Characters / 'Salem's Lot

The Vampire Hunters

Ben Mears

Benjaman 'Ben' Mears

Portrayed by: David Soul (1979 miniseries), Rob Lowe (2004 miniseries)

Voiced by: Stuart Milligan (Radio Drama)

• Ambiguous Situation: He had to take a breathalyzer test after the accident that killed his wife, which is just a standard procedure, but besides him hitting a wet spot it's left unclear who was at fault in the crash.
• Beware the Nice Ones: By the end of the story, he's a seasoned vampire hunter who has already killed the colony's leader.
• Bus Crash: By the time of The Dark Tower he's already dead, as Father Callahan states.
• Dark and Troubled Past: His wife died in a motorcycle accident, and he survived. It haunted him throughout the book, and inspired him to return to his hometown, 'Salem's Lot.
• Expy: Of both Jonathan Harker and Arthur Holmwood.
• It's Personal: With Barlow, after Susan is turned by him.
• Most Writers Are Writers: Has already written at least two books by the start of the story.
• My Nayme Is: Benjaman, not the more common spelling Benjamin.
• Nice Guy: A friendly and compassionate guy who can take jabs about his career in stride. Just don't mess with the people he cares about.
• Parental Substitute: He becomes this for Mark after they escape 'Salem's Lot. The novel starts with this sentence: "Almost everyone thought the man and the boy were father and son."
• Stranger in a Familiar Land: He experiences a bit of this upon returning to 'Salem's Lot.
• Took a Level in Badass: When the rest of the party starts dying off, he's the one who keeps them moving forward. He is the one who finally puts the stake in Kurt Barlow.

Mark Petrie

Mark Petrie

Portrayed by: Lance Kerwin (1979 miniseries), Dan Byrd (2004 miniseries)

Voiced by: Danny Canaba (Radio Drama)

• Badass Bookworm: Wears glasses, reads horror books, and kicks a lot of ass.
• Deuteragonist: Despite being a seemingly minor character for the first half of the book, Mark gets considerably more focus after joining with Susan. By the end of the book he fully takes on this role, as he and Ben are the only vampire hunters left.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: He spits in the face of the ancient vampire Barlow for murdering his parents. Barlow is pissed.
• Escape Artist: He uses some tricks he learned in a book about Harry Houdini to escape after Straker ties him up.
• Genre Savvy: Thanks to reading monster books and comics.
• The Glasses Come Off: During his Establishing Character Moment he takes his glasses off and hands them to another kid before facing the neighborhood bully that's twice his size. He then nearly dislocates the bully's arm and humiliates him in front of the rest of the kids.
• It's Personal: After Barlow kills his parents.

• Not So Stoic: He keeps his cool, despite the vampire infestation ...up until Barlow murders his parents in front of him and he witnesses Jimmy's gruesome death.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's still a kid after all. He's also one of the most badass characters in the book. Even Barlow is impressed (albeit livid) with him. So much so that Barlow flat out tells Callahan that, "the boy makes ten of you, false priest."
• Spiteful Spit: Barely containing his rage towards Barlow for killing his parents, he spits in his face. Barlow isn't very pleased.
• Stronger Than They Look: In the book, he is described as having a nerdy and bookish appearance but he manages to overpower and take down Richie Boddin.
• Wise Beyond His Years: He's extremely Genre Savvy, well aware of the threat the vampires pose, and is one of the first people to notice something is wrong.
• You Are Too Late: He manages to escape the trap Straker had put for him, but the effort took too much time that by the time he tries to rescue Susan, she's already been fed on and he reaches her just as Barlow finishes her off.

Matt Burke

Matthew 'Matt' Burke

Portrayed by: Lew Ayres (1979 miniseries), Andre Braugher (2004 miniseries)

Voiced by: Gavin Muir (Radio Drama)

• Armoured Closet Gay: In the 2004 miniseries.
• The Chessmaster: Becomes this against Barlow, constantly coming up with the new strategies to counter the vampire's attacks.
• Cool Old Guy: The book's equivalent of Van Helsing, a fact remarked upon by Mark Petrie and Cody.
• Cool Teacher: The town seems to regard him as such.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: He randomly dies of a massive heart attack in the hospital. This is made particularly egregious, since he had survived an earlier heart attack after fighting off the vampirized Mike Ryerson and an assassination attempt from a Brainwashed and Crazy Ann Norton.
  • Then again, this may not be so egregious—it makes perfect sense for someone whose heart has already been weakened by both stress and a very recent heart attack to have another heart attack that kills them.
• Expy: Of Professor Abraham van Helsing, as the elderly mentor.
• Genre Savvy: He has read most of the classic vampire lit.
• Logical Weakness: Although he's the most knowledgable and prepared of all the vampire hunters, he's still a man in his early sixties who lives an academic's life with a bit too much drinking. So he has a heart attack when facing a vampire face to face.
• Nice Guy: Despite the occasional outburst, he's a very polite man that many of his students like and look up to.
• Race Lift: The 2004 miniseries has him played by the black Andre Braugher.

