With the long-awaited adaptation of the oddly-named Jerusalem's Lot to fight some personal demons and get inspiration for his current book. When he meets Susan Norton and there's an instant spark, things seem to look up, until they and a few of the townsfolk find themselves confronting an ancient evil that is slowly taking over the town.
'Salem's Lot is the first novel where Stephen King tackled vampires, but it certainly wouldn't be his last. While the 1975 novel was originally meant to be King's answer to Dracula, over time, the in-universe lore of his vampires grew as his interconnected literary universe did. That interconnectedness means that, while the town of Jerusalem's Lot doesn't feature in Stephen King's stories as prominently as other places, it and the events that happened in it are still referenced in more than a dozen Stephen King books and short stories.
22 Stephen King & Horror Easter Eggs In Salem's Lot
Max's new 'Salem's Lot adaptation is stuffed full of Stephen King Easter eggs, along with references and other subtle nods to the horror genre.
1 'Salem's Lot (1975)
Standalone Novel
The main book, of course, is where the majority of the events in Stephen King's universe take place. Unlike other notable fictional locations like Derry or Castle Rock, Jerusalem's Lot couldn't, by the nature of events that happened there, be a setting King returned to again and again in his work, as Kurt Barlow effectively destroyed the Lot and made it a ghost town.
Those who didn't move away to greener pastures or pack up and flee the darkness spreading through the town during ' were either turned into vampires and then killed or just killed outright. After Straker and Barlow's work, there was no town to return to. Still, there are two short stories that serve as bookends to the events of 'Salem's Lot.
2 One For The Road (1977)
Short Story
The short story "One for the Road" was first published in Maine magazine in 1977 before, like many of Stephen King's short stories and novellas, being later collected and republished in one of his short story collections. In this case, that was 1978's Night Shift, one of King's more beloved short story collections.
The story follows up on where things stand after the events of 'Salem's Lot. As it turns out, a few vampires still linger, and the residents of nearby towns regard Jerusalem's Lot with fear and suspicion. They wield religious symbols and stay away from the cursed area, warning ersby not to go into the Lot, as they won't be coming back. Of course, not everyone listens to those warnings, leading to dire consequences.
3 Jerusalem's Lot (1978)
Short Story
Also part of the Night Shift collection was the short story "Jersusalem's Lot." While "One for the Road" serves as a sequel to 'Salem's Lot, "Jerusalem's Lot" serves as a prequel, explaining why the town was primed for Kurt Barlow's evil workings and expanding on the mythology of King's vampires.
The epistolary story begins in the small town of Preacher's Corners, Maine, and reveals the story of the evil cult that took root in the nearby village of Jerusalem's Lot before mysteriously vanishing. The cult was obsessed with an occult book titled De Vermis Mysteriis, which they used to summon a great Lovecraftian, vampiric entity known as the Worm before becoming vampires themselves. In researching his family's cursed history, protagonist Charles Boone stumbles into the horror nesting in Jerusalem's Lot. It's strongly hinted in King's mythology that all vampires in that universe are descended from the Worm.
Salem's Lot Adaptation |
Release Year |
Kurt Barlow Portrayed By |
|---|---|---|
Salem's Lot (2 ep. miniseries) |
1979 |
Reggie Nalder |
Salem's Lot (2 ep. miniseries) |
2004 |
Rutger Hauer |
Chapelwaite (10 ep. limited series) |
2021 |
N/A ("Jerusalem's Lot" adaptation) |
Salem's Lot (feature film) |
2024 |
Alexander Ward |
While only those three stories are set in Jerusalem's Lot, other stories reference it and the events there. One major character from the original 'Salem's Lot even goes on to become a significant character in another series, The Dark Tower: Father Donald Callahan.
4 The Dark Tower V: Wolves Of The Calla (2003)
The Fifth Book In The Dark Tower Series
Father Callahan walks off – or rather, rides off in a bus – toward the end of 'Salem's Lot. His faith had been wavering, and Kurt Barlow exploits that, forcing the priest to drink his blood and thus be forever unclean, barred from churches, sanctuaries, or any type of hallowed ground. He re-enters Stephen King's literary universe in Wolves of the Calla, where Roland and his ka-tet find him in Roland's world in the village of Calla Bryn Sturgis.
How Salem's Lot Connects To Mike Flanagan's Stephen King Adaptation
The 2024 Salem's Lot remake and Mike Flanagan's The Dark Tower series adaptation are connected in surprising and exciting ways.
