TV SERIES · 1979– · USA
Salem's Lot
58 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (58)
- #001
Director George A. Romero was initially approached to direct a feature film version, but after Warner Bros. announced John Badham's Dracula (1979) and Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), the studio decided to turn Salem's Lot into a TV miniseries. Romero withdrew from the project because he felt the television network's restrictions would prevent him from making the film the way he wanted.
- #002
The biggest point dividing fans of the novel and the miniseries is the adaptation's depiction of Barlow as a hissing, Nosferatu-like monster rather than the talking, Dracula-like figure of the book. In an interview with Richard Kobritz, he said the decision to go with a monstrous creature came from the concern that a talking, romanticized villain would not be frightening enough, especially since John Badham's remake of Dracula (1979), starring Frank Langella, was released in 1979. Stephen King was initially against the change, but after seeing the footage he was not only impressed by the makeup and performance but also felt the main characters received more focus.
- #003
The exterior of the Marsten House was actually a full-scale facade built over a smaller, pre-existing hilltop house. In total, constructing the facade cost the production about $100,000. In 1979, that amount could have built an entire house, interiors included.
- #004
Although this adaptation differs significantly from the novel in many areas, particularly in its depiction of the head vampire Kurt Barlow, Stephen King approved of it.
- #005
James Mason liked the script and welcomed the chance to play the servant of evil. It was an opportunity because producer Richard Kobritz's first choice for the role of Mr. Straker was Mason.
- #006
Stephen King was inspired to write the book when he taught Dracula in an English class, and he began to wonder what would happen if vampires came to America, especially to a small town.
- #007
In an interview with director Tobe Hooper, Hooper said Reggie Nalder's makeup had to be constantly retouched because it could crack or fall off while the actor performed in front of the camera. Hooper said the film's finale, in which Barlow is in his coffin, required numerous takes so the makeup would stay intact during shooting.
- #008
The scenes of the child vampires floating outside their victims' windows were partly shot in reverse to create a more eerie effect. The actors also performed on a boom crane rather than being hung on wires. Director Tobe Hooper initially chose this as a cost-saving measure, but while shooting the take in which a child flies out of a window, Hooper realized he could not have done that shot with wires anyway.
- #009
Clarissa Kaye-Mason, who played Marjorie Glick, was the real-life wife of James Mason, who played Richard Straker.
- #010
After the miniseries aired on CBS with excellent ratings, there was talk for a while that it would continue as a regular series. However, the idea of turning Salem's Lot into a TV series never materialized.
- #011
This was the first television miniseries based on the writings of author Stephen King (and his second film).
- #012
Reggie Nalder, who played the master vampire Kurt Barlow, has less than 90 seconds of screen time in the three-hour miniseries. Nalder was not much bothered by this.
- #013
The original aim for Warner Bros. was to turn Stephen King's 400-page bestselling book into a feature film. Stirling Silliphant, Robert Getchell and Larry Cohen each tried to condense the material to two hours, but none of these was considered to capture the essence of the novel. Eventually the project was handed over to Warner Bros. Television, where producer Richard Kobritz thought it would work better as a TV miniseries.
- #014
Although the killing of Mike Ryerson's dog is never explained, the gravestone above it reads "Marsten." This suggests the dog may be some kind of sacrifice to the spirit of Hubie Marsten, Salem's Lot's most notorious former resident. The 2004 adaptation makes explicit that the dog's killing in the cemetery means the ground is no longer sacred and therefore must be reconsecrated.
- #015
The original novel established many of the motifs Stephen King would use in his later novels. It is set in a small town in Maine, and many later stories take place in the small towns of Derry or Castle Rock. It has a much larger cast of characters than Carrie (1976) did, and most of his later books had large casts. The main character, Ben Mears, is a professional writer, and another important character, Matt Burke, is a teacher. Many of his later characters were one or the other. King himself has done both jobs.
- #016
In an interview with Fangoria magazine, Reggie Nalder (Barlow) said he was somewhat disappointed in the film because some additional scenes involving his vampire were cut.
- #017
In an interview, actor Reggie Nalder said the contact lenses and heavy makeup he had to wear for the role of Kurt Barlow were quite painful and took him some time to get used to.
- #018
While writing the character Ben Mears, Stephen King had Ben Gazzara in mind. He also said he based the description of Richard Straker in his novel on Donald Pleasence.
- #019
The mission said to be in Guatemala is actually the San Xavier Mission in Tucson, Arizona.
- #020
Although the story is set in Maine, it was shot entirely in California.
- #021
The miniseries was shot with several alternate scenes so that a shorter cut could be prepared for European cinemas.
- #022
Producer Richard Kobritz decided to hire Tobe Hooper as director after attending a screening of Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).
- #023
The title of the novel 'Salem's Lot carries an apostrophe before "Salem" because it is meant to be short for "Jerusalem's Lot," the actual name of the town where the story takes place. In the miniseries adaptation, the town is mostly called "Salem's Lot" to avoid confusion, and the leading apostrophe was dropped from the film's title.
- #024
For the theatrical release, several scenes from the miniseries were reshot to make the film version bloodier.
- #025
In October 2013, Intrada Records released a two-CD set marking the film's world premiere, featuring alternate cues for the edited version of the film and newly recorded in stereo for that edit.
