1062 - We get another view of the foyer and its complete devastation, a frightening sight.
An aged Carolyn, back bent, wearing shabby clothing, enters the house at Findley's Cove. She looks grotesque--and insane.
Barnabas says, "You recognized us." We were so worried, says Julia. You went far away, didn't you, says Carolyn, and now you've come back--or are you spirits? No, they assure her, and Julia holds out her hand, encouraging Carolyn to touch it. Carolyn flinches away, complaining, you look the same, and shouldn't. We'll explain, promises Barn. Why have you come here? demands Carolyn irritably, what are you doing in my house? Mrs. Johnson told us, explains Julia. We didn't know it was you, chimes in Barnabas. Mrs. Johnson told us that there was someone here who could tell us what happened at Collinwood, says Julia. Carolyn grins loopily, and the dark red lipstick on her mouth looks like devil horns on her upper lip. The effect is creepy. Nothing happened, says Carolyn craftily. We've seen Collinwood! says Barnabas. If nothing happened, says Julia, why are you living here? This is my home! cries Carolyn. But why? asks Barnabas, as she turns away from him--where are the others, Elizabeth, Roger? They will come back soon, says Carolyn, sounding off her nut. We've seen David's grave, says Barnabas. Carolyn laughs. Why are you laughing, asks Barnabas. Julia, watching closely, orders, Carolyn, stop it. 1970 was so long ago, remarks Carolyn. You remember it? asks Barnabas. Carolyn clasps her hands together and says, as if she's very clever--it was five years after 1965 and ten years before 1980. Why are you so determined to keep your secret? asks Barnabas. I love secrets, don't you? she replies, with another devious grin--I have learned to love them, yes. Tell us one of your secrets so we can understand what's happened, says Julia--we want so much to--we want to see Liz. Yes, says Carolyn excitedly, like a child. And the others, adds Julia. Carolyn, eyes darting back and forth wildly, says, that would be fun--we could have a picnic on the beach, and play games...she looks disturbed--what games could we play? she wonders, we are too old for games. Yes we are, agrees Barnabas, but you're still playing a game--why do you call yourself Fredericks? I can call myself anything I want! she says belligerently. Why don't you call yourself Collins? asks Julia. Carolyn darts her a frightened stare and says, that's not a good name, Collins, (whispered) they don't like it. Who doesn't? queries Barnabas--did you marry again? I married Jeb Hawkes, didn't you know? she asks. Yes, we were there at the time, says Barnabas. No you weren't! she accuses--Mother was, you weren't there. Soothingly, Julia says, we remember it. Then you have enough to remember! shouts Carolyn, you don't need anything more! Barnabas assures her, we do--what would happen if we returned to 1970? What year is this? asks Carolyn. 1995, answers Julia. Then why do you want to go back there? asks Carolyn--I don't want to leave here--I don't want to live through that again! Barnabas exchanges exasperated glances with Julia and demands, "Go through what?" Get out of my house! she blares, I didn't ask you to be here, I never wanted to see you, you weren't there! Julia tries to calm her. Carolyn, holding her white crocheted vest tightly around her throat, orders them back to wherever they came from--GET OUT!. . ."Spirits...spirits...ghosts!" Barnabas says her name, trying to reach her. We will be back, Julia assures her. Don't--ever--ever! cries Carolyn. They leave. She smiles insanely waiting a few moments to be sure they're gone. She exits the cottage.
Barnabas and Julia go to the Collins family tomb. He comments, I can't imagine what happened to change her so much--she was so sensible, sensitive. Julia suggests, perhaps she was too sensitive to survive what happened. Occasionally I felt she was watching us carefully, like she used to, Barnabas says, fully aware of what we were trying to find out, for some reason or other, refusing to tell us. He walks to the secret panel and opens it, then goes down into the room. A coffin is there. With everything so different, says Julia, I don't think you should stay in this room tonight. I have no choice, he says--it will be dawn soon--why are you so worried? We have no idea who knows about this room in this time, she says. I'll be safe here tonight, he says--I want you to sleep, too, we've been through so much. I don't think I'll be able to, she says. But you must, he insists, I want you to go into the village. I'm going to stay here and guard you, she insists. Barnabas stubbornly says, you must do as I say (!)--go to the courthouse, there will be some records there. Julia adamantly shakes her head. He repeats, "You must do as I say, Julia!" The cock crows. Julia and Barnabas look at each other for a moment. "And you will," he says quietly. "I will," she replies, closing her eyes a moment, beaten again. "Be careful--dear friend," he says. She watches him climb into the coffin and opens the stone containing the lever that closes the secret door. To herself, she wonders, will tomorrow tell us anymore than today?--why do I have the feeling it will not? She runs her hand along the length of Barnabas' coffin, as if it contains something very precious.