Father Callahan

Father Donald Callahan

Portrayed by: James Gallery (1979 miniseries), James Cromwell (2004 miniseries)

Voiced by: Nigel Anthony (Radio Drama)

• Adaptational Villainy : In the 2004 mini-series, he undergoes a dramatic Face–Heel Turn as a result of his confrontation with Barlow, instead of the Despair Event Horizon he faces in the novel. he's even a Hero Killer in the mini-series, gruesomely impaling Matt Burke in the hospital
• The Alcoholic: One of Stephen King's many alcoholic characters. His alcoholism largely stems from his disillusionment with the church.
• Badass Preacher: Takes on Barlow, despite his fear. A shame he can't best him.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: He longs for the opportunity to do battle with capital-E EVIL. He gets that opportunity, but proves disastrously unequal to the task.
• The Cynic: His disillusionment with the church and experiences with the worst humanity has to offer has left him pretty close to the Despair Event Horizon.
• Despair Event Horizon: After Barlow marks him as untouchable, casting him out from God and humanity, he gives up and leaves town to wander the fringes of mankind.
• Demoted to Extra: In the 1979 miniseries.
• Everyone Has Standards: As a priest, he sits and listens to the sins people commit on a weekly basis. Yet he finds Sandy McDougall hitting her own baby to be particularly enraging.
• Fate Worse than Death: Barlow marks him as untouchable, essentially casting him out from humanity and God, so Callahan is doomed to walk the Earth like Cain or the Wandering Jew.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He gets into a duel of faith with Barlow to allow Mark to escape. He winds up marked as untouchable for his trouble, casting him out from humanity and God.
• Knight in Sour Armor: He’s very cynical and his faith is waning, but he still does his damnedest to help stop Barlow.
• Suppressed Rage: Whenever Sandy McDougall tells him about how she beats her infant son Randy in confession, he suppresses the urge to leap into the confessional and throttle her.
• Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: Barlow torments him with the memory of his childhood boogeyman, Mr. Flip.
• Tragic Hero: A disillusioned priest struggling with alcoholism, who nevertheless wants to take on evil. When he finally gets the chance, his faith proves to be too weak, resulting in him being subjected to a Fate Worse than Death, unable to even set foot in his own church again.
• Transplant: He later became a major character in The Dark Tower.

Jimmy Cody

Dr. James 'Jimmy' Cody

Portrayed by: Robert Mammone (2004 miniseries)

Voiced by: Kerry Shale (Radio Drama)

• Agent Scully: At least until seeing Marjorie Glick turn and getting bitten by her.
• Composite Character: He is combined with Bill Norton in the 1979 miniseries, who takes Cody's status as the doctor and an Agent Scully.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Impaled on knives after he fell through a booby trap. The original draft had him eaten by rats.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: See Cruel and Unusual Death.
• The Smart Guy: He acts as an Expy for Dr John Seward, with his medical expertise and skepticism.

Norton Family

Susan Norton

Susan Norton

Portrayed by: Bonnie Bedelia (1979 miniseries), Samantha Mathis (2004 miniseries)

Voiced by: Teresa Gallagher (Radio Drama)

