694 - (Joan Bennett) - A violent night on the great estate of Collinwood, for one man has dared to battle the evil spirits who seek to rule the great house. And so the ancient chant of exorcism has been heard again, a chant exhorting the ghosts to leave. All who live here think the reign of terror is over--but the man who worked the seeming miracle waits in a room, determined to make sure the miracle is true.
Stokes keeps trying the door, then leans his back against it, staring at the fire spreading around his room. Quentin's image continues to laugh at him. Stokes, desperate, grabs, a candlestick and smashes the mirror, covering his eyes to protect them from the class. Miraculously, the fire goes out. Stokes stares around himself, asking for a moment, when Roger knocks at the door. Stokes assures him, I am NOT all right. Roger jiggles the doorknob. Stokes lets him in. I heard laughing, and a crash, says Roger--the mirror! I just received an answer to my ultimatum, says Stokes and I'm not surprised--if I were a ghost, which I will be someday, I wouldn't let words drive me away from his room, not even the words of the exorcist. Roger insists there are no ghosts and begs Stokes to tell Liz the spirits are gone (why should he need to, if there ARE no ghosts?). That's too dangerous, objects Stokes--Amy and David can't be left alone tonight. Roger, following him out of the room, says no, Professor, you aren't to leave the room until you agree to keep silent about this latest trick of your imagination.
David comes into the drawing room to wish Liz good night. They hug. He assures her he's OK; she's thrilled. You have to sleep late, she insists. David, however, says, I must awaken early and do something--I don't like secrets, not anymore, he confesses--I don't want to discuss the spirits now. Liz wants him to. I hate that about grownups, complains David--they sit around talking about things after they already happened. Once you banish all the secrets by talking, you'll feel better, Liz assures him. I want to make sure HE can never come back, says David--there are ways I can make sure--but let me and Amy figure out what must be done.
Do whatever you must, she urges, but we've taken care of it. To their horror, Quentin's music begins to play. "It's HIS!" cries David, looking fearfully around the room. Come with me, Liz orders. "Where is it?" he asks. Liz leaves the drawing room to get Stokes. David is left trapped, alone, doors locked, with Quentin!
David and Quentin locks eyes. The boy demands, "Don't come near me or touch me!" Quentin renders David mute. Upstairs, Stokes reports to Liz and Roger that the music means the exorcism has failed. The children are tricking us, scoffs Roger. The children! cries Stokes--where are they? Panicked, all three adults rush from the room.
Quentin once again takes over David's mind. By the time the adults arrive downstairs, Quentin is gone and David is racing for the outside doors. Roger pursues his son. Liz asks Stokes why David ran from the house, assuming her nephew must have seen HIM. Roger would insist there's no one there to see, predicts Stokes. Liz wonders why the music has ceased. Our friend has no further need for it, says Stokes--we have to examine all possibilities, but first check to make sure Amy is all right.
David has run to the Old House. He tells Cousin Barnabas, "He can't find me here, he can't come here!" Barnabas kneels besides the chair in which David's sitting, asking what he means. David tries to tell him it's a man in his dream, but Barnabas demands the truth. Roger comes knocking and asks if David is in there. Roger comes in, angry at David for running out. He pelts the poor kid with questions. Barnabas suggests one at a time is enough. Roger wants to take David back to Collinwood, but the boy begs him not to. Roger accuses Barnabas and the Professor of causing this mess, frightening David.
Tell Roger the truth, urges Barnabas. David tries to tell his father he has dreams that make him scared to go to sleep at night--I want to spend the night at the Old House. Barnabas advises Roger to allow it. Reluctantly, Roger agrees. Barnabas assures him it won't inconvenience me--and I must report to Collinwood for breakfast! (Lucky Barnabas doesn't sleep in a coffin anymore, that would be difficult right now.) Roger thanks Barnabas before he leaves, commenting, "What a night!" Barnabas returns to David, who says he wants to go to bed. Barn wants to finish their conversation--who drove you from Collinwood? Promise me I can stay at the Old House forever, pleads David--or else I don't know what will happen--I didn't mean to start it, it started as a game. Barnabas encourages him to keep talking. David describes the night he was showing Amy around the house--Quentin's appeared at the window, staring directly at me! says the boy. Barnabas can't see the ghost. David stops speaking immediately. "It was only a game," he says, we were just playing--they'll punish me, he says--I don't know what to do! David runs upstairs, sobbing, and Barnabas stares up at his retreating figure, his face shadowed with concern.
