How Did DS Influence Your Life?

Umm - just from a purely logical point of view, did she also stop you from watching The Flintstones and any of the other cartoons that featured the characters in your dream? If not, well...  :-  

Nope, she didn't!  That's what I always thought -- where was the logic of that?  LOL!  Imagine -- blaming it all on poor innocent Barnabas!  LOL!

Fascinating thread here! When I first saw the question, I thought, "Nah, although I loved the show, it had no influence on my life." That's not true, though, and here's why:

Although I always was a history buff, it intensified my desire to learn more about different eras. I also developed quite an interest in old houses and antiques, something I pursue today. I live in the Hudson Valley where we have many Gilded Age mansions. One of my favorite pastimes is going through these spectacular places and just imagining how it must have been to live in them then, something akin to Collinwood.

Too, as someone else said, I have had the distinct honor and pleasure of meeting many people in this fandom who've become very good friends. We have shared much together -- the trials and tribulations of life, loss, love, divorce, deaths -- you name it. It's a blessing.

Nope, she didn't!  That's what I always thought -- where was the logic of that?  LOL!

See, let that be a lesson to today's parents - if your child has had a nightmare in which he/she is menaced by Barney (the purple dinosaur, not our Barn) and SpongeBob along with some character from some spooky/darker show your child watches, ban the watching of ALL the shows, not just the darker show! If not, 40 years from now your child may be posting on some fan forum (or whatever Internet forums and the Internet itself have evolved into by then) with other fans of that spooky/darker show, and you'll be made to look extremely logically challenged. 
(Although, Barney should be banned in all households just out of turn. Sure, his I-love-you-You-love-me philosophy teaches kids sharing and caring, which is always good - but realistically, at what price to your current and your child's future sanity?!  )

I had friends  that couldn't watch it because it would scare their brothers  and sisters. I used to do my chores during the commercials, we only had one tv. Or before or afterwards.

I remember afternoons (especially in the winter when it was too cold to be outside) with my mom watching Days of Our Lives, the Doctors and Another World...we watched them together...her ironing clothes using niagra spray starch and me glued to the tv set.  She always left the room when DS came on- it was time to make dinner for my dad.   I loved all things 60's...the colors, the clothes., instant food, plastic!  DS was no exception...I loved the fashion on the show.  And I felt at home watching the episodes of the Blue Whale- my grandpa used to drag me to a bar similar to the Blue Whale....his bribe was jiffy pop popcorn , orange soda and the chance to play the juke box.

But I also loved the history of the show and that it was U.S. History- which is something that I still love to this day.

I remember running home to watch DS after a grueling day of study. I don't recall my folks banning me from watching it though. Mama was either ironing or fixing dinner at that time before Pop came home. I'll have to ask her about it.
I think that DS influenced me in a good way. It helped me to be more creative in my art and my writing. So there.

Dark Shadows has influenced my life by making me thousands of dollars poorer from buying all of the DVDs, video tapes, and books.  But is has been worth every penny.

Dark Shadows has influenced my life by making me thousands of dollars poorer from buying all of the DVDs, video tapes, and books.  But is has been worth every penny.

I agree that what I've spent on DS through the years has been worth every penny. But I've actually calmed down since I was a kid. Then, I had to own everything I could get my hands on or seemingly it would have been the end of the world. But nowadays I pick and choose what I want. Though I still probably spend more on DS than I should.    But then, I probably spend more than I should on a lot of things - particularly when it comes to adding to and/or upgrading my desktop computer & notebook and adding to my general DVD collection. But places like Best Buy, Amazon, DeepDiscount, and several assorted computer Web sites are no doubt VERY happy that's the case.