Horror master Stephen King wrote Salem’s Lot, a story about vampires in a small southern Maine town, in 1975. The book was King’s second and still remains one of his most popular. Although dozens of vampire tales have been created since, his still frightens audiences above others.
In 2005 Salem’s Lot was released in a special illustrated edition featuring black and white photographs coinciding with the story. It also includes scenes that were deleted from the original version.
According to King, the idea for Salem’s Lot came from his wife who commented about how interesting it would be if Dracula ran loose in Maine. King – a big fan of Bram Stoker’s Dracula since he read it as a young boy – sought to recreate the vampire story for a contemporary audience.
Originally titled Second Coming, the book was changed to Jerusalem’s Lot (the name of the town in the novel) and later changed to Salem’s Lot to avoid any associations with religion.
The book was so popular that it was eventually turned into a miniseries in 1979 and remade in 2004 into a film starring Rob Lowe.
A Small Maine Town is Terrorized by Pure Evil in Salem’s Lot
Like many of King’s stories, the main character is a writer. In Salem’s Lot, a writer named Ben Mears returns to his childhood home to write a book centered around a creepy house in town, which he calls the Marsten House.
Mears reconnects with old friends, such as high school teacher Matt Burke and local doctor Jimmy Cody, and even strikes up a romance with young native Susan Norton.
But at the same time that Mears arrives in town, a strange businessman named Straker also arrives to purchase a vacant space for an antique furniture store for him and his partner Barlow.
Yet, soon after Straker & Barlow opens, residents of the town begin to notice strange things happening at night and that some people are disappearing.
Slowly over a couple of days many of the town folk are transformed into dark creatures of the night.
Salem’s Lot Brings Vampires Into A Reader’s Living Room
Unlike other novels or stories about vampires, Salem’s Lot brings a concept as mythical as vampires into real life. King presents a story that could be characterized as “realistic” in how these creatures would furtively prey on humans.
King creates an entire fictional town with over a dozen characters whose stories interweave as the town is transformed into the undead. Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is how no one notices that half of the town has been bitten.
He also delivers a historical account of the town’s experience with evil and vampires – written in journal entries like Stoker’s Dracula – that is creepy, yet captivating.
There are no references to the “romanticized” vampire; instead they are portrayed as sinister and vicious creatures that even turn children into the undead.
Salem’s Lot shows the vampires the way they are supposed to be shown.
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