Isolated small-town horrors tend to offer some of the most captivating, thrilling narratives—a unique atmospheric charm, vivid characters and their belief system, the community spirit, and most importantly, the sensation created by a distinctively cloistered setting—a number of factors help in conjuring a bewitching spooky effect. Legendary horror novelist Stephen King has found tremendous success in this subgenre, and his extensive exploration in this route began with his second novel, Salem’s Lot, published in 1975, which is arguably at the top among his best works. Inspired by classics like Dracula and Nosferatu, King brought modern-day vampire fiction to life and set the story in an idyllic small town that is full of secrets of its own—of both virtues and vices. The result was a revival of vampire fiction in mainstream pop culture, and Salem’s Lot attained popularity of such magnitude that it endured the ravages of time by inspiring a plethora of similar narratives.
The novel received its first live action adaptation in 1979, with a two-episode miniseries of the same name, which might feel a bit dated in parts, but the 70s aesthetics and prosthetic-dependent horror visuals have a lasting effect on viewers still. A cinematic adaptation of the novel is set to release on Max later this week, which makes it the perfect time to take a look back at the first adaptation, which has attained cult-classic status ever since its release. It should be mentioned at this point that the series differs from the original novel in a number of aspects, especially in characterization.
Spoilers Ahead
Marsten House: The Monument of Evil
Renowned writer Ben Mears returns to his hometown, Jerusalem’s Lot, colloquially known as Salem’s Lot, a quaint hamlet nestled in the wilderness of Maine, with little over a thousand people as residents. The town has its fair share of history, which precedes even the Revolutionary War. The otherwise amicable townsfolks’ tendency to keep it to themselves is unmistakable to , as is the Marsten house, an old Victorian-style villa built on top of the nearby Pabscuiti Hill, which oversees the town below, evoking a sinister feeling even in the broad daylight. Ben is especially troubled by its presence, simultaneously drawn to and growing wary of it, as he had a pretty sordid experience while venturing inside the villa during his younger days while taking on a dare. The chief architect of the villa, Joshua Von, had killed himself after murdering his wife and children; a notorious member of the Marsten family, Hubie Marston, had hanged himself in the house, and there were rumors of young boys going missing while venturing around the villa. Ben’s aunt, who used to work at the villa, lost her life under mysterious circumstances, and all of this contributed to Ben believing that something really wicked dwells in that place. Returning to the town two years after his wife’s passing, Ben wants to base his next novel on Marsten House, which is his primary motive for returning to the town he left when he was ten years old. It is later revealed that Ben is not the only newcomer in the town; a British businessman, Richard Straker, has bought Marsten House, is about to open an antique shop at the town, and is awaiting the arrival of his partner, a European socialite, Kurt Barlow. There is something unsettling about Straker, which matches well with the oddity of Marsten House.
An Introduction To The Townsfolk
As Ben meets old and new faces around the town, viewers get acquainted with some of them, who have their own stories tied with their mundane routine. Ben decides to stay at the lodging house of Eva Miller, a middle-aged woman who lives alone after separation from her husband—a delusional town looney nicknamed Weasel. Larry Crockett, a realtor by profession, is in an affair with his secretary, Bonnie Sawyer—of which her husband, Cully, is aware—and is biding his time to catch them red-handed. Mike Ryerson is a simpleton local who lives with his dog, Faithful, and works in the graveyard. Donning a dark outfit, an eccentric Mr. Straker is mostly seen going in and out of Marsten House, and even though he mentions Kurt Barlow quite often, the mysterious partner of his is never seen. Town constable Perkins becomes skeptical about Ben’s curiosity with Marsten House, decides to look into his background, and does the same for Straker and Barlow. Ben catches up with his high school teacher, Jason Burke, and reminisces about days gone by. Days after his arrival, Ben gets acquainted with Susan Norton, a charming young lady who used to work at an ad agency in New York, and the duo quickly hit it off. Not long after, Ben becomes a frequent visitor at the Norton household, and her father, Dr. Bill Norton, gets along with Ben quite well. Ben’s relationship with Susan draws the ire of Ned Tebbets. We are also introduced to a young high schooler, Mark Petrie, whose introverted demeanor and nerdy habits have become a cause of worry for his mother, although Mark’s father is kind of supportive of his son. Mark is often seen rehearsing for the school pageant along with his two friends, Danny and Ralphie Glick.
A Night to Remember
Nights are usually silent and gloomy at Salem’s Lot, but the night when Ned and Mike go to Portland to bring a strange, large box to deliver to Marsten House appears to be quite turbulent. Straker had assigned the duty of shipping his box with the utmost care and safety to Crockett, who then entrusted Cully with the task. Unbeknownst to Crockett, Cully had given his truck to Mike and Ned to complete the delivery, while he stayed at the town to catch Bonnie and Larry in action. A series of troublesome events take place during the specific night: Mike’s dog gets killed; while taking the mysterious box to Marsten House, Ned and Mike feel a strange, otherworldly presence; as Ralphie and Danny return to their home through the woods, they get separated, and Ralphie gets taken by an unknown presence. Danny arrives at his home in an exhausted condition. Cully catches Larry off-guard while he was with Bonnie and threatens him into leaving his house. Larry gets assaulted by an unknown presence, and the next time he is seen by Ben and Susan he’s in a trance, before he breathes his last under mysterious circumstances. Straker brings Ralphie’s body into the basement of Marsten House, where the mysterious box is seen completely demolished. On the same night, Danny is visited by his brother, Ralphie’s ghastly apparition, who hovers through the air to knock at the window, asking Danny to let him enter, creating one of the most memorable scenes in horror movie history. As if hypnotized, Danny follows his brother’s instructions, and the next day he gets hospitalized after getting affected by pernicious anemia. An extensive search is conducted for Ralphie, but he is never found.
