and Jimmy Cody in a clearing behind the Petrie residence. The novel's
prologue
A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...
, set shortly after the end of the story proper, describes Ben and Mark's flight across the country to a seaside town in Mexico, where they attempt to recover from their ordeal. Mark is received into the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
by a friendly local priest and confesses for the first time what they have experienced. An
epilogue
An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the ...
reveals the two return to the town one year later, intending to renew the battle. Knowing that there are too many hiding places for the vampires, Ben starts a brush fire in the nearby woods with the intent of destroying the town.
Background
While teaching a course on fantasy and science fiction for students at
Hampden Academy, King was inspired by ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
'', one of the books covered in the class. "One night over supper I wondered aloud what would happen if Dracula came back in the twentieth century, to America. 'He'd probably be run over by a
yellow cab on
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...
and killed,' my wife said. (In the introduction to the 2004 audiobook recording that Stephen King read himself, he says it was he who said, "Probably he'd land in New York and be killed by a taxi cab, like
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel that was published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel ''Gone With the Wind (novel), Gone ...
in Atlanta" and that it was his wife who suggested a rural setting for the book.) That closed the discussion, but in the following days, my mind kept returning to the idea. It occurred to me that my wife was probably right – if the legendary Count came to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, that is. But if he were to show up in a sleepy little country town, what then? I decided I wanted to find out, so I wrote ''Salem's Lot'', which was originally titled ''Second Coming''." Though King initially planned to title the novel ''Second Coming'', he changed it to ''Jerusalem's Lot'' on the advice of his wife, novelist
Tabitha King
Tabitha "Tabby" Jane King ( Spruce, born March 24, 1949) is an American author.
Early life
Born in Old Town, Maine, Tabitha King is the third eldest daughter of Sarah Jane Spruce (née White; December 7, 1923 – April 14, 2007) and Raymond ...
, who thought the original title sounded too much like a "bad sex story." King's publishers then shortened it to the current title, thinking the author's choice sounded too religious. King's paperback publisher bought the book for $550,000.
King expands on this thought of the 20th-century vampire in his essay for ''Adeline Magazine'', "On Becoming a Brand Name" (February 1980): "I began to turn the idea over in my mind, and it began to coalesce into a possible novel. I thought it would make a good one, if I could create a fictional town with enough prosaic reality about it to offset the comic-book menace of a bunch of vampires." Yet the inspirations for ''Salem's Lot'' go back even further. In ''
Danse Macabre
The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death.
The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represen ...
'', a non-fiction overview of the modern horror genre, King recalls a dream he had when he was eight years old. In the dream, he saw the body of a hanged man dangling from the arm of a scaffold on a hill. "The corpse bore a sign: ROBERT BURNS. But when the wind caused the corpse to turn in the air, I saw that it was my face – rotted and picked by birds, but obviously mine. And then the corpse opened its eyes and looked at me. I woke up screaming, sure that a dead face would be leaning over me in the dark. Sixteen years later, I was able to use the dream as one of the central images in my novel ''Salem's Lot''. I just changed the name of the corpse to Hubie Marsten."
King first wrote of Jerusalem's Lot in the short story "
Jerusalem's Lot", penned in college, but not published until years later in the short story collection ''
Night Shift
The shift plan, rota or roster (esp. British) is the central component of a schedule (workplace), shift schedule in shift work. The schedule includes considerations of shift overlap, shift change times and alignment with the clock, vacation, train ...
''. In a 1969 installment of "The Garbage Truck", a column King wrote for the
University of Maine at Orono's campus newspaper, King foreshadowed the coming of ''Salem's Lot'' by writing: "In the early 1800s a whole sect of
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...
, a rather strange, religious persuasion at best, disappeared from their village (Jeremiah's Lot) in
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
. The town remains uninhabited to this day."
["The Stephen King Companion" Beahm, George Andrews McMeel press 1989, p. 267]
Politics during the time influenced King's writing of the story. The corruption in the government was a significant factor in the inspiration of the story. Of this he recalls,
Illustrated edition
In 2005,
Centipede Press
Centipede Press is an American independent book and periodical publisher focusing on horror, weird tales, crime narratives, science fiction, gothic novels, fantasy art, and studies of literature, music and film. Its earliest imprints were Cocytus ...
released a deluxe limited edition of ''Salem's Lot'' with black and white photographs by
Jerry Uelsmann and the two short stories "
Jerusalem's Lot" and "
One for the Road", as well as over 50 pages of deleted material. The book was limited to 315 copies, each signed by Stephen King and Jerry Uelsmann. The book was printed on 100# Mohawk Superfine paper, measured , was over thick, and weighed more than . The book included a ribbon marker, head and tail bands, three-piece cloth construction, and a slipcase. An unsigned hardcover edition limited to 600 copies was later released. Both the signed and unsigned editions sold out. In an interview with the printed trade journal ''Fine Books & Collections'', King said of the illustrated folio version of his ''Salem's Lot'', "I think it's beautiful!"