Liz tells Roger she's sorry she didn't think to send David to stay at the Old House before--now they don't have to worry so much about Amy, with Maggie there. Stokes says he's worried about each and everyone in the house. Melodrama! scoffs Roger. Stokes advises Liz--you should all pack your bags and leave. Sarcastically, Roger asks if they should burn the house when they go? Stokes remarks, you're treating all this very lightly--there have been two mysterious deaths in the house already and will be more--tonight, tomorrow. Roger accuses him of deliberately trying to frighten Liz, but Stokes assures him he wants to save David's and Amy's lives--the spirits that are roaming the house are determined to take the children for their own--they will kill anyone who stands in their way--let's stop the tragedy. Go to Barnabas, begs Stokes, once, if you don't, you will regret it every day of your life. Liz agrees--we'll all go to the Old House now--if it isn't convenient for Barnabas, we can stay at the Inn. Roger protests it's insane, but Liz ignores him and turns to go upstairs and awaken the others. I won't go, says Roger. I hope you change your mind, says Liz. Roger turns to Stokes and blames him for the whole thing. Stokes retorts, "I already know your opinion of me, Mr. Collins!" (I wanted to do a cheerleader's split for him, ¢â‚¬Ëœcause Roger's acting like an ass!) Stokes storms out, leaving Roger alone in the drawing room. He pours a drink, then, feeling a presence, turns around, sees nothing, shakes his head. Then he turns again, his face shadowed, feeling as if someone's watching him. He shakes his head, drinks, calls it ridiculous. He turns, thinking he sees something by the window. He searches both alcoves, wondering what he thought he saw. I'm getting as bad as the rest of them, he chides himself. The double doors close by themselves. Roger isn't pleased--someone IS here! Breathing heavily, he demands to know who's in the room. He turns--Quentin is there, giving Roger an especially malevolent look.
Roger puts his fist into his mouth and gasps in horror.
2 AM. Liz and Stokes head downstairs. I'm going to have to return tomorrow, she says, to get some things, but Stokes advises against returning at all. When will we get back? she asks. Soon, I hope says Stokes. He helps her into her coat. I sense you feel it will be a long time, she says soberly. I think we should attempt another exorcism, says Stokes, someone with more power than I have. It's incredible, says Liz, I never thought I would leave this house. Persuade Roger to leave with them, urges Stokes--I left him in the drawing room, adamant as ever. Liz enters the drawing room, Stokes behind her. Roger is sitting in a chair, looking totally stunned. Liz asks her brother what happened. He buries his face in his hands. "I saw him, here," he says brokenly. And to Stokes, "You were right."
I'm very sorry, the professor tells him. Come with us, Roger, says Liz--we'll decide what to do tomorrow. Yes, agrees Roger. Stokes helps Roger stand. Roger turns. "Oh, God!" he says--"Please forgive me for doubting you. I never thought we would be forced to leave this house." I don't know what to do about anything, admits Liz--I'll turn out the lights. Tomorrow we will make an expedition to get your things, Stokes assures Roger--I'll put the bags in the car. Roger stands in the dark, commenting on the quiet. I could almost believe I'm alone, says Liz. He puts his arms around his sister and together, after she turns off the last light, they exit Collinwood. "We'll be back!" shouts Roger adamantly. "Have no doubt of that!" He closes the door.
Quentin's triumphant laughter fills the entire house. His music plays, swelling, joining the thunder, as we travel to the storage room, the hallways outside the West Wing, the main hallway upstairs, Maggie's room, David's room, his books abandoned on the desk, Roger's room, the drawing room, fire still burning in the fireplace, the foyer, the stairs. Quentin stands on the landing, laughing and laughing, surveying the home that he has now taken over, having succeeded in chasing out its current occupants.
NOTES: DARK SHADOWS at its absolute best! Louis Edmonds' performance here was incredible, first as the doubting Roger, then the Roger forced to believe. I love his "We'll be back!" Much better (and spoken many years prior to) Arnold S'. It rarely gets any better than this, my friends, does it? Loved the proprietary way Quentin takes over the house, too, filling the whole place with his cruel laughter and music. It makes my heart skip a beat every time Liz and Roger leave Collinwood. Very powerful television!
