Stephen King's Salem's Lot was made into a television miniseries back in 1979, and it remains one of the most spine-tingling and chilling vampire series ever made. Director Tobe Hooper brought his horror movie directorial chops and used them to great effect in the terrifying The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and then crafted a creepy and terrifying vision of vampires in their most demonic form.
The miniseries still holds up today as a testament to the effectiveness of lighting, set design and a great script. It's also full of excellent quotes that have continued to give the series longevity. Here are some of the most frightening of the bunch that deserve a spot among the most memorable quotes from Stephen King works.
"The House Was A Monument To Evil Sitting There All These Years, Holding The Essence Of Evil In Its Smoldering Bones."
Ben Mears returned to Salem's Lot to write about the Marston House, which is definitely one of the most frightening houses of any horror movie. His skill as a fiction writer helped aid him as he put pen to paper and began writing down evocative passages about it.
This quote is taken from one of Ben's writings, and his penmanship is quite effective at setting an ominous tone about just how evil this structure really was. Little did he realize the extent of the evil that had since taken up residence within its walls.
"I Think That An Evil House Attracts Evil Men."
Ben and Burke caught up after many years by going out to a restaurant, but their conversation soon turned towards the real reason for Ben's return to Salem's Lot - the Marston House. The two shared stories, many of them uncorroborated regarding the nature of what went on inside the house.
It was Ben who brought up some frighteningly truthful points about the house, but his own recollection of childhood events was what truly gave Burke a reason to pause and consider. Ben summed it all up with this quote that ran parallel with Kurt Barlow's arrival at the Marston House.
"Sweetest Singing I Ever Heard. And A Feeling Like Drowning. And Eyes...Eyes!"
Mike Ryerson became a victim of vampirism after the undead form of Danny Glick rose from his coffin and fed off of him. The experience left him knocked out cold for an entire night and weak when we came to the next morning. He found both Ben and Burke at the restaurant and sat down in a daze trying to recollect what happened.
When the two pressed Mike to elaborate on what he saw and heard, he responded with this quote that was more than eerie, especially after the conversation Ben and Burke just had about the nature of evil. This would accelerate their suspicions of the Marston House, and the presence of Straker and Barlow in the town.
"Open The Window, Mark. Please! Let Me In! It's Okay, Mark, I'm Your Friend. He Commands It!"
When Danny Glick was killed by repeated visitations from his vampirized little brother, he ended up suffering the exact same fate. He began spreading vampirism throughout the community by going after the townspeople, including his friend Mark Petrie.
Mark was smart enough to realize that this was not really Danny, but an evil vampire trying to trick him into inviting him inside. Mark held up a cross and drove Danny back into the darkness.
"You'll Enjoy Mr. Barlow. And He'll Enjoy You!"
Richard Straker arrived in Salem's Lot to set up a a cozy antique shop on behalf of himself and his master Kurt Barlow, one of the most powerful vampires in the world. His residence in the Marston House did little to hide suspicion from Ben Mears, who had returned to the town to write about the evil he believed inhabited it.
When Mears finally confronted Straker in an effort to get some information out of him, the tension was already high. Mears asked where Barlow was, to which Straker replied he was on a buying trip, but would return soon. He next uttered this quote which was obviously a veiled threat against Mears.
"Look At Me, Teacher! Loooooook!"
Mike Ryerson was unwittingly responsible for delivering Kurt Barlow to Salem's Lot in the first place, but his troubles didn't end there. When Danny Glick was killed, he was on site to bury his coffin, but a strange power prompted him to leap down into the grave and open it.
Danny lay inside, clearly vampiric and ready to strike. He lunged forth and fed on Mike not once, but several times before he died. As a result, the vampirism spread to Mike, who in turn attempted to attack Burke in his own home after having already been invited in as a human.
"The Master Wants You! Throw Away Your Cross. Face The Master. Your Faith Against His Faith! Could You Do That?"
When Father Callahan went over to the Petrie's house to talk about problems Mark was facing, strange things began to happen. The lights flickered, furniture moved of its own accord, and a window blew out to reveal a crumpled dark mass on the floor. The master vampire Kurt Barlow attacked and killed Mark Petrie's parents before grabbing the boy by the throat.
Callahan held up his cross to keep the vampire at bay, but Straker arrived to speak for his master and challenged him to drop it, then face Barlow directly. This allowed Mark to go free, but Callahan was not able to muster enough faith to deal with the reality of Barlow's immense evil, and succumbed to his power.
"The Vampires Are Creating Vampires! It's A Geometric Progression. Two Times Two, Times Four, Times Eight!"
Ben realized that the vampire menace taking root in Salem's Lot would soon become an unstoppable contagion that would overwhelm the town, and perhaps the world. He tried to convince Susan's father of the problem before revealing the threat to her as well. She could only stand and contemplate the horror of what was to come.
It was Ben who understood that the vampire menace would multiply at a geometric rate until the entire town had been overtaken. From there, Barlow would be poised to strike at towns and cities across New England, to say nothing of the rest of the United States if he chose.
"It's In The Marston House. It's Got To Be Rooted Out. It's Got To Be Destroyed!"
As the vampiric plague began to spread across Salem's Lot, all eyes that were open and unblinded turned to the Marston House as the main base of operations. Kurt Barlow had taken up residence there and spread out across the town to attack several people and turn them into his vampire underlings.
Ben knew that the key to driving out the vampires was to destroy the house and give them nowhere to hide, and that meant forming a plan to go inside, stake Barlow through the heart and burn the house down to its foundation.
"This Town's Falling Apart, And You're Running?"
Ben attempted to gather support to battle the vampiric menace in Salem's Lot, which was under attack by malevolent forces just as many other small towns in horror movie fiction. Even the police chief was too scared to deal with it.
When Ben arrived to try and recruit him for an attack on the Marston House, the chief was already packing up the car to take his wife and children out of Salem's Lot while the entire town went to hell. Ben stood by in disbelief as the car peeled away, leaving him in charge of dealing with Barlow.