El misterio de Salem's Lot

В завръщането към места от детството при всички положения има специфичен чар, а и понякога на човек само това му остава... След като неговата съпруга е загинала в тежка катастрофа, писателят Бен Миърс решава да се премести в Сейлъм'с Лот, където е прекарал 4 години като дете. В началото той мисли да наеме легендарния и страховит Марстънов дом, където да напише следващия си роман, но се оказва, че сградата има тайнствен нов собственик. Бен се настанява в единствения пансион в градчето, а скоро среща красивата Сюзън и се влюбва в нея. Атмосферата в Лот е завладяваща, но и доста мрачна... Повечето жители са затънали в ежедневните си предразсъдъци, интриги, домашно насилие и други социални трагедии...обаче, по едно време започват да изчезват хора и да се случват свръхестествени зловещи събития. Междувременно Бен се е запознавал и със страхотни личности, като учителят Мат Бърк, отец Дон Калахан �� други, заедно с които трябва да се борят със злото...

„Сейлъм'с Лот“ е много повече от класическа вампирска история! Тази ранна книга на Кинг несъмнено е повлияна от „Дракула“, но авторът е създал изключително силен роман, който не се ограничава само в хорър жанра.





„Но когато есента пристигне и безцеремонно изрита вятърничавото лято, както неизменно се случва някъде след средата на септември, тя се задържа край тебе като стар, отдавна несрещан приятел. Настанява се наоколо, както приятелят би седнал в любимото ти кресло, за да запали бавно лулата и да изпълни следобеда с разказ къде е бил и какво е правил, откакто не сте се виждали.“


„Но Калахан не беше нито млад свещеник, нито стар; озоваваше се в ролята на традиционалист, който вече не може да вярва дори в основата на първоучението. Искаше да поведе дивизия от армията на… на кого? На Бога, на доброто, на правдата, различни названия на едно и също нещо — в битката срещу ЗЛОТО. Искаше комюникета и военни колони, а не да зъзне пред супермаркетите и да раздава позиви за бойкот на салатата или стачка срещу гроздето. Искаше да види ЗЛОТО без измамните му одежди, с открито и пределно ясно лице. Искаше да се вкопчи в него гърди срещу гърди, като Мохамед Али против Джо Фрейзър, „Селтикс“ срещу „Никс“, Яков срещу ангела. Искаше схватката да е чиста, без да му се пречка политиката, която възсядаше всяко обществено движение като уродлив сиамски близнак.“


„Това са тайните на градчето и по-късно някои ще станат известни, други завинаги ще потънат в небитието. Градчето ги крие с безизразно лице като опитен картоиграч.
Не го интересуват ни Божиите, ни човешките, ни сатанинските дела. То познава мрака. И мракът му стига.“

Salem's Lot is one of the few books that might actually warrant a sequel.
Now, I love the way it ended. It was perfect, and I'm glad King didn't double dip with his vampire classic. But a small part of me wants to hear more about this modern-day Van Helsing and his sidekick.

You in the back with your hand up, ready to tell me about One for the Road, sit down. I mean a proper sequel and you know it.



So what makes this one stick to your ribs is that King modernized Dracula.
Which, if you haven't read it, isn't really all that interesting by today's horror standards. I'm not saying it isn't good, I'm just saying most people (especially non-readers) wouldn't be all that impressed with the "real" story. Stephen King would probably be the first to disagree with me on this because he says the book changed his world. But I'm sticking by my opinion that the classic tale wouldn't cut the mustard with the vast majority of today's audience.



And while most of you have probably read some version of an updated Dracula, I think King was one of the first to do it well. Mainly because this works as an excellent vampire tale even if you haven't read Stoker's version. His idea was to tell the story of what would happen to a town if Dracula and Renfield had access to things like electric lights and cars. How quickly could a nest of vampires take over if they were to start chewing on their friends and neighbors in the present day?



And maybe more importantly, who would stop them?
In a world that has forgotten to fear the things that go bump in the night, who will put two and two together and come up with an ancient evil that has been written off as a myth believed by superstitious peasants?



For me, this holds up as an excellent vampire story. <-- whether you're a Stephen King fan or not
Recommended.

Closer to a 3.5
I had a lot of fun reading this book, and I vlogged my experience reading it: https://youtu.be/MmRbre1wn8o

Това е една от малкото наистина страшни книги, които съм прочел през живота си.

Беше едно лято преди 25+ години и още помня лятната буря отвън и тихото почукване на прозореца, но така и не се осмелих да проверя, дали не бяха клонките на джанките в двора ни...

Не спах много тази нощ, Кинг е абсолютен майстор на напрежението и постепенното натрупване на ужас в историята!

