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“ | You'll enjoy Mr. Barlow, and he will enjoy you. | „ |
~ Straker's most famous quote. |
Richard K. Straker is the main antagonist of the 1979 two-part miniseries, Salem's Lot, based off of the Stephen King novel of the same name. This version of Straker is a human familiar servant of master-vampire Kurt Barlow, and his mouthpiece, and seeks to spread vampirism from his master to the New England town of Salem's Lot. In this version, Straker is the main antagonist and a more prominent villain than Barlow, unlike the novel, and was alive until the climax of the miniseries.
He was portrayed by the late James Mason, who also portrayed Phillip Vandamm in North By Northwest and Humbert Humbert in Lolita.
Appearance[]
Straker is an elder gentleman who appears to be in his late 50s to early 60s. He almost always wears a black or grey businessman suit with a tie.
Personality[]
On the outside, Straker appears to be a calm, polite elderly man; however, this is a ruse. Straker, in reality, is actually a sadistic, malicious person who lives to see chaos and destruction and serves his master, the head vampire, Kurt Barlow. He has no standards of killing children or animals and can be pretty brutal when it comes to killing people by himself, such as how he killed Dr. Bill Norton.
Powers and Abilities[]
Straker, though appearing to be a normal human, has limited supernatural powers. He can summon a storm of wind that can separate people from each other. Straker also has superhuman strength and can easily lift up heavy objects, or other people without difficulty. He can also withstand a few injuries that can easily kill another person, but Straker is still mortal and can die if he gets more injuries.
Straker also is telepathically linked with his master, Kurt Barlow. Since Kurt Barlow himself cannot speak, he lets Straker do the talking for him, making Straker not only Barlow's mortal watchdog, but also his mouthpiece.
Biography[]
Richard K. Straker was a man born in England. He somehow met the master vampire Kurt Barlow and dedicated his life to becoming Barlow's familiar vampire servant. In public, Straker was an antique businessman in Europe and pretended that his never seen master Kurt Barlow is his business partner, but retired and moved to the small town of Salem's Lot, Maine, to open his own . Straker made a deal with Lawrence "Larry" Crockett and bought the town's haunted house, the "Marsten House", a mansion that once belonged to Hubie Marsten, a satanist who would sacrifice children to Satan and made a deal with Barlow years prior that he would invite him to Salem's Lot.
Straker is first seen in the miniseries when Ben Mears, a novelist, arrives at Salem's Lot. He eyes him suspiciously before going to his black car and driving to the town of Salem's Lot. He would drive to the town to meet Larry Crocket. After talking with Crockett about the items needed to be shipped into town, the former asks Straker of his business partner Mr. Kurt Barlow, to which Straker replies that he will come really soon. Later that night, Ben Mears stares at the Marsten House, only to be found by Straker, who gives him a strange look before saying "Good evening" before walking back to the house.
At the grand opening of the "Barlow and Straker Antique Store" Straker talks with Ben Mears for a bit asking him about the house and Barlow. Straker replies that Barlow is still on a buying trip in Europe.
However, Straker had other plans. One night, two boys, Danny Glick and his younger brother Ralphie Glick were out in the woods. At the same time, two men were shipping a crate, containing Barlow's coffin, to the Marsten House. However, they would be separated by Straker, who summoned a wind storm to separate the two. Straker sacrificed Ralphie and took him to the basement of the Marsten House, were he unwrapped Ralphie, placed his body on the table, as an offering for his master, Barlow.
The town of Salem's Lot begins to investigate the disappearance of Ralphie Glick, and, after finding a piece of black cloth, Straker, who usually dresses in a black suit, becomes one of the suspects. Constable Gillespie, the local town sheriff, asks Straker to bring his suits to the police station for further investigation. Straker agrees and brings his spare suits to the police station. Salem's Lot rapidly over time begins to get infected with vampires.
One night, the local church priest Father Callahan visits the home of the Petrie family, as they called him for assistance given that their son, Mark, claimed to have seen a vampire Danny Glick. However, as the two discussed, Straker and Barlow infiltrate the house, with Barlow using his supernatural abilities to shake the house before breaking in through the window and killing Mark's parents. Mark lounged himself at Barlow, but Barlow grabbed Mark by the throat. Straker entered the room, and, being the mouthpiece of Barlow through telepathy, speaks of his master's intentions. Straker tells Father Callahan that Barlow would kill Mark, however, Barlow would want to arrange a deal with Callahan. He would spare the boy for another night, if Callahan would throw away his cross and test his faith against Barlow's. Callahan agreed, and Barlow let go of Mark, allowing Mark to run away. However, Callahan's faith faltered, and Barlow grabs the cross from Callahan's hand, and crushes it, presumably killing him offscreen afterwards.
Later, Mark, eager to avenge his deceased parents, arrives at the Marsten House, intending on staking Barlow once and for all. Susan Norton, Ben Mears's girlfriend, follows him inside. However, Mark would be knocked unconscious by Straker, and Straker would take Susan to Barlow offscreen, having her turned into a vampire by Barlow. Later, Straker ties Mark into a rope strapped on a chair, and when Mark asks to Straker what he had done to Susan, Straker replied that he took her to the "man she came to meet", Barlow.
Ben Mears, and Susan's father Dr. Bill Norton, would arrive at the Marsten House to destroy Barlow. However, when Dr. Norton wandered upstairs, he was confronted by Straker, who easily picks up Bill and impales him on a wall full of sharp antlers, killing him. Meanwhile, Mark escapes from the chair that Straker bound him in, and bumps into Ben Mears. Straker spots the two, and picks up a broken staircase, intending on killing the two. However, Ben Mears shoots Straker in the chest, but Straker keeps on moving forward. After a few more shots, Straker succumbs to his wounds, and dies.
Shortly afterwards, his master, Barlow, would be killed by Mark and Ben, and the entire Marsten House is set ablaze on fire, burning it down.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In the original book and 2004 miniseries adaptation, Straker was killed halfway through the story after getting knocked and beaten up by Mark Petrie, leaving him to bleed and be wounded. Barlow would come later and hang Straker upside down, draining him of his blood and ripping his throat, killing him. This was omitted in this version of Straker, who is alive until the climax and has a much more prominent role than Barlow.
- Despite being human, Straker has limited supernatural abilities. He possibly has these abilities because he has a mental link with his master, Barlow.
- Alongside the infamous Danny and Ralphie Glick vampire window scenes, and vampire Mike Ryerson and his master Kurt Barlow, Straker is considered the highlight of the Tobe Hooper miniseries.
- It remains unknown what the middle initial of Straker's name stood for (however, it seems to be either Kenneth, Keene, Kyle, Kevin, Kendall, or Keith).
External Links[]
- Richard Straker on the Pure Evil Wiki