View source for 'Salem's Lot


{{Other uses|Salem's Lot (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox book <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name          = 'Salem's Lot
| title_orig    =
| translator    =
| image         = 'Salem's Lot (1975) front cover, first edition.jpg
| caption       = First edition cover
| author        = [[Stephen King]]
| cover_artist  = Dave Christensen
| country       = U.S.
| language      = English
| series        =
| genre         = [[Horror fiction|Horror]]
| publisher     = [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]
| published     = October 17, 1975 
| media_type    = [[Printing|Print]] ([[Hardcover]])
| pages         = 439
| isbn          = 978-0-385-00751-1
| preceded_by   =
| followed_by   =
|oclc = 848489|congress = PS3561.I483|dewey = 813.54}}

'''''{{`}}Salem's Lot''''' is a 1975 American [[horror fiction|horror]] [[novel]]  by 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]] (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]]s.

The town is revisited in the short stories "[[Jerusalem's Lot]]" and "[[One for the Road (short story)|One for the Road]]", both from King's story collection ''[[Night Shift (short story collection)|Night Shift]]'' (1978). The novel was nominated for the [[World Fantasy Award—Novel|World Fantasy Award]] in 1976<ref name="WWE-1976">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1976 |title=1976 Award Winners & Nominees |work=Worlds Without End |access-date=2011-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804022800/http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1976 |archive-date=2009-08-04 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Locus Award]] for the All-Time Best Fantasy Novel in 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1272|title=Bibliography: 'Salem's Lot
|work=isfdb Science Fiction|access-date=December 23, 2013}}</ref>

In two interviews in the 1980s, King said that, of all his books, ''{{`}}Salem's Lot'' was his favorite. In his June 1983 ''[[Playboy]]'' interview, the interviewer mentioned that because it was his favorite, King was planning a sequel,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.playboyph.com/2010/11/01/playboy-interview-stephen-king/ |title=Playboy Interview: Stephen King |work=Playboy Philippines |access-date=December 23, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203004555/http://www.playboyph.com/2010/11/01/playboy-interview-stephen-king/ |archive-date=December 3, 2013 }}</ref> but King has said on his website that because ''[[The Dark Tower (series)|The Dark Tower]]'' series already continued the narrative in ''[[The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla|Wolves of the Calla]]'' and ''[[The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah|Song of Susannah]]'', he felt there was no longer a need for a sequel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stephenking.com/faq.html#4.2|title=Frequently Asked Questions|work=StephenKing.com|access-date=December 23, 2013}}</ref> 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!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://americanindian.net/stephenking.html |title=An Interview with Stephen King |author=Phil Konstantin |work=Articles Written by Phil Konstantin |access-date=December 23, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412115244/https://americanindian.net/stephenking.html |archive-date=April 12, 2014 }}</ref>

''{{`}}Salem's Lot'' was adapted into a [[Salem's Lot (1979 miniseries)|1979 two-part miniseries]] directed by [[Tobe Hooper]] and a [[Salem's Lot (2004 miniseries)|2004 television miniseries]] directed by [[Mikael Salomon]]. A [['Salem's Lot (film)|feature film adaptation]], written and directed by [[Gary Dauberman]]  and starring [[Makenzie Leigh]], [[Lewis Pullman]], and [[Spencer Treat Clark]], was released on [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] on October 3, 2024.<ref name="Max2024">{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=2024-03-12 |title=Stephen King's ''Salem's Lot'' Pivots From Theatrical To Max Streaming 2024 Release |url=https://deadline.com/2024/08/stephen-king-salems-lot-max-release-date-2024-1235856136/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref>

==Plot==
Ben Mears, a writer, has returned to [[Jerusalem's Lot (Stephen King)|Jerusalem's Lot]], [[Maine]], 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 [[Great Depression|Depression]]-era [[hitman]] 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, [[Kurt Barlow#Straker|Richard Straker]], is publicly seen. The truth, however, is that Barlow is an ancient [[vampire]], 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]], 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]] by a friendly local priest and confesses for the first time what they have experienced. An [[epilogue]] 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]]'', 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]] 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]] in Atlanta" and that it was his wife who suggested a rural setting for the book.<ref>Introduction to {{" '}}Salem's Lot", Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2004.</ref>) 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&nbsp;– if the legendary Count came to [[New York (state)|New York]], 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''."<ref>[http://www.stephenking.com/pages/works/salems_lot/ StephenKing.com: 'Salems Lot] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815200130/http://www.stephenking.com/pages/Works/salems_lot/ |date=2007-08-15 }}</ref>  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]], 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 (King book)|Danse Macabre]]'', 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 (book)|Night Shift]]''.  In a 1969 installment of "The Garbage Truck", a column King wrote for the [[University of Maine|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]], a rather strange, religious persuasion at best, disappeared from their village (Jeremiah's Lot) in [[Vermont]]. The town remains uninhabited to this day."<ref name="companion">"The Stephen King Companion" Beahm, George Andrews McMeel press 1989, p. 267</ref>

