S4 E9 American Gothic: Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot

WARNING: SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!!

What if Count Dracula came to small-town America?  That’s the premise of this brilliant vampire novel by the most famous and successful “What if?” writer, ever: Stephen King.  Not only is this novel gripping and satisfyingly plotted, it’s beautifully written and goes way beyond the mere category of “horror” novel.  The characters are engaging and the analysis of small-town American life is loving, honest, and unflinching. Treat yourself to reading it before you dive into this episode–you won’t regret it. 

Join Sonja and Vanessa as they explore what ‘SALEM’S LOT owes to the Gothic tradition, and to Bram Stoker’s DRACULA, in particular.  With Stoker in mind, we also consider King’s use of female characters. Do we like them?  Is there a Mina Harker in this American town?  Is there a vampy Lucy, snacking on innocent American children? 

There’s for sure a creepy house–the Marsten House–and we will discuss parallels with Hill House, given that we dedicated an episode to Shirley Jackson’s THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, and King literally quotes and references her novel in ‘SALEM’S LOT.

Finally, as we’ve established this season, writers use Gothic to metaphorically explore a real-life fear…King’s Gothic work is no exception, but for him, it’s not patriarchy.  It is, however, not unrelated to patriarchy, and it goes back to a story that’s one of the oldest and most influential in human history.  Hint:  think talking snake. 

Along the way, we bump into Sigmund Freud and a priest with “serious mojo,” Sonja explains how to ward off a vampire when at the doctor’s office, and Vanessa makes a rare comment about being older than her co-host. 

REFERENCES

Check out our episodes on Shirley Jackson’s THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and on Bram Stoker’s DRACULA.