• Action Girl: Averted. She heads to the Marsten house with the intention of staking Barlow, but ends up turned instead.
• Cute Bookworm: She spends a lot of time at the Lot's library, which leads to her Meet Cute with Ben. They encounter each other at a public park and she realizes he's the author of the book she's reading.
• Expy: She's the Mina Murray/Lucy Westenra to Ben's Jonathan Harker/Arthur. It's even acknowledged textually when the hunters kill Susan — Ben can't help but compare himself to Arthur, who also had to drive a stake into his girlfriend's heart after she was turned by the Big Bad.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She is described as having light-blonde hair in the novel and is a Nice Girl.
• Kill the Cutie/Corrupt the Cutie: Is turned into a vampire by Barlow. One of her first acts as an undead is to try and feed on Mark. But since he already dealt with something like this via Danny, he manages to chase her away. Regardless though she obey Barlow's command and kills both the sheriff and her mother until she's eventually staked.
• Leg Focus: In the novel she has nice legs, according to Ben.
• Nice Girl: Part of why Ben falls for her. After being turned into a vampire, however…
• Sacrificial Lamb: She is the first of the hero's gang to die and becomes a vampire. She is staked by her boyfriend Ben Mears, who becomes much more dedicated to hunting down the Big Bad as a result.
• Shoot the Dog: Ben is forced to stake her after Barlow turns her.
• Sound-Only Death: A literary version. Mark does not see her get turned by Barlow, but he hears it.
• Starving Artist: She's managed to avoid the brunt of this by living with her parents. At least, until her relationship with her mother begins to deteriorate. She later ends up moving out of the house in spite of this trope, in order to gain her independence and reduce the growing conflict between her mother and herself.

Ann Norton

Ann Norton

Portrayed by: Bonnie Bartlett (1979 miniseries), Elizabeth Alexander (2004 miniseries)

• Abusive Parents: Of the emotional variety. She's obsessed with having an iron grip on every aspect of Susan's life, regardless of what her daughter actually wants.
• Arranged Marriage: Played With. She tries to force Susan into a relationship with Floyd Tibbits, a blue-collar worker that Susan doesn't love. Unfortunately for Ann, Susan is her own person and not a 14th century noble, meaning she can marry whoever she wants.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: By Barlow, who sends her to kill Matt Burke.
• Control Freak: Her parenting style makes her this.
• Jerkass: Is unreasonable hostile towards Ben and overly-controlling toward Susan.
• My Beloved Smother: To Susan. Ann has a very specific idea of how Susan's life goes. In one of Susan's lucid moments as a vampire, she expresses no remorse in feeding on her.
• She Knows Too Much: She dies of a seizure after her attempt to kill Matt Burke fails, which seems to have been caused by Barlow.

Bill Norton

William 'Bill' Norton

Portrayed by: Ed Flanders (1979 miniseries)

• Ascended Extra: He has a far more prominent role in the 1979 miniseries and becomes a member of the vampire hunters, thanks to being merged with Jimmy Cody.
• Cool Old Guy: Is far more laid back and accepting of his daughter's choices than his wife is.
• Composite Character: He gains Jimmy Cody's role in the 1979 miniseries.
• Death by Adaptation/Dies Differently in Adaptation: While in the book his fate is never shown, the implication is he turned into a vampire. In the 1979 miniseries, he is impaled on deer antlers by Straker.
• Good Parents: Is much more accepting and open to Susan's choices than his wife.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: In one of the most memorable scenes from the 1979 miniseries, Straker impales him on mounted deer antlers.
• Nice Guy: In contrast to his wife, Bill immediately hits it off with Ben, seeing him as a kindred spirit despite their differences.
• Whatever Happened to the Mouse?: Bill disappears from the book after Susan dies, though he probably became a vampire.

Glick Family

Tony Glick

Anthony H. 'Tony' Glick

• Cosmic Plaything: Both his sons die, his wife dies soon after, and then his vampirized wife and son turn him into a vampire.

Danny Glick

Daniel Francis 'Danny' Glick

Portrayed by:

• Breaking and Bloodsucking: The first to start the trend within the town, slowly sneaking into his household every night and feeding on his mother.
• Sacrificial Lamb: A close friend of Mark's who becomes the first to be turned into a vampire.
• Undead Child: A young boy turned by the vampire, Barlow.

Marjorie Glick

Marjorie Glick

Ralphie Glick

Ralphie Glick

Portrayed by:

• Adaptational Villainy: In the 1979 miniseries, he actually becomes a vampire and is the one to turn Danny.
• Breaking and Bloodsucking: Does this to Danny in the 1979 miniseries.
• Composite Character: He is given his brother's role as the first to be turned by Barlow.
• Expy: He shares a lot of attributes with Georgie Denbrough, another Cheerful Child regarded as an Annoying Younger Sibling by their older brother who meets a horrifying fate at the hands of a monster.
• Nothing Is Scarier: Whatever Straker does to him is described by the narration as “unspeakable”.
• Undead Child: In the 1979 miniseries, rather than be killed, he's turned into a vampire.

