Salem\'s Lot Stephen King\'s Novel

Salem's Lot

Stephen King's novel Salem's Lot is set in southern Maine in a town called Jerusalem's Lot. The Lot is an ideal setting for a vampire tale, although King could have chosen any town with similar climatic and geographic features. However, several features of Jerusalem's Lot make it a perfect place in which to establish the horrific and suspenseful ambiance King creates. For example, the Lot is a typical New England town with old homes in which centuries of lives have passed. The Marsten House might well be in Connecticut but Maine tends to be more remote as the one of the farthest north and easterly points in the United States. Maine feels remote, almost desolate, like the land's end. Its relatively undeveloped terrain suggests darkness, which is an ideal setting for a horror tale and especially one about vampires.

An Alaskan town might offer more darkness in which to set a vampire tale but would lack the historical pull that a Maine town does have. Similarly, a Maine town possesses character and the potential for ghosts given the multiple generations living in the same area for so many years. King's familiarity with Maine also makes the state an ideal place in which to set one of his earliest horror novels.

Protagonist Ben Mears is a morally upright man whose decisions generally reflect sound judgment and solid character. He is the novel's hero, and spearheads the effort to squelch the vampires along with his partner Susan. When Susan is bitten, Ben is forced to make one of the first challenging ethical decisions in the novel and kills Susan. However, Ben's knowledge of vampires and his ability to accept that Susan as he knew her was dead made the decision a clear one. His actions prove that Ben is not just a moral person but an intelligent one too: a man not swayed too much by emotion. Ben cooperates remarkably well with others under the trying circumstances that unfold inside the Marsten House. He sticks with Mark Petrie when another person might have fended for himself and later volunteers with Mark to return to Salem's Lot to prevent further destruction. Thus, Mears emerges as an altruist. Mark Petrie is a lot like Ben in his earnest desire to rid the Lot of the vampires. Both Mark Petrie and Ben Mears could have fled the Lot long before tackling the Marsten House. Kurt Barlow is one of the novel's most one-dimensional characters. The head vampire, Barlow is wholly without morals. He feeds only to sustain himself, is concerned only with his own needs, and does not feel any remorse for causing pain or suffering.