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,
{{blockquote|I wrote ''{{`}}Salem's Lot'' during the period when the [[Sam Ervin|Ervin]] committee was sitting. That was also the period when we first learned of the [[Daniel Ellsberg|Ellsberg]] break-in, the [[Watergate tapes|White House tapes]], the connection between [[Gordon Liddy]] and the [[CIA]], the news of [[enemies list]]s, and other fearful intelligence. During the spring, summer and fall of 1973, it seemed that the Federal Government had been involved in so much subterfuge and so many [[covert operation]]s that, like the bodies of the faceless [[wetback (slur)|wetback]]s that [[Juan Corona]] was convicted of slaughtering in [[California]], the horror would never end&nbsp;... Every novel is to some extent an inadvertent psychological portrait of the novelist, and I think that the unspeakable obscenity in ''{{`}}Salem's Lot'' has to do with my own disillusionment and consequent fear for the future. In a way, it is more closely related to ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 film)|Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]'' than it is to ''[[Dracula]].'' The fear behind '''Salem's Lot'' seems to be that the Government has invaded everybody.<ref>"The Fright Report", ''Oui Magazine'', January 1980, p. 108</ref>}}

==Illustrated edition==
[[Image:Salemslottrade.jpg|thumb|Illustrated edition cover]]

In 2005, [[Centipede Press]] 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 (short story)|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 {{convert|9|x|13|in|cm}}, was over {{convert|4+1/4|in|cm|abbr=on}} thick, and weighed more than {{convert|13|lb|kg}}. 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.<ref>[http://www.centipedepress.com/horror/salemslot.html Official Centipede Press webpage]</ref> 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!"<ref name="Fine Books & Collections">{{cite journal|date=July–August 2006|title=Centipede Press|journal=Fine Books & Collections|pages=20–21|last1=Goodman|first1=Richard}}</ref> A trade edition was later released.

==Reception==
In the short story anthology ''A Century of Great Suspense Stories'', editor [[Jeffery Deaver]] noted that King
{{blockquote|singlehandedly made popular fiction grow up. While there were many good best-selling writers before him, King, more than anybody since [[John D. MacDonald]], brought reality to genre novels. He's often remarked that ''Salem's Lot'' was ''[[Peyton Place (novel)|Peyton Place]]'' meets ''[[Dracula]],'' and so it was. The rich characterization, the careful and caring social eye, the interplay of story line and character development announced that writers could take worn themes such as vampires and make them fresh again.<ref>A Century of Great Suspense Stories, edited by Jeffrey Deaver [Pg. 290]/Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (2001) {{ISBN|0425181928}}</ref>}}[[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."<ref>{{Cite news |title=What is it Like... To Co-write a Bestselling Novel With Stephen King? |work=USM Today |url=https://www.usm.org/about/usm-today/post/~board/2018-19-fall-winter/post/what-is-it-like-to-co-write-a-bestselling-novel-with-stephen-king}}</ref>
[[Neil Gaiman]] 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."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Popular Writers: A Stephen King Interview |work=Neil Gaiman's Journal |url=https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2012/04/popular-writers-stephen-king-interview.html}}</ref>

== Adaptations ==
=== Film and television ===
In 1979, ''{{`}}Salem's Lot'' was adapted as a three-hour [[Salem's Lot (1979 miniseries)|two-part television miniseries of the same name]] that aired on [[CBS]]. It stars [[David Soul]] as Ben Mears, and was nominated for three [[Primetime Emmy Award]]s and an [[Edgar Award]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079844/awards|title = Salem's Lot Awards Page|website = imdb.com}}</ref> It was filmed on location in [[Ferndale, California]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hesseltine|first1=Cassandra|title=Complete Filmography of Humboldt County|url=http://humboldt.filmhumboldtdelnorte.org/filmography|website=Humboldt Del Norte Film Commission|access-date=12 October 2017}}</ref> A truncated two-hour version was also released in cinemas in some countries. In 1987, [[Larry Cohen]] directed the film ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]''.<ref>{{Citation|title = A Return to Salem's Lot|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093855|date = 1987-05-01|access-date = 2015-08-16}}</ref> 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 (U.S. TV network)|TNT]] premiered a [[Salem's Lot (2004 miniseries)|new television adaptation of ''{{`}}Salem's Lot'']], also a three-hour, two-part miniseries, starring [[Rob Lowe]] as Ben Mears. It also received a Primetime Emmy nomination.<ref>{{Citation|title = Salem's Lot|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0355987/awards|date = 2004-06-20|access-date = 2015-08-16}}</ref>

