THE DARKNESS CONTINUES.....................
The Collins family still lives today in the city of Collinsport in the state of Maine. I will walk you through some of what has happened over the years. Elizabeth Stoddard, the kind and caring woman we all remember dearly, passed away in 1990. She left the house to her daughter, Carolyn. Carolyn, having a husband, Dr. Alex Hallow, and a son, Foster, born in 1979, decided the position of head of the household was too much work and offered it to her uncle Roger. He gladly accepted. After his death in 1996, David became head of the household and has been ever since. David married Hallie Stokes in 1979 and in 1981, their son, Noah was born. Hallie died of breast cancer in 1982. It took David only a year to re-marry. His new wife was young Allison Dobson. They would go on to have two children: another son, Jordan in 1984, and a daughter, Gillian in 1985. Maggie Evans was sent to Wyndcliffe in 1970. By 1976, she was released. At a chance meeting, fate had brought her and Willie Loomis face to face once again. They kept in contact for a year and in 1977, they were married. They have a daughter, Sherry, born in 1979, and a son, Mark, born in 1985. Victoria Winters, with the help of Angelique, found a way back to the twentieth century from the 1790s when Peter was murdered at the hands of the vengeful brother of Trask. Angelique's help did not come without a price however: Vicky would come back but as a vampire. Now she is the one roaming the streets of Collinsport at night. Angelique, seeing Vicky as a means to do so, came back to this century. She is living at Collinwood under the alias of Alora Stanton, author and historian. And what became of Julia and Barnabas? Only half of that can be answered. Julia was last seen in 1976, the year in which she and Barnabas had adopted a baby boy, Neil. Since then, Barnabas and Neil have been traveling the world in search of her.
Well there you have it. I have laid out the scene. Now sit back and enjoy the new Dark Shadows........
The sun slowly set, leaving the Maine countryside dark. The ocean raged beneath widow's hill. The night was warm for October, but with a cold chill, as if something was in the air, something evil....
Collinwood glowed with activity. It was the night of the annual Collins Halloween party and the mansion was a mad house of laughter and fun.
A group of unsuspecting trick-or-treaters stood at the foot of the path to the front door.
"You go up," said the child dressed as spider man to the one dressed as Frankenstein.
"Uh, huh, no way," he protested. "The Collinses are freaky, man."
"Stop beings uch a baby and go," said a girl dressed as Elvira. Without further protestations, the others pushed Frankenstein onto the path.
He walked slowly and timidly up to the door. The others cheered him on. "Come on" and "get lots of candy" were among their youthful and anxious shouts. The boy finally reached the front steps and went up slowly. On the top step was a bowl of candy, into which the boy reached and pulled out a handful of goodies. Suddenly, the door flew open and out jumped a horrible furry-faced monster. The little boy ran back to his group, screaming a shrill cry and clenching the candy in his hand. He signaled to his friends to make haste and the group ran away.
The monster stood at the door laughing. Not an eveil laugh, but more or less a laugh of enjoyment. A female voice addressed him. "Noah," it said, trying to stifle it's own giggle. Noah pulled off his mask and turned to face his step mother, Allison. She was a beautiful woman in her late thirties with blonde hair tied back in a sophisticated bun. Her face was only beginning to wrinkle. "That wasn't nice. You'll give him nightmares," she said with a smile.
"Hey," said Noah returning her smile. "Isn't scaring people the whole idea of Halloween?" His blue eyes sparkled in a way that made her crumble.
Allison shook her head. "Some boys like you and your father are just too handsome to argue with," she said. And it was true. His hair was a brunette mushroom cut, bordering on blonde. He had his late mother's beautiful blue eyes that smiled more than his lips. He bore most of her Irish face, including the white gleaming skin. He towered over Allison at with his height of six feet. He was the perfect guy as far as appearances went. To top that, he had a sweet-as-sugar personality. "Now come on," said Allison. "We're missing all the fun in the ballroom." The began to walk together back to the party. Suddenly, Noah heard a soft singing, a song that was vaguely familiar.
"Uh, I'll meet you there," he said to his step mother and he followed the voice that only he could hear up the stairs. Allison looked at him strangely.
