In Stephen King’s novel Salem’s Lot, the vampire who moves into the Marsten House is Kurt Barlow. Barlow is the ancient vampire whose arrival turns the small Maine town of Jerusalem’s Lot into a community threatened by vampirism.
Barlow does not initially present himself openly. His human agent, Richard Straker, handles arrangements in town while Barlow remains associated with the mysterious Marsten House. This structure lets the novel build dread through rumors, disappearances, and unexplained changes before the supernatural threat becomes clear.
A common mix-up is answering Richard Straker, because Straker is the visible business partner and servant who helps establish Barlow in town. Straker is not the vampire himself. The novel’s title is often shortened to ’Salem’s Lot, and the apostrophe reflects the fictional town’s name, Jerusalem’s Lot.
Published in 1975, the book was King’s second published novel and helped establish his recurring interest in isolated communities disrupted by hidden evil.