Mausoleum - Julia stands beside Barnabas' coffin. She listens outside the door, touches the coffin once more, then opens the secret panel and leaves the tomb. Carolyn darts out at her, demanding, what are you doing in there? Julia, startled, says, I was seeing who is buried there--"I am interested in the Collins family." Carolyn shakes her head, shushing her. You shouldn't say that name, warns Carolyn. It's a proud and honorable name, states Julia. Is it? asks Carolyn, who giggles and says, "Perhaps once." Julia insists, you must remember--tell me, she says, what were you doing here? Carolyn thinks that one over, grins and makes a noise, but no response. You and I used to be honest with each other, Julia reminds her, let us be again. I'm looking for my mother's grave, says Carolyn...no, my mother isn't dead--is she? You tell me, says Julia. No, of course she isn't, how silly of me, says Carolyn--I like this cemetery, don't you--I find it peaceful, so many things are peaceful I didn't expect to be--Collinwood is peaceful now. What makes it peaceful? asks Julia. Carolyn gazes at her and laughs--time, she says...time--I never go here, you know--why should I?--I have everything I want where I am--my mother's ink well, and a portrait or two...where is your friend--where is (viciously) BARNABAS? In the village, says Julia. Is he? asks Carolyn, are you sure? Quite sure, says Julia. What's he doing there? asks Carolyn, sounding like the Inquisition. Trying to find out what you wouldn't tell him, says Julia. Carolyn bursts into cackles of laughter. I think you're deliberately trying to stop us from finding out, says Julia, and are acting this way for a reason. I act the way I am, laughs Carolyn, clasping her hands together. I don't believe that, says Julia. Her laughter cuts off abruptly; Carolyn says, if my mother were dead, we would have buried her here, wouldn't we?--we wouldn't have buried her in some strange place? No, says Carolyn, answering herself, she would be here. Carolyn, says Julia. The blond says, in a warning voice, "You'd better go and find your friend, Julia--before he gets into trouble!" Julia looks uneasily around and walks away. Carolyn stares after her. A hatted, ancient Eliot Stokes exits his hiding place in the bushes and joins Carolyn. You see, I told you, she says, you must make them go--you must. He nods, and agrees: "WE must."
Hall of Records - We have all the records back to 1969 and later, boasts the clerk, when the STAR was founded, of course we don't have many back then--you wouldn't be able to read them if you tried, they had funny handwriting in those days. I'm interested in something much more recent, says Julia. Name the date, he says. 1970, she says--I'm writing an article on the Collins family. He looks circumspect, and repeats the name. You can't say you've never heard of them, she says.
He flounders, looking in the cabinet. Anything on the Collins family from then until the present time, she says. He walks away from the cabinet--you've got me there, he says, and with all my bragging, too--those particular records are missing. All of them? she asks. Stuttering, he says it's a funny thing--we had a fire a couple of months ago, they went up, and... Even the tax records? asks Julia. We had them all together, he says, we don't know how it started. I see, she says, tell me what you know about them--the COLLINS family. I don't know anything, he says, uncomfortable. The house, why is it deserted? she pursues. He shrugs--don't as me, he says. Who can I ask? she says. Just forget about the house, he says, I mean, there's no point in talking about it--Victor found that out, and Jean, poor Jean... What about her? asks Julia. The Flaglers...he begins--don't go bothering Victor, he won't talk about it and shouldn't be asked to...I'm closing for lunch how. And a little early, too, says Julia sarcastically, then, polite as always, thanks him. She goes out into what looks like the hallway of the Collinsport Inn and spots Stokes hurrying by.
Eliot! she cries, but he doesn't look pleased that she noticed him.
