The Conjuring Star Patrick Wilson Was Haunted By This '70s Stephen King Horror Series

Patrick Wilson knows a thing or two about the paranormal, or at least movies concerning paranormal activity. He's an integral piece of the "Insidious" series, which dabbles in hauntings from the demonic astral plane of existence known as the Further. Wilson even made his feature directorial debut with the latest installment ("Insidious: The Red Door"). Part of what makes his role in the 2010 film so noteworthy is that it kick-started a professional relationship with director James Wan that would continue all the way through the "Aquaman" movies. In between these projects, however, Wilson teamed up with Wan to play a romanticized version of paranormal investigator Ed Warren in 2013's "The Conjuring." Whether you find its brand of scares frightening or not, there's no denying that the film was a massive success and one of the defining horror movies of the 2010s.

As "The Conjuring" grew to become a decade-spanning cinematic universe over the past 12 years, the one constant that kept the series going is the relationship between Ed and Lorrain Warren (Vera Farmiga). Wilson and Farmiga have great chemistry together, with their onscreen romance serving as the series' secret weapon. It certainly helps to separate their screen counterparts from the frauds they're loosely based on. The fictional Warrens have popped in and out of spin-offs like "Annabelle Comes Home," but it's their own movies that serve as the grounding for the "Conjuring"-verse as a whole. You can't get a universe without their room of haunted trinkets like Annabelle. But it appears that Wilson and Farmiga are just about done, with "The Conjuring: Last Rites" bringing an end to the Warrens' cinematic story.

/Film's Chris Evangelista acknowledges the flaws of "Last Rites" in his review, but still believes it's a hectic, sweet finale that gives the paranormal investigative couple a proper send-off. With Wilson taking a bow, it was all but inevitable that the press tour would concern not just his time on the series, but also the horror movies that made him. In an interview with Dread Central, Wilson revealed that "Jaws" and "Poltergeist" affected him, as well as one of the most memorable television horror miniseries ever made. "The TV version of 'Salem's Lot' in the '70s ... just really freaked me out, and I had nightmares for a long time," he admitted. Through a contemporary lens, Tobe Hooper's 1979 adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel is pretty decent for television standards at the time, though not nearly as violent and expansive as the story calls for. However, there is something to how a broadcast can still stick out through the decades.

Being one of King's earliest novels, "Salem's Lot" has endured as one of the best vampire stories ever written, and I'd be inclined to agree with that. The saddest thing is that its slow-burning sense of dread is ripe for adaptation, but between attempts like the terribly boring 2004 miniseries and the bafflingly truncated 2024 feature film, this story has yet to fully come alive for the screen. For however slight Hooper's version is, it's the best one because he's a great filmmaker who knows how to get a good scare.

In the event you're unfamiliar with the story, "Salem's Lot" follows writer Ben Mears (David Soul) as he returns to his hometown to quietly write his next book about the infamous Marsten House. As he adjusts to settling back in, he learns that a mysterious figure named Richard Straker (James Mason) has already purchased the property. Mears becomes suspicious of the antique shop owner as the townsfolk of 'Salem's Lot have begun going missing. It's ultimately revealed that Straker is but a mouthpiece for Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nadler), a vampire who's been sowing chaos by transforming all of the small Maine town's most influential citizens one by one.

The issue with doing "Salem's Lot" for primetime television in the '70s is that there's only so much they can show regarding violence. But Hooper's miniseries became a cult hit because he utilizes his penchant for creating an uneasy atmosphere to make the best scares all the more satisfying without a drop of blood. Barlow's depiction still looks incredibly creepy with those yellow eyes and warped vampire fangs, despite being a deviation from the source material. But the scariest scene involves a vampire-infected Ralphie Glick (Ron Scribner) outside of his brother's window. It's so eerie how he just floats there, waving and scratching at the window until he's invited inside the bedroom. The follow-up with Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin) is arguably just as creepy, with young Danny Glick (Brad Savage) attempting to do the same to him. It's even been immortalized in Shudder's "101 Scariest Movie Moments of All Time"

Wilson talks about how "Salem's Lot" affected him when he watched it at a friend's house, and it's easy to see why. These kinds of frights left an impact upon a whole generation when this first aired on CBS because it meant widespread access to everyone watching at the exact same time. It's the same reason why the '90s "It" miniseries possesses such a stronghold on those who saw it on television when they were young.