"Young people," she said with a shake of her head and she went back to the ballroom.
In the ballroom, the song "Time Warp" raged as almost everyone in the room dance along. Maggie Loomis, still short and brunette, although visibly older, made her way toward David who stood at the refreshments table talking to Willie Loomis. "David," she said, "lovely party, as usual."
"Well thank you, Maggie, but that's partly because of you. You're puch has been expected at the Collins Halloween parties for more than twenty-five years," he said taking a sip.
"Yeah," said Willie, "she should make it more at home." He looked almost exactly the same, aside from his thinning hair.
"Well thank you, David," said Maggie, flattered. "But I think you're daughter is the one to be credited here." She motioned to young Gillian Collins, David's beautiful chesnut-haired teenage daughter, who lead the room in a dance. "How did she ever learn to dance like that?"
"Her mother, I think, because I certainly can't move like that." said David. Maggie and Willie chuckled.
"My son's lucky to have a girl like her," said Willie.
"She's lucky to have him," said David.
The song changed. It was now a romantic ballad. The dance floor cleared out. Only Gillian and Mark remained. They danced slowly and closely. Never letting their gazes pull away from the other's eyes. Carolyn and Alora stood in a corner watching them.
"Their so in love," said Carolyn. She was still petite, still blonde, and still beautiful.
"Yes," said Alora, "like Luke and Laura."
"Bo and Hope," said Carolyn.
"Ethan and Theresa."
"Romeo and Juliet."
Alora turned to Carolyn. "Bad analogy." she said. "You know what happened to Romeo and Juliet." She looked back at Gillian and Mark. "Their love will last forever," then her voice became an inaudible whisper, "like mine should have." It was in that moment that she remembered Barnanbas' touch on her skin, his soft lips on her own, the warm glow of his eyes. She missed it so much.
"Like with Alex and I," said Carolyn. Alora didn't hear her. "Alora, earth to Miss Stanton," said Carolyn waving her hand in front of Alora's face.
Alora snapped to. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" she asked.
Sherry pushed through the crowd to the wall, against which Forrester Hallow, Carolyn's son, stood. "You," she said. "If I have to dance with one more of my father's annoying doctor friends tonight, I'm going to pull the Carrie effect."
"You seemed to be enjoying yourself," said Forrester in a smooth voice.
"It's called 'faking it,'" said Sherry. "Now, are you going to come with me quietly or do I have to drag you onto the dance floor in chains?"
"Looks like I don't have a choice." He smiled and followed her into the slow dance.
Meanwhile, Noah followed the sweet singing through the labyrinth of hallways. It stopped when he reached the door to the attic.
"Noah," said a familiar voice, "come up to me, Noah, my little baby boy."
"Mom?" he asked.
"Come to me," the voice insisted.
Noah opened the door and started up the stairs.
Back in the ballroom, the song ended and a light classical piece began. Gillian and Mark embraced each other and then made their way to the refreshments table.
"Here come the enchantes now," said Maggie.
Gillian blushed and giggled while Mark smiled bashfully. Maggie ran a hand through her son's thick brown hair. "Don't touch my hair, mom," he said turning red and pulling away. His smile became even more akward. "You'll mess it up."
"Oh, God forbid," said Maggie sarcastically, over-dramatically placing a hand on her cheek.
"He's right," said David. "A guy's gotta have good hair."
"Yeah," said Willie, "hair is everything."
"If that were true," said a voice, "I wouldn't have cut mine." Vicky walked up to them with a shorter style of hair than ever imagined for Vicky's taste. "I got it all fixed up for the party," she said.
"Hey, Vicky," said Gillian, "that's a really cool vampire costume," she said noting the black and red outfit Vicky was wearing. "Those fangs look real," she said.
She didn't know how right she was.
In the attic, Noah found himself in total darkness. "Come," said Hallie's voice. "Follow my voice."
He obeyed and sound found a large mirror. "Look into the mirror," she said. He did so and soon, her image came into view. "Look and be mine once more...."
Back in the ballroom, everyone laughed and danced. Suddenly, a blinding green light filled the room. The music stopped. When the light left, Julia lay on the dance floor, unconcious, but alive!
