Jerusalem's Lot (King)
Short Summary
Maine, 1850. After inheriting the ancestral Chapelwaite mansion, a man arrived to take residence in the gloomy house overlooking the sea.
Accompanied by his loyal servant, they discovered strange noises in the walls and learned of the mansion's dark history.
The pair investigated a nearby abandoned village called Jerusalem's Lot, where they found a desecrated church containing an evil book. After discovering undead relatives in Chapelwaite's cellar, they returned to the church to destroy the book. There, they confronted an ancient horror that emerged from beneath the pulpit.
It was a huge outpouring of a viscid, pustulant jelly, a huge and awful form that seemed to sky-rocket from the very bowels of the ground... one ring, one segment, of a monster worm that had existed eyeless.
Though they managed to burn the book, Calvin was killed in the encounter. Charles fled back to Chapelwaite, where he discovered he was the last of the Boone bloodline and part of an ancient evil connected to Jerusalem's Lot. Believing himself to be the gateway for this evil, he decided to end his life by walking into the sea. Years later, his second cousin James Robert Boone moved into Chapelwaite, dismissing Charles's account as the product of madness, though he too heard rats in the walls.
Detailed Summary
Division of the summary into chapters is editorial.
Arrival at Chapelwaite
In October 1850, Charles Boone arrived at his inherited mansion, Chapelwaite, accompanied by his loyal servant Calvin McCann. The house, located near Preacher's Corners, Maine, was a gift from his recently deceased cousin Stephen.
The mansion's imposing architecture and peculiar decorations immediately struck Charles as unsettling. When Calvin attempted to arrange for wood delivery, he encountered unexpected hostility from the local woodcutter Thompson, who warned against living in Chapelwaite.
During cleaning of the house, Mrs Cloris, an elderly housekeeper, revealed disturbing information about the mansion's history. She spoke of evil sounds in the walls and dark events that had occurred there, including the deaths of Charles's relatives.
Some die not, she whispered. Some live in the twilight shadows Between to serve - Him! And that was the end. For some minutes I continued to tax her, but she grew only more obstinate and would say no more.
Discovery of Jerusalem's Lot
Strange noises in the walls led Calvin to discover a hidden compartment in the library containing an old map. The map showed a village called Jerusalem's Lot, with a church labeled 'The Worm That Doth Corrupt.' Charles and Calvin decided to investigate the mysterious settlement.
They found Jerusalem's Lot completely abandoned but eerily preserved. The buildings stood untouched by vandals, as if the town was actively shunned. In the tavern, they discovered tables still set and mirrors unbroken. The atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive as they approached the church at the center of town.
Inside the church, they encountered horrifying evidence of dark rituals. An obscene painting hung in the vestibule, and in the sanctuary, they found an inverted cross. On the pulpit lay a mysterious book titled 'De Vermis Mysteriis' (The Mysteries of the Worm). As Charles touched the book, they heard chanting voices and felt something massive moving beneath the church.
Unveiling Family History
Calvin later discovered and decoded the diary of Charles's grandfather, Robert Boone, which revealed the dark history of Jerusalem's Lot. The town had been founded in 1710 by a religious fanatic named James Boon, who led a cult engaged in dark rituals and incestuous practices.
The town became an anomaly which could only have existed in those isolated and queer days when belief in witches and the Virgin Birth existed hand in hand: an interbred, rather degenerate religious village.
The diary revealed that Charles's great-uncle Philip had become obsessed with James Boon and his practices. In 1789, Philip acquired a copy of 'De Vermis Mysteriis' and joined Boon's cult. The situation culminated in the mysterious disappearance of the entire village population on October 31, 1789.
I believe they had long before bound themselves over to whatever faceless powers exist beyond the rim of the Universe; powers which may exist beyond the very fabric of Time.
The Final Confrontation
Charles realized he was the last of the Boone bloodline and felt compelled to end the evil that had plagued his family. Despite Calvin's concerns, they returned to Jerusalem's Lot's church. They found the building in chaos, with overturned pews and a sacrificed lamb on the pulpit.
As Charles attempted to destroy the book, the floor of the church split open, revealing a monstrous creature - a massive worm that had existed beneath the church for generations. In the chaos, Calvin was killed, and Charles fled in terror, leaving his friend's body behind.
Before escaping, Charles witnessed a horrifying sight: the animated corpse of James Boon himself emerged from the depths. The undead figure retained only its glowing red eyes, with beetles crawling across its skull.
With terrible, vengeful slowness, a wracked figure pulled itself up from darkness, and a half-skull peered at me. Beetles crawled over the fleshless forehead. Only the eyes lived - red, insane pits.
The Aftermath
Charles fled back to Chapelwaite and remained bedridden for days. In his final letter, he explained that he had become a gateway for ancient evil through his bloodline. Believing himself responsible for Calvin's death and fearing the consequences of his family's dark legacy, he decided to end his life.
Yet I am the gateway, and I am the last of the Boone blood. For the good of all humanity I must die... and break the chain for ever. I go to the sea now, Bones. My journey, like my story, is at an end.
The story concluded with an epilogue dated October 2, 1971, written by James Robert Boone, who claimed to be Charles's distant cousin through a previously unknown branch of the family. He dismissed Charles's account as the product of brain fever and madness, suggesting that Charles had murdered Calvin in his delusional state. However, the epilogue ended with an ominous note - James mentioned hearing rats in the walls of Chapelwaite, echoing the beginning of Charles's tragic tale.