Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem’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, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work—in fact, his hometown … 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 New England town.
With this, his second novel, Stephen King established himself as an indisputable master of American horror, able to transform the old conceits of the genre into something fresh and all the more frightening for taking place in a familiar, idyllic locale.
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I know this book doesn’t really need recommending. But I just read it for a second time after many years, and if you’re a fan of Stephen King, it’s worth checking out again. Given it was only his second book, it was amazingly well done.
One of Stephen King’s best books. It takes his favorite setting, a small town, and then does the classic “stranger comes to town”. Except in this case the stranger is a vampire.
He does a great job of showing how a town can be isolated and then gradually having it taken down.
The master of horror at his peak.
After the explosion of vampire movies that came out of Hollywood post ‘Twilight’ in the late 2000s, one could be forgiven for never wanting to encounter another story involving fangs, drinking blood and teenage angst ever again. However, lower that crucifix, spit out that garlic and have no fear!
In Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot’, a young writer returns to the town the book is named after, and after some other new arrivals set up shop in the Lot, things start to go south around him real fast. A lot of the horror of what unfolds lies in the normalcy of the town King paints, where good people face a threat that can so easily become cartoonish. Alas, the villains of the book don’t sparkle in sunlight, have quiffed hair or make out with teenage girls a hundred years younger than them. They scratch at locked bedroom windows at night, hypnotise innocent blue collar workers, stalk children and lay awful traps involving knives for the lead character, Ben Mears, and the help he enlists.
Not a long book, but an excellent one. King mentions or revisits the town several times in his other works, and each time is just as creepily memorable as this story. 5 stars.
I read very few books twice. This is one I have, and I’ll be reading it again soon. I love the way King pulls you into the story and makes you want to know what’s going to happen next. It’s spooky, interesting, and suspenseful. Sure, it may not be the fast-paced, blood and guts type of book readers today seem to like, but it’s a darn good tale.
I read ‘Salem’s Lot during a hot July while in my teens. And we all know how teens are–know-it-alls and whatnot. Only little kids get scared by stories, right?
Well, this book scared the bejeebus out of me. The night I finished it, I closed all the windows in my bedroom, changed all the light bulbs to 100-watt (A19s no less), including the one in the closet. Before I climbed into bed (fully dressed), I shut the door to the hallway and opened wide the door to the closet. Between the hot weather, the 100-watt bulbs (those things give off a LOT of heat), the closed windows, and being dressed, I just about roasted. But I was determined–if the vampires were going to get me, they weren’t gonna do it in the dark!
I think what I liked best–and what scared me the most–about ‘Salem’s Lot was the setting. No dark castles, wild countryside, or menacing villagers. This story took place in your backyard. There were people in the town going about their lives, oblivious to the vampiric infestation. Of course, I did wonder about what they thought about their neighbors suddenly disappearing, but really, it wasn’t important. The writing, of course, is what I’ve come to expect of Stephen King–flowing prose and wonderful turns of phrase. Truly delicious!
Quite simply, probably the best modern-day vampire story. Writer Ben Mears returns to his childhood town, Jerusalems Lot, to write a book about the Marsten House and in particular, the owner, Hubie Marsten.
Other newcomers have taken root in the town, namely Mr Straker and the mysterious Mr Barlow. People start going missing, the town in the grip of terror as its folk start having dreams. Strange dreams of friends and loved ones.
Can Mears unlock the dreadful secret that is spreading its cancer through the small town?
A fabulous book that has stood the test of time, inspiring me to write my own vampire series. Scary, with memorable characters and a killer setting, Salem’s Lot is quite simply, perfect!
This is an author that has a wild imagination. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat and chewing your nails to the nubs. Scary and haunting…you don’t need a lot of imagination to picture these scenarios vividly. Loved it!
I read this book when it first came out in 1975. I was fourteen years old and I’ll never forget how one sentence in particular gave me goosebumps. That’s when I learned the power of words!!! A classic!!
Terrifying and wonderful.
This was my first Stephen King novel and it got me hooked for life. The town and characters are so familiar that you are lulled into a false comfort zone that will quickly be shattered forever. Don’t believe in vampires? This novel will change your mind and have you dreading sunset…especially if you live in a small town. Pick it up and scream into the night with the rest of us Constant Readers of Stephen King.
I read this long ago, so my memory may be colored by the mists of time, but I thought this was the scariest book I have ever read. I remember being so frightened that I had to stop reading and put my head under the covers. One of Mr. King’s earliest books, and for me the scariest, and I consider that high praise.
A Halloween season read. Even though I’ve been reading and re-reading ‘Salem’s Lot for a good thirty years, it never gets old. Think Peyton Place with vampires. And not sparkly, sexy vampires, either. These are scary vampires, ones you don’t want to join in undeath.
Vampires are my personal boogieman.
I remember seeing “Salem’s Lot” the movie, with David Soul as Ben Mears, when I was fifteen years old, and I truly believed in the existence of vampires for at least a week after watching that movie. (…and maybe, I never stopped believing…)
Sometime in my early twenties, I picked up a copy of Salem’s Lot and read it for the first time. So it’s been a while, close to thirty years between reads.
Some people may say that this book begins as a slow burn, but I didn’t find it that way. From the moment that a clearly haunted Ben Mears comes to the Lot and tells of his childhood encounter with a ghost, it was on for me.
Stephen King’s vampires are truly horrific, easily characterised as demonically possessed, blood drinking ghosts with the power to mesmerise their victims – never, ever, look into their eyes.
Like some other stories by Stephen King that I have read, hell is other people, and the people of Salem’s Lot provide a full panorama view of themselves falling prey to their own natures as much as they fall prey to the curse of vampires sweeping their town.
On a technical note, I was completely surprised by the authors use of a deus ex machina about half way through the novel. One of his main characters is in a right pickle, and Stephen King provides him with a genius level ability to solve the problem, without any foreshadowing that I could see. It blew me right out of immersion in the narrative.
If the overall narrative was not so damn good, this would drop the rating by a star, however, I can’t bring myself to not give this book, which has impacted me on multiple levels anything less than five stars.
A recommended read for anyone who would enjoy a genuinely scary, spooky, creep you out and possibly give you nightmares story.
An oldie, but a goody. I’ve always loved this book because it’s such a great example of the good old-fashioned, traditional vampire. Not one good looking, brooding, mysterious, tragic, I-just-need-a-good-woman/man-who-understands-me blood sucker in sight. It’s good versus evil quite literally, no gray areas. No one escapes unscathed, plenty don’t escape at all, and quite frankly, it’s Stephen King doing what he does best – scaring the crap out of you.
After Bram Stoker’s Dracula, my favorite vampire novel.
I hadn’t read King’s vampire masterpiece since it came out in the 1970s and I was but a teen. Despite having pickier literary judgment these days, the book still held me in its thrall. It managed to pay homage to traditional vampire lore and legend while breathing new life into the genre. I’m glad I re-read it and may have to do the same with some of King’s other work from those earlier days, to see if they still manage to captivate and horrify me all these years later.
One of Stephen King’s best! I had to put this one down late at night, and I read horror every chance I get!
My favorite scary story of all time. Stephen King IS the king.
Loved it, scared crazy.
Love everything Stephen King writes!