McDougall Family

Sandy McDougall

Sandy McDougall

• Abusive Parents: She takes her frustrations out in her infant son Randy by beating him.
• Asshole Victim: Downplayed due to her Freudian Excuse, but it's difficult to pity her when Randy turns into a vampire after all the abuse she put him through.
• Despair Event Horizon: Has a mental breakdown after finding Randy "dead" in his room.
• Domestic Abuse: Her husband Roy emotionally abuses her.
• Freudian Excuse: Her awful treatment of Randy is the result of her being a teenager stuck in a loveless marriage with an older guy who emotionally abused her regularly.

Randy McDougall

Randy McDougall

• Butt-Monkey: His parents hate him, his mother beats him regularly, and he’s not even a year old yet. Being a vampire might even be an improvement for him.
• Undead Child: After being turned by Danny Glick.

Roy McDougall

Royce “Roy” McDougall

• Asshole Victim: It’s hard to fell sorry for him when he gets turned into a vampire.
• Domestic Abuse: He emotionally abuses his wife Sandy, and seems to hate his son Randy even more than Sandy does.

Other Residents

Corey Bryant

Corey Bryant

• The Dog Bites Back: After being turned into a vampire by Barlow, he takes some sweet revenge in killing Reggie Sawyer.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: After being turned into a vampire, rather than subject Reggie to the same fate, he just straight-up murders the guy. Considering what he'd done, though, Reggie had it coming.

Weasel Craig

Ed 'Weasel' Craig

Portrayed by: Elisha Cook Jr. (1979 miniseries), Martin Vaughan (2004 miniseries)

• The Alcoholic: To the point where it's ruined his life and health.
• Affably Evil: After becoming a vampire, he's still pretty kind to Eva.
• Killed Offscreen: We never see his turning, only the aftermath.
• Mauve Shirt: He gets the most characterization and prominence out of the supporting characters, but is turned into a vampire offscreen.
• Nice Guy: While a desperate and broke alcoholic, Weasel is a nice enough guy who is friendly to everyone.
• War Hero: He is specifically mentioned as having won a Silver Star during World War II. He's a nice man, but also a desperate and broke alcoholic who relies on charity and handouts to get by.

Larry Crockett

Lawrence 'Larry' Crockett

Portrayed by: Fred Willard (1979 miniseries), Robert Grubb (2004 miniseries)

• Affably Evil: He takes great pains to be friendly with the townsfolk, prefers to use generous bribes over blackmail to get his way, and deliberately avoids being a snob with his wealth. He's still corrupt, and helps Straker cover up Ralphie Glick's disappearance.
• Composite Character: With Corey Bryant in the 1979 miniseries, taking his role as being the guy having an affair with Bonnie Sawyer.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Of his real estate agency.
• Death by Adaptation: He's one of the first to be turned by Barlow in the 1979 miniseries, thanks to him having been merged with Corey Bryant.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: In the 2004 miniseries, him kicking through the wall of the garage in a fit of rage results in the heroes noticing the chalk on his shoe and figuring out where to look for Barlow.

Ruthie Crockett

Ruthie Crockett

Portrayed by: Penny McNamee (2004 miniseries)

Nolly Gardener

Nolly Gardener

Voiced by: George Parsons (Radio Drama)

• Clueless Deputy: He seems pretty oblivious to all the supernatural activities going on in the town.
• Expy: He greatly resembles Norris Ridgewick, another Clueless Deputy who served as a recurring character in Stephen King's Castle Rock stories.
• Nice Guy: If a bit dim.
• Police Are Useless: When it comes to the vampires, though Parkins Gillespie implies he was rather competent at his job.

Parkins Gillespie

Parkins Gillespie

Portrayed by: Kenneth McMillan (1979 miniseries), Steven Vidler (2004 miniseries)

Voiced by: Don Fellows (Radio Drama)

• Dirty Coward: Partially justified due to the town being infested with dangerous vampires, but Parkins nevertheless neglects his duties as an officer out of fear for his own safety and flees town. Lampshades by Ben, who calls him out:
  Ben: You gutless creep. You cowardly piece of shit. This town is still alive and you're running out on it.
• Police Are Useless: He knows something's wrong, and the vampire hunters try to tell him, but he doesn't care and leaves town instead.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Flees town when the vampires get out of control.
• The Sheriff: Or town constable, technically.

