‘salem’s Lot was one of those books that I read in about two hours… then freaked out my college roommate (who didn’t believe that I was capable of reading anything that quickly) by reciting the plot back to him*.
Mind you, this came at the price of disquieting dreams.
And the lambs stop screaming wrt The Silence of the Lambs. OK, that sounded better in my head.
*With the caveat that I hadn’t memorized the people’s names. Just their archtypes.
‘Salem’s Lot was the one book I ever read that truly frightened the living bejeezus out of me. Mind you, it’s probably the only one since I failed to finish Pet Cemetery, but still.
And ha, yeah, the only things I’ve come across more grounded in traditional (for the genre) archetypes is Legend of the Seeker. Seriously, when your chief villain’s name is “Darken Rahl”, and his most powerful servants are the “Mord-Sith”, you should seek some help in the creativity department.