Vamp continuity question- spoilerish

[Fenton Hardy]

'Salem's Lot is one of my favorite books. I re-read it about once a year.

Something has always hovered below conscious thought (rather like Jimmy Cody and the pool table) that finally has popped into my head.

How is it that Barlow gets into the Petrie's house without having been invited?

Any answers? Ideas?

Thanks!

[aeroplane]

I'm sure there is a final and definitive answer that SK or someone else here could provide........

But without having seen that answer, my opinion is that it is somehow tied to Mark attacking Straker. As a result, Barlow is offered an opportunity to avenge this attack. So under those circumstances, he can come in uninvited. That doesn't make perfect sense, but it is the best I can do here.

Of course one could also ask a similar question about Barlow in Eva's boarding house. Granted that one is easier to answer because he could have found a drunk Weasel Craig coming home after dark.

[wally wonder]

we're never told, are we? i assume somebody opened the door for him, maybe one of the elder petries. wouldn't have put it past barlow to tell them some story when the door was opened. kinda doubt he brought over a cake or anything like that. and he probably was more imaginative than saying he wanted a drink of water or that he needed to use the telephone, probably some story to due with their kid. :dunno:

[fredo]

Maybe because he's the Big Daddy Blood Sucker and don't need no invite. Sounds good anyway.

[aeroplane]

Somewhat similar but there are a lot of people on IMDB who are on the forums for the miniseries and would love to know how Barlow is able to get into Floyd/Ned's jail cell without having been invited into the jailhouse.

[bopropadop]

Hmmm... Maybe because Mark invited Danny Glick in after he was turned (see Chapter 10, Part 12). And since Barlow "made" Danny, by extension the invitation applied to him as well.

It wouldn't apply to others though because Susan couldn't get in later. But maybe for the Master. Perhaps...

[michal]

VERY good question. But maybe it is about him being a Type One vampire (if you haven't read the Dark Tower series it covers this topic pretty well). Perhaps Type One don't need an invitation. That will also explain why he had to come on his own instead of sending one of his slaves.

[bio_chem06]

If you look into "vampire" stories, there are always places where vampires explain misconceptions. Maybe this is one of those liberties of story telling, a misconception that says, "vampires have to be invited". I don't remember in the book where it specifically says they must be invited. Am I wrong, it has been a while since I read the book...

[aeroplane]

I still think it has more to do with Mark than Barlow.

Because if I were Barlow and could come and go as I please inside of houses around the town, without an invitation, one place I would have certainly gone to was to Parkins Gillespie's house.

[sam peebles]

It might just be a slip up. It's been awhile since I read it, but I think even Dracula had to be invited in Stoker's book, so I don't think Barlow being the "master" or a type one would allow him to enter uninvited.

[scarywriter]

how does Barlow get in?
He was invited by Mark.
In the scene where Danny Glick comes back, Danny asks to be let in, saying "He demands it."
Marks says okay, invites Danny in, then thwarts him with the cross from the monster model.
My guess is that the invitation stands.

[evilduck]

In my opinion(granted I havent read salems lot in forever) Barlow is a type 1 vampire,as explained further in wolves of the calla, he does not have the same limitations as the other vampires he created. Barlow does not need to ask permission to enter someones home

[michal]

If you look into "vampire" stories, there are always places where vampires explain misconceptions. Maybe this is one of those liberties of story telling, a misconception that says, "vampires have to be invited". I don't remember in the book where it specifically says they must be invited. Am I wrong, it has been a while since I read the book...

Actually the book does deal with this topic. Suzanne can't get in to Mark's house because he doesn't let her in and the Petrie boy can only enter Mark's bedroom after he invites him. They also deal with this with Suzanne and her mother, something like: Suzanne didn't cause much damage that night, like a leach that is already well fed, but nevertheless she was now invited and could go in and out as she pleases. Or something like that, it's been like a month since my last rereading session... :laugh:

[mbrown7349]

I agree with Scary writer. but it is entirely possible that Barlow could have used his charms to talk Marks parents into granting an invite, they were worried about where Mark was.

[Brainslinger]

how does Barlow get in?
He was invited by Mark.
In the scene where Danny Glick comes back, Danny asks to be let in, saying "He demands it."
Marks says okay, invites Danny in, then thwarts him with the cross from the monster model.
My guess is that the invitation stands.

I think you might be on the right track there.

It was actually Danny Glick that Mark invited in not Barlow, but since Danny is linked to the master I think what stands for him also stands for the master. It's ironic that Mark actually invited Danny in so he could attack him with the cross. It's tragic his trick might have backfired on him with Barlow. Then again, would his invitation also cancel out the power of his cross? Maybe it's as simple as Barlow as master not requiring an invitation as others have said.