In 2018, the eighth episode of the ''[[Castle Rock (TV series)|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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Squires |first1=John |title=You May Have Missed It, But "Castle Rock" Briefly Took Us Into Salem's Lot This Week |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/tv/3518844/may-missed-castle-rock-briefly-took-us-salems-lot-week/ |access-date=26 August 2019 |publisher=Bloody Disgusting.com}}</ref> The Marsten House is a primary location in the show's second season.

The 2021 [[Epix]] television series ''[[Chapelwaite]]'', starring [[Adrien Brody]] 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 [['Salem's Lot (film)|theatrical film adaptation]] of ''{{`}}Salem's Lot'', from [[New Line Cinema]], was announced in April 2019, with [[Gary Dauberman]] set to write and direct, and [[James Wan]] attached to produce.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/james-wan-gary-dauberman-tackling-stephen-kings-salems-lot-1204201/|title=James Wan, Gary Dauberman Tackling Stephen King's Vampire Tale 'Salem's Lot'|date=April 23, 2019|first=Borys|last=Kit|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827234910/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/james-wan-gary-dauberman-tackling-stephen-kings-salems-lot-1204201/|archive-date=August 27, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=August 27, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/annabelle-comes-home-filmmaker-gary-dauberman-direct-stephen-kings-salems-lot-1289603/|title='Annabelle Comes Home' Filmmaker Gary Dauberman to Direct Stephen King's Vampire Tale 'Salem's Lot' (Exclusive)|date=April 10, 2021|first=Borys|last=Kit|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827234911/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/annabelle-comes-home-filmmaker-gary-dauberman-direct-stephen-kings-salems-lot-1289603/|archive-date=August 27, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=August 27, 2021}}</ref> Filming began in [[Boston]] in September 2021. [[Lewis Pullman]] stars as Ben Mears,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/stephen-king-adaptation-salems-lot-finds-its-lead-in-lewis-pullman-exclusive-1235004127/|title=Stephen King Adaptation 'Salem's Lot' Finds Its Lead in Lewis Pullman (Exclusive)|date=August 27, 2021|first=Borys|last=Kit|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827234913/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/stephen-king-adaptation-salems-lot-finds-its-lead-in-lewis-pullman-exclusive-1235004127/|archive-date=August 27, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=August 27, 2021}}</ref> 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.]] release schedule indefinitely.<ref name="ReleaseDate">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/07/salems-lot-release-date-change-2023-1235061343/|title=Theatrical Release Of Stephen King Pic ''Salem's Lot'' Moves From Post Labor Day To Spring 2023; ''House Party'' Undated On HBO Max|date=July 11, 2022|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=July 11, 2022}}</ref> The film premiered directly on [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] on October 3, 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3830708/new-salems-lot-movie-sinks-its-teeth-into-max-on-october-3-2024/|title=New 'Salem's Lot' Movie Sinks Its Teeth into Max on October 3, 2024|last=Squires|first=John|date=September 10, 2024|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|access-date=September 11, 2024}}</ref>

=== Radio ===
{{Main|Salem's Lot (radio drama){{!}}''Salem's Lot'' (radio drama)}}
The novel was adapted in the UK as a [[Salem's Lot (radio drama)|radio drama]] on [[BBC Radio 4]] in 1994.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Encyclopedia of the Vampire|last = Joshi|first = S. T.|year = 2010|pages = 271}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[1975 in literature]]
* [[Ghost Story (Straub novel)|''Ghost Story'' (Straub novel)]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==

*{{ISFDB title|id=1272}}

{{Stephen King}}
{{DarkTower}}
{{'Salem's Lot}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salems Lot}}
[[Category:'Salem's Lot| ]]
[[Category:1975 American novels]]
[[Category:1970s horror novels]]
[[Category:American horror novels]]
[[Category:American novels about vampires]]
[[Category:Third-person narrative novels]]
[[Category:Novels set in Maine]]
[[Category:Novels set in 1975]]
[[Category:Novels set in 1976]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Horror novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:American novels adapted for radio]]
[[Category:Novels by Stephen King]]
[[Category:English-language novels]]
[[Category:Doubleday (publisher) books]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title='Salem's Lot|access_date=2026-02-23}}