Hello, I'm a bit new here (I've posted in a couple of topics previously, but this is my first full thread) and having just finished Salem's Lot a few days ago I was hoping people here could shed some light on something that's really been bothering me- what happens to a person once they've been vampirized? Do they die along with their body (the soul or whatever going on to do whatever it was going to do upon death regardless) leaving a shell with just enough of their memories to mark the next likeliest targets, or does their consciousness remain, either buried beneath powerful new instincts and hunger or in an altered state as in someone with rabies? And if they're not already "gone", then when they're destroyed (either by staking or fire) is their soul "freed" to move on ?(Assuming there's something to move on to, of course). Eva and a few others in deleted scenes seemed to consider the change as "dream-like", and Jimmy felt the beginnings of the infection as a powerful urge to attack Ben; it's been a while since I've read Wolves of the Calla so I don't remember if it had anything more to add or if there's anything in the relevant folklore that King was drawing from. If I recall correctly the Lot vampires would be considered "Type 2" and mostly just slaves to the will of their Master "Type 1" vampire- but they no longer have one, and are presumably now operating by their own instincts and whatever faculties they may have left.
I know it's silly to be so worried about the welfare of minor fictional characters in a 41 year old book I only finished less than a week ago, but I really got into this story (and some of the characters, such as Weasel, reminded me of people I used to know, so there's maybe a bit of a personal connection involved.) It's a question I'm hoping to put to rest (pun fully intended.)
I know it's silly to be so worried about the welfare of minor fictional characters in a 41 year old book I only finished less than a week ago, but I really got into this story (and some of the characters, such as Weasel, reminded me of people I used to know, so there's maybe a bit of a personal connection involved.) It's a question I'm hoping to put to rest (pun fully intended.)