# Salem's Lot (1979 miniseries)

Salem's Lot is a 1979 American television film about a novelist and a young horror fan who attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.
    Directed by Tobe Hooper. Written by Paul Monash, based on the novel by Stephen King.

## Ben Mears

* [looks at make-shift crucifix] Bless this cross in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. No atheists with false thoughts... The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me... He maketh me to lie down in... beside still water. He maketh me to lie down. He maketh me... He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He restoreth my soul. [dead body starts stirring under sheet] He leadeth me in the paths of the righteousness for His name's sake. [shouts] Bill! Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. Bill! [hissing under sheet] I will fear no evil. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

## Richard Straker

* [to Ben] Oh, you're the writer. On vacation or vocation?
* [to Mark] You'll enjoy Mr. Barlow. And he'll enjoy you.
* [to Father Callahan] The master wants you. Throw away your cross, face the master. Your faith against his faith... Could you do that? Is your faith enough?... Then do it... Throw away the cross. Face the master. Faith against faith.

## Other

* Eva Miller: [reading from Ben Mear's typewritten page] The house was a monument to evil sitting there all these years holding the essence of evil in its smoldering bones.

## Dialogue

    Jason Burke: [at a restaurant, asking Ben about his new novel] Marsten House still the center of the story?
    Ben Mears: Yep.
    Jason Burke: How about the Glick boys? You connect them with the house?
    Ben Mears: Everything in Salem's Lot is connected to that house. You can see it from every part of the town. It's like a beacon throwing off an energy force.
    [Mike Ryerson stumbles against the table]
    Jason Burke: Mike!
    Mike Ryerson: [weakly] Hello, Mister Burke.
    Jason Burke: Mike... are you on something?
    Mike Ryerson: No.
    Jason Burke: Drugs?
    Mike Ryerson: Sick. I feel sick.
    Jason Burke: Since when?
    Mike Ryerson: First... I found my dog dead. Then there was the funeral yesterday. I fell asleep on Harmony Hill. Didn't wake up until morning.
    Ben Mears: This was after Danny Glick's funeral?
    Mike Ryerson: Ayuh. I went back to finish... Royal wasn't there. Started to feel... sick. [looks around for a waitress revealing bite marks on his neck as he turns his head] Can I have a drink?
    Ben Mears: [to waitress] Miss? Whiskey?
    Jason Burke: What do you remember, Mike?
    Mike Ryerson: Singing.
    Jason Burke: Singing?
    Mike Ryerson: Sweetest singing I ever heard. And a feeling like drowning. And eyes... eyes.
    Jason Burke: Whose eyes?
    Mike Ryerson: Bright... scary.
    Ben Mears: Whose?
    Mike Ryerson: Don't remember.
    Mike Ryerson: [Mike is describing his nightmarish dreams after falling asleep at Harmony Hill Cemetery] I dreamed...
    Ben Mears: You slept there all night?
    Mike Ryerson: Yeah... All night.
    Jason Burke: What about last night?
    Mike Ryerson: I remember... a dream. [gestures with his hand] Somebody... out there. And I... let him in.
    Ben Mears: Who?
    Mike Ryerson: I don't know.
    Jason Burke: Listen to me, Mike. Mike? [Mike focuses and listens] Mike, I want you to stay at my house tonight. Will you do that for me? We'll arrange to see Doctor Norton tomorrow.
    Mike Ryerson: [weakly] All right. I don't care.
    Jason Burke: [brings some pajamas in for Mike] I hope these will be all right. [notices Mike's neck] Mike, turn your head... this way. Where did you get these marks?
    Mike Ryerson: Hmmm. I don't know.
    Jason Burke: [goes and shuts window, locking it] Now, call me in the night if you want anything. Anything. Even if you have a bad dream. Will you be sure to do that?
    Mike Ryerson: [whispers] Yes.
    Jason Burke: Now anything... I mean it! I'll be right down the hall.
    Mike Ryerson: [absently] I will.
    Jason Burke: [holding crucifix in front of vampire Mike] I revoke my invitation. Get out.
    Mike Ryerson: [raises hands in defense] You'll sleep with the dead, teacher.
    Eva Miller: [knocking on Ben's door in the middle of the night] Mister Mears? Telephone!
    Ben Mears: [sleepily]Oh, uh, ah, all right... Just a minute. [opens door] What is it? Long distance?
    Eva Miller: No. It's Jason Burke.
    Ben Mears: Oh... what time is it?
    Eva Miller: It's a little after four, and Mister Burke sounds very upset.
    Ben Mears: [still groggy] Oh, uh, hold on. [comes out in his robe and Eve leads him to the phone. He picks up the receiver] Yeah, Jason? What's the matter? [listens] Well, give me about ten minutes. [listens] Well, hell, no, I'm a... I was a Baptist... Jason? [hangs up phone and turns to Eva] Do you have a... a rosary? Or a crucifix?
    Eva Miller: In my bedroom. Mister Burke ask for it?
    Ben Mears: Yes, please.
    Eva Miller: Well, he's not Catholic. I don't even think he goes to church.
    Ben Mears: [tries to hurry her although he doesn't understand the request himself] Please?
    Constable Parkins Gillespie: Not bothered by yowens?
    Straker: Yowens?
    Constable Parkins Gillespie: Kids. Local word. You know how kids like to devil new folks.
    Straker: Ciao, Constable.
    Constable Parkins Gillespie: Chow?
    Straker: Ciao. It's a familiar Italian expression meaning goodbye.
    Constable Parkins Gillespie: I didn't know you were Italian.
    Straker: I'm not. The word is.
    Dr. Bill Norton: [about Mike Ryerson] We haven't completed our tests, yet but it could be... and I'm trusting you to keep this to yourself... it could be pernicious anemia.
    Ben Mears: Coming on overnight?
    Straker: English.
    Ben Mears: [holding antique fork in hand] Georgian.
    Straker: You have some expertise.
    Ben Mears: No, not really. I just happen to know something about silver. My aunt had some Georgian and we had to sell it when she died.
    Straker: What an unfortunate way to acquire knowledge.
    Danny Glick: [vampirized Danny is at Mark's window] Open the window. Open the window, Mark. Open the window, Mark. Please! Let me in! It's OK, Mark, I'm your friend. He commands it! [sees Mark start to open window, but then resist] No, Mark!
    [Mark turns and picks up a cross from his table model of a churchyard. He holds it up to Danny at the window]
    Danny Glick: Aghhh!
    Mark Petrie: Go away.
    [Danny tries to resist]
    Mark Petrie: Go away!
    [Danny retreats and disappears into mist]
    Mark Petrie: [about Susan] What did you do to her?
    Straker: I've taken her to where she wished to go... To meet the man she came here to meet.

