About ‘Salem’s Lot:
‘Salem’s Lot is a small New England town. Like so many others it contains the usual quota of gossips, drinkers, weirdos and respectable folk. Of course, there are tales of strange happenings – but not more than in any other town its size.
Ben Mears, a moderately successful writer, returns to the Lot to write a novel based on his early years, and to exorcise the terrors that have haunted him since childhood. The event he witnessed in the house now rented by a new resident. A newcomer with a strange allure. A man who causes Ben some unease as things start to happen…
When did I first read this? 1976 or thereabouts (Genesis had just released Wind and Wuthering which was being advertised on the radio almost constantly as I was reading this so I think the date is about right)
What age was I? An impressionable 14
How may times since then? I can’t believe this is only the fourth time I’ve read this but the stats don’t lie (at least not in this case)
Thoughts about the book:
This wasn’t the first Stephen King book I had read; I had devoured Carrie earlier the same year, enjoying the thrill of unhappy teenager getting her own back and loving the style of the book with its mix of traditional narrative alongside eyewitness reports and newspaper clippings and so on. But ‘Salem’s Lot was the big one for me, setting two things in stone for the future (1) vampires are my monster of choice (even sparkly ones a la Twilight) and (2) I would read anything by Stephen King – and I’ve pretty much stuck to that in the (gulp) 36 years since then though I sometimes come to his stuff a while after publication.
I wish I had been able to keep the paperback version of this that I read as a teenager; if memory serves it was completely black with an embossed (?) head, and the only colour was a drop of blood – who could resist that? Sadly I lent it to someone and never got it back, but I indulged a few years ago in the rather lovely illustrated edition pictured above, with wonderful photographs, a glorious design and loads of additional material (like deleted scenes etc); a real pleasure to read.
I just love this story – a wonderful cast of characters dealing with the supernatural in a realistic setting, a cliché now perhaps but to someone my age at the time a real revelation. Love, horror, bravery, evil – all there in spades. And I can confirm that the feeling of dread about characters you have come to care about is still there even after several re-reads.
Interesting how much of my view of the book was affected by the TV version starring David Soul, for which I have a real soft spot; some of the scenes are still very vivid. Not a bad adaptation though I was still surprised to be reminded in the book that Ben was dark-haired.
This is a real treat for anyone who hasn’t read it before and worth revisiting for those who have, one of my absolute all time favourites.
This is the third book in my Big Re-Read project.
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September 6, 2012 at 6:36 pm
wherethereisjoy
Love love love this book. Seriously creepy. I re-read it a few years ago and it was just as good as ever. I would love to see the illustrated verson!
September 9, 2012 at 8:03 pm
Susan
I read this years ago, and it is among my favourite Stephen King books. I am due to reread this one, as well as The Shining (my number one King book for scares and chills reading). I’m hoping to get to The Shining for RIP, and then keep on with my rereads…..I think I’ve read Salem’s Lot twice before. I’m delighted you find it just as good as ever. I still think he is one of the most under-rated horror writers ever, because his skill and talent with dialogue and character is unparalleled by anyone writing today, and I think the literary world can’t forgive him for writing horror instead of ‘fiction’ or he would have more prizes and awards. Still, we the readers know how good he is!
January 19, 2013 at 1:56 pm
lynnsbooks
I love this book. I think it’s really creepy and funnily enough I recently rewatched the TV series with David Soul! I still like it even though it’s a bit dated. The scenes with the boy floating above ground and tapping on the window asking to be let in totally freaked me out! Also the scene with the gravedigging guy where he’s sat in the rocking chair, bbbrrrr, goosebumps.
Lynn 😀
January 19, 2013 at 2:17 pm
brideofthebookgod
Those were the scenes that stuck with me too!
Sent from my iPad
December 24, 2013 at 7:18 pm
Doctor Sleep | Bride of the Book God
[…] an adult, warts and all, and although the story was in many ways more gentle than his earlier work (‘Salem’s Lot still gives me the creeps, which is probably why it’s my all time favourite) and there were a couple of curveballs […]
July 2, 2014 at 7:21 am
Mr Mercedes | Bride of the Book God
[…] that I could see why it obviously couldn’t (speaking us someone still bearing the scars of ‘Salem’s Lot many years afterwards) but it’s a crime thriller so there is peril and racing against time and […]
March 17, 2015 at 11:05 pm
Carrie | Bride of the Book God
[…] ‘Salem’s Lot later that year (and you can find out what I thought about re-reading that in this post) from then on it was all about having to wait for his new books to be […]
March 20, 2015 at 1:01 pm
Nish
I read this for the first time last year, and though in places it felt dated, I enjoyed it very much nonetheless. A real horror classic!
September 27, 2015 at 7:12 pm
Re-reading The Shining | Bride of the Book God
[…] When did I first read this? 1977, as soon as it came out in NEL paperback, having loved both Carrie and (still my absolute favourite) ‘Salem’s Lot. […]