...with Judah's last breath, the destroyer appeared. We summoned from the depths a familiar, who are the unholy bringers of death and destruction from Lucifer himself. We prayed to him on Judah's behalf to carry a curse upon the first-born of Joshua Collins. With our collective powers and prayers, an answer was given.

A giant bat carried with it a malady of our hatred and disgust for Joshua Collins, the one who put our master to death. The impurity of evil would spread through the bloodstream of its victim like an adder's venom. Yes, Joshua's son, Barnabas, would die an excruciatingly painful death in the self-same hour. That night, he would arise as one of the living dead.

His reason would be reduced to common savagery. His once gentle mannerisms would give way to primal, animalistic instincts. He will have no friend. His dearest family members, proud and arrogant, will loathe and hate him. Their fear and rejection of him will quickly lead to their plotting to destroy him and keep his curse a secret. His curse: vampirism.

A vampire's vulnerabilities have been passed through legends for centuries. However, our hatred was directly proportional to the deliverance of the curse. Our vengeance would not be satisfied by such a predictable end. Barnabas may only be truly destroyed when the arms of death are embracing him during the day in his coffin. One must not only pierce his heart with a wooden stake, but must also strike death itself while its arms embrace him during the light of day.

The family may try to burn him with holy water, poison his blood by piercing him with silver, leave him to die in the sunlight, or even driving a stake through his heart while he lives at night. Nay, all these attempts shall be in vain. Barnabas Collins will never be truly stopped until he and death are struck together in the aforementioned manner. He will return.

Barnabas will soon turn on them as well. His perceptions of them will be that they have rejected and betrayed him. He will never allow them to destroy him. Nay, the vampire nature within him will betray that notion. He will undoubtedly try to destroy them all, save one.

Every wild beast, regardless of its prowess and strength, has always felt within it one weakness that dulls the savagery of its natural behavior: the need for a mate. Every man or beast, which there are no true differences between them, has fallen victim to this desire.

With this curse, Barnabas shall not be able to resist his urge to claim someone as his bride. In nature, all creatures must mate with their own kind. Poor Barnabas…he will never be able to take a bride by natural means. He is neither truly human nor truly dead. Only an unnatural act of passing his curse to the woman he chooses will satisfy his need of finding a bride.

Where will Barnabas find such a creature? She will never come to him willingly. The arrogance of the du Pres family is only matched by that of the Collins family. His betrothed, Josette Du Pres, will never accept him.

Will Barnabas succumb to his desires to infect her against her will? Time shall tell what kind of man Barnabas Collins really is.

October 18, 1797

The deed is done. We successfully recovered the coffin with our lord's body inside. The Reverend Strack, whom was revered as one of the holiest men of faith, was on his way to Collinsport to perform the purification rite of Judah's body. However, a simple spell preoccupied him with a broken carriage wheel on the way to the chapel. We had to make haste.

We knew that Judah's body would be left unguarded as many of the townsfolk were afraid to be left alone with it. Even in death, they feared his power. All that is left to do is to place the mask of Baal, his most treasured possession, inside to preserve him until the day of resurrection. Angelique and I opened the coffin and Brother Dawson placed the mask…

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…was awakened by a loud scream. Someone had fallen from the cliffs. I ran toward the entrance, but I did not need to open it to hear what had just happened.

Many a drunken fool had stumbled to his demise on these rocks. This was different. There was a woman's scream trailing down to the sand and rocks below. The winds carried the wails of a man calling after her. I knew immediately who the victim was from the name shouted into the night winds: Josette du Pres.

The broken body of Josette Du Pres lay in a bloody tattered wedding dress twenty paces from our sanctuary entrance. The voice of the man screaming after her belonged to none other than Barnabas Collins. There was no doubt. With the only connection to his innocence dead by his own doing, there was nothing left to bridle his evil nature. He would be an unyielding force of pure hatred and evil. Many would fall victim to the hate that was surely and quickly consuming him.

I looked forward to hearing the bustling of rumors that would follow the next day. "Did you hear? Was the son of the mighty Joshua Collins killed by a plague? Is anyone else in the family infected by this plague? Where will we buy our food if the Collinses are carrying the plague? The Collins Family Cannery….(page stained, writing illegible) …his bride throw herself from the cliff because she was infected as well? Maybe something had frightened her. Perhaps someone or something she saw just before she fell. No one has seen Barnabas. Is it because he returned to England after the death of his beloved as Joshua has told everyone?"

