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717
Number

708

Timeline

1897

Narrator

Kathryn Leigh Scott

Writer

Violet Welles

Director

Lela Swift

Broadcast

March 25, 1969
(Tuesday)

Recorded

March 18, 1969
(Tuesday)

Video

Complete: Disc 75
Collection 13: Disc 3

717 Gallery
We have 10 images of Dark Shadows 717

Beth saves Judith from Jenny, who is apparently insane.

Synopsis[]

Collinwood in 1897. In the tower room of the great house, a tragic secret has been locked behind a door. But a newcomer to Collinwood, spurred on by her own fears, has inadvertently opened the door. And now a woman, mad with grief, roams the halls, knowing only that she has been hurt and that she must hurt in return.

Beth saves Judith from Jenny, who is apparently insane. Rachel tells Barnabas all that has happened to her. He goes to the tower room to investigate. Barnabas searches the tower room and finds no one. Beth and Judith have removed Jenny's belongings from the room, but Barnabas finds a doll's head in the empty armoire. It looks beaten and abused. The door to the room then opens.

Memorable quotes[]

Judith: (about her grandmother's room and bed) Sometimes on nights like this, it seems she's not willing to give them up.

Judith: We're all turning as mad as she is.

Barnabas: Here at Collinwood, old hates don't die. They lie in wait for the innocent and the unsuspecting.

Barnabas: I've lived through danger before.

Barnabas: You see, you really can't trust anyone here.... No one is quite what they seem.
Rachel: Except you, Barnabas.
Barnabas: Except me...of course.

Jenny: I know what color a lie is: It's red! Red...like blood!

Rachel: I've never had many friends.
Barnabas: Neither have I.

Dramatis personae[]

Background information and notes[]

Production[]

  • No cast or crew members are credited.

Story[]

Blooper and continuity errors[]

  • Dirk broke into the tower room in the previous episode to rescue Rachel; however, the door here appears to be intact.
  • Why doesn't Barnabas use his supernatural abilities as a vampire to teleport into the tower room? [This is neither a blooper nor a continuity error. The episode makes it quite clear why he doesn't do this. In a voice over outside the front door, Barnabas tells himself that he could easily get into the room without a key, but then that would arouse Rachel's suspicion as she would wonder how he got in without a key.]
  • The doll head looks to be made from rubber or plastic. Neither were in wide use until many years later.
  • In the previous episode, Rachel left the tower room key in the lock, and Jenny locked her in and then dropped the key from the landing. How does Rachel now have the key in her room?
  • After Rachel lightly kisses Barnabas, someone coughs off-screen.
  • After Judith talks about her grandmother and feeling spooked by her on a night like this, the scene shifts to Barnabas outside, and the music suddenly starts, distorted, whirring. [Addendum: There seems to be no distortion of the music. There are bird sounds heard over the music. Perhaps that is what you're hearing and mistaking it for distorted music.]
  • Judith invited Rachel to have a glass of sherry. She pours one glass, then puts the lid back on the bottle, then removes it again to pour the second glass.
  • When Barnabas and Rachel talk in the Old House, the clock reads 10:50pm, but it is midnight when they get to Collinwood. What took them so long? Judith delays Rachel when she is attempting to give Barnabas the key, but Barnabas does not sneak in until 3:00am. Was he outside the whole time? [Addendum: No. He obviously returned later. Judith was still awake when Rachel gave him the key, and Rachel told him so.]

External Links []

Dark Shadows - Episode 717 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Every Day - Episode 717 - Mommy Weirdest

The Dark Shadows Daybook - Episode 717

Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 717: I know what color a lie is

Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 717: 3/25/69