20. Straker

Straker is a most peculiar character in this novel. First and foresmost, up until this point, all I knew about him was that he was holding the fort down until Barlow "supposedly" got back from his trip. He seemed to be able to have the men in the town scared of his intentions and the women in the town wrapped around his finger. Even Parkins Gillespie could not find any background on Straker that would lead him to believe that he was trouble. That says a lot, considering Parkins Gillespie seemed to have his nose in almost every corner of town. Stephen King made it a point to add that Straker was "Very Old World" charming. What does that even mean? It could have something to do with the fact that he is either a vampire or that he knows vampires like Barlow who are also "worldly".

I think that is why Straker's character was so intimidating. No one seemed to know much about him and yet he seemed to hold power over everyone because no one knew anything about him. It didn't take long, however, for Ben Mears to start questioning who or what Straker was.

pg.269

"Whatever Straker may be, he's not a vampire," Ben said, "unless the old legends are completely wrong. He's been highly visible in the daytime."

pg.346

"Well, I think I've put some of the pieces together. Straker must be this thing's human watchdog and bodyguard...a kind of human familiar."

It still isn't quite clear to me what Straker was, but I believe that he made some sort of deal with the devil as far as serving Barlow. I just wonder how the two met and what kind of a relationship they had. Was it simply business or did Barlow find something in Straker that he did not see in other humans? If Straker was completely human, he couldn't have just been thrown into the position to be Barlow's human watchdog. One little mistake and Straker's fate would have been at the hands of Barlow.

The novel quickly mentions that Straker had to perform several sacrifices for Barlow before Barlow even came to town, but it still doesn't explain how they met. How does one get into the business side of vampirism?