TO BE CONTINUED.................
The Collins family still lives today in the city of Collinsport in the state of Maine. I will walk you through some of what has happened over the years. Elizabeth Stoddard, the kind and caring woman we all remember dearly, passed away in 1990. She left the house to her daughter, Carolyn. Carolyn, having a husband, Dr. Alex Hallow, and a son, Foster, born in 1979, decided the position of head of the household was too much work and offered it to her uncle Roger. He gladly accepted. After his death in 1996, David became head of the household and has been ever since. David married Hallie Stokes in 1979 and in 1981, their son, Noah was born. Hallie died of breast cancer in 1982. It took David only a year to re-marry. His new wife was young Allison Dobson. They would go on to have two children: another son, Jordan in 1984, and a daughter, Gillian in 1985. Maggie Evans was sent to Wyndcliffe in 1970. By 1976, she was released. At a chance meeting, fate had brought her and Willie Loomis face to face once again. They kept in contact for a year and in 1977, they were married. They have a daughter, Sherry, born in 1979, and a son, Mark, born in 1985. Victoria Winters, with the help of Angelique, found a way back to the twentieth century from the 1790s when Peter was murdered at the hands of the vengeful brother of Trask. Angelique's help did not come without a price however: Vicky would come back but as a vampire. Now she is the one roaming the streets of Collinsport at night. Angelique, seeing Vicky as a means to do so, came back to this century. She is living at Collinwood under the alias of Alora Stanton, author and historian. And what became of Julia and Barnabas? Only half of that can be answered. Julia was last seen in 1976, the year in which she and Barnabas had adopted a baby boy, Neil. Since then, Barnabas and Neil have been traveling the world in search of her.
Well there you have it. I have laid out the scene. Now sit back and enjoy the new Dark Shadows........
The sun slowly set, leaving the Maine countryside dark. The ocean raged beneath widow's hill. The night was warm for October, but with a cold chill, as if something was in the air, something evil....
Collinwood glowed with activity. It was the night of the annual Collins Halloween party and the mansion was a mad house of laughter and fun.
A group of unsuspecting trick-or-treaters stood at the foot of the path to the front door.
"You go up," said the child dressed as spider man to the one dressed as Frankenstein.
"Uh, huh, no way," he protested. "The Collinses are freaky, man."
"Stop beings uch a baby and go," said a girl dressed as Elvira. Without further protestations, the others pushed Frankenstein onto the path.
He walked slowly and timidly up to the door. The others cheered him on. "Come on" and "get lots of candy" were among their youthful and anxious shouts. The boy finally reached the front steps and went up slowly. On the top step was a bowl of candy, into which the boy reached and pulled out a handful of goodies. Suddenly, the door flew open and out jumped a horrible furry-faced monster. The little boy ran back to his group, screaming a shrill cry and clenching the candy in his hand. He signaled to his friends to make haste and the group ran away.
The monster stood at the door laughing. Not an eveil laugh, but more or less a laugh of enjoyment. A female voice addressed him. "Noah," it said, trying to stifle it's own giggle. Noah pulled off his mask and turned to face his step mother, Allison. She was a beautiful woman in her late thirties with blonde hair tied back in a sophisticated bun. Her face was only beginning to wrinkle. "That wasn't nice. You'll give him nightmares," she said with a smile.
"Hey," said Noah returning her smile. "Isn't scaring people the whole idea of Halloween?" His blue eyes sparkled in a way that made her crumble.
Allison shook her head. "Some boys like you and your father are just too handsome to argue with," she said. And it was true. His hair was a brunette mushroom cut, bordering on blonde. He had his late mother's beautiful blue eyes that smiled more than his lips. He bore most of her Irish face, including the white gleaming skin. He towered over Allison at with his height of six feet. He was the perfect guy as far as appearances went. To top that, he had a sweet-as-sugar personality. "Now come on," said Allison. "We're missing all the fun in the ballroom." The began to walk together back to the party. Suddenly, Noah heard a soft singing, a song that was vaguely familiar.
"Uh, I'll meet you there," he said to his step mother and he followed the voice that only he could hear up the stairs. Allison looked at him strangely.
