WARNING! This article contains major SPOILERS for Salem’s Lot (2024)!Max’s new movie adaptation ofSalem’s Lotis largely faithful to Stephen King’s 1975 book of the same name, but happens to leave out the most shocking reveals from the novel’s epilogue. Following the 1979 miniseries, 1987 film sequel, and 2004 miniseries, thecast of the 2024Salem’s Lotmoviereintroduces the classic Stephen King vampire story and characters on-screen to a new generation. However, with only a two-hour movie instead of a miniseries to tackle the harrowing tale of the titular town, it wasinevitable that some key details would be cut or changed from the original book.
The2024Salem’s Lotmovie endswith Mark Petrie and Ben Mears killing Kurt Barlow, the lead vampire who turned the majority of Jerusalem’s Lot into “creatures of the night.” After the deaths of Susan, Father Callahan, Mark’s parents, and Matt Burke, Ben and Mark are forced to flee the town that is now overrun with vampires.The film’s final moments see Ben and Mark drive out of town to safety, but that isn’t where their story ends in Stephen King’sSalem’s Lotnovel. Rather, an epilogue reveals Mark and Ben’s shocking actions after surviving the initial vampire attack.
Ben & Mark Returned To Burn Salem’s Lot A Year Later In The Book
Ben & Mark Fought The Vampires Again After Salem’s Lot’s Ending
The epilogue of Stephen King’s 1975 novel explains thatafter Ben and Mark left Salem’s Lot, they returned a year later to burn down the town. Initially, Ben and Mark fled to Mexico to recover from their bout withSalem’s Lot’s vampires, with the younger character eventually confessing everything they experienced to a friendly priest at a local church. After a while, however, Ben and Mark formed a plan to finish what they started after killing lead vampire Kurt Barlow.
Although the two could have stayed away from the town forever to avoid the risk of being turned into vampires themselves, the pair shockingly take on the vampires for a second time on their own.Ben and Mark start a brush fire in the woods outside of town, which draws the creatures out of their hiding placesand allows them the opportunity to killSalem’s Lot’s vampires in daylight. The book doesn’t reveal exactly how this plan worked out, but subsequent stories in King’s novel universe disclosed some of the aftermath.
There’s been no word on whetherSalem’s Lot 2is happening, but it could work by focusing on Ben and Mark’s return to the town and fully exploring their second battle with the town’s vampires.
Considering this crucial part of Ben and Mark’s story was left out of the 2024 movie’s ending, itleaves room for the event to be adapted into a potentialSalem’s Lot 2film. There’s been no word on whetherSalem’s Lot 2is happening, but it could work by focusing on Ben and Mark’s return to the town and fully exploring their second battle with the town’s vampires. Though Ben and Mark are the only known characters who began the brush fire, a sequel could take some creative liberties by giving them some more fellow vampire slayers.
Stephen King’s Book Universe Reveals Ben & Mark’s Plan Didn’t Stop The Town’s Evils
Evils Still Lurk In Jerusalem’s Lot Long After Ben & Mark’s Return
Ben and Mark’s story still hasn’t been directly returned to afterStephen King’s 1975Salem’s Lotbook, but the author has still referenced the two characters and the brush fire they started in various stories over the years. According to his short storyOne for the Road,the fire that Ben and Mark started lasted three days in Jerusalem’s Lot, and managed to take out many of the remaining vampires. However, even years after Barlow’s arrival in the town and his initial vampire takeover, Salem’s Lot was still home to numerous vampires, among other evils.
Marsten House History & Evil Backstory In Salem’s Lot Explained
Salem’s Lot story largely revolves around the Marsten House, with the important location’s backstory revealed in the original Stephen King novel.
While only a few of King’s stories are actually set in Jerusalem’s Lot, numerous tales by the author reference the town, especially when it deals with an evil group of presence residing there. For instance, the sinisterTrue Knot cult inDoctor Sleep, King’s The Shining sequel, has a safe haven in Salem’s Lot. Ben and Mark were still able to take down many of the town’s vampires traced back toAlexander Ward’s Kurt Barlow, but it seems likefully ridding Salem’s Lot of its attractive powers to new and ancient evil forces wasn’t possible.
What Happened To Ben & Mark After Salem’s Lot’s Book Ending?
Ben & Mark’s Future Is Revealed After The Epilogue In Another Stephen King Story
Though the epilogue ofSalem’s Lot’s novel concludes with Mark and Ben preparing to light the fire a year later, their fates are later addressed in Wolves of Calla, the fifth entry inStephen King’sThe Dark Towerbook series. In the novel,Salem’s Lot’sFather Callahan reveals that he was transported to Los Zapatos, Mexico to attend the funeral of Ben Mears, who died in his late 50s. Although it’s unclear how Ben dies, Callahan explains that Mark Petrie, now a young adult man, gives a eulogy in which he refers to Ben as his father.
Father Callahan survives in Stephen King’sSalem’s Lotnovel, but dies in the 2024 film adaptation.
Callahan’s words reveal that they survived their second battle with the vampires, withBen continuing to raise Mark as his ownson following the deaths of the child’s parents in Jerusalem’s Lot. It seems that Mark and Ben settled down back in Mexico and remained there, though the novel doesn’t give any indication of what happened to Mark after Ben’s death. However, it seems the two largely stayed away from the titular town ofSalem’s Lotafter two bouts with its vampiric population.
Salem’s Lot
Cast
Salem’s Lot is a 2024 remake of the movie of the same name released in 1979. The latest adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 novel stars Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, and Bill Camp, with Gary Dauberman writing and directing the Max original film. The plot revolves around a writer who discovers a vampire in his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot upon returning home for inspiration.
