Quentin takes just one step toward Maggie. She is unable to look away from his eyes. Utterly terrified, she screams and runs from the room. Quentin smiles very faintly, whether from amusement or at the sight of a pretty face he doesn’t say. We leave him laughing silently.

Carolyn and Chris go upstairs to hunt for the alleged intruder. Carolyn clings to Chris's arm as they investigate the West Wing. How many rooms are there up here? asks the once-aspiring architect. I don’t even know how many rooms there are in this part of the house, Carolyn admits. Are there any lights? Chris asks, then muses, Someone could hide up here very easily.

Meanwhile, Maggie tells Elizabeth about the stranger, who looks remarkably similar to the man Mrs. J described. Elizabeth offers Maggie the standard Collins panacea, a brandy.

They arrive at the very storage room where everything started, but find no one there. They've been searching for a while, and Carolyn finally says, We can't possibly search the entire West Wing. They decide to go back downstairs. After they leave the storage room, the camera pans to a moose head covered with cobwebs. Now wearing a slightly wider smile, Quentin rises from a chair that was in the shadows and walks toward the camera.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth decides that a cup of tea will be a better restorative.

David and Quentin agree to play the "Mr. Jughans" game. Maggie and Elizabeth decide to talk to David, who leads them to the storage room. Poor Maggie is mortified at the sight of Mr. Jughans. I guess the point of the flimsy pretext is to get Maggie to the storage room.

David is really mean to Amy when she decides they have to tell the adults about the "game." The poor little thing is describing the telephone to Elizabeth when to her horror, she sees Quentin in the drawing room right behind Elizabeth, glaring at her.

Up in his room, David paces the floor, his face contorted with fury. [A little card on David’s dresser shows a chicken carrying a picket sign: Chicken Little Was Right.] Quentin appears to him. David tells him, I tried to stop Amy from speaking, but Aunt Elizabeth came in, and there was nothing I could do. I told Amy not to tell, I swear! I realize you're mad at me, Quentin, he says fearfully. But the ghost smiles faintly, and David realizes that Quentin has “taken care” of Amy’s desire to tell. David asks, Are you going to let us go? Or keep on and on and never stop? When Quentin doesn’t respond, David says wearily, There's nothing we can do about it, is there? Just then Elizabeth comes in, and David has to make up the invisible giant Lars. She's still very angry with David, whom she confines to quarters for the rest of the day. And you thought he was angry before!

Poor Amy is desperate for Quentin to leave Chris alone. Since David is supposed to stay in his room, she even volunteers to see Quentin alone--a brave move indeed--and tell him that she'll spill everything unless he stops hurting Chris. David offers to try phoning Quentin, but Maggie comes in and confiscates the phone.

David enters the storage room as Maggie watches from down the hall. She follows, calling his name. He doesn't appear, even after she calls out, Don’t hide from me! In Quentin’s Room, David hears her but doesn’t reply because Quentin is very much “at home”

This episode adds to our medical knowledge as Julia informs us that atropine is the antidote for strychnine. It strikes me that strychnine is rather an old-fashioned poison. Maybe Quentin hasn't had access to the latest medical research.

Once again (another nice bit by JF), Barn shows his kinder, gentler self as he kneels beside the unconscious Chris. He muses sadly, I don’t blame you. How often, such a short time ago, I would sit in the Old House and doubt that I would have the strength to get through another night and wonder if it wasn’t best to die now.

The dream where Beth appears--and speaks!--to Amy is very well done. Maybe Beth can appear and speak at the same time, even if only in dreams, because she is a force for good.

Barn astutely makes a connection (if not THE connection) between Beth's Victorian-era gown and the werewolf curse.

Poor Amy is in tears as she assures Chris that nothing wlll happen to him again. Meanwhile, David is desperately trying to reach Quentin on the candlestick phone. He gives Quentin a real talking-to! But Quentin evidently is angry that his will has been thwarted.

To David, the short distance between the Great House and the cottage is a hike. At least he's not afraid of Barnabas any more. He tells Barn, I wish people would never get sick. So do I, Barnabas agrees. I think I might become a doctor, David says, but before he can enlarge on this interesting vocational choice, Amy comes in and greets them both. Barnabas tells David to get dressed. I'll go down and tell Mrs. Johnson to set a place for me, he says. Daylight and breakfast too!

