A dark bleakness hangs over the great house at Collinwood. It is a bleakness that has yet to be revealed to those who live within its walls. As the Collins family attends to their daily activities, elsewhere a foreboding evil is brewing. A maniacal and evil man is plotting their very destruction. Destruction he planned nearly three centuries ago.
Judah Zachary sat behind the desk twirling a small vial between his fingers with a wicked grin on his face. He chuckled aloud. Suddenly the intercom came on. "Mr. Halliburton? Mr. Fenton is here to see you." Trevor emerged and pressed the reply button and said, "Send him in, Miss Parker." He hurriedly put the vial inside the inner pocket of his jacket. The door opened and Gerald Fenton entered with a binder under his arm. Halliburton motioned him to be seated. "Well now, let's see what we've got." He said reaching for the binder. Fenton handed it to him and he opened it and began perusing it. Occasionally he let an audible "Hmmm" come forth. Then he would occasionally widen his eyes or raise an eyebrow as if something really struck his interest. Then he closed it suddenly and said, "Looks promising at first glance. I'll go over it in more detail later…" Fenton then protested, "Now wait a minute, I've spent a week on that, I was hoping I'd leave here knowing exactly where we stood!" Halliburton rose and assured him, "Not to worry my good man, from what I've seen already, I'm sure the rest will be equally captivating. Let's celebrate with a drink!" Fenton shrugged and said, "Ok." Halliburton took two glasses from the small bar in the corner. He retrieved the vial from his jacket and poured it in the first glass, then topped it with brandy. He then took both glasses to the desk and gave one to Fenton. Halliburton raised his glass in mid air and said, "To our case!" Gerald not quite as enthused, raised his glass and repeated the toast. He raised the glass to his lips. A smug self assured look came over Halliburton's face as he watched the liquid disappear down Fenton's throat. (Three dramatic notes sound)
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Gerald Fenton drank the glass dry and placed it on the desk. "So where do we go from here?" he asked, looking across the desk at Halliburton. Trevor finished his own drink and likewise placed his glass on the desk. He placed his hands on the desk in front of him, interlocking his fingers as he leaned forward. And replied, "Well I need to go over your narrative and see just how much we can glean from it. After an evening of pouring over this, I suspect that…" Halliburton noticed Fenton's eyes glazing. Fenton rubbed his eyes as if he were fighting off sleep. Trevor paused and said, "Are you alright Gerald, you don't look so well." Fenton looked up at him with a confused and dazed look for a moment, and then his face took on a completely empty look. Judah emerged from depths of Halliburton's consciousness and said, "Yessss! You are now in my power, Gerald Fenton. You will do my bidding. Whenever you hear the sound of my voice, you will know that I am your Master! You will do whatsoever I command! You are powerless to resist! You will now rise from the chair." Fenton stood slowly retaining the same hypnotic glare as if he were a mindless shell. "You will now leave this place! When you reach the street, your memory of this visit will be one of great promise. You will remember that your entire writings were read and discussed at length, and that your case is very promising. You are not to call this office or come back here unless I ask you to do so. Is that clear?" he asked concluding his discourse. Fenton with the same blank stare replied, "Yes." Judah then looked at him and said, "You are free to go now, Gerald." Fenton turned and left the office. Judah watched as the door closed. His gaze then fell to the binder Fenton had brought in with him. He picked it up and a smug look crossed his face as he tossed it into the garbage can. Judah sat back in the chair with his fingers interlocked behind his head. Suddenly he burst into loud roaring laughter. (Sharp twinging music rises and fades.)
