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406
Number

400

Timeline

1796

Narrator

Kathryn Leigh Scott

Writer

Gordon Russell

Director

John Sedwick

Broadcast

January 15, 1968
(Monday)

Recorded

January 9, 1968
(Tuesday)

Video

Complete: Disc 44
Collection 5: Disc 4

406 Gallery
We have 8 images of Dark Shadows 406

Angelique survives her wound and tries to keep Barnabas alive for fear of the curse she has set upon him.

Synopsis[]

Teaser

A séance has been held in the great house at Collinwood, a séance which has suspended time and space and sent one woman on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the year 1795. There, each of the Collins ancestors resembles a present-day member of the Collins family, but the names and relationships have changed, and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger in a sea of familiar faces. On this night, in the old Collins mansion, a curse will be uttered, a curse that will forever haunt the Collins family.

In the Old House parlor, Angelique tells Barnabas Collins that Sarah Collins will not die unless he deceives her again, but the girl will come close to dying. Barnabas backs up to his gun, which he fires, hitting Angelique in the shoulder. She falls to the floor, and Barnabas pulls the pins out of the doll. Angelique tells Barnabas she will have her revenge while she can breathe; she has set a curse on him. She informs him of her curse: that he will never rest and that whomever loves him will die. Angelique then lies on the floor, unconscious. Barnabas hears breaking glass; the bat is in the parlor. Barnabas leans against a column as the bat flies near him before biting him.

Act I

Barnabas moans in agony and cries for help as he pulls down his collar to reveal two bite marks. He faints.

At an inn called The Three Bells, Natalie du Prés asks Josette Collins if something is wrong. Josette replies that she just felt a strange vibration, like something or someone was trying to communicate with her. She states that it was like something she had never felt before and that she thinks Barnabas is in danger. Natalie says that Barnabas was fine when they last talked, three hours ago, and asks Josette to try to sleep. Josette stresses that if Barnabas endangered himself for Josette's sake she could never forgive herself. Natalie tries to ease Josette's mind with a tarot reading. Josette agrees that the reading will make her feel "much better."

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes arrives at the Old House, where he finds both Angelique and Barnabas on the parlor floor. Ben wants to get help for Barnabas, but he fears Joshua Collins will lock him up again. Instead, he will take Barnabas to his room before finding a doctor.

Act II

Natalie doesn't understand the arrangement of the cards. They are too vague to be interpreted. The card of the lover is surrounded by signs of destruction: the death card, the chariot, the moon above, and the Tower of Destruction below. Josette cries that Barnabas is in danger, but Natalie warns her niece not to jump to conclusions. Josette holds her neck as that is where she felt the vibration. Natalie gasps - Josette's neck is bleeding where she touched it.

Barnabas, back in his room, awakens and wonders how he got there. He tells Ben that Angelique put a curse on him using a bat. Ben does not think Angelique will be up to her tricks any longer and tries to make Barnabas stay in bed. Barnabas tells Ben it is too late to get a doctor and to watch for the bat. Ben stresses that he did not see any bat before Barnabas inquires about Angelique's whereabouts. Ben replies that she is still downstairs and wonders what happened to her. Ben then informs Barnabas that he is sure Angelique is dead due to the amount of blood she has lost. At that moment, she surprises both of them by opening the door.

Act III

Angelique tells Ben that she is not dead and is not going to die. Ben informs her that Barnabas is going to die, prompting Angelique to reveal that "if he does [die]..." before brushing the servant aside to run toward Barnabas. She tries to get Barnabas to speak to her, but Ben knows Barnabas is delirious. Angelique says she wants Barnabas to know she is sorry; she set the curse on him because she thought she was going to die. Now that she is not going to die she will lift the curse if at all possible. She knows her powers are weakened, but she maintains she is still strong enough to take care of Barnabas. Ben dismisses her claim, stating that Barnabas needs the care of a doctor rather than a witch. Angelique takes responsibility for what has happened to Barnabas, prompting the servant to ask about the curse. Angelique snaps at Ben to stop asking questions because there is work to be done. She needs Ben to trust that she knows what to do. Angelique needs to seek a way to remove the bite marks while keeping Barnabas alive. If Barnabas dies, there will never be a way to remove the curse since Barnabas will become one of the "living dead." Ben calls Angelique crazy, but she corrects him by saying that sometimes the dead do come back to life, after which they are cursed with eternal life.

Act IV

Back at the inn, Natalie wipes the blood from Josette's neck, but the blood reappears every time she performs the action. Josette tells her aunt she must run to Barnabas. Natalie reminds Josette that Barnabas said she was in danger, and anyway, everyone else is asleep. She urges her niece to wait a few hours, during which the two should rest. Josette agrees to this, and Natalie goes to her room. Josette remains behind to sit in front of the fire.

Suddenly, Barnabas reaches for his neck and remarks that he must go to Josette, and he grabs a suitcase. While packing, Angelique comes in the room and urges her husband to let her help him. Angelique tells Barnabas she has to get his fever down and asks for Josette's whereabouts. Barnabas stops packing and informs Angelique that "You will never find her. She is safe from you now." He tries to continue packing, but he is so weak that he falls onto his bed while proclaiming that nothing will stop him.

While Josette is resting in the chair at the inn, the bat flies outside the window.

Memorable quotes[]

Ben: (to Angelique) How sorry you are? What kind of monster are you anyway? First you work your fiendish spells on him, and then you...then you say you're sorry.

Dramatis personae[]

Background information and notes[]

Production[]

Story[]

Bloopers and continuity errors[]

  • In the teaser, the bat's shadow can be seen on a chair behind Barnabas.
  • As with the previous episode, the pole holding the bat can be seen in the upper right corner.
  • In the previous episode, Barnabas told Josette he had arranged for the carriage driver to stop at an inn outside Portsmouth. This must be an error since Josette and Natalie ended up at The Three Bells Inn just outside of Collinsport. Portsmouth is in New Hampshire, not in Maine. In this episode, Josette says she saw Barnabas three hours ago. Collinsport is supposed to be 50 miles from Bangor. Portsmouth is 180 miles from Bangor, meaning Collinsport is, at a minimum, 130 miles from Portsmouth, and probably much further. That would mean the horse-drawn carriage had to travel over 40 miles per hour over muddy and rutted 18th-century roads and over rivers that had to be ferried across. [Barnabas probably meant Falmouth, which is now Portland.]
  • When Ben enters the Old House, the "brick wall" to the left of the door shakes.

External Links []

Dark Shadows - Episode 406 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Every Day - Episode 406 - Unbreak My Heart

The Dark Shadows Daybook - Episode 406

Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 406: Cursed with Eternal Life

Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 406: 1/15/68

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