I think Jonathan Frid explained in an interview that the cane was just for show, prestige, showing of the times Barnabas came from...  JF bought the cane and ring as Barnabas' trade mark.

M is for modern conveniences.....like phones, electricity, television, heat, all of which Barnabas refused to have at the Old House

John Bartendale, a traveling minstrel, was convicted of felony and hanged for an hour until people thought he was dead. A passerby later on noticed earth moving where he had been buried and dug him up. Apparently he sat up upon being revived and asked where he was!

It's everything else in the storyline that ruins DSs reputation, except C Blackburn and J Karlen, who kept acting like real actors no matter what, and added a lot of reality in the few moments they were on.     I think Marie Wallace's appearance started to turn things around.  She had real life and presence, and seemed to want to be there.   And at no time was the character "weak and womanly and dominated by men".    She knew her own self-interest and was biding her time so that she could leave in a better state than some woman in a black nightgown thumbing a ride or asking for handouts.  She didn't even know what a bus was, had no money, and knew better than to fumble her way into a completely unfamiliar world on her own.     Was she going to get a job someplace?

I love Eve. I can't keep a straight face when she's in a scene. I am laughing now just thinking about it. At this stage of the game the show may as well be a comedy (as far as I'm concerned). It's the only way I can get thru it. Personally, I think it's this portion of the show that earned DS it's 'camp' reputation.