695 - (KLS) - A new day on the great estate of Collinwood, and a dawn different from any other, for not a single Collins sleeps in the turreted mansion. For the first time in two centuries, it is deserted. All have been driven out, forced to flee by an evil spirit who is determined to claim the children as his own. And now the ghostly figures roam the halls, reigning over rooms where once they were unwelcome visitors. And in another house on the estate, Barnabas Collins listens to the children playing and wonders how long they will be safe in their refuge.
David gazes out the window. Amy asks why. You know, he says. They can't be here, she assures him--we don't have to play the game, ever--we should go have Maggie tell us a story. Barnabas listens to this conversation as he heads downstairs. He asks David if he slept well. David answers yes politely and motions for Amy to come with him. Barnabas stops them and asks what "game" he was referring to. Just a game we used to play, says David, and hustles Amy away. Barnabas, intrigued, looks out the window, too. Someone knocks at the door. It's Chris. He tells him something weird just happened--he saw a man standing on the edge of the woods, standing and staring at the house, a tall man with sideburns and a long frock coat.
Chris yelled at him, but the man disappeared, there one moment, gone the next. "So he followed them here," says Barnabas. "He knows where the children are."
Chris listens intently as Barnabas relates what happened to the Collins family the previous night--the house belongs to the ghosts now. Chris wonders about the woman who helped him, surely she isn't involved. Barnabas has examined all the records, trying to establish a connection between Chris and the mystery woman. I'm trapped, says Chris, I don't know why I ever thought I could get through this. You must, insists Barnabas. I don't know what's going to happen to me at night, Chris reminds him--I can't stay in one place, pretending I'm like other people; I can't get close to anyone, and should just keep going, running until I'm caught. You can't, says Barnabas. Chris wonders--how do you know so much about me? Barnabas doesn't answer--he looks out the window and spots David outside. He reminds the boy he isn't allowed to be outside alone--your father said so. You don't understand, says David. Maggie pops in next to Barnabas and tells David she's been looking for him. (I think Barnabas and Maggie look kind of nice together.) David complains it's like a prison in the house. She firmly ushers him inside--you have history to read, and there will be a test in an hour, she warns. All right, he says, and goes upstairs. He promised me he wouldn't go outside, Maggie tells Barn. Barnabas reveals what Chris said, about seeing a stranger staring at the house--a figure from another time. Quentin? she asks, explaining to Chris and Barnabas how she heard David say that name after he'd claimed to have fallen--he kept murmuring that name.
I found a Quentin Collins in the books I was looking through, says Barn, and shows Chris and Maggie a photo album to see if they can identify the man. Barnabas reads that Quentin was born 1870, date of death, unknown. Chris and Maggie locate the photo of Quentin and show it to Barnabas. It's captioned: "Quentin, just before he left for Paris." Chris and Maggie say he looks the same age as in the photo, so Barnabas figures he died shortly after going to Europe--why didn't we know this, and why is his spirit haunting Collinwood now--and why has he decided to possess the children? Why?? Quentin stares back at them from the photo, implacable.
David returns to Collinwood, standing outside the front door. Amy joins him. He's annoyed she followed him. You aren't supposed to be here, she reminds him. He insists he had come here. Why? she asks--Quentin's in there, and he won't let you come out--have you forgotten how mean Quentin is, and how much you hate him? David opens the doors despite Amy's begging. She clings to him as they start to enter the house, begging him again not to go in. David says he has to get it--the telephone they first "met" Quentin on--get it, break it up, so he can't get to us anymore.
Amy doesn't think he should go in, but he reveals a dream he had--I woke up and the phone was right in my room, and Quentin was trying to get to me through it--it rang and rang. . .dreams often tell of the future, you should know that! Amy tries to stop him. I'll go, she volunteers--Beth will protect me from Quentin. David refuses. Amy determinedly walks in, calling to Beth, asking for her help one last time--I must go to Maggie's room and get the telephone--is that all right? Is she really in there? Asks David. I think so, says Amy. Wait outside, she tells David, don't come in. He promises. She goes upstairs, staring nervously around, walking sideways. David stands, watching her.
At Chris' cottage, Carolyn admires a photo of Amy and Chris. She returns it to the mantle, smiling. Chris comes in. I expected to find the cottage empty, says Carolyn, but realized you hadn't gone when I saw the photograph--you'd never leave it behind. He says nothing. She wonders why he decided to stay--I have trouble reading you, she teases. Don't even try, says Chris.
