After the success of his novel CARRIE (1974), Stephen King followed up with what some considered a more traditional novel, ‘SALEM’S LOT (1975), based strictly within the most popular horror subgenre of all, vampires. However, unlike the traditional vampire story, he took the DRACULA tale and placed it squarely into a small New England town; basically using PEYTON PLACE (in a sense) as a vampire setting.

Ben Mears, an unsuccessful author, heads back to Jerusalem’s Lot, a small town in Maine that he used to spend summers at. As a child, during a dare, he entered an abandoned home of a former Boston Irish mobster. Inside he swore he saw the ghost of hitman Hubie Marsten. Now he wants to write a book on the Marsten House and also face his own “ghosts” from the past.

A big success for Stephen King’s sophomore effort, the book was turned into a TV mini-series directed by Tobe Hooper and also once more in the 2004 starring actor Rob Lowe. Dark Discussions takes a look at the novel and discusses it thoroughly as only fans can.