Julia smiles--I'm so glad to see you, she says excitedly. Wary, he doesn't smile. His odd reaction causes her to remind him, "It's Julia, look at me!" I don't know how you managed this appearance, he says. Of course you do--you're the one who told us about parallel time. For your sake, and for Barnabas', he says, go away from the village now. Not until we find out what happened, she insists. Go away or we will be forced to act, warns Eliot. He walks off, leaving Julia perplexed. As she follows Eliot, the clerk looks out the office door, gazing after them.
Mausoleum - I want to go speak to Stokes myself, insists Barnabas--we can reason with him, he will tell us something, if we handle him correctly. Stokes was a good friend of mine, says Julia--he's not the same man. He was always a rational man, Barnabas reminds her. He as well as Carolyn lived through whatever happened in that house, says Julia. If we can find out one thing that did happen, says Barn, we can use it to make him talk. How will we do that? wonders Julia--you weren't with me at the records office, didn't see that clerk's eyes as soon as I mentioned the Collins name--I think we are foolish to keep on with this--there is danger in it, I feel it. Listen to me, he begs. Julia continues--when I left Carolyn here this morning, I had the terrible fear that she knew that you were in the mausoleum. But you were wrong, obviously, says Barnabas. I have to trust my instinct, insists Julia--everyone is so hostile, and hostility moves to hate so easily! So, says Barn, we're supposed to run, go back to Angelique's room. hopeful that the time warp will work for us now, and we will re-enter Collinwood in 1970--and simply watch what caused all this?--well, I refuse to do it--now Julia, did you find out where Flagler lives? Julia, angry and distraught, turns away from him, hiding her face, and finally, quietly, says yes. I want to go there now, says Barn. She starts to argue, but he won't hear it, he walks past her and says, we have no choice. He opens the secret panel and they both exit, Julia closing the door using the ring. What if we don't find out anything? she asks. Then we will find someone else, he says. Determinedly, he walks away, less determined, she follows. They don't realize they are being watched from the bushes by Stokes and the clerk.
They are going to Victor's, the clerk tells Stokes, who nods and says, very likely. Are you going to stop them? asks the clerk. Perhaps he can do what I couldn't, says Stokes, perhaps he can stop them from ever going back to Collinwood again--perhaps his story will convince them that the forces that are there are best left alone. He aged face looks scared.
Victor Flagler angrily tells Barnabas and Julia, I have nothing to say about that house--nothing to nobody--you say you're a Collins? he asks Barnabas--well, I have no use for ANY Collins, so you and her just turn around and start walking. Not until you tell us what you know, says Barnabas. It will be easier if you tell us, much easier, says Julia. What do you mean by that? Flagler asks. We are going to that house, says Julia determinedly. Don't go there, warns Victor. We have been warned before, says Julia. Listen to them, says Victor.
Who is Jean? asks Julia, picking up a black and white photo--is this Jean? Downcast, he doesn't respond. Can we talk to her? asks Julia. Victor takes the photo from Julia--if you want to be taken to where she's buried, he says--buried, yeah, and you want to know--OK, this is all I ever think about--why not tell you?--Jean and I went to Collinwood on a dare, people kept saying they saw things, heard music, I didn't believe them--just an empty house, I said--well, it's not empty. Who's there? asks Barnabas. I don't know, says Victor, I didn't see nothin', but I felt something that made my skin crawl--and I yelled at Jean, let's get out of here, and she felt it, too--she was standing below the staircase, she started to run to me, when all of a sudden it fell, not from the roof, I swear, but from up on that balcony--it fell and hit her--I got to her, bent down, and all of a sudden I heard laughter--I swear I did--laughter--and she was dead. He gazes at the photo in his hands, then lovingly replaces it back on the stand from which Julia had taken it.
Heading back to the cemetery, Barnabas tells Julia, something could have simply fallen. I don't believe that, she answers. He agrees. The laughter could have been imagined, she says--do you think he knew anything that he didn't tell us? No, says Barn. Listening to Victor, says Julia, I felt the evil--I felt it. Yes, there is something incredible going on here, he says, some plot to keep us and everyone else from knowing--but I will find out! Julia gazes fearfully at him. They enter the tomb and find the secret panel already open. Someone knows! whispers Julia. They hear footsteps...
