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| Barnabas Collins descending the Collinwood stairs (Dan Curtis Productions, edit by author) |
I did not renew my Medium subscription this year when it expired.
I adored (and still adore) Dark Shadows.
So much of that show formed the favorite tropes and motifs of my personal fictional universe: vampires, time travel, ghosts, werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, grave robbings, curses, possession, seances, reincarnation, satanic cults, and a parallel universe.
I loved this show with all of my heart, and I am inspired to rewatch it or at least some of it. Though the author of the article shared below had six months to devour 1225 30 minute episodes (minus commercials approximately 21-22 minutes)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Shadows
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Shadows_(televised_storylines)
http://www.darkshadowsonline.com/
https://darkshadows.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Shadows_Wiki
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| https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3542396/documentary-master-dark-shadows-will-dig-deep-classic-dark-shadows-tv-series/ |
https://fanfare.pub/how-a-60s-gothic-soap-opera-saved-me-fb58d02bb55
How a Gothic 60s Soap Opera Saved Me
IF you were to search “vampire” in Google Images it is likely that you would have to scroll for some time before you see a photo of Jonathan Frid in his role of Barnabas Collins. Indeed, many are not aware of who Barnabas Collins even is. However, the character of Barnabas Collins so ingrained itself into the pop culture canon during his four years of appearing on daytime TV that his image remains indelibly linked to the perception of what makes a vampire: dark hair slicked down and across the forehead in dramatic bangs, two eyes with a malevolent stare sunken into darkened sockets, lips drawn back to reveal sharp fangs. The fact that the character would morph into an anti-hero and eventually a hero is disconnected from these photographs, which were taken in the early days of the character’s run when he was written purely as an antagonist.
Though ABC-TV’s gothic soap opera was on the air for just five years, the weekday schedule allowed Dark Shadows to produce 1225 half-hour episodes before its cancellation in 1971. The show drew from a litany of literary sources for inspiration, and in the progress crafted something wholly unique in the annals of daytime television, going on to influence the development of horror television and film. Creator Dan Curtis would return to several of the show’s literary sources with a series of made-for-TV horror films, including The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Turn of the Screw, Frankenstein, and Dracula. In a strange twist, this version of Dracula (starring Jack Palance) featured a storyline wherein Lucy is the reincarnation of the vampire’s long-dead lover. This does not feature in the original novel but features heavily in Barnabas’ early episodes. The trope would later find its way into Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which emphasized the sexual subtext of the novel. So, by taking inspiration from classic vampiric literature and expounding upon it, the writers of Dark Shadows would influence future reinterpretations of said literature.
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| Show creator Dan Curtis (centre) directing Kathryn Leigh Scott and Jonathan Frid on the set of “House of Dark Shadows” (Source: Nightmarish Conjurings) |
It is also one of the few soap operas produced at a time when tapes were wiped to be reused or dumped for space, whose entire run survives intact (bar one episode which exists only in an audio recording made by a fan during its initial broadcast); and was the first daytime soap to inspire a spin-off movie, House of Dark Shadows in 1970. Though it is common for a fanatic fanbase to grow around a TV series now, back in the 1960s and 70s it was more unusual — and it is these fans who have kept the show alive.
As for me, I found it through the internet. While researching vampires for a story I was writing, I came across the Wikipedia page for a soap opera about vampires, ghosts, witches, werewolves, possession, time travel, parallel time — and wondered where this had been all my life! As luck would have it, this was in 2012, a few months before Tim Burton’s big screen adaptation was announced and shortly after discovering it, MPI Home Video announced that the entire series would be released in a limited edition coffin-shaped boxset (along with a postcard signed by Jonathan Frid); what followed was months of saving (and searching the couch for spare change) and eventually I managed to scrape together what I needed. The seller that I bought the set from actually shipped their copies a week early, so not only did I have my hands on number 548 of 2500, I was one of the first in the world to have it. Frid’s death at the age of 87 came less than a week after, and the signed postcard has been framed and hung on my wall ever since, one of my prized possessions.
You might be wondering: How long would it take to watch 1225 half-hour episodes? If you’re me, then six months. To say I watched it is an understatement — I devoured it. Then I started collecting the tie-in novels, a 1971 pressbook for Night of Dark Shadows, the original vinyl soundtrack, a wristwatch promoting the 1991 revival, and other collectibles soon followed— the show and all its incarnations became my life. After the original run, I made my way through the 90s revival series, the two theatrical movies, and eventually the Big Finish audio dramas (more on those later). Even though I have moved on to other things since 2012, my soul returns to Collinsport over and over again and it remains a source of comfort for me, and in a way, it saved me. More than once.
