4.5 stars

I feel there has been a lot of debate over Stephen King's last few books about what genre he might be considered anymore. Mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, general fiction, etc. etc. etc. - you just don't hear Stephen King = horror all that much anymore. Well, if you want to get back to the roots, Salem's Lot is pure, raw, old school Stephen King horror at its finest!

I am doing a re-read of most of Stephen King's books chronologically and Salem's Lot was the next after Carrie. I read it originally sometime back in the 90s. I am so glad I did because, honestly, I don't remember any of it!

Salem's Lot is a vampire story influenced by vampire fiction, Stoker's Dracula, as well as vampire horror flicks. The influence of both these mediums is very evident, while at the same time King crafts a new, unique, and terrifying vampire story of his own. If you are a fan of the original, raw, pure evil vampire (not ones that sparkle), you need to make sure and read this book!

Those of you out there who have heard about King, haven't read him before, and are wondering where to start, this would be a great place to do so! I think many would agree that this is up there with King's horror fiction at its best.2018 audio horror ...more621 s4 comments Kat268 79.8k Read

Jahoobies...iykyk1,556 s2 comments Nataliya834 14k

2023 reread:

And so I reread it again — thank you, Fiona, for a wonderful buddy read! — and this time it’s I was transported back to being young and discovering this book for the first time. I loved it again.

This time I was really taken by KingÂ’s ability to paint the setting. His prose is excellent, and the way he brings the small town with all its secrets to life is almost unparalleled. He just has this way with words, zeroing right on to the defining qualities of people and places. Even a very young King understood the darkness of people and small isolated places. Because thereÂ’s not too much of a supernatural push is even required to unleash the inner monsters of people; the inner low level of nastiness in the ordinary folks can only be outweighed by the inner decency of the others.

“The Lot” chapters are what those looking for “a great American novel” need to read.

4.5 stars.

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2022 reread through older eyes:

In my teens and early 20s I inhaled KingÂ’s books. He was THE writer, to the point when I actually disappointed my university literature professor who would have d if I had preferred Dostoyevsky instead. And as I got older, KingÂ’s books mostly held up, and some even gained extra appreciation (ahem, Needful Things, you got better as you got older).

‘Salem’s Lot is a very young King, apparently started when he was 25, and it shows. It’s still good though, and is full of all that I in King’s stories as even back then he was first and foremost a gifted storyteller: the creepy vibe of small towns and their inhabitants, and nastiness that lives inside regular people even before any actual “big” evil comes into their lives. And if there’s a hint of immaturity there — well, duh, the guy wasn’t born 75.

I was still fascinated by his signature meanderings that tell stories within stories, and the gradual ratcheting up of tension thatÂ’s better than any pay-off there can be.

3.5-4 stars on reread which IÂ’m rounding up because, well, whaddya want from Constant Reader of Uncle StevieÂ’s yarns here?

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Review from circa 2014 based on a few feverish reads of this book back in my teens:

There was a time once when vampires were ruthless predators and not the misunderstood brooding and essentially harmless creatures. Ahhhh, good old scary times...



Vampire stories have been around for a long time - after all, people love a good scare, and what is more terrifying than a monster showing up at night and sucking the life essence out of you? But leave it to Stephen King to turn the terror up a notch, add a whole new layer to it. How? Simply - using the winning formula that he continues to employ in the vast majority of his work.

In addition to showing us the monsters of the night, he also brings into the picture the monsters and the darkness that are already with us, that live in the deep dark recesses of everyone's soul. ""The town knew about darkness."
"The town has its secrets, and keeps them well."
"The town cares for devil's work no more than it cares for God's or man's. It knew darkness. And darkness was enough."

The eponymous 'Salem's Lot is a small town in Maine, and it is not a stranger to secrets and darkness. It's quaint and pastoral on the surface, but once you look deeper you are bound to discover what lurks behind its respectable surface. And trust me, that's the discoveries that you can easily go without for the darkness of the human soul as presented by Stephen King beats everything that any monster or boogeyman can ever send your way. The small town of 'Salem's Lot can boast your usual lies, bullying, corruption, and prejudice - and spices it up with well-hidden child abuse, violence, and murders. Not so quaint, is it?

It is this portrayal of everyday people's secrets, of the towns being almost living breathing organisms that is one of the big reasons why I am a huge fan of Stephen King's works.



From the very first pages of the novel we know that some terrible fate made 'Salem's Lot a ghost town with apparently only a couple of survivors. It doesn't take the reader long to realize, as we go back in time to see how the events unfolded, that the mysterious menacing Marsten House welcomed new evil that tends to lurk at night, floating past your (hopefully, tightly shut) windows.