NOTES: This is a much more compelling, fascinating mystery than we encountered in PT (the is Alexis Angelique, which dragged out too long for me). The clerk doesn't know Barnabas and Julia, but Carolyn, who appears mad, and Eliot, who is secretive to a fault, do know them, and their unwillingness to confide in them is odder, blacker than the clerk's refusal to help them find out the truth.
Nancy Barrett does insane so well. Someone pointed out that Thayer David reached an age in this episode he never saw in real life, he was only in his fifties when he died. His performance was excellent, too.
Barnabas and Julia don't have time to count their losses right now, but they know they have stumbled upon a horrific event that occurred while they were in parallel time, and now they are going to have to find out what happened and return in one piece to fix it. Will it work? They will be in 1995 for two weeks, and the revelations will be frightening to watch!
1063 - Carolyn emerges from the open secret room door, grinning at them. I knew you'd come back here, she smirks. Barnabas, in particular, looks horrified.
Of course we came back, says Julia, I wanted to show Barnabas Naomi Collins' tomb. Carolyn smirks--you've seen it before. But we couldn't remember the dates, says Barnabas hastily--we wanted the exact date of her death. We're working on a book, adds Julia. Carolyn gazes at them suspiciously--what about that coffin in the other room? she asks. A secret room?--Barnabas! exclaims Julia, hastening toward it. She enters, Barnabas behind her. How unusual! remarks Julia, has it always been here, do you think? Who would put a coffin in here? asks Barnabas. Yes, says Carolyn, why would anyone? She gives him a look and a sly smile. How many secrets does this room have? wonders Barnabas. Secrets, yes, says Carolyn, sometimes it's best not to know secrets. Do you believe that strongly? he asks. Oh yes, she says. Do you know any secrets about this coffin, this room? he asks. There was no coffin in this room before...she begins, but stops. Before what? prompts Julia. Before, when I came here, she says. When was that? Barnabas asks. It's no business of yours, says Carolyn. If someone had moved a coffin in here... he begins. Someone, she says, someone--then she giggles--I know why it's here.
You do? he asks, concerned. Julia puts a warning hand on his arm and mutters his name, trying to stem his fear of exposure. Why is it here? he demands. It's waiting, she says, for you. Upset, he asks, why is it waiting for me? Or for her, says Carolyn, it's waiting for the first one of you to die--I see things, you know, things other people can't see--that coffin is for one of you, and if you stay here, you'll die--get out!--get out quickly, you do not belong here, get out! She screams the words at them. Julia takes Barnabas' hand and leads him from the tomb as Carolyn bellows, you should not come back here ever again! Julia and Barnabas exit the gate. I don't know how much Carolyn knows, says Julia. Nothing about me, he says. I'm not sure, she says. I don't want to harm her, insists Barn (big difference from the vampire who so willingly took his own cousin's blood early in DS history). They walk away. Carolyn closes the secret panel and says, "It is for HIM," then giggles. She, too, exits the tomb.
Outside Collinwood - Barnabas, we don't want anyone investigating us, says Julia--we will have to move the coffin--tonight. He suggests they find a hiding place at Collinwood, but she objects--we don't know what's there, no, she insists. They suddenly see a glowing blue light appear at a window.
They walk through the foyer and into the drawing room, finding nothing. It might have been our imagination, says Julia. Barnabas disagrees--light the candle, he says. She does. He calls out, "Is someone in this house?" They could be hiding, says Julia, handing him the candle. He takes it and begins to look around. It's insane for us to be here, we don't even have a weapon, points out Julia. If what I think is here IS here, no weapon would help us. Julia holds up her candle and looks around, too. She finds only one of the pile of papers that had been on the desk yesterday, and under it, a knife. Barnabas takes the knife into his hand and finds dried blood on it. It wasn't on the table yesterday, says Julia--someone is here. The diary is gone, too, notes Barn. Everything we touched--why? she asks. Someone is as interested in us as we are in what happened here, he says. Music begins to play, lilting, childish. Listen! says Julia. They walk back into the foyer, and the music stops. Gone, says Barnabas. These things don't make any sense, says Julia. No, not yet, agrees Barnabas. If there are forces in this house, she says, if they don't want us to be here, why do they do these things? Perhaps they are trying to frighten us, he says, frighten us away. They walk back to the drawing room. With a dagger on the desk? she says--with music, oh, no, Barnabas. From the window, Carolyn listens. That is only the first, he says. What is the second? she wonders. We'll have to wait and find out, he says. We're not going to stay here, she says. Yes, he says. That's ridiculous! she insists. Carolyn runs off. No, he says, our presence here is the only way to see what's here. They head upstairs.
