Vampires » stephen king

Salem’s Lot: the Book and the Film

annimi — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:23:00 +0000

If you’ve never read or seen ‘Salem’s Lot, shame on you. But here’s the run-down for those of you who still need to put this stuff on your to-do list. In Stephen King’s best-selling novel, –probably still bringing in a ton of cash, –vampires are hardcore, nothing like the sissified vampires of the modern world. Don’t get me wrong, I love sissified vampires too, I admit it. But after recently re-reading ‘Salem’s Lot, I can’t help occasionally looking over my shoulder when I’m alone at night.

In the book, a previous resident of ‘Salem’s Lot, Ben Mears, returns to the town where he lived as a child. Following shortly behind him, is Richard Straker, who turns the closed-up local laundry into an antique store as a front to smuggle in the master vampire, Barlow. The first victim is a dog, then a child, and soon, the whole town is gradually infected with a plague of vampires, and the few living residents end up leaving, either in denial or refusing to speak of the horror they witnessed in Salem’s Lot. Ben Mears escapes with the vampire-savvy child, Mark Petrie, orphaned by the vampire Barlow.

The Book

Terrifying. There really isn’t a stronger word in the English language to describe the way vampires are portrayed in ‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King. I recently re-read the book, and it was more than enough to dispel any soft-hearted feelings about vampires I had because of the latest vamp trend. In this book, there are no demons with souls or friendly vampires who just want to save the day with their high school girlfriends. Don’t get me wrong, I love vampire romance; but King knows just how to wrench away all those soft little pretensions, and implant pure fear.

The Film

The film is great, but if you find yourself nodding off, or having trouble paying attention, then it’s fair to admit, like myself, that you just can’t get into 70’s cinema. The film was actually a miniseries in ‘79, and has since been condensed into its present film format. Though some of us might have a hard time getting into the groove, ‘Salem’s Lot has a pretty large cult following, –compared to films like The Exorcist, and The Lost Boys, Salem’s Lot is right up there with the big boys. It’s easy to see why people still love the film; the atmosphere, the rural set, and the 70’s style were perfectly rendered, making the movie more like an exquisite portrait of retro vampire horror.

By Blood We Live

Moonlight — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:49:59 +0000

By Blood We Live is an excellent collection of vampire stories written by the masters that have conquered the horror and supernatural genres. This book pulls together three decades worth of vampire tales that come in all flavors – from the good to the bad, this collection covers stories about men, women, the undead, the living, the wicked, the lost, those on the prowl, sexy, hungry and self-indulgent, damned and daring. Including authors such as Anne Rice, Neil Gaiman and Stephen King, this book is a must read for all vampire lovers.

Some of the book’s stories including…
Anne Rice’s “The Master of Rampling Gate“- A tale of a brother and sister inheriting a mysterious and dark home, that comes with a mysterious and dark occupant.

Tad Williams’ “Child of an Ancient City” -About a group of men who are on dangerous journey from Baghdad to the isolated mountains of Armenia, made even more dangerous by the ancient vampire stalking them.

Stephen King’s “One For the Road” – A creepy tale of survival about Booth and his friend’s attempt to save a man from his vampire-turned wife and daughter (this is also a sequel to “Salem’s Lot”).

Garth Nix’s “Infestation” – About hunting vampires that aren’t your average supernatural kind.

Tanith Lee’s “Nunc Dimittis” -A dark fantasy about a vampire princess’ servant who undertakes the difficult task of finding his own replacement.

But that’s not all, this anthology contains over 30 more vampire stories of thirst and chaos, lust and shadows.

If that hasn’t sparked your curiosity enough to pick up the book, there is a sampler page you can check out. This site has a small handful of the book’s stories ready for you to read online.

By Blood We Live editor John Joseph Adams, is also the editor of the anthologies Federations, The Living Dead, Seeds of Change, and Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. Upcoming work includes the anthologies Brave New Worlds, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Living Dead 2, The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination, and The Way of the Wizard. He is also the assistant editor at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

- Moonlight

Vampires in Literature

admin — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:30:06 +0000

In fiction of course, the epidemy of vampire literature, would be Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”. There were sexual undertones, of course, relaying vampirism to be a sort of sexually transmitted disease. Its themes of blood, death, and sex made it’s way to Victorian Europe, rattled because of the spread of tuberculosis and syphilis. But the vampire was first introduced to Western literature, by Lord Byron, in his poem The Giaour. Though, his manservant, John Polidori, wrote the first vampire story, Lord Ruthven, which was partly based on Byron himself. No doubt for his certain promiscuous behaviour with women, which was a characterization of the romantic perspective of vampirism. The story was written during a “ghost story competition” in which Lord Byron was said to have encouraged his friend Percy Shelley’s wife, Mary Shelley, to write a ghost story. Apparently, she did.

Vampires have dominated American fiction through many popular modern authors, namely Anne Rice, Charlaine Harris, Valerie Hardin, Margaret L. Carter, Stephen King, amongst many others. Anne Rice is famous for her widely popular Vampire Chronicles, and various other novels written under other pseudonyms. She portrays the romantic vampire, both breaking boundaries of old vampire legends, and regenerating and rebuilding the old to complete a new breed of vampire. The beautiful deadly killers that have captivated audiences globally.

Charlaine Harris has written various mystery and horror novels, but is now a rising star of vampire fiction, with her debut vampire novel Dead Until Dark, featuring a humourous female heroine. Her refreshingly original style is highly entertaining, and published globally. Valerie Hardin, well known on the web for her six books of Gothic poetry, and novella Crimson Kisses, and will soon be collaborating with other authors to produce young adult novels. Margaret L. Carter is widely known for her paperback paranormal romances, among them, Tall, Dark, and Deadly. Stephen King’s most popular vampire novels, Salem’s Lot, and The Night Flier, still terrorize the world.

Vampires » stephen king

Salem’s Lot: the Book and the Film

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By Blood We Live

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Vampires in Literature

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