Hi MSC,  I think you said that you've never seen 1897--is that correct?  Anyhow, the 1897 Laura did carry within her the 18th century Laura's memories.  Barnabas in a ceremony that came from the Book of the Dead was able to summon up the ghost of the 18th century Laura (btw, in a typical DS continuity lurch, they revised the dates so that I think the 18th century Laura had died in the 1780s instead of the 1760s), which made the then "current" incarnation disappear for a few moments.  Clearly, the two on some plane both were--and were not--identical.

The 1897 Laura was much more explicitly linked to ancient Egyptian religion, specifically the cult of Ra.  I don't recall that figuring at all in the 1966 story, apart from vague references to the homeland of the Phoenix in Laura's dreamy, rather scary "soliloquies."

G.

I'd planned to go at least for part of the weekend to visit friends, but I am re-evaluating those plans given how inaccessible and bloody DREARY this venue sounds.

How could Pierson choose something so hard to get in and out of in such a generally well-served area as great NYC?

G.

I think I've seen references to there having been discussions of doing a mummy story. I believe, although I could be misremembering, that DC blew the idea out of the water because he didn't think mummies were at all scary, and were even ridiculous because of how they shamble along in the 1940s series and you would think anyone would be able to outrun the creature.

If Laura had come back a third time, it would have been cool to have incorporated a mummy into the story--perhaps a High Priest of Ra who was in thrall to her and could be summoned not to kill, but to drive variouis people in Laura's way temporarily insane, speechless, and exiled to Wyndcliffe so she could proceed with her monstrous plans.

G.

I am very sorry to hear about John and Peter's predicament.  I hope they can find a good buyer for their treasure.

NYC is a very tough row to hoe when you're short on cash.  My thoughts are with them.

G.

Dear Fans,

Last night I played a couple of the interview segments on the DVD set, Dark Shadows The Beginning: vol. 5.  One of  the interviews was with Leonard Wolf, who I last caught sight of back in the Seventies on a late night talk show with Peter Cushing and Forry Ackerman.  Anyhow, Leonard Wolf comes in to try to explain why the DS pop cultural phenomenon hit so big in the late Sixties.  He contrasts the Fifties, which he describes as a culturally and psychologically "desiccated" era, with the Sixties which exploded as the decade wore on with ever more violent and jarring arcs of revolutionary ferment on every level.

After playing the interview, I was thinking about the late 1950s as the period when the vogue for "Horror Hosts" became a phenomenon of its own.  I was trying to recall when Vampira's show was running--I think it was quite early, possibly around 1955?  From the little I know, it seems as if Zacherley's show became the first really big instance of this type of show.

Although the horror hosts and their "creature features" were a very different type of show from our beloved DS, it does seem to have paved the way for other types of series such as Boris Karloff's Thriller and the Addams Family.  Having an afternoon supernatural series looks from this point of view like the next logical step, although of course it was a very radical step for the production team to take.

I like the interviews with the ABC publicity guy who keeps remarking how the network suits had no idea what DS was about, how it should be handled, or really just why it was so popular.

Just a few thoughts--those of you who have done more research on horror hosts might have something to add.  Interestingly, I don't recall horror host shows in my childhood in Maryland until the early 1970s.  In the Sixties, the airings of horror movies I used to watch were not hosted, although they had spooky music and imagery to introduce each week's offering.

G.

KLS' PomPress books are always printed on glossy paper with loads of beautifully printed color photos, and the business managed to do this because all the books were produced in, I believe, a printing firm in South Korea. 

I wonder whether an attempt was made to do "The First Year" through PomPress.  I have heard of others who tried to get their books published with that firm, only to be told that Pom isn't doing any more DS (or vintage television, or whatever) titles.  Then a year later KLS announces her NEXT book.  sigh.

I'll order the book but with the expectation that it will be printed on a lower grade paper which means a lot of detail will be lost in the photos.  At least I can hope that there are no distortions in the photos due to the printer messing up scans of old pictures.  This has happened in more than one Shadows themed book I can think of...

G.

Has anyone on here ever purchased the book Dark Shadows: the First Year?  I saw an ad for it on one of the Laura Collins DVDs last night and am intrigued.  Great cover, and the photo selection looks boss.

This one is available only through the DS Festival--and for all I know may now be OP.  I think the book came out around 2007--maybe earlier.

G.