Barnabas, Julia, and Professor Stokes sat in the drawing room at the old house. "Thank you Barnabas! Hearing your own personal reflections about my ancestor, Ben, makes me feel almost as if I had known him myself." Stokes remarked. Barnabas managed a bit of a smile and replied, "Yes, Ben was a dear and loyal friend to me. He took my secret with him to his grave. That is another reason to hate Judah Zachary and destroy him. He was the one who caused Ben's death, and I will avenge that death whatever it takes." Julia finished pouring another cup of tea and sat down with a troubled expression. "We still don't know how or where to find him, Barnabas. Is he roaming the halls of Collinwood? Has he managed to possess a member of the family? How do we know who we can trust there now?" she asked, looking back and forth between Barnabas and Stokes. Barnabas steepled his forefingers under his lips and replied, "Perhaps we should destroy that cursed skull. It could be that even though the head itself decayed in the past, that there is some connection between his spirit and that skull!" Stokes stood and walked over to the fireplace. He paused only a moment as he looked at the portrait of Barnabas over the mantle. He then turned back and said, "I am quite certain that is not the case, Barnabas. As you know, I have a kind of intuition to the supernatural. I examined that skull at the university. I sensed absolutely nothing in my encounter with it. I am certain that I would have if it had any present connection to the spirit realm." Barnabas also rose from his chair, restless now with the insatiable need to unravel the mystery. "There must be some clue we're overlooking!" he said impatiently. Stokes lips pursed as he commented, "The only real clue that we have has been the open books that have been left. A rather sloppy thing for him to do if he wished not to alert us to his presence I should think." Stokes then walked over to the bookshelf and removed a book. "This is the volume you discovered on your desk, is it not, Mr. Collins?" Barnabas took the book and examined it then replied, "Yes, why do you ask?" Stokes raised his hand and gestured as if to say wait just a moment. He turned back to the bookcase. He placed his forefinger on the first book on the shelf then slowly trailed it down across each book. He stopped and withdrew another and opened its pages. "A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, a treasure to any library" he said as he opened its pages. Barnabas looked impatient and Julia's eyes bulged in puzzlement as her expression said, "I fail to see the relevance." Stokes then replaced the book and continued. He then withdrew yet another book and opened its pages. He then turned and said, "It's good to know our visitor isn't a complete slob. Apparently he only leaves out the last book he reads." Barnabas gave him a look of intense curiousness and reaching for the book asks, "Professor, are you telling us that Judah read this particular book?" Stokes then replied, "I'm quite certain of it." Barnabas read the title of the book, "The Life and Times of Benjamin Collins." Julia looked at Stokes with skepticism and said, "I suppose your intuition told you that?" Stokes chuckled and said, "Hardly. You can thank Willie for providing the clue I needed." Barnabas and Julia both looked at him in total disbelief as Barnabas replied, "Willie? How is that possible?" Stokes grinned impishly and said, "Apparently Willie failed to dust this shelf after Judah removed the book. You can still see pull streaks in the dust where it has been removed." He then again pulled the Dickens book from the shelf and handed it to Julia and said, "Notice how tightly the pages appear as you look at it from the side. Now look at the book Barnabas is holding." Barnabas and Julia both saw a distinct difference in the page compression. "Now open up Dickens Julia and turn the pages." Julia opened the book and turned through a few pages. Then Stokes added, "Do you hear the crisp peeling sound the sticking pages make as you separate them? That book has not been opened for quite some time." Barnabas turned through the pages of the book he was holding and his eyes grew wide in amazement. His expression then turned to one of triumph as he said, "Yes! He has been going through this book!" (Music rises then fades.)
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All the usual jukebox music, dancing, and gaiety were in progress as Bob
Rooney wiped down the bar at The Blue Whale. He poured another drink for a
sailor sitting at the bar. The door opened and Joe Haskell entered. He
looked around and memories flashed through his mind of times spent here in
the past. He walked up to the bar and with a smile said, "Good to see some
things never change, Bob. I didn't know if you were still around or not."
Bob polished a glass and set it down in front of Joe and said, "Good to see
you again Joe. What'll it be?" Joe then said, "I'll just have a beer, Bob.
