Salem's Lot 1979 miniseries Salem's Lot is a 1979 American miniseries television adaptation of the 1975 horror novel of the same name by Stephen King. Directed by Tobe Hooper and starring David Soul and James Mason, the plot concerns a writer who returns to his hometown and discovers that its citizens are turning into vampires. Salem's Lot combines elements of the vampire film and haunted house subgenres of horror. After Warner Bros. acquired the rights to 'Salem's Lot, the studio sought to turn