Re-read 'salem's Lot...who is your favorite vampire?

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

amaunder

Abby
Feb 19, 2016
156
591
Read 'salem's Lot after almost forty years, and although I think some younger readers may find it a bit corny (I am basing this on how vampires have evolved in books, films and TV over the years, Angel, Being Human, Twilight saga,The Originals, True Blood,etc.) But it did not fail to hold (like a non-painful vise) my attention and if Carrie was the cornerstone then 'salem's Lot is the foundation of the house SK built. In most of his books SK will give the start and finish date and I was surprised that it took him almost three years to complete SL, although he may have put it away for a while between those dates. It was a great, terrifying read back then and still is.

One line made me smile at the end of Chapter 14. "They were in the streets, the walking dead." Sorry Robert Kirkland (The comic book writer who created TWD comic series, that the TV show is based on.), but SK coined the phrase "the walking dead" three years before you were born. Perhaps the phrase has been mentioned in earlier works by other horror writers, but I am not aware of this.

Vampires. Who is your favorite vampire? Mine is actor Paul Rhys's (small) role of Dracula in the series Da Vinci's Demons. Actually he went by Vlad the Impaler but Rhys gave a brilliant performance IMO and I wish his role in the series was a tad bigger and I also wish Starz would do a spinoff of his character. I swear they had to super-glue his eyelids to stay open...wide open...Jaysus that stare! And I never saw him blink once! But as sadistic as he was, you could not help sympathizing with him (betrayed by his brother) and laugh at his offbeat,dark humor...great antihero!

9gQPFrf.jpg


 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
Read 'salem's Lot after almost forty years, and although I think some younger readers may find it a bit corny (I am basing this on how vampires have evolved in books, films and TV over the years, Angel, Being Human, Twilight saga,The Originals, True Blood,etc.) But it did not fail to hold (like a non-painful vise) my attention and if Carrie was the cornerstone then 'salem's Lot is the foundation of the house SK built. In most of his books SK will give the start and finish date and I was surprised that it took him almost three years to complete SL, although he may have put it away for a while between those dates. It was a great, terrifying read back then and still is.

One line made me smile at the end of Chapter 14. "They were in the streets, the walking dead." Sorry Robert Kirkland (The comic book writer who created TWD comic series, that the TV show is based on.), but SK coined the phrase "the walking dead" three years before you were born. Perhaps the phrase has been mentioned in earlier works by other horror writers, but I am not aware of this.

Vampires. Who is your favorite vampire? Mine is actor Paul Rhys's (small) role of Dracula in the series Da Vinci's Demons. Actually he went by Vlad the Impaler but Rhys gave a brilliant performance IMO and I wish his role in the series was a tad bigger and I also wish Starz would do a spinoff of his character. I swear they had to super-glue his eyelids to stay open...wide open...Jaysus that stare! And I never saw him blink once! But as sadistic as he was, you could not help sympathizing with him (betrayed by his brother) and laugh at his offbeat,dark humor...great antihero!

9gQPFrf.jpg
From 1936; 11 years before SK was born. And I am sure the phrase was used even before this movie.

Thewalkingeadposter.jpg
 

RichardX

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2006
1,737
4,434
If you liked Salem's Lot, you should give "They Thirst" by Robert McCammon a try. A lot of similarities but with the primary difference a large city vs small town setting. I just finished Whitley Strieber's "The Hunger" another oldie. A different type of vampire book. My favorite scenes in Salem's Lot were the one where the caretaker arrives at the cemetery and finds the dog on the fence (it reminded me of the guy who holds the lantern and his dog on the Haunted Mansion ride) and the delivery of the coffin to the house. Two very creepy scenes in the book.
 

amaunder

Abby
Feb 19, 2016
156
591
If you liked Salem's Lot, you should give "They Thirst" by Robert McCammon a try. A lot of similarities but with the primary difference a large city vs small town setting. I just finished Whitley Strieber's "The Hunger" another oldie. A different type of vampire book. My favorite scenes in Salem's Lot were the one where the caretaker arrives at the cemetery and finds the dog on the fence (it reminded me of the guy who holds the lantern and his dog on the Haunted Mansion ride) and the delivery of the coffin to the house. Two very creepy scenes in the book.

Thanks Richard! I have been looking at McCammon's books on Amazon for a while and read some great reviews about his books. Definitely will pick up "They Thirst." Oh lord, there were soooo many creepy things in 'salem's Lot. :bat:
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
....Skinner Sweet, a creation of Mr. King's, from the graphic novel/comic book...American Vampire......
skinnersweet.jpg
I was this close to buying that GN at B&N yesterday. It took me a few minutes, but I talked myself into checking thrift books first--lol. Vamps are my first supernatural love--my first crush was Morgan Freeman as Dracula on The Electric Company :)
5a4355f7a741945d94e14c1af8a53ca8.jpg

I'm partial to Jerry Dandridge (Fright Night), John Mitchell (BBC's Being Human--My favorite line, spoken to an unruly group of young vampires: "I'm John Mitchell, and I've killed more people than you've met."), Christopher Lee's Dracula, and Danny Huston in 30 Days of Night. Dang, I could go on and on, because I just thought of a bunch more I like :)
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
I was this close to buying that GN at B&N yesterday. It took me a few minutes, but I talked myself into checking thrift books first--lol. Vamps are my first supernatural love--my first crush was Morgan Freeman as Dracula on The Electric Company :)
View attachment 14690

I'm partial to Jerry Dandridge (Fright Night), John Mitchell (BBC's Being Human--My favorite line, spoken to an unruly group of young vampires: "I'm John Mitchell, and I've killed more people than you've met."), Christopher Lee's Dracula, and Danny Huston in 30 Days of Night. Dang, I could go on and on, because I just thought of a bunch more I like :)
....get it!....King may not be participating any more, and hasn't since the first couple of issues...but Skinner is still alive & well.....so to speak....