После се нароиха толкова много други вампири, но сериозно погледнах единствено на тези създадени от Ан Райс.

Nobody does small town USA horror better than Stephen King. The story doesn't really push boundaries or bring much new to the vampire mythos, not even considering that it was originally published in 1975, but it's still of course a thoroughly terrifying, riveting read that hits frighteningly close to home as only King can.

On my journey to reading all Stephen King's books in publication order, this was the next on my list. Well, what a book. This book is a masterpiece in horror fiction and one of the best things I've ever read. If you were thinking about reading Stephen King for the first time this would be a brilliant place to start.

Like so many of SK's books we follow a group of unlikely hero's trying to save a town from evil. I think the character development was brilliant even though this isn't that long of a book. SK manages to keep the reader engrossed from the first to the last sentence.

I have never been a big fan of vampire stories, but this book completely changed my mind. This book will leave you with chills running down your spine and a feeling of dread next time you venture into a deserted looking town. Although written so long ago this book still feels like a modern horror and has stood the test of time.

The plotline of this book is so well done, and it flows effortlessly and that's one of the reasons that I rate SK so highly. His work never feels messy or unorganized and its easy for the reader to digest everything that's going on with ease. Barlow is so creepy and is the perfect villain! I think it is also worth mentioning that between the creepy fast-paced sometimes tragic moments there are moments of beauty, creating a perfect parallel.

"But when fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. It settles in the way an old friend will settle into your favorite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you."

"The basis of all human fears, he thought. A closed door, slightly ajar."

"The town kept its secrets, and the Marsten House brooded over it like a ruined king."

Why didn't I give this book the full five stars...well it just comes down to the fact that vampires don't scare me all that much - but SK nearly changed my mind! It isn't often I give a book five stars unless it stays with me for weeks and although a killer horror, it didn't stay in my mind for much longer than a few days.

Truly a work of art, I will be putting this book back on my shelf to re-read because it is an amazing story and deserves all the credit it gets.

'Salem's Lot by the legendary Stephen King is genuinely not only one of his greatest novels of all-time but is a horror masterpiece! The way he builds Jerusalem’s Lot piece by piece and all its interesting characters, you’ll be hooked immediately from the start. I could not put this book down and took my time reading it as it’s that immersive.

As 'Salem's Lot unfolds, whether you read it many moons ago or are just reading it for the first time, the way King is able to keep you on the edge of your seat is surreal. He set the tone for his incredible writing career back in 1975 when this was originally published and decades later, it still holds up. As a matter of fact, many readers will tell you it’s the best novel he’s ever written, yes, even scarier than “It”. I’ve read many horror novels in my life and can tell you that 'Salem's Lot is up there in the “best of the best” category without even thinking about it twice.

This is 5/5 stars in my book and is something I’d recommend to anyone that either loves King’s work or is a fan of horror. If you’re into reading novels about vampires but written in a way that stands out from anything else, 'Salem's Lot is for you. Just make sure to leave the lights on...

****WARNING: The following lyrics, and police account are sickening and grotesque---not for children!!!! (Though no spoilers...the man is mentioned in the book briefly ...during a discussion between Father Callahan and Matt Burke in his hospital room, filled with books on vampires...heres's more about the real one behind the myth. If you are easily made sick to you stomach, just don't go there,really...just move down to the regular review....
I need a victim to do things sickening
I just want to make you bleed
My knife is gashing your blood is splashing
To see your blood is what I need

I'm gonna strangle you and I'll slit your throat too
I love to see your blood run, that's the thing that makes me cum
I'm gonna kill you just because I want to
I'm the Vampire of Dusseldorf and I will cut your life short

My hands are choking my knife is broken
An orgasm is what I need
Your blood is spilling the sight is thrilling
To cum I need to see you bleed

I'm gonna strangle you and I'll slit your throat too
I love to see your blood run, that's the thing that makes me cum
I'm gonna kill you just because I want to
I'm the Vampire of Dusseldorf and I will cut your life short.
Peter Kurtin, The Vampire of Dusseldorf

As the real Peter Kurtin was mentioned in 'Salem's Lot (the book was in Matt's hospital room with all the others, and discussed with Father Callahan--so naturally, I had to look it up, and got this little treat), I thought I'd share this fun little ditty to start things off on the right...ummm...note ;)
Of course this is based on the real Peter Kurten, who murdered up to 68 women, motivated by sexual sadism; and became:
A.K.A.: "The Vampire of Düsseldorf"--known for his atrocities, including drinking blood from the women's...ummm.....(_____) after the attack, assuming he got them during that....period. (I think I prefer the type of blood Barlow get's off on...... ;) )

Just for fun (real life so-called "vampires" can be so much grosser and many times more twisted), I borrowed a bit from http://murderpedia.org/male.K/k/kurte...
(then I promise to get on with the...ummm...much more tasteful :) book at hand)

Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: Sadist - Rape
Peter Kurten
BBC – Crime Case Closed
Shortly before he was executed by guillotine, Peter Kurten, the so-called Vampire of Dusseldorf, asked the prison psychiatrist: "Tell me, after my head has been chopped off will I still be able to hear; at least for a moment, the sound of my own blood gushing from the stump of my neck?"