The story itself is rather straightforward, steadily moving along to its almost-conclusion that we have glimpsed in the first few pages, and we watch with bated breath as our bunch of good guys - Ben, Mark, Susan, Matt - are trying to take on the supernatural horror. Oh, and did I forget Father Callahan? A high-five from the Dark Tower universe, Father!

King is excellent with the plotting and the pacing (since this was only his second novel, he was still a stranger to writing larger-than-life brick-sized tomes). The story never lags, the suspense and sense of foreboding are rampant, and there are quite a few truly nailbiting situations. Nothing distracts the reader from the vampire story unfolding on the background of small-town horrors. There are no heavy-handed lessons to be learned, no deep morals to take out of the story - all we get is a thrilling and quite scary ride that may make you (a) sleep with a light on, and (b) be very careful about who you invite into your home.

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Also posted on my blog.2022-reads stephen-king547 s2 comments BradleyAuthor 4 books4,326

Well this is annoying times two. I just wrote a review and lost it, and then there's the *other* issue.

What other issue?

Oh, the one where my 14 year old self of infinite wisdom and experience remembered a boring tale lacking truly epic blood and guts from what should be a vampire tale in a small town. If that 14 year old could have had his way, then 80% of the novel would have been excised for being too-character driven, too-focused on hundreds of characters only set up to be knocked down in gruesome death (or undeath), and too detail-driven and poorly-paced for a thriller.

Damn, I was a dipshit. I'm not saying that I'm no longer a dipshit, mind you, just that I think that kid was a real idiot. I mean, I'd only been reading anything at all for less than a year and 8 months of that was focused on learning *how* to read. Of course I was going to be influenced more by the all the slasher movies rather than novel construction. I even watched the crapfest that I considered the made for tv movie based on this book, and I think I might have been a *little* too harsh on it, too.

So flash-forward to now, when I jump up the rating from a scathing 3 stars to a full-blown 5, an adult reading an adult novel of suspense, emotionally invested characters, subtle humor, more high-brow words than I remember Stephen King usually using in his novels, and beautifully crafted passages of hometown life falling into what might as well have been a modern retelling of a medieval town falling under the spell of the Black Plague, with all the horror and sadness and superstition that entails.

This novel was gripping and intense to my adult sensibilities. Do I feel a fool for my old memories? Yes. Am I embarrassed? Yes. Am I absolutely impressed and amazed that the very first "trash" novelist I got into as a kid actually turned out to be a consummate master of the writing craft? Yes.

All the things I hated as a kid happen to be the things I love the most, here. The characters were absolutely gorgeous. I fell into them, and later, I fell into love with the whole town. The fact that it had a cancer that was eating away at it from the inside, slowly, was only a tension-driver. This may be a vampire novel, but it is really a tragedy, through and through. We expect to love and lose our loved ones, and this is the true horror. Not just the eyes stars or the breath that smells of pure putrescence or the image of a supernatural horror that no longer needs keys because, now, the dead can squeeze between door jams.

Of course, Part 3 was all action all the time, with the stakes as high as it can be. It was all for the sake of pure survival. But Part 1 (the get to know you) and Part 2 (something isn't right) were some of the best readings of Stephen King, , ever. :) Believe me, he has a personal formula when it comes to his writing, but I know of no one who's able to pull off exactly what he pulls off. He makes everyone so damn real to me. :)

Fun fact! There's a dead John Snow who knows nothing in this novel! Isn't that fun?

So, I've eaten crow and said that I'm sorry for being an childhood idiot, but what I really mean is that There Are No Sparkles. This is a novel of horrible anticipation and and deep sadness, of exciting vampire hunting with truly intelligent foes. There are no levelled-up vamps or long antihero arcs or Master Vampire Hunters. And best of all, there are no werewolves.

There is, however, a sense of reality and loss and fear, and if you are missing a huge dose of that in your life, if only to hold up as a mirror to your own life to say that things aren't so bad with you, then you really ought to jump out there and pick up a copy. I can't believe this is only SK's second novel! Wow!2016-shelf horror334 s Mario the lone bookwolf805 4,675

I am so nostalgically looking back to a better time when certain fantasy creatures were still true monsters and not twinkling, soft, freaking feeling emo snobs.