During the events of the novel, Father Callahan tells his new acquaintances about what happened in Jerusalem's Lot, explaining that he spent the next few years using his newfound ability to see vampires to hunt them. Eventually, he was lured into a trap and died, crossing over into Mid-World. Eventually, he ends up settling with the Manni people in Calla Bryn Sturgis, where Roland and his allies meet him.
5 The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004)
The Sixth Book In The Dark Tower Series
Father Callahan continues to be part of Roland's ka-tet, traveling with Jake and Oy to 1999 New York City to free their friend, Susannah Dean, from her possession by the demon-turned-mortal woman, Mia. While there, they confront the agents of the Crimson King at the Dixie Pig restaurant. Interestingly, Father Callahan's faith is now restored, his time fighting vampires as a fearless protector of the good helping him to regain his belief and faith in God. That faith helps him and Jake prepare to fight the Crimson King's vampires and other henchmen.
6 The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004)
The Seventh Book In The Dark Tower Series
In the final Dark Tower book, and the final Stephen King book in which Father Callahan appears, the redemption arc of the once-disgraced priest is completed as he sacrifices himself to save Jake and Oy in the Dixie Pig. Even though he succumbs in the end, Father Callahan goes out as a bona fide hero, his newfound faith blazing forth so brightly that he's even able to hold off the Grandfathers, the most ancient and powerful vampires in Stephen King's universe, while simultaneously also fending off a horde of lesser vampires. Before they can swarm him and turn him into one of them, he shoots himself with his revolver, going out on his own .
The Dark Tower is an inversion of Father Callahan's story in 'Salem's Lot. In that story, Kurt Barlow can overpower him even with the holy objects he holds, because his faith is weak. In The Dark Tower, Father Callahan's faith is strong enough to withstand the vampires without a cross and Bible.
The other Stephen King books and stories that incorporate 'Salem's Lot aren't as involved as The Dark Tower books, but there are still references and nods to the town of Jerusalem's Lot and its events sprinkled throughout.
7 The Shining (1977)
Standalone Novel
The Shining's connection to 'Salem's Lot is more thematic than anything, referencing a specific ability that pops up a few times in Stephen King's books. At one point in 'Salem's Lot, Ben Mears is talking to Susan Nortan and tells her about a conversation he had with the senile Minella Corey, the sister-in-law of 'Salem's Lot figure Hubert Marsten. She described to Ben a moment when she was standing in her kitchen making a salad when she was suddenly hit with a flash of knowing, and in that moment knew that her sister-in-law had been murdered by Hubert. It's very similar to Dick Halloran's moment in The Shining in which he suddenly smells oranges as a young man and knows intuitively that his brother is dead.
8 The Dead Zone (1979)
Standalone Novel
The Dead Zone connection to 'Salem's Lot is one of the briefest in Stephen King's books. In the novel, protagonist Johnny Smith is in a conversation and the location of Cumberland, Maine, comes up. He responds, "Cumberland General. I know where it is. Just above Jerusalem’s Lot." The events of the vampire novel don't at all factor into The Dead Zone, but the moment is one of the many ways Stephen King weaves his fictional places and people together and makes them feel real.
The Dead Zone was first adapted as a movie in 1983, with Christopher Walken in the lead. It was later turned into a six-season TV show in 2002 with Michael Anthony Hall taking on the lead role.
9 The Body (1982)
Novella
The Body, later turned into the classic 1986 coming-of-age movie Stand By Me, was a novella that first appeared in the collection Different Seasons. The reference to Jerusalem's Lot comes when Gordie LaChance is first telling his friends his made-up "Lard Ass" story and they interrupt him because they think the name of the town he uses sounds silly. Ever the hero, his best friend, Chris Chambers, chastizes the guys and sticks up for Gordie: "'Lots of real towns sound stupid,'" Chris says. 'I mean, what about Alfred, Maine? Or Saco, Maine? Or Jerusalem's Lot? Or Castle - f**in' Rock? There ain't no castle there. Most town names are stupid. You just don't think so because you're used to 'em. Right, Gordie?'"
10 Pet Sematary (1983)
Standalone Novel
The connection to Jerusalem's Lot in 1983's Pet Sematary is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference on the page, not just to readers but also to the characters in the story. In the scene in which Rachel Creed is driving to Ludlow, she es an exit sign for Jerusalem's Lot and it strikes her as strange. "Jerusalem's Lot, she thought randomly, what an odd name. Not a pleasant name, for some reason... Come and sleep in Jerusalem." Even to characters who have no connection to the 'Lot, the chill of evil still makes them uneasy when they .