So, how's business?" Bob poured his drink and replied, "Oh, I can't
complain. How about you? Haven't seen you in a long time. Last I heard you
were in Boston." Joe sipped the drink and said, "Yeah, but the big city just
isn't for me." At that moment the door opened again and Gerald Fenton walked
in. "Scotch, Bob!" he called out as he sat down beside Joe. "Well hello
Haskell! I heard you were back in town. I thought with that cushy spot the
Collins gave you, we'd seen the last of you in this town." Joe shrugged and
said, "You know what they say Gerald. You can take the boy out of the
country, but…" Fenton nodded and interrupted, "Oh yes. So you just had to
get back to your small town roots. Well…" Bob Rooney placed the scotch down
in front of him and waited for the payment. Fenton looked up and said, "Oh,
you mind putting it on my tab, Bob?" Bob nodded in the negative and said,
"Gerald, I know you don't have a job. I'm surprised to even still see you in
town after what happened last week." Joe laid some money on the bar and
nodded to Bob. The bartender collected the money and put it away. "So you're
not working at the Collins cannery any more?" Fenton gulped the drink down
and said, "No. Roger Collins brought some false charges against me and
wrongfully fired me. I have a lawsuit against them now. I'm going to make
them squirm for this. Collins says I took company money and he came in here
last week and embarrassed me right in front of everybody that was here. Then
he said I was fired and asked for my keys. Those high and mighty Collinses
think cause they're name is on the town that they own it and that they're
above the law, I guess. Well, they are about to find out they're no better
than anybody else around here. Hey, thanks for the drink, Joe. I'll return
the favor sometime." He slapped Joe on the shoulder and left.
Joe looked confused for a moment then sipped his drink again. (Music rises
then fades)
Barnabas sat at the desk in the drawing room reading. Professor Stokes stood at the bookcase leafing through yet another book. Julia sat napping in the big arm chair. Page after page was turned. Finally Barnabas closed the book and rose. Stokes monocle fell from his eye as he turned to Barnabas. "Nothing of any consequence, I suppose?" he asked. "No, it only mentions that an itinerant coven came through Collinsport in 1672. That was when Judah developed his interest in the occult I suppose. After a six week stay they moved on. It did mention that he traveled with them when they left and returned here a few years later. Absolutely nothing that would give a clue as to exactly what happened. We are no closer to discovering anything that reveals what acts he performed here that brought attention to him by the authorities of the time." Julia awoke at the sound of the conversation and stood up to listen further. Stokes scratched his chin and said, "I'm afraid all attempts to locate Judah's own journal have also proved fruitless. That is the one single compilation that might give us a clue of how his mind works and how to defeat him. I have colleagues from all over the world trying to help locate it to no avail. I can only surmise that whoever saw to the preservation of Judah Zachary's skull was unable to do the same with his journal. It was likely destroyed shortly after the trial." Barnabas turned toward the mantle and replied, "And our passage back to that time has now been destroyed. If only we had thought to bring that journal back with us." Julia's mouth parted, as she tossed her head back slightly in the manner both men had seen many times before. "Barnabas, there's no way we could have done that. It was in the court's keeping as evidence. They probably burned it after the case was closed. He had no relatives to surrender it to." She said as she paced the room. Stokes' eyebrow rose as he responded, "If you follow that logic, the skull was also states evidence, but somehow it survived. Perhaps if we visit the courthouse tomorrow morning we may find that it has been locked away in holding all these years with no one to claim it." Barnabas pondered this and said, "Is it possible? Can it be that it has been there all this time? Will it provide the answers we need?
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Judah Zachary sat behind Trevor Halliburton's desk talking on the phone. "I see, I appreciate you calling me to let me know. Yes, I expected he would do that very thing. I was quite counting on it actually. Come by my office tomorrow afternoon, Selena will have a little something for you on her desk when you arrive. Thank you again, Sidney, Goodbye." Zachary leaned back in the chair with his fingers locked behind his head and a twisted grin on his face. "Well Mr. Fenton. So you are out spreading the word that you have the Collins' at a disadvantage. Very good. Very good indeed. Just keep right on. Things are falling right into place exactly according to plan." He picked up a letter opener from the desk and eyed it with a gleam on his countenance. "The destruction of the Collins family is at hand!" His eyes now wide, he plunged the point of the letter opener into the top of the desk and laughed hideously.
(Three dramatic notes sound)
Barnabas Collins…
JONATHAN FRID
Julia Hoffman…
GRAYSON HALL
Professor Stokes…
THAYER DAVID
Gerald Fenton…
MICHAEL STROKA
Joe Haskell…
CHRIS BERNAU
Judah Zachary/Trevor Halliburton KEITH PRENTICE
Bob Rooney…
BOB O'CONNELL
Written By RUSS WILLIAMS
Directed By RUSS WILLIAMS
Story Developed and Created by ART WALLACE
Fashions courtesy of ORBACH'S
Music composed by ROBERT COBERT
Series created by DAN CURTIS Executive Producer