Constable Perkins decides to question Straker regarding Ralphie’s disappearance after Ben finds possible evidence linking to his presence in the woods, but without much proof, he isn’t able to make progress with the investigation. Ben shares his belief with Dr. Norton that somehow the disappearance of Ralphie, Danny’s sickness, and Larry’s death are all connected with Marsten House, but fails to convince the doctor.
The Emergence of Evil
At night, Danny is once again visited by Ralphie’s terrifying apparition at the hospital, and as he lets him enter, the apparition, a vampire, feeds on Danny by sucking his blood. The next day, Danny passes away, and Susan takes her leave from Ben as she goes to Boston for a job interview. After Danny’s funeral, Mike finds himself in a hypnotized state as he jumps into the kid’s grave, only to be attacked by Danny, who has turned into an undead. Later, Mike is seen in a confused, fatigued state, and Burke offers to let him stay at his place for a couple of days. Mark is visited by Danny’s apparition, but refusing to let him enter, he uses a crucifix to scare the apparition away.
With Mike present at his home at night, Burke senses strange, eerie activities happening and calls Ben in the middle of the night to inform him of the situation. Ben visits Burke’s house to find Mike has passed away and feels conflicted after learning about Burke’s opinion about the existence of supernatural presences, especially vampires, in the town. Initially Ben shrugs off his suspicion as fears of an old, superstitious small town resident, and when Dr. Norton learns about Burke’s opinion, he too rejects the idea. Ben ends up in the hospital after having a fight with Ned Tebbets, and the latter ends up in jail, where a horrifying, Nosferatu-looking evil being kills him. In another iconic scene of the movie, Burke comes across an undead Mike at his house and manages to drive him away using a crucifix. However, Burke suffers a stroke as a result of the shock and anxiety, and later on he passes away while hospitalized. The strange affliction with symptoms like experiencing dreams, hearing music, and everlasting fatigue takes over almost all the residents of the town as the number of dead and undead increases exponentially. After Susan returns, Ben, who is now convinced about Burke’s suspicions, asks her to take traditional safety measures to ward off vampiric presence, and the duo visits the priest of the local Catholic church, Father Callahan.
Confronting Kurt Barlow
Father Callahan visits Mark Petrie’s house when the Nosferatu, who is revealed to be Kurt Barlow himself, makes his appearance in a frightening manner and kills Mark’s parents. As he is about to turn Mark as well, Father Callahan offers his soul for Mark, allowing Mark a chance to escape. The priest is taken by Barlow, as neither his crucifix nor his faith appear to be of any use in front of the master vampire. At the hospital, Ben and Dr. Norton witness the recently deceased Marjorie Glick turn into one of the undead vampires in front of their eyes, and Ben somehow wards off the evil using a makeshift cross. Ben arrives at the conclusion that Barlow has arrived at the town to feed on full-blooded townsfolk whose isolated existence in Salem’s Lot makes them ‘pure’ in comparison to others, and Straker is his human familiar, who keeps watch over his master during the day and has gained superhuman abilities through the mark of a vampire. Ben decides to attack the source of the evil by venturing into Marsten House along with Dr. Norton and end Barlow’s threat by driving a stake through his heart. Ben warns Susan by explaining the entire situation to her and informs her that her father and Ben will confront Barlow the next day before the night falls.
The next day, Ben finds most of the townsfolk being affected by the strange sickness, and those who have survived from getting affected, like Constable Perkins, are leaving the town for good. Susan finds a vengeful Mark venturing into Marsten House on his own and decides to follow him before something terrible happens to the kid. The dilapidated, unattended interiors of Marsten House feel like a direct replica of the interiors of Dracula’s castle. Susan tries to convince Mark to return, but he is unwilling to do so without taking his revenge on Barlow for the deaths of his parents. Eventually, Straker knocks out Mark and captures Susan to take her to Barlow. Mark manages to free himself, and as he escapes from Marsten House, he stumbles across Ben and Dr. Norton, who are seen approaching the house for a final confrontation with Barlow. Mark accompanies them despite Ben’s warnings and reveals Susan’s capture. Inside the villa, Dr. Norton gets attacked and killed by Straker, and as Ben empties his handgun by firing at Straker, the dastardly servant of the vampire dies as well.
In the basement, Ben and Mark come across a cellar room, where they find Barlow’s coffin and a number of townsfolk who have been turned into vampires and are in a catatonic state in daytime. Night creeps in as Barlow wakes up, but by then, Ben is able to drive a stake through his heart, killing the master vampire at long last. As the rest of the vampires begin to emerge, Ben and Mark set Marsten House aflame, regretting not being able to save or even search for Susan. Despite the root of the evil being taken care of, there is no saving this small town anymore. Knowing that they will forever be hunted by the remaining undead, Ben and Mark decide to move away from Salem’s Lot.
A Haunting Reunion
Two years later, Ben and Mark are seen gathering Holy Water in a church in Guatemala, escaping from their undead pursuers; they have ended up on the other side of the world. As they see the vial of Holy Water gleaming, the duo takes it as a sign and becomes wary of the presence of one of their pursuers. At their shack, Ben is confronted by a hauntingly beautiful, undead Susan, who offers him a chance of eternal life together. It almost seems that Ben is in a trance, until he ends Susan’s misery by driving a stake through her heart, killing her instantly. A distraught Ben agrees with Mark that they need to hit the road once again.