Carolyn visits the sheriff, who tells her in a good-old-boy voice, how nice it is to see you--I was just thinking about years ago, when I was just a kid, how you used to do your shopping, going from store to store--you don't like to think of those days anymore than the rest of us, I guess--what can I do for you? You must help me, she says. Sure, if I can, he says. No one else can, she says--and it's got to be done very fast. Tell me what you want, he encourages.
Collinwood - upstairs - Barnabas, I'm almost afraid to go into my room, says Julia--it's just a feeling. He hands her his candle, opens the door and enters the room, which has beams down, cobwebs everywhere. She puts down the candle and opens the closet--my clothes are still in there, exactly the way I left them in 1970. She also finds her strongbox, on which the lock has been broken--these were the notes I kept when trying to "change" (I guess he means cure) you--anyone looking at them will know. She finds a journal and begins to thumb through it. Barnabas examines the strongbox and notes that the box has been broken a long time. Suppose Carolyn read them, suggests Julia, whoever found out must have said something, must have told... The room suddenly fills with the sound of a banging shutter and wind. The candle is extinguished. Barnabas! cries Julia, and puts down the journal. Barnabas calls to the spirit in the room, appear to us! The shutter bangs in the wind. Show yourself! commands Barnabas. Things begin to fall down in the room. Terrified, Julia yells, come, Barnabas! She runs from the room, Barnabas on her heels. The wind stops.
We see a blue light hovering in the drawing room, but it disappears before Barnabas and Julia come downstairs. We must find someplace else to hide you, says Julia--there's no point in staying in this house, surely you can see that. The Old House, perhaps, he suggests. Let's go there now, she says, let's settle it. I'm coming back here tonight, whether you are or not! he says They leave. Barnabas is locking the door when the sheriff appears. "All right, what are you doing here?" he shouts.
Sheriff's office - Barnabas and Julia sit with him at a table, the sheriff tapping a pencil into his hand. Why did you bring us in for questioning? asks Barnabas. I got a complaint, he says. From who? asks Julia. The owner of Collinwood, he tells them. Carolyn, a distant cousin, says Barnabas. So YOU say, the sheriff says, but neither of you has any ID. We told you, says Barn, we left it in Bangor. We forgot it, that's all, smiles Julia. Obviously, says Barn, Carolyn doesn't remember that the Old House is in my name. When was it put in your name? asks the sheriff. Mrs. Stoddard gave it to my father back in the late sixties, explains Barnabas (so he's claiming to be his own son now)--he willed it to me. I didn't find you at the Old House, points out the sheriff. You can certainly understand I have an interest in Collinwood? asks Barnabas. I wouldn't hang around there if I were you, says the sheriff.
Why? asks Barnabas. I'm asking the questions, says the sheriff, still working that pencil--what were you two doing here yesterday? Visiting the family property, says Barnabas. Where did you stay? he asks. Bangor, we went back there, says Julia. The sheriff shakes his head--you don't have a car, he reminds them. Friends came for us, lies Barnabas. I see, says the sheriff, I hope you realize I can book both of you on vagrancy. I have a great deal of money, says Barnabas, I own property here, I could stay at the Old House. The sheriff, annoyed, offers some advice--don't stay in Collinsport--I can see why you'd want to come back here to see what you own, you've seen it, let that be enough for you. What if it's not? asks Barnabas, standing and facing the sheriff--what if I intend to return and restore the Old House? You may start to fix it up, replies the sheriff, but I don't think you'll ever stay to finish it--Collinwood isn't a healthy place to be--take my word for that--that's all I have to say. Then we may go? asks Julia. Yes, says the sheriff. They move to leave. I hope your friends from Bangor pick you up soon, says the sheriff. Barnabas and Julia exchange looks, then go. From another room, Carolyn watches them. I did the best I could, says the sheriff. Will they go back? she asks. To the Old House, maybe, he says, I can't stop them from that. Will you be here for a while? she asks, I want to show you something--something I don't understand. He nods.
