Helpful Score: 3
Jerusalem's Lot is an unassuming small town in southern Maine. It is the kind of town where everybody knows everybody else and most of the residents have lived there all of their lives. In this atmosphere it was odd indeed when three strangers came to town at almost the same time. One of these strangers wasn't really a stranger at all. He had spent part of his childhood there and had returned in hopes of ridding himself of some old demons. The other two strangers also had an old connection with the town but it was a much darker and sinister connection.
Stephen King starts his macabre tail with these facts and then begins to weave a fascinating tail. He introduces the reader to the town in such a way that it makes one feel as if he had actually been to this fictional place. The reader will get to know many of the residents, some all too well. Some are likable, some are loathsome, and some are described so well that the reader will actually mourn their passing. One can easily feel Ben Mears' pain when he finds out that someone that he is very close to is gone.
As the dark cloud of vampirism spreads across the town there are a few residents who figure out what is going on. Some refuse to believe what logic and their senses tell them and they fall victim to the curse while others figure things out in time to flee. A few try to stop the spread of this evil and pay dearly. For those who have not seen one of the movies based on this book, this is all of the story that I am going to give away. For those who have seen the movies, neither movie follows the book too closely and the book is far superior to either film.
King's flair for this type of story is well known and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with this book. It will entertain you, it will scare you, and it will delight you. While reading parts of this book I was able to feel the sense of dread that many people in the Lot were feeling. King is indeed a master when it comes to bringing gloom and doom off of his pages and into the hearts of his readers.
There are a few places where it is a little hard to follow just who is saying what in some of the conversations but beyond that I could find few flaws. I found it very interesting that the reader would not be able to figure out what was happening to the town until about the same time some of the characters do. Of course, that was when this book first came out. I dare say that few people who start this book now, nearly thirty years after it was written will be surprised by the basics of the story. The creepy factor must have been much greater before the plot was given away by the movies, but rest assured, there are still plenty of creeps between the covers of this book.
Stephen King starts his macabre tail with these facts and then begins to weave a fascinating tail. He introduces the reader to the town in such a way that it makes one feel as if he had actually been to this fictional place. The reader will get to know many of the residents, some all too well. Some are likable, some are loathsome, and some are described so well that the reader will actually mourn their passing. One can easily feel Ben Mears' pain when he finds out that someone that he is very close to is gone.
As the dark cloud of vampirism spreads across the town there are a few residents who figure out what is going on. Some refuse to believe what logic and their senses tell them and they fall victim to the curse while others figure things out in time to flee. A few try to stop the spread of this evil and pay dearly. For those who have not seen one of the movies based on this book, this is all of the story that I am going to give away. For those who have seen the movies, neither movie follows the book too closely and the book is far superior to either film.
King's flair for this type of story is well known and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with this book. It will entertain you, it will scare you, and it will delight you. While reading parts of this book I was able to feel the sense of dread that many people in the Lot were feeling. King is indeed a master when it comes to bringing gloom and doom off of his pages and into the hearts of his readers.
There are a few places where it is a little hard to follow just who is saying what in some of the conversations but beyond that I could find few flaws. I found it very interesting that the reader would not be able to figure out what was happening to the town until about the same time some of the characters do. Of course, that was when this book first came out. I dare say that few people who start this book now, nearly thirty years after it was written will be surprised by the basics of the story. The creepy factor must have been much greater before the plot was given away by the movies, but rest assured, there are still plenty of creeps between the covers of this book.
One of King's earliest books and one of his best. A town is visited and eventually overrun by vampires, and a small band of people try to fight back. The story is loaded with so many frightening scenes, you'll remember them long after the last page. This book hooked me on King for good!
Helpful Score: 2
Classic early King. Read this in junior high and couldn't sleep with the book in my room. In fact, I had to put it on a different floor of the house.
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of the best books Stephen King has written, a real favorite of mine!
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of Stephen King's scariest books. The characters are facinating, and if you like King, you'll love this one.
Helpful Score: 1
Stephen King handles the vampire tale very well.
Helpful Score: 1
terrifying vampire story written by Stephen King
Helpful Score: 1
Salems lot is the story of a mundane town under siege from the forces of darkness. Considered one of the most terrifying vampire novels ever written, it cunningly probes the shadows of the human heart and the insular evils of small town America.
Helpful Score: 1
It is a bit dated but still one of King's best, purely for the thrills.
Helpful Score: 1
Without a doubt, the best Vampire novel I've ever read. It's throughly scary, engaging, as is to be expected from the master of Horror. While I read it at night with only a single light on in the house, if you are easily prone to nightmares, I wouldn't recommend doing that.
Helpful Score: 1
Classic Stephin King. One of the novels from the beginning of his career that made him a name to be whispered in the dark.
I've read all of King's books and this is the creepiest.
