Great thread within a thread about the cursed ones speaking the name of God.
My take on it is that there would be a difference between someone SEEKING out the supernatural powers and choosing to worship the Dark powers through their own free will, and someone who became a supernatural creature due to circumstances they didn't seek out.
For that reason, I don't see a problem with Barnabas referring to God. (Though there might be an issue of him not being ABLE to say it, in the same way that he can't face a cross.) We get some inferences to him playing with things supernatural, but we never see or hear that he was as involved in it as we see Quentin is. Now, I could see HIM having a problem, depending on whether he was deep enough into the Dark Arts to have been required to reject God.
With him, it's a different set of circumstances. He was involved heavily with the Dark arts; whether it ever approached the depth of having to renounce God and worship the Devil, we can't tell from what we're shown. I'm inclined to think not, from the way he refers to how he got involved with the supernatural (curiousity and boredom). He invokes other Gods from other cultures, which don't guarantee a renouncement of the Judeo-Christian God. Interesting thing with him though, is that once he becomes cursed, he invokes the name of God on a number of occasions. Even if you chalk it up to the change in attitudes, we have a cursed being who asks for God's intercession. Specific case I'm thinking of is [spoiler]when they thought that Jamison was dying, and he was sitting with him; going by memory I believe he was pleading with God to spare the boy.[/spoiler]
LOL on Big House, Sally. However, I've also seen it used a lot (can't think of any sources right now, and with my reading, it could be anything from biography, historical novel, history or even Gone With the Wind for all I know), for the main house on a large property with multiple buildings. That would certainly fit with Collinwood.
Must have missed the question and answer about Chavez earlier. Thanks, Midnite -- I'd never known it was Portuguese as well as Spanish. Still a bit of a puzzling choice, since it would seem the actress was cast before we had a name for the character mentioned on screen (one would assume until it was on film, it could change. Even being on screen didn't help them sometimes: note Oscar and Edward). A tall blonde, nordic looking actress, with a character name that goes back to countries where blondes are very rare -- you'd think they'd have given her a name that sounded Norwegian, German or Danish. Though Portuguese, with the immigrant connection with fishing, fits in with Collinsport being a fishing town.
Midnite: Another post I missed was yours about locking up the wolf that opens doors like a man. Where to lock him up? Well, what was in the back of my mind was the kind of outbuildings we have on the Colonial era plantations around here. Root cellar type places, icehouses -- they lock from the outside, and tend to be made of stone in the Northeast. Just an idea, but you'd think they'd have at least checked out that kind of building to see if it would work.
Jeannie