When the doctor replied that his ears and brain probably would function for several seconds after the blade struck, Kurten replied: "That would be the pleasure to end all pleasures".

That's enough of him, I think....

By the way...if you haven't seen Salem's Lot already, save the movie until you've finished the book, you'll thank yourself for it, trust me. It really has ruined some of the best scenes in the book for me. I've learned my lesson, time and time again--unfortunately, I watched many of these movies years ago, before I was into Stephen King's books....introduced only 5 or 6 years ago to those (a gift from an english major started me off with Lisey's Story, which started with his later works--and he kept giving me more of those as he finished them another lesson learned!) I have made my way through a ton of novels, and finally realized two things: it is best to read his works in order (they build on each other in so many ways--many, like the one just mentioned above, deserve a re-reading after a few Dark Tower reads), and (thinking I didn't like short story collections, I was forced to try some that he wrote), I found out his short stories are as good as the novels, sometimes I want more, but often they are just right--or better, and more would ruin them. So, here I am...making my way through a few of his early works--in order--soon the first DT novel comes up (dreading that one, because I fear it will be a loooong introduction into the series as a whole).

I am finding that King's earliest works are definitely some of his best! Loved this modern take on the whole Dracula mythos. After reading his reasons why, the small town is the best setting possible for this story. In general I love his use of small towns, where people know each other, and when someone goes missing it is easily noticed. (I also like the way he took his wife's ideas...they all seemed to make the story better!) Especially the small towns in Maine--my favorite state by the way--people ARE different there, everything is different, the way they talk...the scenery (breathtaking!)....the architecture...the blue-collared, hard working folk. Finally, he shares the darkest secrets of the people in the town; often the ordinary people you meet on his streets are already monsters in their hearts.

This book also uses more of what, I feel, are King's strengths. The protagonists in this book (super faves in bold) include a writer (he admitted being a mirror of himself--perhaps supposed to be the main protagonist?), struggling to make it--Ben Mears; the very intelligent English teacher (King was one of those, too) Matt Burke; the fiercely smart and courageous child with some supernatural abilities, Mark Petrie (he outsmarts a stronger schoolyard bully when he comes at him--until said bully cries with pain and is humiliated in front of everyone, can escape situations just like Houdini...); the independent (for her times, at least regarding her mother) girl and love interest (Ugh--I really can skip the romance!) of Mears, Susan Norton; the heavy-drinking (gotta have at least one good-hearted person with this condition!) priest, who believes them, ready for the old-time church to be a Force once again, and assists in the final showdown--not just a dogma robot of the church, Father Callahan who turns up later in the dark tower series...(the use of the Catholic Church to fight vampires is a MUST, as King stuck to the mythos, adding the modern day setting...leaving out all the church's own seemingly endless crimes against innocent children, yet including near the end the castrated choir boys--so they could sound as if actual females were allowed to sing in such a pious place!), and a reluctant at-first small town doc, Jimmy Cody.

And his building of characters!!! Probably what he does best, and one of the reasons I enjoy almost all of his books regardless of a poor storyline (another is that his writing is just plain great...no matter what he has to say)--though this book has it all, including a terrific story. Some younger readers may be reading for the first part wondering when it's going to get into the action. By spending so much time getting there, expanding on the characters (often dislikable--come on--I roll my eyes at all the reviews that say they couldn't find anyone to like--when was that a prerequisite to liking a book? Anyway, there are several to love in this book), he slowly builds the tension and draws us in, making us care when the action starts. He knows very well, that the fear of what is to come is often the best part!

Finally, King is also not one of those writers to shy away from topics others often do: killing children--or making them evil (evil kids are the best!!!), child abuse,killing off main characters, making heros out of drunks (who always kick the bottle aside when they are finally really needed for something important), etc....

This book has it all. Highly recommended!!!!...Now off to read One for the Road and Jerusalem's Lot (again). Both short stories...one a sequel and the other a prequel are found in Night Shift(GREAT short story collection, with many of the stories pre-dating the novel Carrie-- therefore including a lot of his earliest work)......One For the Road being the sequel.