Collinwood in 1840. Barnabas and Julia have arrived in an attempt to change what will happen in 1970. But there is a drama being enacted of which they know nothing. Desmond Collins is the possessor of a strange, legendary head. A head cut from its body centuries ago to stop the evil it caused. But the head, still alive, demands that Desmond find its body so that it can regain all its powers. And following the dying words of an aged man, Desmond starts his search.
At Gallows Hill, Desmond locates the unmarked stone with a ring on it. He pulls the ring, which reveals a staircase leading to an underground chamber. Inside the chamber, he finds a coffin held shut by a gigantic crucifix. He also finds a strange masked covered with jewels.
Act I
Desmond is unable to remove the cross by himself and determines that he needs help to retrieve the coffin with the body. He closes up the vault and leaves.
At Rose Cottage, Gerard tries to read his future to determine who Samantha will choose. Flora catches him and realizes he is worried about it. Gerard feels that Samantha must remain with Quentin. Flora invites him to stay at Rose Cottage either way, but Gerard doesn't think that Desmond wants him in the house. Flora tells him not to worry and she "will handle it." Lamar suddenly shows up and asks for Leticia.
Act II
Flora goes to get Leticia while Gerard and Lamar introduce themselves. Gerard finds Lamar's interest in Leticia rather intriguing; Lamar feels that Leticia has a great number of powers that should be used for the good of mankind. Lamar then asks Gerard if Leticia and Barnabas have had any discussions recently, but Gerard isn't sure why he would talk to her. He asks for Gerard's opinion about Barnabas. Gerard admits he does seem "odd"; Lamar tells him he knows he lied about how he arrived in Collinsport (his name was not on a boat's passenger list). Flora returns before they can continue talking about Barnabas further and informs him that Leticia is gone.
Desmond goes to the tavern and hires a man named Tim to help him with getting the coffin out.
Act III
At the tavern, Desmond offers Tim $20 to help him, but warns him he may not like what he wants him to do. Desmond warns him not to ask any questions or tell anyone they are working together. They leave the bar and head to Gallows Hill.
Back at Rose Cottage, Lamar tells Flora and Gerard the story of his father's disappearance and how he is suspicious of Barnabas. Gerard, who has grown interested in Lamar's feelings towards Barnabas, suggests they have a séance to contact Lamar's father.
Desmond takes Tim to Gallows Hill and shows him the underground chamber and gives him his job: they must remove the cross and take the coffin back to Rose Cottage. Desmond leaves to get a cart to move the coffin while Tim works on the cross. While Tim examines the coffin, he discovers the jeweled mask.
Act IV
Tim realizes the mask must be worth a fortune, and decides he must have it.
Meanwhile, Gerard begins the séance to contact Reverend Trask. Lamar's father speaks from beyond the grave about an evil presence that is in the room. He says, "You are surrounded by evil" and "Beware the Cross". While the seance is being held, Tim removes the giant cross, freeing Judah Zachery's coffin. Trask says cryptically, "Evil is joining evil. Evil will walk again!" Tim excitedly takes the jeweled mask, but is shocked and frightened by the body. The headless body kills Tim and rises from the tomb.
Christine Domaneck, appearing here as the barmaid, won the "Miss American Vampire Contest", and the first prize was this role. The judges at the contest included Nancy Barrett and Jonathan Frid, which was held as a promotion for the film House of Dark Shadows. (Christine was actually the runner-up in the contest, but the winner was unable to appear in the episode.)
In Act II Trask says of Barnabas, "He told me he came to England - - came from England on a certain boat."
Joan Bennett mispronounces Leticia's name when she says "Dear Letricia isn't in her room" to Trask in Act II.
In Act III Trask says of Barnabas, "Yes, that's true, but I don't think - - I DO think he had something to do with it." It's possible that the lines were out of the correct sequence because Flora then asks him "You don't think he had anything to do with it?"
It's not clear why Desmond leaves Tim alone to move the cross from the crypt. One would think that with such an important task and such an unreliable helper, Desmond would have stayed and made sure the task was completed properly and that Tim didn't try to abscond with the mask.
Toward the end of the episode when Lamar insists to Gerard that they must try to discover the evil the ghost of his father had mentioned and as the scene shifts back to Tim in the crypt, a stage hand can be heard whispering (sounds something like "Step back").
