The Psychology of Vampires ('Salem's Lot Spoilers)

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

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
Callahan?
He becomes a major character in The Dark Tower series (starting with Wolves of the Calla) and helpfully relates what he was up to in between (even hinting at what became of Ben and Mark, though not the town itself.)

Hope your migraine feels better !

Moderator spoil the above post , please.
One of the best surprises ever. In DT series.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
THe whole thread is marked as a spoiler.
Warning-Spoiler-Alert_o_109721.jpg
 

Coyo-T

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2016
67
321
To be fair, the thread is marked as spoilers for 'Salem's Lot- but I honestly never even considered his appearance in the other series to be a spoiler (it's also hard to tell someone interested in following the character what book to read without telling them the book.)

I read DT first, anyway, so it actually spoiled some of 'Salem's Lot for me. :a11:
 

Dana Jean

Dirty Pirate Hooker, The Return
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
53,634
236,697
The High Seas
To be fair, the thread is marked as spoilers for 'Salem's Lot- but I honestly never even considered his appearance in the other series to be a spoiler (it's also hard to tell someone interested in following the character what book to read without telling them the book.)

I read DT first, anyway, so it actually spoiled some of 'Salem's Lot for me. :a11:
Went ahead and put spoilers on it.
 

Kingunlucky

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2016
368
1,681
My favorite portrayal of vampires is in the Dresden Files....which is an urban fantasy series. The vampires in that world is split up into three separate courts.

The Red Court- Which are like bloodthirsty bat creatures disguised as humans. Think like from Dusk till Down or Man-Bat from DC comics in appearance.

The Black Court- Undead zombie-like blood hungry type creatures that specialize in necromancy and mostly traditional type vampires. They are the Bram Stoker/Salem's Lot type vampires with the same weaknesses.

White Court- Sexy and humanly perfect Anne Rice/Twilight vampires that feed on emotions and feelings such as sexual desire, pain and other such things.

Salem's Lot is way older then the Dresden Files as is Dracula obviously. But reading Salem's Lot all I could think of were Black Court vampires from Dresden series lol
 

Nomik

Carry on
Jun 19, 2016
3,973
22,555
47
Derry, NH
I knew I was using the improper terminology. I thought about it briefly and called him a minister instead of a Catholic priest. I remember there being a reason for that at the time but it's OK. I am collecting the DT books; I have the first on audible and a few others. I don't know why I am saving this series, part of it is because I want to make sure I have them all before I read. ( sorry for lackluster excuse ) The other part has to do with my memory of the first book. It's probably more of an association than the book itself. I did purchase Wolves of the Callah recently . . .
 

Kingunlucky

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2016
368
1,681
These would be my tactics if I found myself in Salem's Lot and had to face Barlow.


Pull a tommy gun out my backside and fire away!


Be ridiculously anime stealthy enough to sneak several grenades on him. And finally none of that worked...I'd rely on the greatest skill of them all.


That's how you handle vampires!;;D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Neesy and GNTLGNT

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
This is my absolute favorite King book :)

Mythologies of vamps vary greatly. Mr. King's seem to be of the 'soulless evil' type, don't you think? It seems like their vampire intelligence is in some way dictated by their human intelligence, i.e., the more canny they were as a human, the higher up on the food chain (heh-heh-heh) as a vampire. It seemed to me that their ability to control their hunger is linked to that, as well. Someone like Larry Crockett has the self-control and slyness to pick and choose, while someone like the MacDougalls likely hit whatever is nearest.

I have wondered from time to time if who turns them makes a difference, too, i.e., Danny and Mike (Danny turned by Barlow and Mike by Danny) came back quickly and seemed to be thinking right off the bat, while others seem to have a lengthy 'logy' state. Not are where that puts Dud Rogers, though...

Now I'll be thinking about this book all night AGAIN :)
 

Coyo-T

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2016
67
321
This is my absolute favorite King book :)

Mythologies of vamps vary greatly. Mr. King's seem to be of the 'soulless evil' type, don't you think? It seems like their vampire intelligence is in some way dictated by their human intelligence, i.e., the more canny they were as a human, the higher up on the food chain (heh-heh-heh) as a vampire. It seemed to me that their ability to control their hunger is linked to that, as well. Someone like Larry Crockett has the self-control and slyness to pick and choose, while someone like the MacDougalls likely hit whatever is nearest.

I have wondered from time to time if who turns them makes a difference, too, i.e., Danny and Mike (Danny turned by Barlow and Mike by Danny) came back quickly and seemed to be thinking right off the bat, while others seem to have a lengthy 'logy' state. Not are where that puts Dud Rogers, though...

Now I'll be thinking about this book all night AGAIN :)

This is an interesting observation. I wonder how Eva and Weasel fared in this respect- if she and her boarders stayed in the boarding house and became a sort of faction within the new vampire "community". I guess I just like the idea of a pride of elderly vampires lead by a widow and a former alcoholic prowling the countryside. =D

I've wondered a lot about the different rates at which people turned, too- there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. Virgil Rathbun apparently turned quickly (as did Weasel Craig and Eva Miller) but a lot of the early ones like Mike Ryerson, the Glicks and then even a few later ones like Franklin Boddin also had that intermediate stage.
 

jujuhound

Member
Nov 16, 2017
22
79
44
This is an interesting observation. I wonder how Eva and Weasel fared in this respect- if she and her boarders stayed in the boarding house and became a sort of faction within the new vampire "community". I guess I just like the idea of a pride of elderly vampires lead by a widow and a former alcoholic prowling the countryside.

I've wondered a lot about the different rates at which people turned, too- there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. Virgil Rathbun apparently turned quickly (as did Weasel Craig and Eva Miller) but a lot of the early ones like Mike Ryerson, the Glicks and then even a few later ones like Franklin Boddin also had that intermediate stage.

You have a realtor worth millions and a county Sheriff among the vampires who might have been involved in the leadership with Barlow gone.

At one point, SK explains that Susan bled her mother slowly on purpose and didn't turn her right away just so she could get a foothold in the house without drawing immediate suspicion. We also see that it took more than one visit from Danny Glick to turn Mike Ryerson. Danny bit him at the cemetery and at Matt's house. I think the time of turning was a case by case deal where an individual vampire decided how quickly they wanted to change someone depending on location and how best to avoid raising suspicion. Barlow had no need to string Susan along for a week whereas Marjorie Glick was content to work Tony Glick over several days.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GNTLGNT and Nomik

Joseph Burdette

Well-Known Member
Jul 26, 2018
95
377
43
West Virginia
It likely depended a lot on the people that were turned. If you were quick and canny in life, you might recover quicker from your transformation. Some of the vampire sin the story seemed smarter than the others. But Barlow wan't a kingdom, not a town of equals. He likely picked Salem's Lot because they were simple people that would, once turned, be loyal servants. Once he was destroyed there really wasn't a hierarchy. Danny Glick was the first person turned as a vampire, so he'd be the new head vampire in the traditional sense.

SK's vampires tend to still be monsters. They aren't like Anne Rice's, they don't be moan their fate. They are two turns up from Barnabas Collins, knowing that they are evil and nominally unwilling to try and stop themselves.