Funny, she says, for a day or so, I thought we had a bit of a romance going. You were wrong, he says. Carolyn denies that--you're being wrong now, she says. We HAD something going, he amends. You aren't very subtle today, she says. Why do you keep making me do this? Demands Chris, upset--part of the reason I was leaving was YOU. But why? she asks--you never offers an explanation for anything, and I believe there's a mystery in your past I can't help you with, can't know, and it makes it difficult to understand you--why can't you settle whatever it is within yourself? she demands. Maybe, just maybe, I'm trying to do exactly that, says Chris, and MAYBE I can only do it alone, completely alone! Do you want my help? she asks. I'm going to stay, says Chris, but we can't see each other anymore. Carolyn turns away, disappointed and heartbroken.
David is growing impatient waiting for Amy to come back--what's taking so long?--she just had to go to Maggie's bedroom--what if Quentin stopped her? What if. . . Of course, he cautiously enters the house, whispers "Amy?" He goes upstairs, plodding carefully, calling her name a bit more loudly. He yells to her, receiving no answer, asking where she is. The door opens; she comes out and tells him the phone is gone!--I looked all over for it, even to Quentin's room to look for it--now what will we do? We'll figure something out, David says, when we get outside. Amy thinks Quentin isn't in the house any longer. David assures her he is, somewhere. He didn't try to stop me, she says. David still insists he's there. The double doors swing closed by themselves. Maggie comes bursting through them, demanding they come with her--you know you weren't supposed to be at Collinwood, what were you doing? The telephone, explains David we wanted it--it was in your old room, but it's gone now. Forget the phone, says Maggie--don't concern yourselves with anything like it anymore--stop running off, too. David and Amy agree. David says, I never want to go into the house again. Amy agrees. Maggie hugs them--it's good to believe you, she says. Amy wants to visit Chris. Maggie says it's OK as long as Chris brings her home.
Chris reiterates to Carolyn that for both our sakes, we can't see each other anymore. She cries. He asks her not to. She promises him she isn't going to, then says a soft, "So long, Chris--I hope sometime you'll find someone who can talk to you about whatever's bothering you. For a moment or so, I thought I might be the one." Finishing her sad little speech, Carolyn quickly leaves, brushing past Amy without a hello. Chris is surprised to see his sister--you aren't supposed to be alone, he says. Maggie watched me until I got to the door, she says--what's wrong with Carolyn? I don't know, Chris answers. She was crying, notes Amy--did you make her unhappy? I did, he admits, and myself even more so. (He really does look miserable, but if anyone would understand all this, it's Carolyn, living in that spooky old house.)
Old House - Maggie and Barnabas pour over books. He complains that it's astonishing how little was written about Quentin Collins--his life seems to have been uneventful until he went to Europe, but it could be inaccurate (in Collins family history?--get outta here!) There's nothing to indicate why he would want to drive the family out, possess the children. Maggie advises the exhausted man to get some rest, but he wants to go on. Why did he choose David? He had a younger brother (?) about David's age, Jamison Collins. That's no reason, why David?
David sleeps. Quentin's music begins to play, and he stirs in his sleep. He hears a phone ringing, and sits up in bed. Quentin's phone is on his table, in his room. David stares at it. Amy comes in--it woke me, she says in a weird voice--I'd forgotten how nice Beth is, how pretty the music sounds.
Maggie tells Barnabas she believes that today, David was really trying to fight Quentin--I believed him when he said he never wanted to go to Collinwood again--I'll look in on David before I go to bed. Don't despair, advises Barnabas--we'll learn what it's all about, and soon-I know it. Grimacing, he closes the book and thinks to himself, Quentin Collins--when he lived, I lay in my coffin in the mausoleum. . .he did not know about me, or I him. And now, now I must discover the secret of his life. . .how? How??
Maggie enters David's room and finds him gone--but the telephone is there. "He's gone!" she cries. (Lock them up and keep a guard on them!)
NOTES: It's fun to watch Barnabas and Maggie, hapless detectives, poring over books when what they should be doing is handcuffing those kids to their wrists and not allowing them out of their sight! It's apparent that Quentin still has control over them, especially when they troop over to Collinwood without permission. They aren't to be trusted. Maggie was too easily lulled into a false sense of security. Research isn't everything--sometimes tying the kid up works better!
Sad once again for Carolyn and Chris. She tried to figure out why he broke up with her, but he can't possibly explain that he turns into a werewolf that might just kill her--and without a full moon, too! Is there a chance Chris will relent and let Carolyn back in his life? What makes him think the family will even allow him to remain in the cottage, working for them, after breaking up with the family daughter?
Love, Robin