I also wondered how it was that Danny could travel through the window and take the baby out of the cot in another part of the book since a baby couldn't invite him in. Then it occurred to me, that maybe the baby actually did! Not with words so much, but vampires can mesmerise people into inviting them. I'm sure and English speaking vampire would understand if a French speaker speaking their own language invited them in for example. It's all about intent and action. The baby cooing at the face outside the window could have been all the invitation Vampire Danny needed.

What a dreadful thought. I'm not sure I entirely buy it though. I think innocents would have more protection from the supernatural than that. Maybe the baby's parents invited Danny in previously. The vampires often don't drain their victim in one go after all, and their victims seldom remember the incident afterwards. I think that's more likely in that case.

[Mr. Jingles]

VERY good question. But maybe it is about him being a Type One vampire (if you haven't read the Dark Tower series it covers this topic pretty well). Perhaps Type One don't need an invitation. That will also explain why he had to come on his own instead of sending one of his slaves.

There are vampires in the DT? (I can picture all you prolifics ROTFL....lol)
No, I still have not read DT....just The Gunslinger (which was awesome).

[Brainslinger]

There are vampires in the DT? (I can picture all you prolifics ROTFL....lol)


Indeed there are. Different kinds! Another character from the Lot has a role too...

[Breger3]

Indeed there are.

As another who hasn't read any of the DT yet, I'm now even more looking forward to reading them. I love vampires! (As long as they don't sparkle!)

[Jareth Goderis]

It's simple when Danny asks to be let in he says "The master demands it" Barlow as master demands an invitation. You see a vampire can not say that their master demands something unless the master is directly possessing the vampire so an invitation to the possessed is also an invitation to the possessor

[Monk]

I think the invitation could be revoked. Like Mark did with the physical contact of the model cross (which ought to have revoked any implied invitation to Barlow?) or like Matt Burke did verbally with Mike,
"Get out of here!" Matt croaked. "I revoke my invitation!"

But deeper than these issues is the wonder owed Mr King for producing one of the best novels ever penned about small town American life.
Hell, I grew up in that town! (Mine was actually in W PA.)

That's what makes Salem's Lot a classic... the Vampire yarn is nearly secondary... merely a hook to reveal the soul of a culture.
The true story is the town and its secrets... how true.

[Monk]

Y'all got me thinkin' about this now. Dang it.
One of the most attractive things about Mr King's writing was that he adhered to all the traditional vampire lore (as taught by EC comics et.al.) instead of re-writing it all to support his own twisted desires.

Anne Rice rises to mind...

To me her work is so much less powerful, because it fails to suspend my disbelief. She takes the accepted lore and trashes it.

The first time I read the Lot I was alone in a funeral home at 3 a.m., and believe me, I checked all the doors and windows. I definitely didn't look out of them, just locked them.
Carl Foreman was forbidden territory, But Mr King nearly scared me to death with it anyway... all with traditional vampiric "rules"... nothing contrived by whim.

Anyway... could it be that Mark Petrie could not revoke (or did not) because he was either not the master of that house, or because he didn't do it verbally..?
In other words, hitting Danny in the cheek with a plastic cross might have driven him off, but not bar the way for others.

And truthfully we don't know for sure if Matt's revocation worked since nobody ever went back.

And Carl Foreman..? He rolled Mike into his home on a gurney. Pretty clear, that.


the scream was as sightless and soundless as glass in his throat when Mike opened his eyes and sat up;

Whooo! That got me.

I can tell you with complete certainty, at that moment in my life I believed!

I never believed in LeStat.

[Brainslinger]

I think the invitation could be revoked. Like Mark did with the physical contact of the model cross (which ought to have revoked any implied invitation to Barlow?) or like Matt Burke did verbally with Mike,


I agree that Mark could have revoked the invitation if he had thought of it. However I don't think using the cross alone would work as a revocation. It served as a weapon to hurt the vampire and drive him away but I think the invitation still stands. Obviously Glick wasn't planning to come back in any time soon but I think it might still have provided the loophole for Barlow.


But deeper than these issues is the wonder owed Mr King for producing one of the best novels ever penned about small town American life.
Hell, I grew up in that town! (Mine was actually in W PA.)

That's what makes Salem's Lot a classic... the Vampire yarn is nearly secondary... merely a hook to reveal the soul of a culture.
The true story is the town and its secrets... how true.

I actually grew up in a UK city (well, a London suburb to be precise). We don't have that sense of community that appears in many of King's books on small-town American life (our loss. I think it might be different in some of the villages though,) but I know what you mean. Come to think of it, there were plenty of people keeping to themselves in the novel too. One of the reasons the vampires were able to spread so prolifically was because people could be shut away and nobody would enquire from them in a while. Isn't that a chilling thought?