Somehow the Lovecraftian, subtle, rising horror aspect King was so strong at the beginning of his career diminished over the years and there was not much of it left in the newer books I´ve read. Characterization, descriptions, action scenes, suspense, everything great as usual in the new works, but this special meta cosmic existential horror vibe and feeling of the first few and the drug fueled King years went missing afterward. Especially his first short story collections show this, they are epic, gothic horror masterpieces, while his new ones are much more dealing with human related meta topics dipped in some mystery and horror ghost magic. I love all, fanboy for life, jay, but somehow this old school style was more unique, especially because it sadly isn´t manufactured anymore nowadays, shame on you, damn mainstream ruining everything.

Some soft spoilers ahead, but nothing too specific worth mentioning, just meta.

So enjoy it even more if it´s the first time, look at all the red herrings, McGuffins, and Chekhovs King is throwing around to mix them with symbolism and innuendos, enjoy how the pathetic, weak humans stagger towards perdition, laugh whenever evil scores the next bloody goal, and be a happy witness of the moment when the legend of the greatest horror writer of all times starts unfolding by using the ancient trope of rabies symptoms made folk tales.

Google that, by the way, it´s so cool, the time until someone infected with rabies dies, how they behave to smell and light, what happens to their brains and libido, nature is amazing. It must have been so much fun to be locked up during long, cold, mountain winters with no change to escape, knowing that a few of the citizens and families may turn into real, freaking vampires. „Mommy is eating daddy, I fear she'll come for us when she is hungry again.“ Thanks to stupid rabies vaccination and general scientific, social, and medical progress, these amazing massive real life zombie vampire role playing games are now sadly just a reminiscence of the past, but at least literature can let one undergo it again.

Did I read Dracula? I am not sure, but the pop culture reference potential of both the original and this darker retelling is immense and how King let it escalate seems to be much more entertaining than what I know about the original. Sorry, classic literature, King just owns you. This idea of whatever evil coming to town, or always being in town and waking up again, becoming more and more extreme in its manifestations is one of the core elements of both King´s work and humankind itself. Could also be seen as an allegory about a snowball effect, tiny origin, huge massacre style. Or, how appropriate and contemporary, a virus.

It´s kind of making me twinkle in anger when I think about how true, hard topics have been mainstream flanderized
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
until nothing of the cool, original content was left to fit to appeal to the teeny target audience. Shame on you, americanization and disneyfication, you murdered evil, torturing monsters to turn them into sensible, romantic love interests that freaking understand woman, what´s wrong with you? That´s so sick and disgusting, I will possible once unsubscribe my Disney+ account in a beer ridden anger act of defiance. Just joking, they have Marvel and Star Wars too. Wait, my long time memory is just telling me in one of its rare appearances that I don´t watch TV anymore. Damn.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...king-stephen307 s Margaret M - months of catching up to do523 1,431

“And all around them, the bestiality of the night rises on tenebrous wings. The vampire’s time has come.”

Spook-tacular, Fang-tastic and 4 ‘bloodthirsty’ stars for a book by an author that needs no introduction, and this time delivers a vampire-ology story about a town under siege from a growing number of vampires in Jeru-salem???s Lot.

Chilling, haunting and horrifyingly fang-tastic – once it got going!!! and my first addition to my spooky month reading list.

The Plot

With the image of Marsten House still haunting his mind, Ben Mears returns to his home town to finally put the ghosts of his childhood to rest, by writing a book about this seemingly haunted house.

“The town kept its secrets, and the Marsten House brooded over it a ruined king.”

However, Ben’s arrival coincides with the disappearance of more of the town’s folk – but only slowly and with no connection which helps supress the towns hysteria and suspicion, and creates that perfect hunting atmosphere. Add to this, Marsten House finds itself a new owner. The strange and reclusive Straker who brings his own brand of mystery and menace, but it is the investigation, discovery and hunt for the vampires that delivers the most in suspense, thrills, and chills.

With Susan, his new love and former college student, and Matt (the schoolteacher), all three embark on this classic hunt for answers and ultimately the vampires. Although not an easy task because this breed, un other vampire stories, can operate in daylight which added to the ever-present sense of doom and evil.

Review and s

We had a lot of peripheral characters in this story, which was probably needed for the numbers the vampires eventually kill off – a blood thirsty lot!!! Other than that, the characters did not add much to the story. It was this and the very slow pace at the start that brought this down to a 4 star read. However, the rest of the book was spook-tacular.

The pacing in the rest of the novel was just right, which helped create the perfect atmosphere and tone for this spine-chilling book. The evil was accretive, gradual, and penetrating and the events were so well articulated and put together, that on occasions I found myself at the edge of my seat or doing my Meerkat impersonation with every noise around me. Ok, horror is not my thing for a reason.

