Ending ***SPOILERS***

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No1FanUK

Well-Known Member
Oct 22, 2013
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Gateshead UK
i liked the ending, i wouldnt have enjoyed it as much if they had of just went house 2 house staking all the vamps & they all lived happily ever after.
I liked the idea of having another great fire but then obviously there will still be some left
 
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skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
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No, others left. It mentions the constable, Parkins Gillespie, the diner woman (Paulette? Paulene?), a guy who ran the filling station (Sonny, maybe? Or was that the service station guy in Carrie? I mis-remember.) The thing is that of the ones who left, no one talks about 'salems Lot, and no one goes back. Maybe their human forebrains didn't want to believe what was happening, but that older, animal part (an idea TOTALLY lifted from Mr. King--lol) believed it all.
 

Two Flutes

Member
Dec 30, 2013
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Dublin, Ireland
Yes you are right. I remember now that the sheriff Parkins Gillespe decided to get out. If i recall he didnt seem at all interested in joining the hunt
I believe Father Callahan turns up again in Wolves of Calla but i stand to be corrected on that ;)
 

MandarkC

Active Member
Mar 11, 2014
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London, United Kingdom
I've been on a kick reading the novella/short story collections and I think in Night Shift, Jerusalem's Lot was a story about what happened in the letters that you see written at the end of the book. The one that talks about the bloodline of the…Boones I think it is. Not sure when in the timeline it is, since I haven't read 'salem's lot in a while, but if I recall, there were letters that Charles Boone wrote that you could see either at the beginning or the end of the book (By book I mean Salem's Lot)
 
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NightShifter

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Nov 8, 2013
63
344
Mansfield, Massachusetts
Finished 'salems Lot a few weeks ago and man it was WAY better than I thought it would be. The end was definitely a little open ended but Im glad he went that way
Now you'll have to read the short stories "Jerusalems Lot" (a prequel) and "One For The Road" (a sequel, but more like an epilogue). Both stories appear in Night Shift. I thought Jerusalem's Lot was okay, but definitely different. I really enjoyed "One For The Road."
 
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Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
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I just finished reading 'Salem's Lot and I was wondering what happened. Did Ben and Mark start cleaning up the town? It seems so open ended.
It is a bit openended. My understanding of it is that the burn the town down, thus hoping too kill as many as possible because they wouldn't have as many hiding places left and not so much time too find new ones. But as i understood it they didn't expect to get all of them. They were satisfied with the majority. (this is also partly from later King books where the Lot is mentioned as town that has burned, a creepy place that people tend to avoid). I guess the message is something like: "You cant win em all. Sometimes you have to accept a tie" or something like it.
 
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Blake

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Feb 18, 2013
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It is a bit openended. My understanding of it is that the burn the town down, thus hoping too kill as many as possible because they wouldn't have as many hiding places left and not so much time too find new ones. But as i understood it they didn't expect to get all of them. They were satisfied with the majority. (this is also partly from later King books where the Lot is mentioned as town that has burned, a creepy place that people tend to avoid). I guess the message is something like: "You cant win em all. Sometimes you have to accept a tie" or something like it.
You know with vampires Kurben that at least one will escape. Usually the ones that weren't arsewipes in real life. MH.
 
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Blake

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Feb 18, 2013
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I think that Ryerson would end up like a 'Hannibal King' character-not from the Blade 3 movie-that is a 'hardarse'; not dissimilar to the character in the Marvel comics. Mark.
 
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TrueGeneration

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Jun 15, 2014
6,354
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NY
I just finished 'Salem's Lot today. Captivated me from start to finish. I thought it was truly scary! (Really eerie) I love how King introduces us to the town and the people: giving readers a glimpse of their lives and what they do. Once again, I felt like I was a fly on the wall and just felt like I was witnessing everything on the spot, and like I was part of the town itself. His descriptions and imagery are great. Besides the vampires, what I got out of this book was this: What happens when evil takes over and what do we do? Do we just sit back and let it spread? Or do we fight? (which Ben does!) But I think the most scary thought that King put in my mind is this: this depiction of how this is a seemingly, ordinary small town. Yes, tragedy has happened here, but besides that, time has moved on and what else could go wrong? The locals are living their normal lives and following their day-to-day schedule. Then in an instant--everyone you knew, the place where you grew up, your life--is gone.

I really liked Mark. He reminded me a lot of Jake Chambers, with his wits, strength, and bravery. And I really liked the ending, that Ben and Mark are
starting a new life together, putting the darkness and demons away
Now as I look back, The Wolves of the Calla really is a sequel to 'Salem's Lot. I'm going to re-read when Father (or Pere) Callahan tells his story, but as I recall he said that
he attended Ben Mears funeral and that Mark Petrie read his eulogy and that he became quite a confident young man. I do believe he said something along the lines of that?
 

Hall Monitor

All bars serve the Beam.
Nov 7, 2013
187
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Were Ben and Mark the only ones to make it out ? I seem to remember Father Callahan escaping but wasnt he a vampire at that stage ? Or at least under the control of Barlow
Callahan wasn't under Barlow's control, but was made "unclean" and basically exiled ... You can read "The Wolves of the Calla" to get the full story. The under Barlow's control part was used in the remake of the mini-series. I tend to be open minded about different visions of the novels (it is easy to put it on a different level of the Tower and call it a day), but that part of the adaption really ruined the whole thing for me.
 
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raspberry2012

Active Member
Jul 21, 2014
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"Salem's Lot" was my first King book and remains my favorite, complete with my favorite King character (R.I.P. my beloved Dr. Jimmy Cody. To paraphrase from William Shakespeare, "Chainsaws and staircases that hath sucked the honey of thy breath..." :bat:).

Is it left kind of open-ended if "One For the Road" takes place before or after Mark and Ben set the fire? I remember the two old-timers in the story talking about a great fire, but I don't know if they mean Ben and Mark's fire, or the first big fire that occurred when Ben was a kid. To be honest, I never thought of that until I started reading this thread - I always just assumed they meant Mark & Ben's fire.
 
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