Where was Salem's Lot filmed?

As soon as Ben arrives in the town at the beginning of the film, the first place he visits is the old Marsten House. He parks his car by the fence and slowly walks toward the mansion. While intensely gazing at the property, Ben suddenly sees a man walking out of the house. He seems glued to where he’s standing until the man drives past him. If you want to visit this house on the hill as described in the miniseries, you’ll have to go to 850 Bluff Street on the south side, past Strawberry Lane on the left if you’re coming from the town. However, don’t expect to see the same building you’ll find in the film. Although there’s a house on the site, the exterior was a set addition. Instead of a huge mansion, you’ll see a blue home with a long driveway where Ben is seen gazing up at the Marsten House in the series. It’s on the outskirts of town but isn’t too far from the heart of Ferndale. The house is on a peaceful and scenic hillside overlooking a part of the Victorian Village or Ferndale. It’s an easy walking distance from the main town if you don’t want to drive.

After visiting the Marsten House, Ben heads to the Crockett Realty office “looking for a place to rent,” he says after introducing himself to Mr. Crocket (Fred Willard). He intends to rent the notorious haunted mansion during his six-month stay but finds it unavailable. So Larry Crocket refers him to the boarding house operated by a widow, Eva Miller (Marie Windsor). Providing a setting for the Crocket Realty office is the Faulkner Building, located in the town’s Main Street Historic District. It’s a commercial false-front built in 1881. As you walk along the main street, you’ll find many late 19th- and early 20th-century storefronts. One of the iconic buildings lining the street is the Victorian Inn, built in 1890, also known as the Russ Building. It’s a Stick Style Eastlake Victorian building with windows and bracketing in Italianate style. It’s impossible to miss, as it stands beside the Faulkner Building. As you visit the area and relive the scenes from the miniseries, take your time to explore the main street and marvel at the impressive architecture lining the area.

Also shown early in the film is the Barlow and Straker Fine Antiques, an antique shop that Richard Straker owns with his business partner, Kurt Barlow. While Richard tidies up the store, Larry Crockett appears, surveying the place he sold to him. When he asks where Mr. Barlow is, who the townspeople haven’t seen, Richard emphasizes that he “will arrive… soon.” “A lot of people have been waiting,” Larry adds. The interior scenes were recorded on a sound stage at Warner Bros. Studios. But the exterior shots of the antique store were taken outside The Ferndale Enterprise. It’s a newspaper publishing company in Ferndale and has been the paper of record for the Victorian Village and its surrounding areas since 1878. It is housed in the historic Dr. Alford home, built in 1884. A visit to the publishing house is a must, especially for first-time visitors. It has friendly staff who will welcome you to the office and the town. Inside the white building is a warm and cozy space where you can sit and chill while reading a newspaper. And suppose you’re looking for a place to stay while exploring Ferndale. In that case, the Enterprise office is also a lovely vacation rental with a nice living area and bedroom. It is located at the heart of the town and close to other Ferndale sights and attractions, so it’s easy to find and highly accessible.

Susan Norton (Bonnie Bedelia) and Ben are out on their first date. When Ben asks where she wants to go, Susan answers, “Let’s go to the lake.” Ben happily obliges. So, the couple sits by the lake, enjoying the cool evening while deep in their conversation. It’s also where Susan confesses that she likes Ben. But who would’ve thought that this isn’t an actual lake in Salem’s Lot, Maine? The filmmakers shot this intimate scene between Susan and Ben at the Jungle Backlot in Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. The Backlot Jungle set is a famous versatile location used in multiple movies and TV shows over the decades. Today, it features a massive lagoon with a barn, roadhouse, and a shoreside cabin surrounded by a lush jungle of foliage. It can be a verdant forest, murky swamp, or a tropical paradise. But in the case of the Salem’s Lot film scene, the set served as a lovely lake perfect for a date night. You can take advantage of Studio Tours to go behind the camera lens and discover the location where this scene and other films and shows were filmed. It’s one of the must-see attractions in Los Angeles you should experience. It is accessible by car, train, bus, and taxi. You can take buses 155, 222, and 501 or catch the Red Line from downtown LA Union Station to North Hollywood station. Then you can take bus 501, which departs every fifteen minutes.

Things are normal at the funeral of the young kid, Danny Glick (Brad Savage). But as the mourners leave, Mike Ryerson (Geoffrey Lewis) is left to fill in the grave. When the sun hides beneath the clouds and the wind blows strongly, Mike jumps into the grave as if in a trance. He opens the casket, revealing Danny’s body, and finds a pale dead body with glowing eyes looking at him. As Mike looks up, Danny gets up and bites him on his neck. Unfortunately, it’s too late for him to escape. It’s undoubtedly one of the scariest scenes in Salem’s Lot! Thankfully, there’s nothing terrifying about the place where this scene was filmed, which was the Historic Ferndale Cemetery. The Ferndale Cemetery is one of California’s most photographed historic cemeteries, so it’s not surprising that it’s chosen as one of the iconic Salem’s Lot locations. Established in 1868, this cemetery remains one of the most picturesque historical burial sites you can find in the state, overlooking the beautiful Eel River Valey. It sits over a steep hillside only two blocks from Main Street. The Cemetery was featured multiple times in the TV miniseries. It served as the Harmony Hill Cemetery and was seen throughout the show, showing different shots from various angles. But perhaps, one of our favorites is the shot from the serene hillside, showing the unique landscape, the valley, and the gorgeous village below. You can even see the ocean, making it a must-visit destination if you’re in Ferndale. Visitors can stroll along the mausoleums and tombstones, but make sure to pay your respect. Walking through the cemetery is like a trip through the town’s history you won’t experience anywhere else.

By the end of the final episode of Salem’s Lot, we see Ben collecting holy water from the church before heading to Marsten House to face the vampires. Then he runs out of the church while Bill Norton (Ed Flanders) waits in the car. Referring to the water, Bill asks, “Is it blessed?” to which Ben replies, “It’s holy water.” Then they drive straight to the old mansion It was only a quick shot, but the white church with huge blue doors featured in this scene was Our Savior’s Lutheran Church at Shaw Avenue in Ferndale. It’s a friendly Christian community, welcoming visitors to join in the worship. Whether you’re religious or non-believer, a visit to this Lutheran Church should be part of your film tour. If you don’t want to go inside, you can see its exterior and take a photo of its external structure. It’s also a stone’s throw away from Ferndale Museum, located on the same street.