Salem's Lot

Inhoud

Thousands of miles away from the small township of 'Salem's Lot, two terrified people still share the secrets of those clapboard houses and tree-lined streets. One is an eleven-year-old boy. He never speaks but his eyes betray the indescribable horror he has witnessed. The other is a man plagued by nightmares, a man who knows that soon he and the boy must return to 'Salem's Lot for a final confrontation with the unspeakable evil that lives on in the town where no one is human anymore...

Bespreking

A decent classic vampire yarn

When Ben Mears, a successful writer, returns to his hometown of Salem's Lot, he has on only one mission: to finally deal with the monster of his youth. As a teenager he entered the abandoned Marsten House on a dare and was confronted with the spirit of Hubert Marsten, a '30s gangster who committed suicide in that same house. By writing a novel about this doomed place, Ben hopes to finally get rid of the images that haunt his dreams. He plans to stay in the Marsten House, but is surprised to find that it has been sold. Unbeknownst to Ben the new owner has a strong link with the monster of his nightmares.

Not only is 'Salem's Lot an extensive tribute to Dracula, one of greatest classic horror novels ever written, it is on its own also a decently structured yarn that has all the aspects of a classic. But this part of the homage is at the same time also its weakest point. At no point does the story offer any significant surprise or twist. It is all set-up according to a format that was innovative in Bram Stoker's era, but has lost much of its potency in our modern times. As such, the reader is able to simply predict the denouement based upon the number of pages that follows. At the same time I am afraid that people that are unfamiliar with the original Dracula might miss quite some of the poignant tongue-in-cheek humour that King has added in abundance to the story. Nevertheless 'Salem's Lot has all the characteristics of an enjoyable vampire story.