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| L-R: First tie-in novel, first Gold Key comic, music soundtrack, pressbook for the second film (Source: Dark Shadows Wiki) |
I came to find Dark Shadows at a difficult and pivotal time in my life. I was halfway through secondary school (with the threat of final year exams looming larger by the day), beginning to come into my own, and starting the journey of coming to terms with my sexuality. Looking back, there was never truly a point where I questioned my sexuality — from a young age I realised that my attraction (not sexual at first, but a kind of emotional longing) lay towards men and not women, but the implications of that attraction wouldn’t become clear for some time. It wasn’t until I entered secondary school and began to talk to girls (I attended an all-male primary school) that it began to fall into place. When I heard them talking about which guys in class were the best-looking I found that I listened intently, not just as a friend or for a laugh, but I was engaged in their discussions, even if I never added my own thoughts. Throughout second year I struggled to put words to it, but by the end of the summer, I knew. I was gay. It would be another year before I was ready to tell someone, which led into a much more difficult situation that found me being outed to the whole school — but that, as they say, is a story for another time.
As I was coming to terms with my sexuality I found solace and escape in media, whether that was through books I was reading or movies I was watching, I liked to escape my life even for a little while. Dark Shadows, with its sheer bulk of media, provided me with any amount of escapism. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. From the first episode, I was entranced. Even though the elements that made the show famous would take some time to emerge, the early episodes (generally considered episodes 1 through 210) have much to offer. With their slow, measured pace, and heavily shadowed atmosphere, they are drenched in the spirit of gothic and pulp novels. By mixing the ghostly trappings of vintage gothic with more contemporary elements, these episodes can feel like a bridge between times. By the time Barnabas arrived, and the show eventually moved to colour, I was hooked. I loved the drama, the horror, the violence, the romance, the time travel, all of it. But above all, I loved the characters.
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| Back L-R: witch Angelique (Lara Parker), Frankenstein-esque creature Adam (Robert Rodan), vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), warlock Nicholas Blair (Humbert Allen Astredo). Front: Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke). (Source: Vanity Fair) |
This show provided much-needed comfort at a difficult time and its characters remain close to my heart. Collinwood is essentially a second home for me, its inhabitants my friends and family, their problems my problems (and boy do they have a lot of problems). It was reassuring, in a strange way, to see these characters dealing with such dramatic issues and how they came out on top or went out fighting. It made me think I could fight and that I would come out on top. If they could endure against an ancient Lovecraftian race of beings, or against the malicious ghost of a dead ancestor who was themselves possessed by a ghost, then why couldn’t I endure?
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| Victoria Winters travels to Collinwood during the show’s first scene (Source: Soap Opera Spy) |
When Dark Shadows began, its main character and narrator was a young orphan named Victoria Winters (played by Alexandra Moltke), brought to Collinwood by Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Joan Bennett) to be governess to her nephew David Collins (David Hennessy). Victoria took the job because she felt that she might learn the truth of her past in Collinwood, with her opening narration expressing longing and hope:
My name is Victoria Winters. My journey is beginning. A journey that I hope will open the doors of life to me and link my past with my future. A journey that will bring me to a strange and dark place, to the edge of the sea, high atop Widows’ Hill. A house called Collinwood, a world I’ve never known, with people I’ve never met. People who tonight are still only shadows in my mind, but who will soon fill the days and nights of my tomorrows.
In Victoria’s journey of self-discovery, a foundling child with no place in the world, cast out of normal family structures, who eventually finds a constructed family and home, much surely echoing to any queer people who have felt that the world was not built for them. I know I did. In Victoria, I could see pieces of myself. Though I am fortunate to have a supportive family and loving friends, for a long time I felt like an outsider, straddling two worlds but unable to bridge the divide and find my place. Between her struggle and eventual acceptance into the strange and wonderful family of Collinwood, and the overall message of endurance which the show holds at its core, I started to find strength in myself. Of course, this is all in hindsight, as at the time I didn’t notice any of this, but hindsight is 20/20. Once Moltke left the show and Victoria was written out, Kathryn Leigh Scott and her character of Maggie Evans took over as the central “normal” character, bringing a tougher, wiser energy to the role but fulfilling the same purpose as an every-man archetype.
