Some of the rooms that we finally get to see in the Old House are so elaborate that the original entrance (especially the blase doors) and parlor look rather dingy by comparison.

Speaking of doors, aren't the carved doors of the later mansion parlor visible in the background when Vicky and the Countess are sitting by the fire?  Apparently, they built this set inside the Collinwood living room.

I love how Josette refers to Barnabas as a "modern" man (and he agrees), when he is so wedded to the past in the 1967 storyline.  Another big change in his character.

Great episode.

I've never seen the pre-Barnabas episodes, so maybe someone who has seen them can clarify this for me.

Was the ghost of Josette a "confirmed" sighting, enough that everyone believed she existed?  The reason I'm asking this is because I'm trying to figure out Roger's seeming skepticism about the very existence of ghosts.  Why would he be such an unbeliever if he knew of Josette's appearance?

And, come to think of it, why doesn't Josette ever visit Barnabas like she did Vickie when she was in the Old House?  Barnabas is certainly eager to see her.

I hate to be the one naysayer in the group, but I find this to be probably the single most insufferable episode in the history of "Dark Shadows."  It is like 20 minutes of nails being scraped across a chalkboard for me (or at least it would have had I not found myself fast-forwarding through certain parts of it)

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Grayson Hall as Julia and I think she gave a truly great performance in "Night of the Iguana,"  which I saw again recently.  But the one thing I think Grayson couldn't do was play "frightened" and, unfortunately that is all she is called upon to do in this episode.  It simply magnifies her one weakness as an actress and I wind up feeling embarrassed for her while watching it.

I guess for some it's an acting tour-de-force.  For me, I'm just glad the episode is behind us and we can move on to bigger and better things from hereon out.

Incidentally, did anybody happen to catch the interview with Sam Hall that follows this episode on the DVD?

He is absolutely hilarious describing how he knew better than to ever end a scene on Grayson because she was sure to overact wildly in the final closeup shot.  He describes her as Lillian Gish in 1927!  It's a very funny moment because he says it in such a dry, flat way.  And this is her own husband speaking!

 

Incidentally, this is the Halloween episode for 1967 - though, of course, every day is Halloween at Collinwood so that doesn't really matter much!  I just wonder how many tykes back then watched this episode right before heading out for the evening's festivities.

I'm also struck by how differently Carolyn is reacting to being bitten by a vampire than most of the others.  She is, indeed, spacey, but exhibits none of the anemia-type exhaustion or sickness that both Maggie and Willie did.

One thing I don't get is why Vicky doesn't seem freaked out by Barnabas anymore.  Did Julia's post-hypnotic suggestion from a mere two episodes ago wear off or something?  In this episode, Vicky seems once again very sympathetic towards Barnabas, wanting to spend time with him and saying what a comfort he is to her.  It's almost like the writers pick up and drop certain plot points at their convenience.  For this episode, they needed Vicky to want to see Barnabas in order to provide tension in that one scene and they also needed someone to be a foil for the increasingly supsicion Caroline, so they seem to have simply decided to forget what they had done to Vicky two days earlier.

One quick question:  what happens to Barnabas' clothes when he transforms himself into a bat?