Collinwood - Barnabas, we shouldn't have come back here, says Julia--the sheriff may return. Tonight may be the last time we can learn what destroyed Collinwood, he says--if we are never to find that out, we may never know, never be able to get back to our own time. When he throws open the doors, the same childish music fills the air. Julia cries out.
Barnabas lights candles in the drawing room--the music is coming from upstairs, he says. They go up, Barnabas leading, carrying the candle. The music fades and stops. They hear footsteps. Barnabas opens the landing door. Who's there? he calls. He enters. Barnabas! cries Julia, but receives no answer. He comes back out and reports, there was no one. Someone WAS there, says Julia. At least we know whatever is in this house is a physical presence, he says. They hear a thump. It came from the drawing room! says Julia, hurrying downstairs, Barnabas following her. They enter the drawing room. . .
Sheriff's office - Carolyn has brought a photo album to show the sheriff. Seeming almost annoyed, he tells "Miss Carolyn", I don't have time to look at pictures. Nevertheless, she opens the album--you must see just one, she says. You spend too much time thinking about those days, he says. I do not, she says irritably, I never think about them, it's just that when I saw her last night, I began to remember... She turns the album around and shows him a photo of Julia. It's the same woman, he says. Look, she says, pointing to the writing, spring, 1970.
She even wears her hair the same way, he says. Yes, says Carolyn, rising to her feet, and begins to giggle. What kind of joke are you trying to pull? he demands. It's no joke, she says. That was 25 years ago, he says, no one looks now like they did then. No, says Carolyn, throwing her arms around like a child having a tantrum. Do you have a picture of Barnabas in here? he asks. I went all through my book looking for one, she says, not one here--isn't that odd?--there's only an oil portrait of him, it's at my house, and it was painted in 1797!
Back at Collinwood, Barnabas remarks to Julia, whatever the presence is, it can apparently materialize and dematerialize at will--I'm going back upstairs. The music begins again. No, protests Julia. Somewhere in a room upstairs, says Barnabas, someone or something is playing that music--it can't be very dangerous, because music is seldom used to frighten--if I can find it, I'll force whatever it is out. He heads upstairs. Julia is all set to follow him. Stay here, he orders. He ascends the stairs. Julia waits in the foyer, below the landing. A bust on top of the railing begins to teeter. "Julia, watch out!" shouts Barnabas. The bust falls only feet from her. Julia cries out, covering her face like the little boy in HOME ALONE. That woman! wails Julia--that woman Jean--it happened to her--Barnabas!--Barnabas! She races toward him, and the two of them exit Collinwood.
Outside, in a panic, Julia's hands shake. "He meant to kill me. . .he meant to kill me!" she tells Barnabas. He places a comforting hand on her shoulder--yes, he agrees. Why, Barnabas, who? she asks, then gasps.
From the bushes nearby, a man watches them, his lip curled in a cruel, evil sneer. His malevolent gaze is aimed directly at Barnabas and Julia.
NOTES: We have a nasty presence here--is it a ghost, as Quentin was, or some other supernatural creature? We can understand Julia's terror. Did that man cause the bust to almost fall on her head, or was it some other force? Barnabas seems to think that music isn't used for evil, but he forgets how he used Josette's music box to brainwash Maggie a few years ago.
Whatever happened at Collinwood, everyone seems to know and want to keep it secret, even the local law. He apparently picked up Barn and Jul for questioning hoping to scare them away, as Carolyn asked him to. Does she know her handsome, yet photoless, cousin is a vampire? Sure sounds that way. She was once one of his victims, so it wouldn't be much of a surprise to learn she knows, even if she did try to cover up her knowledge by claiming the coffin was for either of them after they die. This whole business is so very creepy, with no one as they seem to be, and those who used to be trusted friends now enemies hiding a terrible secret. It's a conspiracy against Barnabas and Julia, but they are determined to find out the truth-or perhaps Julia is now less eager. She seems to be getting the brunt of the fear.
It's odd that Carolyn doesn't seem to remember that Barnabas and Julia went into parallel time, which would possibly explain why the two of them haven't changed at all. Of course, Barnabas wouldn't change in any event, but Julia should look a whole lot older.
I enjoyed this mystery then and am doing so now. It's really cool to watch it unfold again. I know who the mean-looking fella watching them is, as a lot of others do, but I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm keeping mum.
Love, Robin
