This article contains mention of suicide.
Warning: This article contains spoilers from Salem’s Lot.
Despite dying long beforeSalem’s Lotbegins,Hubert “Hubie” Marsten is integral to Stephen King’s vampire story. Hubie lived in the Marsten House, which is where theSalem’s LotcharactersKurt Barlow and Richard Straker take up residence after arriving in the town of Jerusalem’s Lot. As an ancient vampire and his human familiar, Barlow and Straker should be the most evil individuals to have stepped foot in the Marsten House, but it already has a dark history due to Hubie’s previous presence and the horrific deeds he committed there.
The Marsten House’s origins are further developed in the source materialby including important revelations about Hubie and his past. This backstory is almost entirely cut from the 2024 movie adaptation and is among thebiggest changes from theSalem’s Lotbook. The movie only has a brief mention of Hubie once owning the Marsten House, worshiping Satan, and killing his wife, but there is far more to him, including an essential connection to Barlow.
Hubert Marsten Was A Hitman During The Great Depression Living In Jerusalem’s Lot
He First Gained A Dangerous Reputation In Boston
Hubie had a criminal past before he began living in Jerusalem’s Lot. He was the president of a prominent New England trucking company in the 1920s,with this business being a front for the Boston mafia,and later enabling him to retire as a wealthy man. His criminal activity was more extensive than this business front, though, as he was also a contracted killer in the Boston area, and committed many murders for the mafia. He also killed an eleven-year-old boy whose corpse was eviscerated when it was discovered, but he was not hired to commit this murder.
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In 1927, even the mafia became wary of Hubie, who was beginning to be questioned by the police. The mafia used their connections to prevent Hubie from being imprisoned, not wanting their organization’s secrets to be revealed to the authorities, but they also did not want to deal with Hubie anymore as he had become a liability.Hubie subsequently left Boston and retired with his wife, Birdie, in Jerusalem’s Lot in 1928, and lived out the rest of their lives inthe Marsten House, which, at the time, was the nicest house in the town.
Hubert Marsten Killed His Wife & Himself At Their Home In Salem’s Lot In 1939
The Marsten House Is Believed To Haunted For A Reason
Hubie and his wife lived a reclusive life in Jerusalem’s Lot, and were only seen emerging from the Marsten House once a week to do their grocery shopping. During their eleven years in the town, four children went missing and were never found. Based on Hubie’s history as a professional killer who made the personal decision to brutally kill an eleven-year-old boy,author Ben Mears came to suspect that Hubie killed those four childrenand is the reason their bodies were never located.
Later on, a nine-year-old Ben snuck into the Marsten House and seemingly saw Hubie’s body dangling from where he hanged himself, an image that understandably haunted Ben for the rest of his life and contributed to him returning to Jerusalem’s Lot to write his new book.
Birdie also became a victim of her husband’s cruelty, withStephen King’s bookstating that before Hubie killed his wife,“they don’t know what he made her do first"and"that she begged him to do it.“Hubie shot Birdie in the headand then proceeded to hang himself. Later on, a nine-year-old Ben snuck into the Marsten House and seemingly saw Hubie’s body dangling from where he hanged himself, an image that understandably haunted Ben for the rest of his life and contributed to him returning to Jerusalem’s Lot to write his new book.
How Hubert Marsten Was Connected To Kurt Barlow
They Corresponded For Years
Even though Barlow did not arrive in Jerusalem’s Lot until decades later, he had an earlier connection to the town via Hubie.The former mobster began corresponding by letter with an Austrian nobleman named Kurt Breichen, which was the alias Barlow used then. Their correspondence began through a Boston book merchant who died a grisly death in 1933. This correspondence was seemingly paving the way for Barlow’s eventual arrival in Jerusalem’s Lot.
Blade Runner’sRutger Hauerplayed Kurt Barlow in the 2004Salem’s Lotwhile Alexander Ward plays him in 2024’sSalem’s Lot.
Before Hubie hanged himself, he burned all the letters between himself and Barlow, and smiled as he did it. If Hubie had not taken his own life and brought Barlow to Jerusalem’s Lot,he likely would have been Barlow’s human familiar instead of Straker. Barlow and Straker’s business dealings had been recorded since 1945, six years after Hubie’s death, with Straker being the one to fulfill Barlow’s mission. This backstory adds vital context to the Marsten House and to Barlow’s villainy inSalem’s Lot, and the 2024 adaptation would likely have benefited from including more of these details.
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.
