…now the streets are haunted…


When Salem’s Lot was first released, nobody had an inkling it was about vampires. And that included me. I first picked up the book after my mother recommended it to me in 1975. To say I was shocked when King revealed his revelation is an understatement. Though I had a clue it was about vampires from the way the plot was unraveling, I was still very much surprised.

We are aware from the beginning that something is wrong with Salem’s Lot, but instead of focusing on vampires, King instead spends time describing the town. He dissects the personal lives of those living in what they believe is an idyllic little village. There is child neglect, infidelity, gossiping, school bullies, and mental and physical abuse. King creates isolation not only for the town of Salem’s Lot, but for its citizens, as well.

The power behind all this resonates from the Marsten House, the scene of a brutal murder-suicide. Its deceased owner, Hubert Marsten, killed his wife and then hanged himself. Now the house sits on a hill overlooking Salem’s Lot and reminding it of its poisoned past. When we first meet our main character, author Ben Mears, he’s looking at the house and remembering a time when he was a child and entered its doors. He’s still scarred from those childhood memories as he believes he saw Marsten hanging from the rafters. Here we have another King motif: the past reaching out to disastrously affect the present and future, along with characters determined to stop it. It’s a theme King would revisit in titles such as It, From A Buick 8, and Bag of Bones.

By focusing on the denizens of Salem’s Lot, King is able to keep the true horrors hidden. In fact, it’s well over one hundred pages into the novel before we truly realize it’s about vampires. Utilizing misdirection and sleight of hand, King is able to kill off characters before the townspeople – or the reader – even know what’s happening. Not even the book cover or its blurbs gave anything away, leaving the reader to immerse themselves into the township of Salem’s Lot without the thought of vampires.

It’s a shame that second and third generation readers won’t know the surprise of Salem’s Lot. Since its initial release, there’s been a made-for-TV film (which is very good) and a remake (which isn’t). Even some of the book covers have given away the element of surprise by showing a child vampire. I consider myself very lucky to have discovered this book in 1975 before the revelation was common knowledge.

In the book, King operates with traditional vampire lore. A member of the undead can be stopped by crosses, running water, and even garlic. We see the vampires sleeping in their coffins, only to arise after sunset. Now these methods may seem quaint. After modern vampire storytelling has turned the mythos on its head, King may be viewed as dealing with stereotypes. And unfortunately I can see this turning off younger generations who are more attuned to the likes of Twilight.

However, there are two things I can see that might work against this. One is by setting the vampire action in a modern American town instead of a European backdrop. In this instance, King modernizes the vampire mythology. Second, King manages to do what other vampire stories have failed: he can still terrify. He doesn’t reveal the main crux of his novel until nearly the midway point, and by doing this King instills a feeling of dread; leaving the reader unfocused. Even when the main villain, Barlow, is revealed, he’s kept mainly offstage. He only appears in a few key scenes, leaving the reader with the aftermath of his terror rather than displaying it prominently. Thus, Barlow remains mysterious yet deadly.

Salem’s Lot is King’s second novel, and it shows a vast maturity. Whereas Carrie was mostly about one character, Salem’s Lot is more complex and creates quite an ensemble. While Ben Mears is obviously the main character, there are others who are also as important. There’s the school teacher Matt Burke, the child Mark Petrie, priest Father Callahan, and Ben’s girlfriend, Susan Norton. There are also quite a few secondary characters that are weaved into the plot and tapestry of the town that are very impressive.

There are also a number of other interests that will fascinate King in later works. We have the small town in peril (It, The Tommyknockers, Under The Dome, and Needful Things), the group of outsiders banding together against a common threat (Desperation, Dreamcatcher, Cell), and the writer struggling with inner turmoil (The Dark Half, Misery, Bag of Bones). It also marks the first appearance of a King “haunted house.” The Marsten House is the precursor to the Overlook Hotel in The Shining.

Carrie introduced Stephen King as a fine storyteller, and Salem’s Lot cemented that fact with a strong maturity. It was simply a foreshadowing of everything that would come.

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