Stephen King is widely regarded as the master of horror, and has some very strong opinions about his work, as well as the adaptations thereof; he has stated that Salem's Lot is his personal favorite book of the ones he's written.
Salem's Lot, which was originally published in 1975, has been adapted a few times in history. First, it was made into a television miniseries by iconic horror director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) in 1979. A sequel, A Return To Salem's Lot was directed by Larry Cohen in 1987 and was a feature film. The book was again turned into a television miniseries, which starred Rob Lowe as Ben Mears and Rutger Hauer as the master vampire Kurt Barlow, in 2004. There are two new adaptations of the novel on the way; a feature film from James Wan and an EPIX television series starring Adrien Brody. The television series is adapting King's short story, "Jerusalem's Lot", which is based off the same fictional town and has a similar angle.
The prolific author has produced so many stories, including a wide variety of short stories that have also seen adaptations on the big screen, it's hard to think he'd be able to pick a favorite. Yet, his reasons for choosing Salem's Lot are remarkably simple.
Salem's Lot Is Stephen King's Favorite Book
During the 1980s, Stephen King stated on two different occasions that Salem's Lot was his favorite. Of course, authors can change their mind, and he has certainly created many new stories since the '80s, but King's logic for choosing Salem's Lot was sound. One such interview for "The Highway Patrolman" magazine that was originally published in 1987 from Phil Konstantin discussed numerous topics including King's writing method, his family life, and his feelings on reincarnation.
When asked about why Salem's Lot is his favorite book, King said, "In a way it is my favorite story, mostly because of what it says about small towns. They are kind of a dying organism right now. The story seems sort of down home to me. I have a special cold spot in my heart for it!" In the interview, King discusses his inspiration for the book, which came to him while he was traveling with friends through Vermont and was pointed out a town upstate called Jeremiah's Lot. Supposedly, according to King's friend, everyone in the town disappeared in 1908. King explained that his friend told him about how, when someone discovered the town, it was completely abandoned, yet inside the houses, dinner was still set on some tables and stores still contained money.
Salem's Lot was critically acclaimed and got nominated for the World Fantasy Award in 1976. It was also nominated for the Locus Award for All-Time Best Fantasy Novel in 1987. King dedicated the book to his daughter, Naomi. The dark, twisted tale of vampires who slowly infiltrate a small town could very well bring the monsters back into the genre in a big way, perhaps even more so after the relative success of Netflix's new Dracula series, which was greeted with mixed reviews.