[Editorial] I’m Your No.1 Fan: Sleeping with the Dead in Salem’s Lot (1979)

In the small town of Salem’s Lot, everyone knows everyone else’s business. They know that ‘Boom Boom’ Bonnie is having an affair with her boss, they know that Weasel still lives in the boarding house owned by his ex Eva Miller, and they know when strangers come to town. 

While Ben Mears was once a resident of Salem’s Lot, his years-long absence means he has gained an outsider status. So, when he comes back to town to investigate the local legend, the Marsten House, he causes quite a stir. Unfortunately for Ben, the house has already been purchased by newcomers Mr Straker and Mr Barlow, who also run an antique shop in town. While Mr Straker is seen around town regularly, Mr Barlow is yet to show up. 

In Salem’s Lot (1979), Stephen King takes the traditional plot points of a classic vampire movie and turns them on their head. In many versions of Dracula’s tale, the titular vampire tends to reside in a large, remote castle often surrounded by terrified villagers who are very aware of the scary nature of their neighbour and do their best to avoid him at all costs. A hapless traveller tends to wander into Dracula’s realm, and they soon find themselves trapped in the castle, at the mercy of their fanged foe. 

Rather than travelling to a strange and distant place, Ben Mears is returning home to somewhere he views as safe and comforting. He knows his way around town and has fond memories of growing up here. But much like Castle Dracula, the Marsten House looms over Salem’s Lot, and is a dwelling that urges others to stay away from it. While the Marsten House has a dark past, Ben feels safe enough to return to town and encounter it again. There are urban legends about things that went on in the house, but it has been empty for the past twenty years, leading most to forget about the terrible things that went on there.

However, unknown to Ben, Mr Barlow is also on his way to town, and just so happens to be a powerful vampire. Rather than Ben wandering into the vampire’s territory, which usually looks dark, dangerous, and foreboding, the vampire has followed Ben into a once safe place and is intent on turning Salem’s Lot into a vampire haven. 

And rather than living in fear of a monster living in their midst, the townsfolk are entirely oblivious to begin with. In fact, they’re all rather eager to meet Mr Barlow, having heard so much about him from Mr Straker. Instead, the monster sneaks up on them in their perceived safe surroundings, picking the residents off one by one, and turning the whole town into a vampire nest before anyone really realises what’s going on. 

When the vampire is a known foe, those who live locally to his home know of the risks involved and understand the steps they need to take in order to stay safe. For Salem’s Lot, the villain sneaks in under the radar, using their comfort with their hometown and its surroundings to start picking off residents without any real effort or resistance. 

Danny and Ralphie Glick think nothing of cutting through the woods at night-time when returning home after visiting their friend Mark. It’s a route they’ve probably taken hundreds of times before. But this time, Mr Straker is hiding in the woods, looking for a midnight snack to serve to Mr Barlow. Ralphie is snatched from right under his brother’s nose, and the local police force are left baffled and totally unequipped to deal with such a situation. 

And even in their homes the residents of Salem’s Lot aren’t safe. Sticking to the old legend, the vampire still needs an invitation to enter a dwelling, but in such a small town invitations are frequently handed out to neighbours and friends. Teacher Jason Burke invites gravedigger Mike Ryerson to stay in his spare room when he notices his friend looks unwell. Mike dies in the night but returns the next night courtesy of Jason’s previous invitation. 

The vampires also manipulate relationships they already have with each other in order to gain access to homes and new victims. Ralphie Glick floats outside his brother Danny’s bedroom window, wanting to be let in so he can be sure his brother ends up like him. Danny then uses his mother’s grief to gain access to her in the night, eventually draining her of all her blood. The townsfolk know something scary is going on, but they still trust their friends and family members, which quickly turns out to be their downfall. 

In classic vampire stories, the audience are supposed to realise that the main characters are making the wrong decision by venturing into the obviously scary place and ending up at the mercy of the vampires. Horror movie tropes have taught us well, and we like to think that we would never be silly enough to end up in a similar situation ourselves. However, through Salem’s Lot, Stephen King shows us that the monsters aren’t always hiding in the shadows, and sometimes they can infiltrate our territory instead. 

The miniseries Salem's Lot drives home the point of how terrifying it is to have a monster sneak into town by choosing to portray Mr Barlow as the most monstrous-looking vampire possible. In the novel Salem’s Lot (1975), Mr Barlow is a vampire with a more human appearance, capable of conversation and being seen without causing a disturbance to those around him. On screen, Mr Barlow is more akin to Nosferatu (1922). He’s bald, with blue-tinged skin, two large central fangs, and only communicates through hisses and screeches.

This only adds to the horror of having your safe and welcoming community turned into something far more sinister. Mr Barlow stands out as something hideous compared to the normality of Salem’s Lot and once we see his face on the screen, it’s clear that the town is past saving. 

Split over two parts with a runtime of roughly three hours, Mr Barlow doesn’t pop up properly until around forty minutes into the second part of the miniseries. Much like the residents of Salem’s Lot, the audience are blindsided by how terrible the creature that has snuck into town really is. While the residents who have already been turned into vampires look mostly normal, save for some pointy teeth and glowing eyes, Mr Barlow is something else altogether. To see something so monstrous in a place which once seemed completely safe somehow makes the whole situation worse. And even in the daylight, once we know what is lurking in town and just waiting for the sun to go down, it’s hard to feel at ease.

While residents may look at their friends and neighbours and think they are able to save them or reason with them, Mr Barlow puts a stop to any logical approach to the situation. From his blue skin to every twisted and exaggerated feature, it’s clear there is nothing human left of Mr Barlow, and he intends on warping Salem’s Lot into a town he can comfortably call home. 

While there’s no denying that the vampires in Salem’s Lot are terrifying, King is trying to show us that the scariest thing of all is something sneaking into our safe spaces and tearing them apart from the inside. The townsfolk worry about the outsider status of Ben and Mr Straker, but they couldn’t possibly comprehend what would come to town when Mr Barlow finally showed up. 

In the end, only Ben and Mark are left of the previous Salem’s Lot, and Mr Barlow has set about creating his own community in the basement of the Marsten House. With Barlow’s coffin hidden in the basement, the newly-created vampires sleep around him, hoping to replicate what they once had before these strangers came to town. They are drawn together, hoping that there will be safety in numbers, and looking to turn the Marsten House into a place they can once again call home.

Unlike a traditional vampire story, our heroes cannot simply run away from the scary place and the monsters and return to normality. Mr Barlow has destroyed the town, and Ben and Mark set fire to the Marsten House hoping to kill any remaining vampires. However, two years later the two are shown still on the run, never able to settle and feel safe. Their home was destroyed and they may never know peace again because the vampires are intent on getting their revenge. Isolated and alone, Mark and Ben only have each other, and while they are lucky to still be alive, it’s far from a happy ending now they are left without the safety of a community to return to.

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