Much has been written about the vampire as a queer allegory, but almost all the “monsters” of Dark Shadows can be read this way. From vampires to werewolves, there is a struggle to conceal and suppress a certain aspect of one’s self. Even the show’s villains have moments when they struggle with their nature, when they want to push against who they were meant to be and become who they truly are. The witch Angelique had a similar trajectory as Barnabas, beginning as an antagonist and later becoming an anti-hero, until finally morphing into a core element of the show’s soul.
It is also well-known that a number of actors in the original series were queer themselves, including Jonathan Frid himself, as revealed in a recent (excellent) documentary on the actor’s life. Knowing this gives a nice touch to the show, and it makes me wonder if any of the actors — queer or not — ever felt the same as me. It was work (and hard work), but did they ever look at their characters and their fights and find motivation in them?
Since my first full watch-through of the show (along with rewatches of various favourite storylines), a lot has changed in my life. I am no longer uncertain of who I am (though I am now uncertain of what to do with my life but that’s a different struggle). I have a loving partner, a good relationship with my family, and an incredible network of friends, and have gone far in my academic career. But I still come back to Dark Shadows when I need to. I needed to come back to it twice in the last few years.
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| L-R: Director Lela Swift directing Joan Bennett, Mitchell Ryan, Louis Edmonds and Kathryn Leigh Scott during the show’s early days (Source: Shadows of the Night blog) |
With the entire world reeling from the effects of COVID-19 and struggling to adapt to lockdowns and a new way of life, many turned to things that brought them comfort, and me that was flicking through Dark Shadows and putting on a random episode or two. I didn’t re-delve into the show properly (now I wish I had) but every so often I just needed a “fix,” and jumping into a random point only to instantly remember exactly where it was in the storyline became a fun game. It helped me not to spiral in the face of the uncertainty and fear of the time, grounding me just enough to keep me level-headed.
More recently, when I was in the late stages of working towards my Masters in Film Studies, I found myself extremely stressed and worked up — to say the least). With my initial approach to my chosen topic not being quite right (to put it politely), I found myself having to ditch a fair bit of writing and start writing from scratch. It was needed though and I’m glad that I got the tough feedback because I remain very proud of my final dissertation and hope to turn it into a book someday, but at the time it was torture. So, to soothe my nerves and distract me as I was going about my daily business, I turned to Dark Shadows again, but this time in audio form.
Starting in 2006, the British company Big Finish Productions began releasing audio dramas based in the world of Dark Shadows, starring many original cast members. I had listened to one or two back in 2013-or-so, but had yet to delve into them fully. Then, with my dissertation finished, I dived into them fully, and recently finished all 52 core dramatic readings, the excellent Bloodline and Bloodlust mini-series, and a number of the Tony and Cassandra Mysteries line. More titles had been announced prior to COVID but the lockdowns seem to have put an indefinite hiatus on the property.
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| Personal favourites from the Big Finish Line (Source: BigFinish.com) |
These audio plays were a God-send, and I would listen to them whenever I could. With excellent production, writing, and acting, they truly feel at home in the Dark Shadows world (albeit with more elaborate set-pieces than the show could have produced). I was rather sad when I came to the end of the main series and will definitely be returning to them again. They truly helped me relax and distracted me from the stress of college, clearing my mind so I could then work on my dissertation without a haze of anxiety. Aside from helping in these ways, these productions have re-kindled my dormant obsession and love of Dark Shadows, and have started collecting memorabilia again (most recently I was gifted a set of several vintage Gold Key comic books). It was this reignited passion that started me thinking about the first time I found the show over ten years ago.
Although maybe it wouldn’t be too dramatic to say that it found me. The latter two examples may not seem as important as how the show helped comfort me at an uncertain time, and I will admit that nothing could come near that first time around, but they helped me nonetheless. I needed them. In the strange way of the universe, Dark Shadows came my way when I most needed it and has been there whenever I needed it again. When I needed something to take me away from my troubles, when I needed to see that my struggles weren’t the end of the world, when I needed to feel seen, it found me. And it was remained by my side ever since.
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| Original cast circa 1967 (Source: Television Academy website) |
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2306.21 - 10:10
- Days ago = 2910 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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