I do love authors who dare to kill off some of the main characters, instead of playing safe. So, in all a wonderful and compelling book for Halloween month, a timeless, eerie, and creepy classic and a recommendation to anyone who enjoys a bit of yearly fright or horror stories in general.

Lingering, ominous, and spine chilling without the gore.

“If a fear cannot be articulated, it can’t be conquered.”

Ok I confess my fear - this scared the pants of me, in some chapters - now I’ve conquered. Sorted!!!234 s Jeffrey KeetenAuthor 6 books250k


From the 1979 movie version of SalemÂ’s Lot

”It would be years before I would hear Alfred Bester’s axiom ‘the book is the boss,’ but I didn’t need to; I learned it for myself writing the novel that eventually became Salem’s Lot. Of course, the writer can impose control; it’s just a really shitty idea. Writing controlled fiction is called ‘plotting.’ Buckling your seatbelt and letting the story take over, however...that is called ‘storytelling.’ Storytelling is as natural as breathing; plotting is the literary version of artificial respiration.”

This nugget of wisdom is shared by Stephen King in the introduction to the 2005 illustrated edition of SalemÂ’s Lot. I have to say that I completely agree with this philosophy. I have talked to many would-be writers who are so bogged down in getting the outline of their story completely figured out that they never actually get to the writing part of the process. I having a few concepts in my head before I start whacking away at that mesmerizing whiteness of the blank page, but if I have it all figured out,...then why write it? The fun part is discovering the nuances of the maze before I find the exit.

Stephen King grew up in a small town in New England, and it seems he has been waging war on small towns every since. ”There’s little good in sedentary small towns. Mostly indifference spiced with an occasional vapid evil--or worse, a conscious one. I believe Thomas Wolfe wrote about seven pounds of literature about that.” I, too, grew up in a small town and fully intend, in the scope of my writing, to eviscerate some of the more heinous aspects of small town “values.”

I love Paul Bettany’s line from the movie Knight’s Tale. Chaucer: “I will eviscerate you in fiction. Every pimple, every character flaw. I was naked for a day; you will be naked for eternity.” I always to say that my career is littered with the corpses of my enemies.(Hyperbole) Just a word of warning for those still breathing: I will reveal you for the bloody bastards/bitches you are in my fiction. If you think it isn’t you...it probably is. #evillaughwahaha

Jerusalem’s Lot is that typical small town that King loves to destroy on a regular basis, and this time his weapon is...vampires. The Marsten House, the scene of unspeakable tragedies, has been left empty for many years. It is a grand mansion falling into ruin by the very evilness that seems to fester in the walls and the rafters clear down to the bedrock. Ben Mears has come back to town to write about the place and intends to actually stay on the premises, but learns on his arrival that the house has been sold. Who would really want to stay there anyway? ”The house smelled. You wouldn’t believe how it smelled. Mildew and upholstery rot and a kind of rancid smell butter that had gone over. And living things--rats or woodchucks or whatever else that had been nesting in the walls or hibernating in the cellar. A yellow, wet smell.”

The Marsten House is the perfect place for a vampire named Barlow and his assistant R. T. Straker to take up residence. The first clue should have been the initials; remember Dracula’s assistant...R. M. Renfield. The one word name as well...Barlow…. What does he think—he is Prince?

Yes, he does, and much, much more. He is, ultimately, a God fashioning people in his own image.

As Barlow picks off the residents of Jerusalem's Lot one by one and turns them into an army of hungry vampires, a small band of misfits start to fight back. After all, who else, but the freaks and oddballs would believe that there really are vampires? ”An old teacher half-cracked with books, a writer obsessed with his childhood nightmares, a little boy who has taken a postgraduate course in vampire lore from the films and the modern penny-dreadfuls.”

Barlow has certainly had better men and women than these who have tried to destroy him. He has become overconfident and underestimates the courage and resolve of this disenfranchised band of eccentrics he is dealing with. Check out this condescending speech he lays on Ben Mears:

”Look and see me, puny man. Look upon Barlow, who has passed the centuries as you have passed hours before a fireplace with a book. Look and see the great creature of the night whom you would slay with your miserable little stick. Look upon me, scribbler. I have written in human lives, and blood has been my ink. Look upon me and despair!”

No one is more shocked than Stephen King that his idea for a vampire hoard destroying one of his loathed small towns turns into an inspiring, uplifting novel of the weak fighting back against the most powerful. It is a slow burn of a plot. King uses the early pages of the novel to let us get to know these people before we see them tested beyond normal human endurance. Fortunately, his working title of Second Coming was vetoed for the published title by his wife Tabitha who, rightly so, decided it would be a better title for a sex manual. It is a nice ode to the classic vampire myth and manages to add some original stake splattering moments to the genre. SalemÂ’s Lot has become a classic of fanged literature. King proves his storytelling chops.

