I look to see what's available on ebay almost every day. I am an avid Dark Shadows collector, and have acquired a lot of items from there. It's easier than lugging a bunch of stuff home from the dealers' rooms at the Dark Shadows Festival, which I have done too, and a lot of items available on ebay are not available in the dealers' rooms. I have never seen them. I have complete sets of all the items I wanted, bubble gum cards, 1897 pinups, comic books, paperbacks, puzzles, games, Viewmaster (with 3 reels & booklet), and I have seen these items sell for a lot more than I paid for them, so I think I got good deals. Darren mentioned movie items, I have a complete set of "House of Dark Shadows" lobby cards from France still in their original envelopes, and a poster from Italy. Those were pricey, but then I would expect that for foreign items.  I have also acquired some rare and almost impossible to find autographs, some of them of deceased actors. You really can't put a price on those. The Dark Shadows Collectibles Book states basically, a collectible is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. It also lists value estimates based on what the items have sold for at auctions and at the Dark Shadows Festival dealers' rooms in the past several years. Prices are for items in mint condition. This is a good book to read to get an idea of prices on memorabilia. Another book I have is called, A Guide To Collecting "Dark Shadows" Memorabilia. I do think $300 for Josette's Music Box, and $170 for a Magic Slate is way too much for those items. I have seen them going for that on ebay. Based on my knowledge of price ranges of Dark Shadows items, I know a good deal when I see one.

There is a problem with temperature control. It is usually too cold, with the exception of last year in New York, the central air broke down completely and the Main Room was like an oven. Under normal circumstances you need long sleeves to be comfortable. I think putting a "In Memoriam" section for the late actors, in the Dark Shadows Festival program book would be a good idea. That way they would be remembered at every Festival. I agree that the registration process should all be handled by mail, and set up something online at the Dark Shadows Festival website, so the fans can purchase their tickets directly from there. A code of conduct is a good idea too. I witnessed some bad behavior myself. People get too impatient, road rage personalities. I also suggest having the Dark Shadows Festival here in Las Vegas, NV again. It's a fun place. When in Las Vegas, do as the Las Vegans do! Dark Shadows actor James Storm and his family really had a great time here. I spoke to them after the 1998 Festival. Darren, this is a good topic. That concludes my 2 cents worth!

The Collins family owned the shipyard. I think it's a good speculation that the navy commissioned the Collins family to build ships. Lieutenant Forbes could have been assigned to supervise the building of the ships, according to naval specifications. It was never mentioned where it was, but the naval base must have been close by the shipyard. I like the title of this topic, "Just What Is Nathan?" He's a rat in a navy uniform!

I was browsing through the Dark Shadows items for sale on eBay today, and saw Geoffrey Scott's autograph for sale there if anyone is interested. Since this topic is about him, thought I would mention it.

This is a really neat board, looks like a fun place. Glad I joined! I too enjoy seeing all the different avatars and other things people add to their posts. Amazing what we can do these days! I have met some of the posters here. I like it here and will recommend this board to other people.

I will be attending the Dark Shadows Festival too, and am looking forward to it being in a new location. I always go for the whole weekend and attend the banquet too. The Festival weekend is the quickest one of the year for me. Here and gone, but a lot of fun! It's nice for the fans who get to see their favorite actor. I sure do miss mine. I wish Craig Slocum could be there. I hope to see some of you from the board there, it's always nice to meet new people too. Looking forward to seeing ProfStokes, and Bobubas again, I know both of you. See you in Anaheim, CA!  

My first memories of Dark Shadows go back to 1968 when I was 4 years old. I used to watch the show with my Mom and brother, up until the show ended in 1971. Sometimes we would go to our neighbors houses and watch it too. My brother and I had all of the Dark Shadows bubble gum cards. We bought several packs a week. I also had the 16 and Tiger Beat mags with the actors in them. I remember watching the show again for a short time when it was re run in 1977. They were showing the pre Barnabas eps. Then in 1991, I caught some of the revival series, after coming home on Friday nights. I wasn't aware of any Dark Shadows fandom until 1998 when I found out there was going to be a Dark Shadows Festival here in Las Vegas, NV. My Mom and I attended, but it had been nearly 30 years since we had really seen the show, so we didn't remember much except for bits and pieces, and we only knew who a few of the actors in attendance were. I have been attending the Dark Shadows Festivals since 1998, and other events, have met a lot of the actors, and have quite a Dark Shadows collection now. It is my absolute favorite show. I also have all of the MPI videos, so now I can watch it whenever I want. It brings back a lot of memories. It sure was and still is a great series. My little girl watches it now too. It's fun when my Mom comes over and we all watch it together.