Amy tells David, I want to talk to you for a few minutes. How can I get dressed then? David asks crossly. Just a few minutes, Amy promises. Barnabas leaves them alone. What do you want? David asks bluntly. You sound just like Quentin, Amy complains. I don't mean to, David says. I don't want to! I know why Quentin won't let me play the game anymore, Amy tells him. Why did you let him hurt Chris? David denies having anything to do with it, but Amy says, I know Quentin tells you everything he's going to do. David protests, I didn't know Quentin was going to do that! Amy says, I think you did know and that you tried to talk Quentin out of it. I know it! she cries. Why are you lying to me? David doesn’t even ask how she knows. His face twists with fear as he asks, Amy, does Quentin ever scare you? She nods vigorously. What will we do? he asks. Are you afraid of him, too? she asks. Yes, he replies. I'm going downstairs, she says, to tell Mrs. Stoddard about the game. You can't! David warns her. You don’t know Quentin the way I do! You don't know what he’ll do to us! It's the only way to stop him, Amy insists, and you won't stop me! No one can! she declares. David calls her name, terrified, but she marches out the door before he can stop her.…

Has anyone here seen The Innocents with Deborah Kerr as the governess? It's a very faithful adaptation of the Henry James story.

I didn't know that DC did an adaptation of "The Turn of the Screw." He did a pretty fair Dracula adaptation with an excellent Jack Palance.

Thanks for the link, David-Elijah! That sounds well worth checking out!

Final bit of trivia: Benjamin Britten did a masterful, short opera of the James story with very scary musical effects.

Barnabas doesn't need a bandage on his hand any more. But the wolf's ears on his silver-topped cane have been smashed down, a sign of his struggle with the werewolf. He takes Chris to the secret room in the mausoleum.

Careful to leave the panel open while they talk, Barnabas tells Chris, This room was originally a storage room for ammunition during the Revolutionary War. How do you know about it? Chris asks. With two hundred years of pride in his voice, Barnabas replies, I am a Collins. I know a great deal about my family history. Chris points to the coffin as he comments, This room must have had other uses after the war. Yes, Barnabas says, with massive understatement--and leaves it at that. Who was buried here? Chris wonders. The coffin is empty, Barnabas replies. Who _was_ buried here? Chris asks. That’s a bit of family history I know nothing about, Barnabas answers as he turns away.

DB has one of his finest scenes as he describes, with pain and anger, how he first underwent the transformation. He says they started seven years ago, which according to my notes, makes him four years older than poor Tom. And I knew the animal was _me_! he finishes with a sob. Tomorrow morning will be better for you, Barnabas assures him. Chris shouts, How can you be sure that even this place is going to hold me? Foot-thick granite walls will do it, Barnabas assures him. I'll lock you in. I didn't show you how to open the door from the inside, he points out. The pains begin. As he doubles over in agony, Chris pleads with Barnabas. Get out--for your own sake, he gasps. It will happen in a few minutes. Let me help you, Barnabas says. Chris tells him, Just close the door! Close it good, and pray that I can't get out of this place! I’ll return for you in the morning, Barnabas promises. By now Chris is in too much pain to do more than grunt an agreement. Barnabas reluctantly steps outside and pulls the ring in the lion's mouth, locking Chris in the secret room. He leaves the mausoleum and gazes up at the bright full moon.

David is wearing a suit and tie, so I suppose Elizabeth still has formal dinners. He finds Amy outside, also staring up at the full moon. Sometimes it scares me, she says. You get scared of the funniest things, he tells her and takes her back inside.

Outside, Barnabas hears the werewolf’s mindless growls and knows the transformation is now complete. He bows his head in sorrow, then leaves, knowing he can do nothing more for Chris until the morning.

After dinner, the kids entertain themselves by insisting to Mrs. Johnson that she only imagined the silent, angry man at the cottage. Barnabas returns and hears her break a glass. He invites her to sit on the sofa and tell her what's bothering her, so she tells him about the kids--and about the man at the cottage. Barnabas has been listening with his now-usual caring attentiveness, but he is clearly mystified too. I’m convinced the children are responsible for that man's appearance, Mrs. Johnson insists. When I found them playing dress-up, David was wearing the same kind of clothing that man had been! To her relief, Barnabas replies, I don’t think you’ve lost your mind. I believe you. Please tell me more.

Of course the kids haven't gone to bed but make a beeline for the West Wing. Quentin indicates that he wants to see David ALONE and that Amy has to wait downstairs. She leaves, puzzled and hurt. Quentin assumes his patented sardonic smile as his theme song starts up. David asks, What is it you want me to do, Quentin? Quentin sits down, which seems to be his usual preparation for giving instructions.