If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie , visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at: https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeetenhorror245 s Lyn1,909 16.8k

Vampires.

Years after I first read it, I can truthfully say that this is still on a short list of scariest books I have ever read.

King at his best.

An American re-telling of Dracula, King stays close to the vampire myth but with some of his own storytelling thrown in and some subtle changes that make for an original novel. I cannot help but think that Barlow helped to usher in a new generation of vampire literature, of which we have now been inundated for the past few years.

203 s Char1,747 1,616

1.24.19-I just finished my third read of SALEM'S LOT, this time via audiobook. The narrator, Ron McClarty worked well for me and I found this tale as satisfying as it ever was.

11.1.2014-Original review.

I just finished a re-read of this book with the Horror Aficionados group here at Goodreads. I'm so glad that I participated!


Remember little Danny Glick?

I first read this book in junior high or high school. It's been about 30 years since then, unfortunately. I've read The Stand and IT a couple of times each, but I never did pick this one up again. Finally, that has been rectified and what a payoff!


I forgot how well this story wrapped its arms around the reader and refused to let them go. We meander through the town, meeting its residents and learning about their daily lives. (I think Stephen King excels at this, mostly because you can tell he knows what he's talking about.) We focus our attentions on a few different characters-some strong, some weak-but they're all human with characteristics, (both good and bad, )that we recognize.

Quote: "The town cares for devil's work no more than it cares for God's or man's. It knew darkness. And darkness was enough."

I feel that's all I need to say. I have nothing new to bring to a review of a book that has thousands of already. If you haven't read this tale, you should.70s-horror audio-book dark-fiction ...more194 s Nilufer Ozmekik2,487 50.6k

The note to my 13 years old self: thank you for being wise enough to choose this book and keep reading the King of authorsÂ’ books for years!

This was my first Stephen King book. I never be a fan of vampires! ( I was a little clueless why the hell people lost their sh*ts when they read and watch the entire Twilight series but thereÂ’s another review to tell) But as you can imagine I was drawn into my KingÂ’s story at first read and I kept suffered from nightmares for years, seeing Danny Flick floating outside my bedroom window!

Nearly three decades later, IÂ’m rereading this beauty which made me one of the biggest fans of the King of the authors! Another sleepless night is probably waiting for me! But itÂ’s truly worth it! Damn you Danny Flick!

I recently watched the trailer of latest movie adaptation! It seems so promising with its brilliant cast! It will be released on September 9, 2022. I loved Gary Dauberman’s previous King adaptations. ( even though the second movie of “It” was way too much longer) I’m looking forward to watch it!205 s Rebecca298 353

“Thin clouds form, and the shadows lengthen out. They have no breadth, as summer shadows have; there are no leaves on the trees or fat clouds in the sky to make them thick. They are gaunt, mean shadows that bite the ground teeth. As the sun nears the horizon, its benevolent yellow begins to deepen, to become infected, until it glares an angry inflamed orange. It throws a variegated glow over the horizon.”

SalemÂ’s Lot is the story of a small town being overtaken by vampires, and a brave band of people who come together to fight an ancient evil. The story centers around Ben Mears. Ben has returned to SalemÂ’s Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book. But when two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Ben begins to realise that something sinister is at work, in fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness far beyond his imagination. And only he, with a small group of allies, can hope to contain the evil that is growing within the borders of this small and fragile townÂ….

SalemÂ’s Lot builds slowly and this is where Stephen King uses his time to do what he does best, build great characters and create fascinating back stories. The town of SalemÂ’s lot feels a soap opera with characters that will make you feel nostalgic and disgusted at the same time. They beat their children, cheat on their husbands, drink and bully. Yet its hard to pin them on a good vs bad board, there are shades of grey with everyone you meet.

Once this entire foundation has been laid Stephen King ups the ante and unveils the full horror of the vampires and it unravels a dream!

SalemÂ’s Lot is a brilliant work of vampire/horror fiction. It is genuinely scary at times, it has the ability to raise the hairs on your arms and neck and gives you a genuine sense of foreboding.

This town is more a charcter than a setting and you realise the evil man can do is more destructive to society than a thousand year old vampire. ItÂ’s the townspeople that drive the action and turn SalemÂ’s Lot into an apocalypse.

This is a rich story full of great themes about society, the power of faith, men vs boys and even love and salvation.

It was an absolute dream to read!
I Highly recommend
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