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393 Gallery
393
Number

387

Timeline

1795

Narrator

Grayson Hall

Writer

Sam Hall

Director

John Sedwick

Broadcast

December 27, 1967
(Wednesday)

Recorded

December 20, 1967
(Wednesday)

Video

Complete: Disc 43
Collection 5: Disc 3

393 Gallery
We have 4 images of Dark Shadows 393

Jeremiah's ghost begins to torment the Collins family as they pack up and move to the new house, Collinwood.

Synopsis[]

Teaser

A séance has been held in the great house at Collinwood, a séance which has suspended time and space and sent one girl on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the year 1795. There, each of the Collins ancestors resembles a present-day member of the Collins family. But the names and relationships have changed, and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger in a sea of familiar faces, where she finds the ancestors of her friends starting a tragedy which still is being played out at Collinwood today.

Having been lured to Jeremiah Collins' grave, Josette Collins and Naomi Collins watch in horror as Jeremiah's hand emerges from the ground!

Act I

Joshua Collins tries to dissuade André du Prés from returning to Martinique with his family. It would not be to André's advantage to leave until Jeremiah's sizable estate is settled. At that moment, a frantic Josette and Naomi rush inside the house. Naomi explains about following Josette when she left earlier. Joshua, spying the sherry glass on a nearby table, believes his wife to be drunk. Josette tells them about Jeremiah's hand reaching out from the grave and Naomi backs up her story. But Joshua and André find this too incredible to believe. A terrified Josette believes Jeremiah will return for her. André takes Josette upstairs while Joshua berates Naomi over her excessive drinking. When Naomi glances out of the window she startles at the sight of Jeremiah's disfigured, bandaged face. But when Joshua goes to look, he finds nothing.

Act II

Later, Naomi explains recent events to Countess Natalie du Prés who believes her story. Naomi reveals that, without Joshua's permission, she has wakened Ben Stokes and another servant to patrol the grounds. She refuses to believe that Victoria is the dark force plotting against the family, and Natalie surprises her by admitting she once suspected Joshua of being a warlock. The two women go through the list of suspects, with Natalie dismissing Angelique Bouchard as a possibility. Natalie goes to Josette's room to relieve André who has fallen asleep while watching over his daughter. She wakes him and sends him off to bed, while she herself takes a moment to change her clothing. The instant the slumbering Josette is alone, Jeremiah appears and approaches her bed. Josette wakes with a start. She is horrified when Jeremiah implores her to come with him. Josette screams for help and Natalie returns to find her niece alone.

Act III

The following morning Angelique brings coffee to the Countess. Angelique agrees to stay with Josette and help her pack for moving into the new house, while Natalie leaves to get some rest. Alone with Angelique, Josette wishes to return to Martinique and is surprised when Angelique does not. Angelique intends on staying in Collinsport. Josette insists on knowing the reason why and is stunned to learn that her maid and Barnabas Collins are engaged.

Act IV

That afternoon, Naomi is overseeing the move into the new house. Joshua, however, is less than satisfied with his wife's handling of things. Natalie and Angelique arrive, with the former impressed with the mansion... although she makes a point of disliking the color. Upstairs, Naomi cannot unlock the room she has prepared for the Countess. Angelique tries, but she has no luck either. When Natalie arrives, the three women hear someone inside the room. Natalie believes Victoria is hiding within. But Jeremiah's laughter suddenly rings out.

Memorable quotes[]

Naomi: Joshua, I've been through a lot tonight.
Joshua: Around a quarter of a bottle, I should say.

Dramatis personae[]

Background information and notes[]

Production[]

Story[]

  • Natalie has known Angelique ever since she was a child, and she found her "uninteresting."
  • Jeremiah's room in the new Collinwood mansion will eventually belong to David Collins in the present day.
  • Jeremiah left a "surprisingly large estate" according to Joshua, though no indication is given on how he acquired his wealth. As a younger son, it is doubtful he inherited much of the Collins wealth, most of which would have gone to Joshua. Maybe that is why Joshua characterized Jeremiah's estate as "surprisingly" large.
  • GHOSTWATCH: Jeremiah appears outside the Old House parlor window and in Josette's room, and his voice is heard coming from the bedroom in Collinwood that had been designated for him.
  • TIMELINE: It was last night when Josette was ill. Naomi has had eighteen hours' warning of the move into the new Collinwood mansion.

Bloopers and continuity errors[]

  • Both Louis Edmonds and especially Joan Bennett have considerable trouble remembering their lines in Act IV. Bennett even has the script in her hands, but manages to not make obvious use of it, doing her best to do the scene without it. (That's not the script; it's Naomi's plans for organizing the move. She doesn't look at the paper once. Dark Shadows may be raggedy sometimes, but Joan Bennett wouldn't walk on set holding a script.)
  • In Act I, Joan Bennett flubs a couple of lines. At one point Naomi says, "He...he w-..she was standing at the grave." Later she asks Joshua, “Do you prefer to keep on insulting me instead of thinking what has happened . . . to face what has happened, and — well, that’s what you’re doing.”
  • At one point it seems as if Edmonds forgets Natalie's title, 'countess', and when Bennett helps him out, he saves himself by saying, "Yes, I never know what to call her!" However, this passage is so smooth, it's quite difficult to tell if it was in the script or improvised. This scene can be viewed as both a showcase of how good the actors were, as well as of the difficulties the actors faced when they couldn't do multiple takes of a scene.
  • In Act IV, while Joshua and Natalie are talking in the foyer, a stagehand can be seen moving to the left across the bottom of the screen.
  • In Act II, the shadow of Timothy Gordon, playing the ghost of Jeremiah Collins, can be seen getting into position.
  • In Act IV, as Naomi and Angelique start up the stairs and as Natalie looks around the foyer, a music cue starts and then suddenly stops; after a moment it fades back into hearing.

External Links []

Dark Shadows - Episode 393 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 393 - Tell Them We Are Rising

Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 393: It would make her more interesting

Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 393: 12/27/67

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