Pre-Barnabas Collins
(Episodes 1-210)
I imagine most people believe the character of vampire
Barnabas Collins is synonymous with Dark Shadows. However, he was not even mentioned until
episode 202 and did not physically appear until episode 211. What happened for almost a year before he
appeared?
During the summer of 1966, young Victoria Winters travels by
train to the small fishing village of Collinsport, Maine. She has been hired by the wealthy Collins
family to be governess to troubled 9-year old, David Collins. He and his father, Roger Collins, and 18-year
old cousin, Carolyn Stoddard, live in the Great House at Collinwood with Roger’s
sister, Elizabeth Collins-Stoddard, the matriarch of the Collins family. Elizabeth has not left the estate since the
disappearance of her husband, Paul Stoddard, 18-years ago.
Victoria grew up in a New York foundling home and hopes in
Collinsport to find some clues to her real identity. Handsome mystery man Burke
Devlin and waitress Maggie Evans warn her to stay away from the Collins
family. It’s no wonder:
· David, resentful of Roger’s plans to send him
away, attempts to kill him by sabotaging his car.
· Matthew Morgan kidnaps Victoria when she learns
that he killed Bill Malloy, the manager of the Collins fishing fleet. Locked in the Old House at Collinwood, the
ghost of Josette DuPres protects her from harm and Morgan ultimately dies from fright after
seeing the ghost of Bill Malloy.
· David’s mother, Laura, unexpectedly arrives at
Collinwood. She is a Phoenix who has
returned to claim her son and lure him into the flames.
· Burke Devlin finds evidence from Sam Evans
(Maggie’s father) that Roger was responsible for the car accident that sent him
to prison for five years. Roger had paid
Sam to keep quiet about it.
· Jason Maguire, the unscrupulous friend of
Elizabeth’s missing husband, appears at Collinwood and blackmails Elizabeth
into letting him stay at Collinwood. He apparently
knows something about Paul Stoddard’s disappearance.
· Willie Loomis, the drifter friend of Jason Maguire,
arrives in Collinsport, causing trouble at every turn. Joining Maguire as another unwelcome guest at
Collinwood, he becomes obsessed with the jewelry in a portrait of
Barnabas Collins. Believing that Collins
ancestors were buried with their treasures, he goes to the Collins mausoleum at
Eagle’s Hill cemetery to rob their graves…
The Introduction of
Barnabas Collins (Episodes 211-220)
Willie Loomis discovers a hidden room in the Collins
mausoleum. When he removes the chains
from a coffin inside the room, a hand reaches out and grabs him by the neck.
Barnabas Collins arrives at Collinwood, introducing himself
as a cousin from England. The family
notices a striking resemblance to the portrait of the original Barnabas Collins
and gives him permission to move into the Old House with Willie as his
servant. Speaking to the portrait of
Josette in the Old House, Barnabas declares that he has come home to stay.The Story of Josette DuPres (Episodes 221-261)
Barnabas Collins meets Maggie Evans at the Collinsport Inn
and believes she is the reincarnation of his long-lost love, Josette
DuPres. After drinking her blood on
several occasions, he takes her to the Old House and tells her
that she will become Josette. This continues for several episodes, with Maggie escaping, being found by Barnabas and then
being locked in a cell in the basement of the Old House. At one point, she pretends to be Josette in
an attempt to save her life, but ends up at Windcliff Sanitarium with only her
father and Dr. Woodard knowing that she’s alive.
Click here to watch a compilation of scenes telling the story of Josette DuPres, including Barnabas’ stormy night tale of her fate nearly 200 years ago.
If at once you don’t
succeed… (Episodes 277-365)
Believing Maggie Evans to be dead, Barnabas Collins now
turns his attention to governess Victoria Winters and becomes the romantic
rival of Burke Devlin. At a costume
party, Burke dresses as Jeremiah Collins, who was Barnabas’ rival for Josette
DuPres nearly 200 years ago. Barnabas
makes various attempts to woo Vicky and transform her into Josette.
The Arrival of Dr.
Julia Hoffman (Episodes 265-287)
Dr. Julia Hoffman is introduced at Windcliff Sanitarium
where she is caring for Maggie Evans after her ordeal with vampire Barnabas
Collins. Posing as a family historian,
she insinuates herself into Collinwood to search for clues about what happened
to Maggie. Over the course of the
series, she will become close friend and confidant of Barnabas Collins. However, in her early episodes, she is forced
to spend most of her time doing the dirty work required to protect his secret. There’s a LOT of hypnosis involved.
The Cure (Episodes
288-350)
At the Old House, Julia Hoffman discovers that Barnabas
Collins casts no reflection. When he
finds out that she has learned his secret, he tries to kill her; however, she
convinces him that she can cure him. At
some point, she becomes extremely jealous of Victoria Winters and frequently
tries to sabotage her relationship with Barnabas. When Barnabas pressures her to give him a massive
treatment to cure his vampirism, she does so, but it backfires and he is
transformed into a withering old man. It lasts only for a couple episodes, however, as he soon drinks from Carolyn Stoddard
and his condition is reversed.The Ghost of Sarah Collins (Episodes 255-365)
While imprisoned in a cell in the basement of the Old House,
Maggie is frequently visited by the ghost of Sarah Collins. She eventually helps Maggie escape her
prison, and, later, from Windcliff Sanitarium.
Young David Collins’ repeated attempts to find Sarah result in him being
trapped in the secret room of the Collins mausoleum. But she saves his life when Barnabas,
believing David knows his secret, tries to kill him.
The entire arc of Dark Shadows that began with the
introduction of Barnabas Collins ends 154 episodes later with a séance in
episode 365. The ghost of Sarah Collins
has become such a mystery for many members of the Collins family, that they
attempt to contact her spirit. During
the séance, there is a blackout and Victoria Winters disappears…
And that, dear friends, is only the beginning. Over time, I hope to gradually share more of
the saga and make more compilation videos for you to enjoy.
What about everyone else?!?
While the adventures of Barnabas Collins were the focus of
much of Dark Shadows, he was not present in every episode. There were concurrent storylines affecting
other characters:
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Episodes 210-273). Maintaining his hold over her, Jason Maguire
informs Elizabeth that they will be married.
This drives a wedge between her and her daughter, Carolyn. Elizabeth confesses to governess Victoria
Winters that she killed her husband, Paul Stoddard, and is twice driven to
commit suicide by jumping from Widow’s Hill.
It turns out that Elizabeth did not kill her husband; instead, Jason helped him
escape. Elizabeth ultimately insists
that Jason be allowed to leave Collinwood without prosecution, never to
return???
Carolyn Stoddard (210-273).
Spends many episodes trying to learn what hold Jason Maguire has over
her mother, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard.
When a marriage is announced, she threatens to marry a hippie
motorcyclist and then plans to shoot Jason at the wedding. When that storyline is resolved (see above),
she spends the rest of the overall arc as slave to vampire Barnabas Collins.
Burke Devlin (293-345).
The romance between Burke Devlin and governess Victoria Winters heats up
as they discuss marriage and Burke participates in a public competition
with Barnabas Collins. Burke eventually
suspects Barnabas and becomes young David Collins’ confidant. In episode 345, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard receives
word that Burke’s plane has crashed, but Victoria refuses to believe he is
dead.
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