27. Eva's Dream

I liked trying to interpret this part of the novel the most because it had so many hidden messages. I feel that it is very important in filling in the missing pieces as to how Barlow ended up in her house without anyone noticing.

The passage began with:

pg.400

"Eva Miller had been dreaming. It was not quite a nightmare. The fire of '51 was raging under an unforgiving sky..."

First of all, the dream hinted at a connection between the fire of '51, which seems to be an event that has been looming over 'Salem's Lot for years, and the present state of the small town. Not until the end did I understand that she was actually seeing the rebirth of the town all over again, just like in '51.

The second thing I noticed about the dream was that it probably wasn't a dream at all, but that she was actually falling victim to the vampire, Ed Craig. There was a reason she couldn't remember the vivid details. It was almost as if she was being distracted by Ed Craig.

Then I began to notice that she started to describe the night in terms like, "lined a face in blood - a face with a hawk nose, deep-set eyes, full and sensuous lips" and in a way, it sounded like she was describing Barlow. Was she really imagining Barlow in her presence? I think this detail is also significant because it suggests the correlation between Barlow's essence and the dark night.

Thirdly, Eva said that she heard a voice say, "The Welsh dresser" and described it as his voice. This led me to believe that Barlow really was in the room with Eva. Lastly, Eva glanced into a mirror and did not see her reflection, making it official; Eva was now a vampire too.

In brief, I've come to the conclusion that what Eva thought to be a dream, was actually her being distracted by Ed Craig while Barlow was making a little place for himself to stay in the cellar of her house and going unnoticed. Moreover, that explains how Ben Mears and Mark Petrie had no idea where Barlow was hiding. Barlow found a place that they would have never suspected...right under their noses.