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October 21, 1797

Today I received word from Brother Dawson that rumors of Barnabas Collins' sudden departure are quickly spreading like the plague that some believe him to have died from. Many of the townsfolk have been talking of cattle being found far from their farms and completely drained of blood.

The same two puncture marks seemed to be the trademark of whomever or whatever was doing this. Some believed it to be a wild beast. Some swore that they had caught a glimpse of a man in black kneeling beside their fallen cattle before he quickly vanished. Another theory is that Judah's proclamation of revenge stirred his disciples to kill the herds of those who sentenced their master to death.

How like them to downplay Judah's powers and accuse us of such petty acts of revenge. Nay, Judah will rise soon. He must! I have his most treasured possession, the mask of Baal, buried with him. He shall remain perfectly preserved and ready to receive his spirit once again after he conquers death.

Soon, this town will know the truth of Barnabas Collins. They will find out in their dying moment the curse we put upon him. Despite Joshua's lies of Barnabas traveling to England to settle after the death of his bride, all of Collinsport will know what has become of him. The scandal and bloodshed will bring the family such shame that it will never see hope of redemption. They will be driven out or put to death. Barnabas will not be stopped. He may die a thousand deaths before they learn the only secret to his destruction.

They will all suffer for what they have done to Judah Zachary. Only a short matter of time before the night of Samhain. Judah will be resurrected, and we shall rule with him in Paradise.

November 16, 1797

For matters of safety, we thought it best to seek sanctuary elsewhere. The many busybodies of Collinsport have often wandered to the place where Josette's body was violently broken, and we were concerned that our coven would be exposed. I could not allow anyone to take our master's body from us and keep him from resurrecting. We have taken refuge inside the caves near Logan's port. How soon I wish we could return. I was not particularly pleased with taking Judah's body further away from those he vowed to slay, but his protection was our first mandate. Soon we can return and make preparations for his…

(…sections missing…)

The space of a year has passed since Barnabas Collins was thought to have been seen. Rumors of him are a thing of the past. I am unable to understand where he has gone. I had thought that our curse would be a force that would stain the streets of Collinsport red with the blood of those who demanded Judah's execution. The Collins family are once again in complete control of everything and everyone here. Where had Barnabas gone? He would not have left of his own free will. Has he been destroyed? How? Have we failed our beloved Master Judah?

(…sections missing…)

December 29, 1804

(…page stained, writing illegible…)

…our brotherhood have scattered abroad. Judah may not have returned as of yet, but he has seen their blasphemy and betrayal against him. They will be punished with a fate far worse than any death. They will pray to Judah for forgiveness and mercy, but he will have none of it. Brother Dawson, may he rule in favor by our master's side. Reverend Harridge had him executed without trial after he passed him on the street and saw the brass pentagram of Judah Zachary falling out of his pocket onto the road . This brass symbol was used by Judah to cast his spells and was seized as evidence and buried with Judah's body, so that it, too, would be doused in holy water and incinerated.

He was beheaded almost on the spot by one of the guards escorting the Reverend, and his body was immediately taken and burned. Now myself, Angelique, and a few others with nowhere else to go are all that remain. Many have turned away from Judah because he has not chosen to return. Sustaining their faith through times of hunger and suffering proved to be too difficult for them to….

(…section missing…)

February 24, 1805

Judah has not chosen to return as of yet. Perhaps he is testing our dedication. Only one who is willing to suffer with him may rule by his side when he returns. Angelique and I are all that remain of our sanctuary. All those who have denied and rejected Judah will suffer torment throughout eternity, and there is no redemption for them. Judah Zachary does not forgive.

Angelique and myself have devised a plan that will make the ignorant people of this town remember Judah's name. We would enter into the Collins family and kill them in Judah's name. We would have to be secretive in our actions, as we wouldn't want the people to only think of us as common criminals. Nay, we had to make it seem as if Judah's curse upon the family was becoming a reality.

This town shall be brought to its knees again in fear at the thought of Judah's revenge coming to pass. This would be pleasing unto Judah, and perhaps the bloodshed of his enemies would prove a worthy sacrificial offering unto him. Perhaps then, he shall return to us once we have again proven our love for him.

(…sections missing; a tattered note is stuck to the seam of the book…)

"On this, the 27th day of November in the Year of Our Lord, 1806, the esteemed Reverend Harridge recognizes the ceremony of holy matrimony of Gabriel Collins, son of the late Jeremiah Collins, to Angelique Bouchard, daughter of the late Philip Boucha… (torn)

((I do not own the rights to Dark Shadows. My fanfic is for reader enjoyment :)= ))