Moe Green

Maury 'Moe' Green

Birdie Marsten

Birdie Marsten

• Nothing Is Scarier: In the chapter about the town's secrets, it's said that before he blew her head off, Hubie...did things to her. We are given no clue as to what, but whatever it was apparently made her beg for the shotgun.
• Posthumous Character: Died the same night as her husband.

Hubie Marsten

Hubert Barclay 'Hubie' Marsten

• Greater-Scope Villain: He invited Barlow into his house, setting the events of the book into motion.
• Hollywood Satanism: In addition to being a mobster and a bootlegger, Hubie was a devil-worshiper who sacrificed children.
• Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the events of the book, although Ben saw an apparition of him.
• The Renfield: He seems to have been an indirect one. It's mentioned that he corresponded with Barlow (then calling himself 'Breichen') for several years prior to his murder-suicide, and presumably made some kind of agreement for Barlow to occupy his house when the time was ripe.

Homer McCaslin

Homer McCaslin

• Police Are Useless: Played With. While he is oblivious to the vampires, he still seems rather competent and gets killed when he actually tries to investigate the disappearances in Salem’s Lot.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He can tell that Cody and Ben are lying about what happened with Marjorie Glick's body and why they look beaten up, but he can also tell it's for a good reason, so he declines to press the issue.
• The Sheriff: Of Cumberland County, where Jerusalem’s Lot is located.
• Token Good Cop: The town constable, Gillespie, is a Dirty Coward, and his deputy is of the clueless variety, but McCaslin is a thoughtful and brave presence throughout the vampire infestation. The little of it he is alive to witness, anyway.

Charlie Rhodes

Charles 'Charlie' Rhodes

Portrayed by: Andy Anderson (2004 miniseries)

• Asshole Victim: Kicks the kids off his bus for petty reasons, including when they didn't even do whatever it is he accused them off, and in general is all-around nasty to them. Is killed in his bus by a group of vampiric children.
• Child Hater: Thoroughly hates the children he has to drive.
• Devoured by the Horde: He’s torn apart by a horde of vampirized children
• Jerkass: A bus driver who despises the children he has to drive.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Only attends Danny Glick's funeral to keep up appearances.

Dud Rogers

Dud Rogers

Portrayed by: Brendan Cowell (2004 miniseries)

• Ephebophile: He lusts after Larry Crockett's teenage daughter.
• Evil Cripple: After being turned. Not that he was that nice beforehand, but he confined himself to shooting rats.
• The Hermit: Lives out in the junkyard by choice.
• The Resenter: Dud hates everyone in town for looking down on him and because of how much better off they are than him. This is a major factor in how Barlow manages to hypnotize and then turn him.

Mike Ryerson

Michael Corey Ryerson

Portrayed by: Geoffrey Lewis (1979 miniseries), Christopher Morris (2004 miniseries)

• Nice Guy: He seems rather nice before he becomes a vampire.
• Slow Transformation: His transformation into a vampire takes an agonizingly long time.

Bonnie Sawyer

Bonnie Sawyer

Portrayed by:

• The Baby Trap: Reggie, just before he rapes her upon finding out about her affair with Corey, flushes her birth control pills down the toilet, presumably with the aim of getting her pregnant against her will.
• Rape as Drama: Suffers this at the hands of Reggie after he finds out about the affair.

Reggie Sawyer

Reggie Sawyer

Portrayed by: George Dzundza (1979 miniseries)

• Asshole Victim: Reggie's abuse of Bonnie means there's not much sympathy for him when Corey takes revenge upon him as a vampire.
• The Baby Trap: Pulls a horrific version of this with Bonnie after finding out about her affair with Corey, beating and raping her after flushing her birth control pills down the toilet.
• Domestic Abuser: Reggie is already violently abusive with Bonnie, but really crosses the line when he finds out about the affair.
• Faux Affably Evil: Treats Corey with an ominous smile and friendly voice while threatening his life for sleeping with Bonnie.
• Hate Sink: A Domestic Abuser and rapist with zero redeeming qualities. No tears are shed when Corey murders him.
• Karmic Death: Reggie's cruel treatment of Corey and Bonnie after finding out about the affair leads directly to Reggie's death after Barlow turns him.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: He rapes his wife for nights on end, and is one of the most detestable characters in the book. Stephen King seemed to understand this, considering Reggie is one of the few characters in the book to be outright killed instead of turned into a vampire.