Helpful Score: 1
A vampire tale by Steven King - really good read.
Helpful Score: 1
This book will stay with me forever. One of the best King stories! Read This Book!!
Helpful Score: 1
One of my personal favorites. A real thrill for those who enjoy a good vampire story.
Helpful Score: 1
An evil force descends on the town of Jerusalem's Lot, tainting and corrupting it's residents and adding more to it's legion of the undead with each night. A great story by King. It's a good read. A lot better than either movie version.
Helpful Score: 1
GREAT just in time for Halloween1
Helpful Score: 1
I was not prepared to like this book, but within a couple of chapters I was hooked. I can honestly say it was one of my favorites of Stephen King's! If ya love vampire tales with a bit of an oddity then this is a keeper!
Helpful Score: 1
My favorite vampire book. The chracters in the book were some of the best developed I have seen in a while. I cared for the characters and wanted to see what would happen in this small little town. Besides the Dark Tower series this is one of my favorite King books.
Helpful Score: 1
A vampire book from the old-school vampire tradition: no cuddly, emotionally available vamps here. It's a fun, relatively easy read and is great for the Halloween season. The pacing is good and I liked the character development. There is nothig really revolutionary about this book in terms of the horror genre, but it is enjoyable and a little scary.
Helpful Score: 1
I absolutly loved this book!! Stephen King is a master story teller and this is King at his best. Very scary, it will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up!!
Helpful Score: 1
This is one scary book! One of King's best......
Helpful Score: 1
Great book! Scary
Helpful Score: 1
This is the Stephen King we all know and love. A well crafted plot, realistically flawed and interesting characters, suspense, small town quaintness all contribute to making this a wonderfully interesting read, rather than another dull, witless Vampire story.
Helpful Score: 1
I don't think many people would argue the fact that 'Salem's Lot is the best novel produced in King's "early period." In some ways, it was a gutsy novel for King to write. For one thing, his editor warned him about becoming viewed as a "horror writer" (as opposed to a "real writer"). All great writers write what they have to write and don't care how it is viewed, so this book really made a statement that this young author loved to write and was going to do it his own way. For another thing, it is a great challenge to write a vampire novel that does not just sift through the ashes of millions of pages already consumed by the public. I wish I could read this book today without knowing so much about it (having first read it many years ago, having seen the miniseries, and having heard and read so much about it since then)--I wonder at what point the wide-eyed reader actually understands that vampirism is responsible for the Evil overtaking Jerusalem's Lot.
Literally hundreds of readers have already reviewed this book, so I am sure anything I say is just a rehash of what has already been said. I will mention the fact that this novel is quite different from Carrie, its immediate predecessor. Where the events of that book were somewhat disjointed, this story unfolds quite smoothly. The characters in this book are much more "real" than those in Carrie. Rather than jumping from one viewpoint to another, King's prose now allows itself to take root and grow, yielding a bumper crop of complex, realistic, knowable characters. While I felt as if I were watching the events taking place in Carrie, I felt much more like a character myself in 'Salem's Lot. If anyone out there has yet to read Stephen King, I would recommend reading this novel as your introduction to his work. The blood and gore is there, as it should be, but most of the horror is below the surface, always present and ready to spring out whenever King's imagination bids it to do so. It is a wonderful reading experience. I can picture Stephen King saying to his readers the exact same thing that the vampire says to Father Callahan: "Taste my communion." Millions of us have tasted it, and we have been held under the sway of our master ever since.
Shelby, North Carolina USA
Literally hundreds of readers have already reviewed this book, so I am sure anything I say is just a rehash of what has already been said. I will mention the fact that this novel is quite different from Carrie, its immediate predecessor. Where the events of that book were somewhat disjointed, this story unfolds quite smoothly. The characters in this book are much more "real" than those in Carrie. Rather than jumping from one viewpoint to another, King's prose now allows itself to take root and grow, yielding a bumper crop of complex, realistic, knowable characters. While I felt as if I were watching the events taking place in Carrie, I felt much more like a character myself in 'Salem's Lot. If anyone out there has yet to read Stephen King, I would recommend reading this novel as your introduction to his work. The blood and gore is there, as it should be, but most of the horror is below the surface, always present and ready to spring out whenever King's imagination bids it to do so. It is a wonderful reading experience. I can picture Stephen King saying to his readers the exact same thing that the vampire says to Father Callahan: "Taste my communion." Millions of us have tasted it, and we have been held under the sway of our master ever since.
Shelby, North Carolina USA
Helpful Score: 1
This KING CLASSIC kept me awake back in the 70's and still after all the years can promote a bad case of the creeps... For those unfamiliar with this title???are there any??? I would call it the ultimate KING vampire tale...
Helpful Score: 1
great book
Helpful Score: 1
Very great book
Helpful Score: 1
Vintage King, what more is there to say?
