This year, Stephen King fans around the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Carrie, which is notably the first novel that the author had published – but Constant Readers will note that it wasn’t his first piece of published fiction. Instead, that superlative belongs to “I Was A Teenage Grave Robber,” which King wrote in high school and was included in a 1965 issue of the fanzine Comics Review. Because of the short story, that publication is a pretty important part of literary history… and it also has a fun place in the history of the new adaptation of Salem’s Lot.
With the upcoming horror film set to arrive for Max subscribers on October 3, I had the chance to interview Salem’s Lot writer/director Gary Dauberman earlier this month, and it was at the very end of our conversation that I learned a wonderful bit of trivia about the movie. While discussing Stephen King’s remarkable literary legacy, the filmmaker told me that there is a deleted scene from the new adaptation that features the aforementioned issue of Comics Review. Said Dauberman,
It didn't get into the movie, but I had the original publication, the zine of his first published short story. Someone brought it in. It's like, if you buy it, it's like $10, 15 grand or whatever. I had a scene where Mark Petrie is leaving class and he drops all his books and stuff, and Ben [Mears] helps him pick it up and he picks it up and he looks at it, and that's where Mark gets all his knowledge of horror movies and all that stuff.
For the uninitiated, Ben Mears (played by Lewis Pullman in the film), is the protagonist of Salem’s Lot – an author who returns to his hometown while hoping to find inspiration for his next book. Mark Petrie (Jordan Preston Carter) is a young resident of the town who also happens to be an expert in regards to all things monster related. They end up becoming close allies as Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine is engulfed by a plague of vampires.
It was in part a general passion for the work of Stephen King that led Gary Dauberman to adapt and direct Salem’s Lot (he previously wrote the screenplays for both IT and IT: Chapter Two), and when he had the opportunity to hold the zine that included the author’s first published short story, it actually overwhelmed him emotionally. With a touch of embarrassment instantly replaced by a bold “whatever” attitude, Dauberman continued,
This is gonna sound awful, this is gonna sound whatever, but they handed it to me and like, I teared up. I got such a jolt from holding this thing, because it's really the start of his journey in the public sphere. And I got really emotional about it because I was like, 'This is incredible.' Someday I want to buy it, but you know...
If you have the money to get a copy of “I Was A Teenage Grave Robber,” it is truly a treasure in the history of Stephen King that would be a gem for any collection – but very few have that kind of disposable income.
As for whether or not fans will ever get to see the scene discussed here... that remains an open question. Hopefully the film will eventually get a physical home video release that includes a litany of special features, including deleted scenes.
Co-starring Makenzie Leigh, Bill Camp, Pilou Asbæk, Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey and William Sadler in addition to the aforementioned Lewis Pullman and Jordan Preston Carter, Salem’s Lot arrives just in time for the heart of spooky season this Thursday, October 3 and we've all the info on how to watch right here. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming days for more from my interview with Gary Dauberman as well as the new streaming film’s stars, and check out our Upcoming Stephen King Movies & TV guide to learn about all of the adaptations currently in the works.