Villains

Kurt Barlow

Kurt Barlow (formerly Breichen)

Portrayed by: Reggie Nalder (1979 miniseries), Rutger Hauer (2004 miniseries)

Voiced by: Doug Bradley (radio drama)

• Adaptational Ugliness: He could pass off as a normal human in the book, but in the 1979 miniseries he Looks Like Orlok (i.e., completely inhuman with a bald head, pale skin, bright eyes and pointed teeth). This is reversed in the 2004 miniseries where he is played by Rutger Hauer.
• Adaptational Wimp: Straker does most of the heavy lifting for him in the 1979 miniseries, while Barlow barely does much of anything of note and falls down when Ben lightly elbows him in the face while he's trying to sit up in his coffin, though he does carry telekinetic abilities... which he doesn't put to any use aside from opening a jail cell and short-circuiting the electricity in Mark's house.
• Adaptation Personality Change: In the book, he's a Faux Affably Evil Dracula expy, a Classical Movie Vampire who tempts his prey with their deepest desires before turning them. In the 1979 miniseries, he's more of a Generic Doomsday Villain who Looks Like Orlok, doesn't talk at all, and just turns and kills the townspeople left and right.
• Badass Boast: Delivers an epic one to Ben in the novel.
  Barlow: Look and see me, puny man. Look upon Barlow, who has passed the centuries as you have passed hours before a fireplace with a book. Look and see the great creature of the night whom you would slay with your miserable little stick. Look upon me, scribbler. I have written in human lives, and blood has been my ink. Look upon me and despair!
• Bad Boss: He kills Straker himself after Straker is bested by Mark.
• The Bad Guy Wins: He's killed in the end but by then it's too late, his vampirism has spread through all of Jerusalem's Lot and there are simply too many vampires for a couple humans to kill them all. One for the Road shows the area is still a supernatural hazard zone three years after the events of the book.
• Big Bad: In both the book and its adaptations.
• Card-Carrying Villain: He's quite proud to call himself "the father of serpents" and a "great creature of the night".
• Classical Movie Vampire: King based him off of the original Dracula, and he has most of the characteristics, with the exception of needing an invitation and shapeshifting.
• The Chessmaster: Stays one step ahead of the heroes all throughout the book. Matt even likens their conflict to a game of chess, with Barlow as the king and all his children as the pawns.
• Evil Wears Black: In the 1979 mini-series, he wears a long dark cloak, is probably more monstrous than his novel is novel counterpart and he is pure nightmare fuel, in both appearance and character.
• Deal with the Devil: He preys on people's innermost desires, and uses them to lure them under his wing.
• The Dreaded: It's implied that even Straker, who's a devil-worshiping child killer, is scared to death of him.
• Evil Is Hammy: Barlow in the novel thoroughly enjoys the sound of his own voice, and his dialogue carries a pretentious and theatrical flair. See his Badass Boast above. Arguably, he's pretty hammy in the miniseries, too, albeit through non-verbal means.
• Evil Is Petty: He has a vendetta against a child for wounding his best servant. A rather smart and resourceful child, but still a child, nonetheless.
• Expy: For all intents and purposes, he is Stephen King's modern-day take on Stoker's Dracula, only far older and with a different origin story. And in the miniseries, he Looks Like Orlok.
• Faux Affably Evil: In the novel he initially comes across as friendly and charming to the people of 'Salem's Lot, but his only intention is to turn them into vampires.
• Groin Attack: What he threatens to do to Mark.
  Barlow: ...you shall enter my church as choirboy castratum.
• Hell Is That Noise: In the 1979 TV movie/mini-series, he doesn't have any dialogue but makes a strange noise that sounds like something between a snarl and a hiss.
• I Shall Taunt You: A good portion of his dialogue consists of this.
• Jerkass: Gentlemanly pretenses aside, Barlow is this in spades. He routinely makes a point to be as much of a prick as possible while reveling in making things very personal for his enemies. When one of his very first scenes has him calling dogs weak and saying they should be gutted, you know what kind of villain he's gonna be.
• Kick the Dog: He is really fond of doing this.
  • In his conversation with Dud, he asks if there are any wolves around 'Salem's Lot. Dud says that there are dogs, who Barlow voices his spite for, declaring, "Gut them all!"
  • He kills Mark's parents in front of him.
  • Turns Susan to spite Ben.
  • Defeats Father Callahan in a duel of faith, then force-feeds his blood to him, leaving the priest barred from holy ground for the rest of his life.
• Liquid Assets: In the novel, when he's first seen by Dud Rogers he resembles an old man, but subsequent appearances have him looking younger as he consumes the blood of the locals.
• Manipulative Bastard: Brainwashes people and preys on their fears and insecurities so he can turn them into vampires.
• My Death Is Just the Beginning: Even after his demise, Barlow's bloodline continues to grow. Anyone who passes into the now vampire-infested town seals their fate.
• Moral Myopia: Blames Mark for Straker's death, when in reality, he was the one who killed him, and Mark only wounded him when he was about to feed him to Barlow. There's also this gem:
  Barlow: You spit on me.^context Barlow just killed Mark's parents in front of him, and after briefly holding Mark hostage, he releases him. Mark angrily spits on him, for obvious reasons.
• No Immortal Inertia: After Ben stakes him, Barlow's body rapidly decomposes. In the end, only his teeth are left.
• Really 700 Years Old: Naturally, being a vampire and all. In the novel he claims to be older than Christianity, which means he's at least 2000 years old. When he's first seen in person in the novel, by Dud Rogers, he appears as an elderly, white-haired man. Subsequent encounters with other characters have him looking increasingly youthful, presumably due to the infusion of fresh blood from his feedings.
• Satanic Archetype: A vampiric version. He's a suave, well-dressed gentleman whose conversations with the residents of 'Salem's Lot that leads to him turning them often come off as a Deal with the Devil. Further nailing it in, he calls himself "the father of serpents", though he answers to Satan himself.
• Smug Snake: He absolutely insists on making the heroes' vendetta against him personal, gloating about it all the while, which guarantees that they're gonna come after him that much harder.
• Sore Loser: Does not take well to Straker being killed. See Kick the Dog.
• Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: When he torments Father Callahan with the memory of his childhood boogeyman, Mr. Flip.
• Worthy Opponent: Views Mark as such, although he still hates him for killing Straker.
  Barlow: The boy makes ten of you, false priest.
• Would Hurt a Child: As shown with Danny Glick and Mark.