Helpful Score: 1
A review that says "great book' is not discriptive--this is Stephen King--already you should should know it's gonna be a "wonderful worthwhile read" I have read all his novels and this has got to be one of the best he has written. This one actually is scary. You can not pick up a book with his name on it & be a true King follower and not know that once you have paid and walk away from the counter in the store, that you have a treasure in your hands before even opening the book. Will be a point well spent.
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of King's Best!!!
This is right up there with The Stand! There is a visceral 'feel' to King's best works that no one can match. I have to say that this work, The Dark Tower series and the Stand are my favorites, but I have read ALL of this prolific writer's books and short stories. Very few disappoint...unless you are not into this genre at all.
This is right up there with The Stand! There is a visceral 'feel' to King's best works that no one can match. I have to say that this work, The Dark Tower series and the Stand are my favorites, but I have read ALL of this prolific writer's books and short stories. Very few disappoint...unless you are not into this genre at all.
The first King book I ever read. If you haven't read it, I don't want to spoil it by telling you what it's about; 'Salem's Lot is a down, and scary things happen there. I've read almost everything he's written since.
Talk about scary! I love vampire books and Stephen King does an excellent job of making the impossible seem possible. It's very frightening. I wouldn't recommend reading it late at night when you're home all alone unless you're prepared to be scared by every little sound you hear!
If anyone watched the movie made from the book (I think two were made), this has that beat hands down. Much more intense and creepy than any movie. This book is definitely a keeper for me.
If anyone watched the movie made from the book (I think two were made), this has that beat hands down. Much more intense and creepy than any movie. This book is definitely a keeper for me.
I miss the old days when editors still edited Stephen King.
This normal sized book doesn't ramble like King's later books often do. Possibly because of that, this is one of King's books that really did scare me. I finished it in the wee hours of the morning but before I could go to sleep, I had to find a cross to put under my pillow.
The movies never did do it justice.
This normal sized book doesn't ramble like King's later books often do. Possibly because of that, this is one of King's books that really did scare me. I finished it in the wee hours of the morning but before I could go to sleep, I had to find a cross to put under my pillow.
The movies never did do it justice.
Horror/Suspense, dark novel detailing a haunted town.
Steven KIngs's book Salem's Lot. Real old, but a GREAT read
awsome book...stephen king at his best...scary, heartless vampires...NO TWILIGHT BULL****..lol
Awesome vampire story. Classic horror, a great job by King.
A great, scary read. It's a little campy in spots, but classic King. A very loose Dark Tower Tie-in.
Classic King. Must read for all dedicated fans.
I read this book many years ago, but I remember being really scared by it. Anyone who likes King novels and/or vampire stories will enjoy this book.
This is one of my favorite Stephen King books though I do have many.
Scarey book! I remember when I read this, I put it in my basement because it spooked me to have this book in my house!!!
I have read this many times. I feel it is the best book written by King. Compelling tale of a small town in Maine. What happens when your new resident is literally feeding off the populace?
A classic tales of Vampires and love gone astray.Good read!!
My second favorite Stephen king novel and my third favorite Vampire tale.
"A spine-tingling novel of creeping terror, gripping in its unrelenting spell of suspense... it will hold you mesmerized!"
"A super exorcism.... tremendous!"
"A super exorcism.... tremendous!"
An early Stephen King novel (1975) about a town possessed by an "unspeakable evil."
One of many in my collection of Stephen King books. All are up for trade. Check out the rest.
I think this Stephen King book scared me more than any of his others. Don't read it when you're alone!
Great book. A very engrossing story that keeps you enthralled. Definitely a classic.
As always, too scary for words. King Will bring you into his inner most horrors and won't let you go.
A spooky book about Vampires...
Stephen King is a very talented writer. Salems Lot is a terrific book, hope you enjoy it as much as I
Stephen King Book.... You know its good
The town knew evil but no one dared talking about the sweet evil laughter of a child....
too scarry for me to finish
The town knew darkness...and the awful, heavy silence of terrifying images grotesquely dancing in and out of the shadows...and stark white faces, huge empty eyes and long gnarled hands that reached out iwth lustful insistence...and the paralyzing fear of a diabolical corruption and the hideous peril more dreadful than death.
So scary. I read this book at night, in my bed, and I had a hard time getting to sleep, hearing every little noise and imaging someone was at my window. I still get chills when I think about it. Great book!
King at his finest!
Category : Horror
Something strange is going on in Jerusalem's Lot ... but no one dares to talk about it. By day, 'Salem's Lot is a typical modest, New England town; but when the sun goes down, evil roams the earth. The devilishly sweet insistent laughter of a child can be heard echoing through the fields, and the presence of silent looming spirits can be felt lurking right outside your window. Stephen King brings his gruesome imagination to life in this tale of spine tingling horror.