"Young people," she said with a shake of her head and she went back to the ballroom.
In the ballroom, the song "Time Warp" raged as almost everyone in the room dance along. Maggie Loomis, still short and brunette, although visibly older, made her way toward David who stood at the refreshments table talking to Willie Loomis. "David," she said, "lovely party, as usual."
"Well thank you, Maggie, but that's partly because of you. You're puch has been expected at the Collins Halloween parties for more than twenty-five years," he said taking a sip.
"Yeah," said Willie, "she should make it more at home." He looked almost exactly the same, aside from his thinning hair.
"Well thank you, David," said Maggie, flattered. "But I think you're daughter is the one to be credited here." She motioned to young Gillian Collins, David's beautiful chesnut-haired teenage daughter, who lead the room in a dance. "How did she ever learn to dance like that?"
"Her mother, I think, because I certainly can't move like that." said David. Maggie and Willie chuckled.
"My son's lucky to have a girl like her," said Willie.
"She's lucky to have him," said David.
The song changed. It was now a romantic ballad. The dance floor cleared out. Only Gillian and Mark remained. They danced slowly and closely. Never letting their gazes pull away from the other's eyes. Carolyn and Alora stood in a corner watching them.
"Their so in love," said Carolyn. She was still petite, still blonde, and still beautiful.
"Yes," said Alora, "like Luke and Laura."
"Bo and Hope," said Carolyn.
"Ethan and Theresa."
"Romeo and Juliet."
Alora turned to Carolyn. "Bad analogy." she said. "You know what happened to Romeo and Juliet." She looked back at Gillian and Mark. "Their love will last forever," then her voice became an inaudible whisper, "like mine should have." It was in that moment that she remembered Barnanbas' touch on her skin, his soft lips on her own, the warm glow of his eyes. She missed it so much.
"Like with Alex and I," said Carolyn. Alora didn't hear her. "Alora, earth to Miss Stanton," said Carolyn waving her hand in front of Alora's face.
Alora snapped to. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" she asked.
Sherry pushed through the crowd to the wall, against which Forrester Hallow, Carolyn's son, stood. "You," she said. "If I have to dance with one more of my father's annoying doctor friends tonight, I'm going to pull the Carrie effect."
"You seemed to be enjoying yourself," said Forrester in a smooth voice.
"It's called 'faking it,'" said Sherry. "Now, are you going to come with me quietly or do I have to drag you onto the dance floor in chains?"
"Looks like I don't have a choice." He smiled and followed her into the slow dance.
Meanwhile, Noah followed the sweet singing through the labyrinth of hallways. It stopped when he reached the door to the attic.
"Noah," said a familiar voice, "come up to me, Noah, my little baby boy."
"Mom?" he asked.
"Come to me," the voice insisted.
Noah opened the door and started up the stairs.
Back in the ballroom, the song ended and a light classical piece began. Gillian and Mark embraced each other and then made their way to the refreshments table.
"Here come the enchantes now," said Maggie.
Gillian blushed and giggled while Mark smiled bashfully. Maggie ran a hand through her son's thick brown hair. "Don't touch my hair, mom," he said turning red and pulling away. His smile became even more akward. "You'll mess it up."
"Oh, God forbid," said Maggie sarcastically, over-dramatically placing a hand on her cheek.
"He's right," said David. "A guy's gotta have good hair."
"Yeah," said Willie, "hair is everything."
"If that were true," said a voice, "I wouldn't have cut mine." Vicky walked up to them with a shorter style of hair than ever imagined for Vicky's taste. "I got it all fixed up for the party," she said.
"Hey, Vicky," said Gillian, "that's a really cool vampire costume," she said noting the black and red outfit Vicky was wearing. "Those fangs look real," she said.
She didn't know how right she was.
In the attic, Noah found himself in total darkness. "Come," said Hallie's voice. "Follow my voice."
He obeyed and sound found a large mirror. "Look into the mirror," she said. He did so and soon, her image came into view. "Look and be mine once more...."
Back in the ballroom, everyone laughed and danced. Suddenly, a blinding green light filled the room. The music stopped. When the light left, Julia lay on the dance floor, unconcious, but alive!
TO BE CONTINUED.................