Richard Straker

Richard Throckett Straker

Portrayed by: James Mason (1979 miniseries), Donald Sutherland (2004 miniseries)

Voiced by: John Moffatt (Radio Drama)

• Adaptational Badass: In the 1979 miniseries, where he seems to have supernatural powers of his own.
• Adaptation Expansion: In the miniseries, he ends up playing a much larger role than his master. This was likely due to the fact that in the miniseries, he’s played by a still well-known James Mason.
• Bad People Abuse Animals: Kills Win Purinton's dog, Doc, and hangs him on a fence to protect himself from Barlow.
• Bald of Evil: In the novel he's entirely bald, murders children, and is in the service of Barlow.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Like his master, if his prayer to the "Lord of Flies" is any indication.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Straker is the main antagonist until about halfway through the book, when he's defeated by Mark and subsequently killed by Barlow.
• The Dragon: To Barlow.
• Evil Brit: Is British, and is a child killer who serves an ancient vampire.
• Faux Affably Evil: Susan even talks about how he's "charming" but with an undercurrent of something cruel about him. She got the feeling that he was putting on a show, but knew he wouldn't have to try hard to fool the hicks of Salem's Lot.
• Genre Savvy: Straker pre-emptively gets rid of every anti-vampire resource he can find, before Barlow's plot goes into full-gear, such as buying every rose in town and killing a black dog with white eye-patches.
• Karmic Death: He gets beaten nearly to death by Mark, who he was going to torture and then feed to his master, who later sees him bleeding out and finishes him off.
• Manipulative Bastard: Is able to charm, threaten, and bribe his way into the town with relative ease, all without anyone knowing what his true intentions are.
• The Renfield: For Kurt Barlow. He seems to have some supernatural powers himself, although he isn't a vampire.
• Serial Killer: Heavily implied. Mark finds a scrapbook bound in human flesh with photographs of Straker holding a child's corpse. Coupled with his murder of Ralphie Glick earlier on and what he planned to do to Mark, this certainly seems to suggest he enjoys killing children in his spare time.
• Would Hurt a Child: He murders Ralphie Glick and takes sadistic pleasure in beating Mark, and is implied to have killed several children before the events of the novel.
• You Have Failed Me: One of the possible reasons for his death at Barlow's hands. It could have been simply because Barlow was hungry or had no use for Straker anymore, although Barlow does speak of his death with regret.