Amy comes downstairs and tells Barn that she's sure Mrs. J only imagined the man. But Barn doesn't have quite enough clues, not yet.

David actually finds the strength to defy Quentin and refuses to poison Chris with strychnine. He storms out, leaving Quentin absolutely furious. Amy is still stung by Quentin's rejection and asks David if they're playing the game. Not tonight, David says. Unhappy and scared, he denies that anything is wrong.

Quentin, meanwhile, picks up the bottle and examines it thoughtfully, an ugly glare on his face. And we all know that now he can leave his room....

Good, thanks, Joey!

From now on, Barnabas will have plenty to occupy his mind and help him get over losing Victoria Winters forever.

I think you're right about the police station, MT. It's been a while. And today we even get a bonus--the morgue, properly stark and grim.

I suspect we've seen the Blue Whale for the last time in RT.

Today's episode occurs two days after Chris tried twice to pull down the shade on his front door. Today a different shade on the same door gives him no difficulty. And we get yet another nice bare-chest shot as he strips off yet another bloody shirt.

After blurting out Chris's name to the sheriff, Carolyn races to the cottage to warn Chris that Donna is dead. When the sheriff arrives, Chris is horrified on seeing that Donna's purse (I used to have a very similar one!) is still on the table. Quickly he conceals it from the sheriff's view. Then they leave for the police station.

At Collinwood, Barnabas stares at a headline in the Collinsport Star: "Mystery Murder." Julia and Barnabas blame themselves for Donna's death. If we hadn't let Chris take Donna with him, could we have stopped it? Julia wonders. I doubt it, Barnabas replies. Wherever Chris and Donna went last night was Donna's fault. [Sheesh, he makes it sound as if Donna wanted to be killed!] Carolyn returns and gets furious when she thinks that Barn and Julia suspect Chris of murder. She storms out to phone Frank Garner--possibly the last time his name is mentioned. The lawyer apparently gives her some good advice. Maybe she didn’t call Tony Peterson because she knows he would rightly regard Chris as a rival.

Barnabas and Julia hurry to the cottage, looking for evidence that might implicate Chris. They find the bloody shirt and Donna's purse, complete with ID. Barnabas raises the shade and reminds her, There will be another full moon tonight. [This would be the fourth night in a row! Surely even in the world of Collinwood, the moon must start to wane sometime!]

At the cottage, Barnabas rolls up Chris's shirt. Julia has Donna’s handbag. Barnabas warns Julia, The police will probably be here shortly. You can't do what you're planning to do, she warns him back. We’ll discuss it on the way back to Collinwood, he says, hoping to silence her. What you’re planning is madness! At least hear my point of view! Julia, I respect your opinion, he assures her. But I must follow my own intuition this time, and no one must stop me. Come quickly! he orders as usual, hustling her out the door. They leave the cottage.

As the shadows lengthen at the police station (nice lighting touch!), Chris wonders, How much time do I have? Give up and get it over with, he tells himself. Tell Patterson what happened last night, what will happen tonight. He calls out to the sheriff. I remember everything! he shouts. But Patterson is on the phone and says into the receiver, I'm glad you called, Mr. Collins. Thank you. Patterson rejoins Chris and tells him laughingly, You shouldn't be embarrassed over your blackout last night, Mr. Jennings. Absolutely floored, Chris listens open mouthed as the sheriff explains, You're lucky you were out drinking with Barnabas Collins, the best alibi in town! I apologize for causing you so much trouble, but I know now that you spent the night at Mr. Collins’s house. Laughing again, he advises Chris, Drink some milk first next time--it coats the stomach!

Chris returns to the cottage. When he opens the door, he has an additional surprise. Barnabas is calmly sitting in a chair, waiting for him in the darkened room. Mr. Collins, I don't know why you did what you did, Chris says, but I'm grateful. I appreciate it. At that moment, the clock strikes 6:00. Abruptly, Chris tells Barnabas, Get out! I can't talk now! You're coming with me when I leave, Barnabas tells him with utmost assurance. I know you, Chris, are innocent, Barnabas declares. Thank you, Chris says, but I still want to be left alone. You don't understand, Barnabas!  he pleads, his voice scaling up as fear overrides formality. Yes, I do, Barnabas replies calmly. I understand the most important thing about you--that you are innocent, he repeats. What do you mean by that? Chris asks in astonishment. Barnabas rises to his feet formally. Chris is utterly stunned as he answers quietly, I know that you’re not only Chris Jennings. I know that you are the werewolf.......