Spooky Reads Day 18: 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Title: Salem's Lot
Author: Stephen King
Page Count: 653
Rating: A
Keywords: Small towns, Vampires, Terror
Genre: Horror
Younger Readers: No

Original Synopsis from Goodreads:

Thousands of miles away from the small township of 'Salem's Lot, two terrified people, a man and a boy, still share the secrets of those clapboard houses and tree-lined streets. They must return to 'Salem's Lot for a final confrontation with the unspeakable evil that lives on in the town.

Updated Synopsis:

'Salem's Lot is a small New England town with white clapboard houses, tree-lined streets, and solid church steeples. That summer in 'Salem's Lot was a summer of home-coming and return; spring burned out and the land lying dry, crackling underfoot. Late that summer, Ben Mears returned to 'Salem's Lot hoping to cast out his own devils... and found instead a new unspeakable horror.

A stranger had also come to the Lot, a stranger with a secret as old as evil, a secret that would wreak irreparable harm on those he touched and in turn on those they loved.

All would be changed forever—Susan, whose love for Ben could not protect her; Father Callahan, the bad priest who put his eroded faith to one last test; and Mark, a young boy who sees his fantasy world become reality and ironically proves the best equipped to handle the relentless nightmare of 'Salem's Lot.

My Review:

Today I bring you one of my all time favorite horror novels!

From the original synopsis and first couple of pages of this classic book of horror and what goes bump in the night you honestly would expect this one to be a dud. I reread the first ten pages at least four or five times before I could convince myself as a teenager to really dive into this story.

But, if you can make it through that you will be immersed in a pure horror tale that shows vampires as the classic monsters intended by Bram Stoker's Dracula. There are no sparkly vampires or handsome creatures wooing the town's young women. No. These are true blue monsters infesting Salem's Lot and putting terror into the hearts of readers.

While I have a soft spot for the gentler vampires in many modern tales, I absolutely adore this depiction of them as grotesque monsters and this easily makes my top three favorite Stephen King books.

If you're looking for a monster read this season, definitely pick this one up and check out the 1979 TV movie adapted from this book. It is definitely another seasonal favorite of mine!