[Jareth Goderis]

Hey here's something along the same lines:
Ben is saved because he obeyed the rules.
See he said to Susan "Sorry I can't invite you in. Rules of the house."
So by obeying the house rules he was sort of protected against the vampires.

[Dan Olwell]

'Salem's Lot is one of my favorite books. I re-read it about once a year.

Something has always hovered below conscious thought (rather like Jimmy Cody and the pool table) that finally has popped into my head.

How is it that Barlow gets into the Petrie's house without having been invited?
Any answers? Ideas?

Thanks!

That's a very good question.

[vampirefan]

There have been many good explanations posted here. My thought was that since Mark broke into Barlow’s house and was not invited and because he yelled “I know your name its Barlow” at the top of the basement steps he essentially challenged Barlow and that served as an invitation or eliminated the need for one. If Mark is not invited yet enters then why can’t Barlow return the favor? I think the explanation lies in his yelling “I know your name”- it really does not make sense him saying this the way he did. Then when you look back at it, you can look at it Mark’s action of saying his name as him essentially saying that he intends and wants to do battle with him, he knows who he is, will tell others and knows what he will need to fight him. It was almost like him throwing down a glove signifying he wanted to duel and that allowed him to respond to Mark’s challenge. Mark wanting to fight him is essentially an invitation to Barlow to come and face him. I think you need to look at the invitation requirement not as a civility or symbol of politeness but rather if the intent of the person was to allow the vampire to be in their presence or wanted to deal with him in some manner.
There are other similar things to this in the book. Religious objects only provided those who had faith with protection. Callahan lost faith when he faced Barlow when the book said he started to look at his mothers cross as just something she bought somewhere and then Barlow was able to crush it. Ben had said he was not a catholic and did not have a cross but then the book stated how much safer he felt when he put it around his neck.
You can look at the boarding house two ways- he had bitten a resident who invited him in or because it was a boarding house that offered a place to stay to anyone who needed one and was willing to pay, his needing a place because he could not go back to the Marsden house allowed him to enter. Remember Callahan had blessed it and there was the line when they returned where Ben asked if it they were holding their unholy meetings there as Callahan’s means of blessing it had probably been long washed away.

[Jareth Goderis]

Good point upon further investigation I have found some interesting facts (and theories) about vampire invitations:
1. With anything spiritual names have power. So by saying the name and acknowledging Barlow for what he is it was sort of like a summoning, which is basically the same as an invitation.
2. Once again this one goes along the lines of names. Some believe that the vampire was the first creature created by the devil after his fall. So the vampire would be his most powerful opposition to anybody. According to this theory God put limits on these powerful beings to spite the devil's attempt at creation. Among these were the weakness to the sun as well as religious items, also the invitation ban was also created. In revenge for this the devil created a darkness which couldn't be seen through by anyone (the vampire cloak), while hidden behind this veil he instructed the vampires on last minute duties and was able to loosen the restriction of invitations. Anyone with a biblical name is not able to use the invitation ban on vampires. This symbolizes the ongoing struggle between God and the devil.


If anyone would like to hear more theories and/or facts feel free to contact me.

[vampirefan]

Jareth good points. Stephen King did not just sit down and write this book he likely did a great deal of research in these areas. There is no way he just forgot that he had really been true to the invitation aspect. You can read this book 100 times and pick up new things like this.

[Sanguise]

i cannot recall if this was in the book or one of the miniseries (i think it was the newer mini) but larry crockett is somehow bribed into inviteing Barlow to the town, something to do with a really good realestate deal i have often thought this would mean Barlow may have free roam

[bobledrew]

It would be my guess that Barlow was invited in by the oh-so-rational Henry Petrie. Good evening, Mr. Petrie. My name is Barlow. Co-owner of the new store. I had a question for you about insurance, and so and so told me you were in the business ... Oh yes, please come in. That simple.

[Dan Olwell]

That's a good question, and it bothered me too when i read it. In order for a vampire to enter a home, they must be invited by someone who lives there. I don't think any of us could figure that one out. Probably have to ask Mr. King how Barlow got in.

[aeroplane]

i cannot recall if this was in the book or one of the miniseries (i think it was the newer mini) but larry crockett is somehow bribed into inviteing Barlow to the town, something to do with a really good realestate deal i have often thought this would mean Barlow may have free roam

If I remember right, it was mentioned in both the book and in the newer miniseries. In the book, Straker gives Crockett some extremely valuable property in exchange for the Marsten House and laundromat. The deal was so lopsided in Crockett's favor that he couldn't refuse, but it also resulted in Barlow being "invited" into Salem's Lot because the property was purchased in Barlow's name.

In the newer miniseries, Crockett explained he invited Barlow/Straker to town, most likely by the very same means.