- #026
Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho (1960), was initially set to handle the screenplay duties.
- #027
The theatrical version premiered in Spain under the title "Phantasma II," presented as a sequel to Phantasm (1979) even though the two films have nothing in common.
- #028
Building the studio interiors of the Marsten House cost the production $70,000.
- #029
Writer Paul Monash had previously worked on the first adaptation of a Stephen King novel when he produced Brian De Palma's Carrie (1976).
- #030
The 110-minute "movie" version of the miniseries has mostly been maligned in recent years, though some people, including Stephen King himself, have preferred it. Arrow's 4K set includes it in its first home video release since VHS.
- #031
Although 'Salem's Lot was only Stephen King's second published novel, it has connections to the Dark Tower series like many of his later novels. In this case, the character Father Donald Callahan appears in later books in the series.
- #032
Actors Elisha Cook Jr. and Marie Windsor were cast as husband and wife in Salem's Lot as a reference to The Killing (1956), in which they also played a married couple.
- #033
The miniseries ends in the small Guatemalan town of Ximico. The town does not actually exist.
- #034
Larry Cohen wrote the first draft of the screenplay, but producer Richard Kobritz called Cohen's script "really lousy" and chose Paul Monash to write it. Cohen attempted to contest the decision to get some writing credit on the film, but his on-screen credit was denied.
- #035
Bonnie Bedelia (Susan Norton) also appeared in Needful Things (1993), another adaptation of a Stephen King novel. In both films, Bedelia plays the female lead who becomes involved with the story's protagonist. Both films also revolve around a genial villain who arrives in a small town disguised as an aging antique dealer and gradually turns the townspeople against one another.
- #036
The album cover of Swedish band Ghost's debut album "Opus Eponymous" was also inspired by the film's poster.
- #037
The typeface of the film's credits was inspired by the similar typeface used for West Side Story (1961), while the credit transitions were influenced by the opening title sequence of James S. Pollak's The Birds (1963).
- #038
Julie Cobb, cast as the hypocritical housewife Bonnie Sawyer in this adaptation of Stephen King's novel, was married to James Cromwell, cast as Father Callahan in the 2004 miniseries, from 1986 to 2005.
- #039
The miniseries aired in two parts, each "episode" broadcast a week apart, which was standard practice for all two-part episodes of regular weekly series. Part one aired on Saturday, November 17, 1979, and part two the following Saturday, November 24.
- #040
This was David Soul's second vampire-themed TV production. The first was the season 2 episode of Starsky and Hutch (1975) titled The Vampire (1976), about a psychopath who drains his victims' blood to resurrect his dead wife.
- #041
The town in the book is actually named Jerusalem's Lot. Both it and Sidewinder (from "The Shining") have their names checked in another Stephen King novel, "Doctor Sleep."
- #042
Producer John Calley wanted Peter Weir to direct it.
- #043
Before filming began, it was decided to focus more on character and drama instead of violence and profanity.
- #044
Ronnie Scribner is only seven and a half months younger than Brad Savage, who played his older brother.
- #045
It is later noted that Reggie Nalder once played a vampire in Stephen King's 1986 novel "It," while David Soul was mentioned in King's 1998 novel "Bag of Bones."
- #046
Ed Flanders (Dr. Bill Norton) and Bonnie Bartlett (Ann Norton) had previously played another married couple, Hosea and Sylvia Knowlton, in The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975). Both would go on to appear in the 1980s hospital drama St. Elsewhere (1982), though they did not play a married couple there.
- #047
Richard Straker drives a 1964 Cadillac Eldorado four-door sedan.
- #048
While the novel "'Salem's Lot" begins and ends in Mexico, the miniseries begins and ends in the fictional Guatemalan town of Ximico. "Ximico" is almost a direct anagram of Mexico.
- #049
The town sign shown in the film indicates that Salem's Lot has a population of 2,013.
- #050
The Jeep Ben uses in the film is a Jeep CJ-5.
- #051
Korn frontman Jonathan Davis has named it one of his favorite horror films.
- #052
In this 1979 version, Ben Mears drives a yellow Jeep. In the 2004 version of Salem's Lot, Susan Norton drives a yellow Jeep.
- #053
This miniseries features five actors who appeared in Star Trek (1966): David Soul (The Apple (1967)), Elisha Cook Jr. (Court Martial (1967)), Julie Cobb (By Any Other Name (1968)), Barbara Babcock (six episodes as an actress and voice performer) and Reggie Nalder (Journey to Babel (1967)).
- #054
In Mexico, Salem's Lot was released in theaters in 1980.
- #055
Bonnie Bedelia's character teaches at Holley Junior High School. Holly was the first name of her character in Die Hard (1988).
- #056
Lew Ayres and Bonnie Bedelia appeared together in the 1974 film Heatwave! (1974).
- #057
Reggie Nalder appears in the original two-part opening title sequence and in the theatrical version's opening title sequence, but not in the 183-minute combined first- and second-part version seen on the DVD and Blu-ray releases.
- #058
Seven actors in Salem's Lot (1979) had previously appeared alongside David Soul in separate episodes of the American TV police series Starsky and Hutch (1975): Barbara Babcock, Joshua Bryant, Elisha Cook Jr., George Dzundza, Geoffrey Lewis, Robert Lussier and Kenneth McMillan.
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