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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What can you say? If all you’ve ever done is watch the dated David Soul TV movie version of this, you are doing yourself and Mr. King a true disservice. This book is a wonderful reminder that even in the early years of his career, King was a master of pacing and plotting with a narrative voice that was at once warm and relatable and at the same time terrifying and otherworldly. This is King firing on all cylinders and blowing the doors off with every new chapter. We forget that King reinvented vampire fiction with this book and that Lestat, Angel, Sonja Blue, the Salvatore brothers and all the scores of blood-suckers that came after them would not have existed without this book. King is not only the best American horror novelist of the 20th century, he’s one of our best novelists ever. Period.
Put me on to Stephen King
Great scary book! Mr. King’s pacing – from slow burn (building tension) to a four alarm fire (almost when you weren’t looking), in the turn of a page! His characters are real – some of them are good company, some are most irritating and some are just pure unadulterated evil! Good prevails but at great cost
Loved it, scary as hell, gave me nightmares. One of King’s best!
First King book I ever read, it haunts me up to today. One of the most scary books I’ve read.
This was the second King novel I read back in the late 70s. I was already onto King after reading Carrie. However, I had no idea that I was participating in the beginnings of a great American writer’s career.
Lots of character development, which King is known for, prevails in this novel. The author is able to find that bit of being scared you thought was long gone since childhood and throws it right back in your face. This story gave me so much dread (in the scary way) because I sorta knew what could happen. Yet, it played out in a very scary and terrifying way.
Without giving a lot away, one scary part was when a character held a few teeth from a vampire, they tried to bite him while he held them in his palm. That’s just flat out scary!
One of Stephen King’s best books in my opinion
It’s been decades since I read it, so I’ve forgotten too much to be specific about it. I do know that his early books were his best, and I remember loving this one.
These vampires emphatically do not sparkle. It’s another one I might view through different eyes today, but it scared the heck out of me when I was a kid and my uncle slipped it to me when my mom wasn’t watching. It was awesome.
Love Stephen King. This story is one of his true horror novels & movies. My dad and I used to watch the movie every Halloween when they had the special Halloween horror movies the week before Halloween. Scared the crap out of me! Always had a hard time watching it alone. I didn’t really care for the ending. I thought it was a little too far fetched but all in all still one of my favorites to get creeped out over.
I was genuinely tricked into believing it was all real and actually happening in real time.
King’s first novel, and still one of his best.
My favorite book by S. King.
This was the first Stephen King Book I ever read. Haven’t stopped reading his books sonce
A tier, solid A. Amazing atmosphere. The mystery aspect kept you on your toes throughout most of the book. Could not put the book down. Incredible town development. Many chilling scenes that will stay with me.
one of my favorite Stephen King books
Disjointed and a disappointment.
Upon re-reading SALEM’S LOT for what has to be the 4th or 5th time, I have changed my mind on my initial review and rating. I always thought 4 Stars was more than enough, but as I get older, and as my experience with the world increases, I seem to be picking out a bit more of the terror that King spun throughout his story.
I first read the book when I was 12 years old. I locked my windows for weeks after. Today, I am 46 years old. And just as when I was 12, I still wanted to sleep with the lights on. That is the best way I can sum up my appreciation for the novel.
I’m 46 now and the book made sure that my inner 12 year old kept my bare foot from escaping the covers in the dead of night all over again. He’s not getting a lot of sleep lately, and I love it.
one of king’s best
I loved the read-to-easy style of this King novel, as opposed to some of his later works. It was self-contained and not of a larger, interdimensional scope. The characters were engaging and the story progressed in a way that you could figure from the start. A fun read for any fans of the genre!