## Taglines

* Do you believe in vampires?
* The ultimate in terror!

## Cast

* David Soul - Ben Mears
* James Mason - Richard Straker
* Lance Kerwin - Mark Petrie
* Bonnie Bedelia - Susan Norton
* Lew Ayres - Jason Burke
* Ed Flanders - Bill Norton
* Fred Willard - Larry Crockett
* Julie Cobb - Bonnie Sawyer
* Kenneth McMillan - Constable Parkins Gillespie
* Geoffrey Lewis - Mike Ryerson
* Barney McFadden - Ned Tibbets
* Marie Windsor - Eva Miller
* Bonnie Bartlett - Ann Norton
* George Dzundza - Cully Sawyer
* Elisha Cook Jr. - Gordon "Weasel" Phillips
* Clarissa Kaye - Marjorie Glick
* Ned Wilson - Henry Glick
* Barbara Babcock - June Petrie
* Joshua Bryant - Ted Petrie
* James Gallery - Father Callahan
* Brad Savage - Danny Glick
* Ronnie Scribner - Ralphie Glick
* Reggie Nalder - Kurt Barlow

## External links

* Salem's Lot quotes at the Internet Movie Database
Adaptations of works by Stephen King :
| Films | The Shining (1980) · Cujo (1983) · The Dead Zone (1983) · Christine (1983) · Cat's Eye (1985) · Silver Bullet (1985) · Stand by Me (1986) · The Running Man (1987) · Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) · Graveyard Shift (1990) · Misery (1990) · The Lawnmower Man (1992) · Sleepwalkers (1992) · The Dark Half (1993) · Needful Things (1993) · The Shawshank Redemption (1994) · Dolores Claiborne (1995) · Thinner (1996) · The Night Flier (1997) · Apt Pupil (1998) · The Green Mile (1999) · Hearts in Atlantis (2001) · Dreamcatcher  (2003) · Secret Window (2004) · Riding the Bullet (2004) · 1408 (2007) · The Mist (2007) · Dolan's Cadillac (2009) · A Good Marriage (2014) · Cell (2016) · It (2017) · It Chapter Two (2019) | The Shining (1980) · Cujo (1983) · The Dead Zone (1983) · Christine (1983) · Cat's Eye (1985) · Silver Bullet (1985) · Stand by Me (1986) · The Running Man (1987) · Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) · Graveyard Shift (1990) · Misery (1990) · The Lawnmower Man (1992) · Sleepwalkers (1992) · The Dark Half (1993) · Needful Things (1993) · The Shawshank Redemption (1994) · Dolores Claiborne (1995) · Thinner (1996) · The Night Flier (1997) · Apt Pupil (1998) · The Green Mile (1999) · Hearts in Atlantis (2001) · Dreamcatcher  (2003) · Secret Window (2004) · Riding the Bullet (2004) · 1408 (2007) · The Mist (2007) · Dolan's Cadillac (2009) · A Good Marriage (2014) · Cell (2016) · It (2017) · It Chapter Two (2019) | The Shining (1980) · Cujo (1983) · The Dead Zone (1983) · Christine (1983) · Cat's Eye (1985) · Silver Bullet (1985) · Stand by Me (1986) · The Running Man (1987) · Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) · Graveyard Shift (1990) · Misery (1990) · The Lawnmower Man (1992) · Sleepwalkers (1992) · The Dark Half (1993) · Needful Things (1993) · The Shawshank Redemption (1994) · Dolores Claiborne (1995) · Thinner (1996) · The Night Flier (1997) · Apt Pupil (1998) · The Green Mile (1999) · Hearts in Atlantis (2001) · Dreamcatcher  (2003) · Secret Window (2004) · Riding the Bullet (2004) · 1408 (2007) · The Mist (2007) · Dolan's Cadillac (2009) · A Good Marriage (2014) · Cell (2016) · It (2017) · It Chapter Two (2019) |