A trade edition was later released.
Reception
In the short story anthology ''A Century of Great Suspense Stories'', editor
Jeffery Deaver
Jeffery Deaver (born May 6, 1950) is an American mystery and crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He lat ...
noted that King
Peter Straub recalls that "One day I wandered into a very good book store and saw ''Salem’s Lot'' on the main table. If I had known that the book was about vampires, I might not have bought it. But I did buy it, and when I learned that one of the main characters was a vampire, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought, 'Oh my God, this guy is working with a very tired, almost exhausted, trope and he’s making something really vibrant out of it.' So I became a huge Stephen King fan on the spot."
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...
recalls that "My first encounter with Stephen King, long before I met him in the flesh, was on East Croydon station in about 1975. I was fourteen. I picked up a book with an all-black cover. It was called ''Salem's Lot''... I stayed up late finishing ''Salem's Lot'', loving the Dickensian portrait of a small American town destroyed by the arrival of a vampire. Not a nice vampire, a proper vampire. ''Dracula'' meets ''Peyton Place''. After that I bought everything King wrote as it came out. Some books were great, and some weren't. It was okay. I trusted him."
Adaptations
Film and television
In 1979, ''Salem's Lot'' was adapted as a three-hour
two-part television miniseries of the same name that aired on
CBS. It stars
David Soul
David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the Americ ...
as Ben Mears, and was nominated for three
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
s and an
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...
. It was filmed on location in
Ferndale, California
Ferndale is a city in Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 1,481 (2021 census), up from 1,371 at the 2010 census. The city contains dozens of well-preserved Victorian storefronts and homes. Ferndale is the northern ...
. A truncated two-hour version was also released in cinemas in some countries. In 1987,
Larry Cohen
Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American filmmaker. He originally emerged as the writer of blaxploitation films such as ''Black Caesar (film), Black Caesar'' and ''Hell Up in Harlem'' (both 1973), before becomin ...
directed the film ''
A Return to Salem's Lot''. Marketed as a sequel to the 1979 miniseries, the film does not include any of the original characters despite using the image of Barlow from the 1979 version on the poster. In 2004,
TNT
Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
premiered a
new television adaptation of ''Salem's Lot'', also a three-hour, two-part miniseries, starring
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...
as Ben Mears. It also received a Primetime Emmy nomination.
In 2018, the eighth episode of the ''
Castle Rock'' TV series (centered around the fictional town created by King) entitled "Past Perfect" was aired, which briefly showed a present-day bus stop in Jerusalem's Lot. A traffic sign indicated that the town was located 24 miles away from Castle Rock. The Marsten House is a primary location in the show's second season.
The 2021
Epix television series ''
Chapelwaite'', starring
Adrien Brody
Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama '' The Pianist'' (2002) becoming the youngest acto ...
and
Emily Hampshire, is loosely based on the short story "
Jerusalem's Lot", a prequel to ''Salem's Lot'' set in the 19th century.
A
theatrical film adaptation of ''Salem's Lot'', from
New Line Cinema
New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...
, was announced in April 2019, with
Gary Dauberman
Gary Dauberman is an American screenwriter and director. He is best known for writing The Conjuring Universe horror films ''Annabelle (film), Annabelle'' (2014), ''Annabelle: Creation'' (2017), ''The Nun (2018 film), The Nun'' (2018), and ''Annab ...
set to write and direct, and
James Wan
James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the horror fiction, horror genre as the co-creator of the ''Saw (franchise), Saw'' and Insidious (film series), ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of ...
attached to produce. Filming began in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
in September 2021.
Lewis Pullman stars as Ben Mears, while
Spencer Treat Clark and
Makenzie Leigh will co-star as Mike Ryerson and Susan Norton respectively. The film was originally scheduled to be released in cinemas on September 9, 2022, but was pushed back to April 21, 2023, before being pulled from
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
release schedule indefinitely.
The film premiered directly on
Max
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE)
* Max (gorilla) ...
on October 3, 2024.
Radio
The novel was adapted in the UK as a
radio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...
on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
in 1994.
See also
*
1975 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1975.
Events
*January 1 – English-born comic writer P. G. Wodehouse is awarded a knighthood, six weeks before he dies in the United States.
*January – Colin De ...
*
''Ghost Story'' (Straub novel)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salems Lot
1975 American novels
1970s horror novels
American horror novels
American vampire novels
Third-person narrative novels
Novels set in Maine
Fiction set in 1975
Fiction set in 1976
Novels set in the 1970s
American novels adapted into films
Horror novels adapted into films
American novels adapted into television shows
American novels adapted for radio
Novels by Stephen King
Doubleday (publisher) books