English
Ben Mears, a successful writer who grew up in the town of Jerusalem's Lot, Cumberland County, Maine (or “The Lot”, as the locals call it), has returned home after 25 years. Once in town he meets local high school teacher Matt Burke and strikes up a romantic relationship with Susan Norton, a young college graduate.
Ben plans to write a book about the Marsten House, an abandoned mansion, after a bad experience inside it as a child. The Marsten House was the home of 1930s gangster Hubert "Hubie" Marsten, a Boston-based hitman who specialized in rather unsavory hits. Marsten's profession intersected with his personal life; he killed his wife, Birdie, and then hanged himself in 1939. In the 70's, the Marsten House is about to be inhabited by the vampire Kurt Barlow. It is later revealed that Marsten had communicated with the erstwhile Barlow, a native of Austria, for a number of years. Mears discovers that the Marsten House has been bought by Barlow and his familiar, Richard Straker, reputedly businessmen who are opening an antique store in town, although only Straker is seen in public. The arrival coincides with the disappearance of a young boy, Ralphie Glick, and the death of his brother Danny, who becomes the town's first vampire, infecting such locals as Mike Ryerson, Randy McDougall, Jack Griffen, and Danny's own mother, Marjorie Glick. Danny fails, however, to infect Mark Petrie, who resists him successfully. Over the course of several weeks almost all of the townspeople are infected.
Ben Mears and Susan are joined by Matt Burke and his doctor, Jimmy Cody, along with young Mark Petrie and the local priest, Father Callahan, in an effort to fight the spread of the vampires, whose numbers increase as the new vampires infect their own families and others. Susan is captured by Barlow before Mark has a chance to rescue her. Susan becomes a vampire, but is eventually staked through the heart by Mears, the man who loved her.
Father Callahan is caught by Barlow at the Petrie house after Barlow kills Mark's parents, but does not infect them, so they are later given a clean burial. Barlow holds Mark hostage, but Father Callahan has the upper hand, securing Mark's release, agreeing to Barlow's demand that he toss aside his cross and face him on equal terms. However he delays throwing the cross aside and the once powerful religious symbol loses its strength until Barlow can not only approach Callahan but break the cross, now nothing more than two small pieces of plaster, into bits. Barlow says "Sad to see a man's faith fail him", then forces the helpless Callahan to drink blood from Barlow's neck. Callahan resists but cannot hold out forever and is forced to drink, leaving him trapped in a netherworld, as Barlow has left his mark. When Callahan tries to re-enter his church he receives an electric shock, preventing him from going inside. Callahan disappears forever from "the Lot".
Jimmy Cody is killed when he falls from a rigged staircase and is impaled by knives by the one-time denizens of Eva Miller's boarding house, Mears' one-time residence, who have now all become vampires. Matt Burke dies from a heart attack in the town hospital. Ben Mears and Mark Petrie succeed in destroying the master vampire Barlow, but are lucky to escape with their lives and are forced to leave the town to the now leaderless vampires.
The novel's prologue, which is set shortly after the end of the story proper, describes the men's flight across the country to a seaside town in Mexico, where they stop to recover from their ordeal. Mark Petrie is received into the Catholic Church by a friendly local priest.
The epilogue has the two returning to the town a year later, intending to renew the battle. Ben, knowing that there are too many hiding places for the town's vampires, sets the town on fire with the intent of destroying it and the Marsten House once and for all.
Italiano
Ben Mears, uno scrittore di successo cresciuto nell'immaginaria città di Jerusalem's Lot, Maine (chiamata "il Lot" dagli abitanti), torna nella città natale. Ben ora ha intenzione di scrivere un libro su 'Casa Marsten', una magione abbandonata che gli causò molti incubi dopo una brutta avventura vissuta da ragazzo: infatti per far parte di un gruppo di ragazzi doveva eseguire una prova di coraggio, ovvero entrare in casa Marsten riportando un oggetto che testimoniasse il suo atto di coraggio, solo che durante questa bravata vide il signor Huber Marsten impiccato che lo fissava con gli occhi sgranati, per lui questo fu uno shock terribile. Arrivato in città incontra l'insegnante locale Matt Burke e inizia una relazione romantica con Susan Norton, una giovane collegiale.
Mears scopre che casa Marsten è stata acquistata da Mr.Straker e Mr.Barlow, una coppia di uomini d'affari arrivati da poco in città.
Il loro arrivo coincide con una serie di spiacevoli avvenimenti: si trovò un cane nero scuoiato e con la testa mozzata e conficcata nel cancello del cimitero, ci fu la sparizione di un giovane ragazzo, Ralphie Glick, e la sospetta morte del fratello Danny. Nel corso del libro, si scopre che i Glick sono stati trasformati in vampiri da Barlow e la città è lentamente conquistata dai vampiri, mentre Ben, Matt, Susan, Mark e pochi altri residenti del Lot tentano di evitarlo.
Alla fine Susan diventa un vampiro e Ben, addoloratissimo per quello che sta per fare, la uccide. A questo punto Ben ed il giovanissimo Mark Petrie riescono ad uccidere Straker ed a distruggere il capo vampiro Barlow, e cercano di liberare la città dai vampiri, ma, a causa del loro alto numero, decidono di fuggire.
Vi ritorneranno, dopo aver girovagato nel sud degli Stati uniti e in Messico, e la daranno alle fiamme.
Le notti di Salem è una combinazione di thriller psicologico e del classico genere horror, facendo riferimento al Dracula di Stoker in vari punti e, a volte, replicandone la storia.