Kurt Barlow

Kurt Barlow
Reggie Nalder as Barlow, in Salem's Lot (1979)
First appearance	'Salem's Lot
Last appearance	'Salem's Lot
Created by	Stephen King
Portrayed by	Reggie Nalder (1979) Doug Bradley (1995) Rutger Hauer (2004)
Information
Aliases	Breichen
Gender	Male
Occupation	Antique dealer and Master Vampire

Kurt Barlow is a fictional character and main antagonist of Stephen King's 1975 horror novel, 'Salem's Lot. The character is a master vampire, who terrorizes the small Maine town of Jerusalem's Lot. Although his true age is unknown, he claims to be ancient, so old that he predates the founding of Christianity by centuries.

Before the events of the novel, it is suggested that Barlow's original name or alias was Breichen and that he was an Austrian nobleman. As Breichen, Barlow corresponded for twelve years with Hubert "Hubie" Marsten, a former Depression-era hitman living in the town of Jerusalem's Lot, Maine. Marsten murdered his wife and committed suicide, but not before burning his letters with Barlow. The novel strongly implies that Marsten entered into an agreement with Barlow that allowed him to eventually come to Jerusalem's Lot.

In 1975, Barlow arrives in Jerusalem's Lot in a box shipped overseas by his human assistant, Richard Straker. The two take residence in Marsten's abandoned mansion, considered haunted by the townsfolk. Barlow and Straker pose as antiques dealers and open a shop in the town; Straker tends to the shop and handles business arrangements while Barlow is never seen in public; Straker tells inquiring visitors to the shop that Barlow is frequently on trips to buy antiques for the shop. Straker kidnaps a local boy, Ralphie Glick, and makes a human sacrifice of the child in an appeasement ritual. Ralphie's brother, Danny, becomes a vampire and begins to infect other locals.

Barlow makes his first appearance in the book when he encounters Dud Rogers, a hunchbacked dump custodian. Barlow also comes upon Corey Bryant, a young telephone worker who has been tortured and ordered to leave town by Reggie Sawyer, the man Bryant was cuckolding. Knowing their desires, Barlow claims Rogers and Bryant as his first victims.