| Films | Carrie | Carrie (1976) · The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) · Carrie (2002) · Carrie (2013) | Carrie (1976) · The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) · Carrie (2002) · Carrie (2013) |
| Films | Creepshow | Creepshow (1982) · Creepshow 2 (1987) · Creepshow 3 (2006) | Creepshow (1982) · Creepshow 2 (1987) · Creepshow 3 (2006) |
| Films | Children of the Corn | Children of the Corn (1984) · The Final Sacrifice (1993) · Urban Harvest (1995) · The Gathering (1996) · Fields of Terror (1998) · Isaac's Return (1999) · Revelation (2001) · Children of the Corn (2009) · Genesis (2011) | Children of the Corn (1984) · The Final Sacrifice (1993) · Urban Harvest (1995) · The Gathering (1996) · Fields of Terror (1998) · Isaac's Return (1999) · Revelation (2001) · Children of the Corn (2009) · Genesis (2011) |
| Films | Firestarter | Firestarter (1984) · Rekindled (2002) | Firestarter (1984) · Rekindled (2002) |
| Films | Trucks | Maximum Overdrive (1986) · Trucks (1997) | Maximum Overdrive (1986) · Trucks (1997) |
| Films | Pet Sematary | Pet Sematary (1989) · Pet Sematary Two (1992) · Pet Sematary (2019) | Pet Sematary (1989) · Pet Sematary Two (1992) · Pet Sematary (2019) |
| Films | The Mangler | The Mangler (1995) · The Mangler 2 (2001) · *The Mangler Reborn (2005) | The Mangler (1995) · The Mangler 2 (2001) · *The Mangler Reborn (2005) |
| Television | Episodes | "Gramma" (1986) · "Sorry, Right Number" (1987) · "The Revelations of Becka Paulson" (1997) | "Gramma" (1986) · "Sorry, Right Number" (1987) · "The Revelations of Becka Paulson" (1997) |
| Television | Series | Golden Years (1991) · The Dead Zone (2002–07) · Kingdom Hospital (2004) · Haven (2010–present) · Under the Dome (2013–15) · 11.22.63 (2016) | Golden Years (1991) · The Dead Zone (2002–07) · Kingdom Hospital (2004) · Haven (2010–present) · Under the Dome (2013–15) · 11.22.63 (2016) |
| Television | Films or miniseries | It (1990) · The Tommyknockers (1993) · The Stand (1994) · The Langoliers (1995) · The Shining (1997) · Quicksilver Highway (1997) · Storm of the Century (1999) · Stephen King's Desperation (2006) · Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006) · Bag of Bones (2011) · Big Driver (2014) | It (1990) · The Tommyknockers (1993) · The Stand (1994) · The Langoliers (1995) · The Shining (1997) · Quicksilver Highway (1997) · Storm of the Century (1999) · Stephen King's Desperation (2006) · Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006) · Bag of Bones (2011) · Big Driver (2014) |
| Television | Films or miniseries | Salem's Lot | Salem's Lot (1979) · A Return to Salem's Lot (1987) · Salem's Lot (2004) |
| Television | Films or miniseries | Sometimes They Come Back | Sometimes They Come Back (1991) · Sometimes They Come Back... Again (1996) · Sometimes They Come Back... for More (1998) |
| Television | Films or miniseries | Rose Red | Rose Red (2002) · The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003) |
| See also | {{Stephen King}} | {{Stephen King}} | {{Stephen King}} |