'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 homecoming 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. This is a rare novel, almost hypnotic in its unyielding suspense, which builds to a climax of classic terror. You will not forget the town of 'salem's Lot nor any of the people who used to live there.
Category : Horror
Something strange is going on in Jerusalem's Lot ... but no one dares to talk about it. By day, 'Salem's Lot is a typical modest, New England town; but when the sun goes down, evil roams the earth. The devilishly sweet insistent laughter of a child can be heard echoing through the fields, and the presence of silent looming spirits can be felt lurking right outside your window. Stephen King brings his gruesome imagination to life in this tale of spine tingling horror.
'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 homecoming 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. This is a rare novel, almost hypnotic in its unyielding suspense, which builds to a climax of classic terror. You will not forget the town of 'salem's Lot nor any of the people who used to live there.
another classic by King!
Not sure how I didn't read this sooner! I had heard of it and read other Stephen King books but somehow managed to pass this one up for some time. This is classic vampire tale. But written in only the style that Stephen king can write. I loved all the main characters and was sad when some didn't make it. I really don't know what else to say except that if you are new to Stephen King I would recommend this one for you to read first.
Re-issue of Steven King Classic
Thick PB by the master, classic second novel, mundale town under siege from the forces of darkness, one of the most terifying vampire novels ever written...
Very good read. One of King's finest. Loved it.
This was actually the first Stephen King novel I ever read! I was hooked from that moment on!
A struggling author returns to the town he grew up in to revisit some skeletons of his past for a new book. He finds romance, friendship and more evil then he can deal with as townspeople start disappearing.
Stephen King can really describe a setting and get you settled in. He gets the reader the feeling of being comfortable and then boom here comes the creepy. The creepy just increases and increases. For me I keep thinking wait let's go back to the comfiness. I want to see author, Ben, connect more with townie, Susan.
When I read King I expect major scariness, the creeps and...not completely welcomed nightmares. This one had some creep factor but it was not really scary to me. I find his short stories scare me the most. It was a decent book. I was not thrilled with the ending either. In some ways it set up for a sequel although I do not know if there is one or not. I know there is a short story prequel called Jerusalem's Lot which I have never read.
For a vampire book it had some interesting takes on the usual mythos. Other than that I say there is better Stephen King books if you want scary but it is some very good writing.
Stephen King can really describe a setting and get you settled in. He gets the reader the feeling of being comfortable and then boom here comes the creepy. The creepy just increases and increases. For me I keep thinking wait let's go back to the comfiness. I want to see author, Ben, connect more with townie, Susan.
When I read King I expect major scariness, the creeps and...not completely welcomed nightmares. This one had some creep factor but it was not really scary to me. I find his short stories scare me the most. It was a decent book. I was not thrilled with the ending either. In some ways it set up for a sequel although I do not know if there is one or not. I know there is a short story prequel called Jerusalem's Lot which I have never read.
For a vampire book it had some interesting takes on the usual mythos. Other than that I say there is better Stephen King books if you want scary but it is some very good writing.
One of the slowest vampire books I've ever read. I found myself skipping monotonous passages where King was just blathering on about some meaningless made up history. This book was supposed to scare, but it just made me yawn and pity the characters foolish enough to get in the way of a vampires.
This is a rare novel, almost hypnotic in its unyielding suspense, which builds to a climax of classic terror. You will not forget the town of Salem's Lot nor any of the people who used to live there.
This hardback is a book club edition and the jacket is not in the best of shape but the inside of the book is in good shape with no missing pages or stains.
This hardback is a book club edition and the jacket is not in the best of shape but the inside of the book is in good shape with no missing pages or stains.
Released for the television mini-series, includes photos
Salem's Lot, S.King's second novel is a prelude to many, many books of horror/suspense by the master of this genre. Set in a small town in Maine that is a picture and character of small town America that would grace the early Saturday Evening Post magazine with a cover painting by Norman Rockwell. However, this scene is about to change and a darkness is beginning to fall on this peaceful community. An abandoned home sitting on a hill overlooking Salem's Lot is bought and a new owner moves in. The windows are shuttered and strange events begin to happen in the town - unusual events. King turns off the lights in this book. And in the darkness a 'vampire' stalks this town in a one-by-one horror that begins to grow and terror takes over. The question remains to be asked; will anyone survive? Gery
Long and booooring!
The beginning of the book drags with boring mundane details, but it picks up when one of the characters tells of a frightening childhood experience in the infamous "Marsten House" which continues to haunt his dreams. I was just getting drawn into the story when I read about one of the 'Salem's Lot residents, a teen mom who loses her temper and violently lashes out at her ten month old baby leaving his eyes bruised and swollen. At this point, I was horrified and had to stop reading the book. No matter how great the book may be, I don't want have those disgusting images in my mind.
