I have to dig through some storage tubs to find any other Dark Shadows items I've collected, and hopefully still have! I know I have a couple DVDs of some episodes from the original show such as a DVD copy of "Fan Favorites" and also a DVD copy of "A Vampire Curse", the first and only season of the early 90's "Dark Shadows The Revival", and also a VHS copy of, "House of Dark Shadows." Am so excited to see "House of Dark Shadows" and "Night of Dark Shadows" are now available on blu ray! That's going to be one of the next purchases I make! :-)
Now if I could just find my Dark Shadows fan club membership card. I'm afraid it was misplaced or thrown out by accident. I can't find it anywhere.....Major bummer. :-(
Here's my VHS copy of "House of Dark Shadows"- even though its available on blu ray, I can't seem to let the VHS copy go. ;-)
As I have made it known, my husband loves Lionel trains- so the other day we went to a train/hobby store in the Twin Cities and guess what? I found something too! A reproduction "DS" monster model. Now I have to put it together and perhaps have a friend of mine paint it because I'm afraid I will mess it up!!
I did find this several years ago at a local antique shop. It's a "story digest magazine" and it's from June of 1970. Now I paid 50 cents for this and originally it was 60 cents- my how times have changed, and this is before MY time!!
This is not a scan of my digest magazine, but I found a photo of the cover online. If anyone wants to order this particular magazine story or others, they can be found on Amazon.com- this one that I own goes for nine to eleven dollars:
When the bookstore, Waldenbooks was still around, I picked up the "Dark Shadows Companion 25th Anniversary Collection" book brand spanking new! I miss that bookstore....as well as B. Dalton Books, Borders Books. But I digress, here is the cover (online find) of the companion book:
If anyone wants to order this book, you can buy it used for only a few dollars. If you want a brand new copy, it's gonna cost ya. Via Amazon.com it's around eighty dollars:
Back in the early 90's a new reboot of "DS" was launched. I remember not being able to watch the entire episode because it ran past my bedtime...lol But later on, I bought the season- the show was cut after one season because the ratings just weren't there. But it's still cool to watch. Ben Cross plays Barnabas. At least this show wasn't as bad as the Tim Burton film....yuck!
Growing up I didn't really collect many "Dark Shadows" items. I was in the official fan club for a couple years, I still get the flyers in the mail a couple times a year. I bought a few VHS/DVD copies of the films or original soap opera. But that was about it.
I have always wanted Josette's music box. For those of you who aren't familiar with DS, Josette Du Pres was Barnabas Collins' fiance- well when he was human! Right before they were to marry, he gave her a beautiful music box that played a distinctive tune. Back in the 60's stores sold a replica and since then, more replicas have been made. They aren't cheap but I would love to get one in my collection!
Then for Barnabas fans, there were replicas of his black onyx ring and also his silver topped can that had the shape of a wolf (crook wolf to be exact) on it. These are two other items I would love to buy!
Below is a photo of Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) with his cane and ring:
Here is a closeup shot of a replica cane:
Yet another photo of the late Jonathan Frid aka Barnabas Collins posing with full costume, including his infamous cane and ring- and in the background is his portrait that he had posed for decades before when he was still human. ;-)
If you have an extra $600 to spare, the original company who made Jonathan Frid's cane for the show, still makes replicas. CLICK HERE to take a peak...
And here is a photo of a replica Barnabas ring:
I remember seeing this game listed and for sale on Ebay.com I should have snatched it up while I could, but there was a bidding war and it was getting up to around sixty bucks! Would be really cool to have this DS game though:
For any of you DS fans, check out the Dark Shadows Online website, you can find anything from Josette's music box, to books written about different cast members:
First things first, the creepy high pitched, sweeping violin theme music from the original 1960's gothic soap opera, "Dark Shadows"~
Just found this awesome, interesting documentary that was produced in the 1980's and was about "Dark Shadows"- Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) was the host! :-) RIP Jonathan!!
When I was about nine years old, I lived with my parents out in the country. Being an only child I had to basically amuse myself while on summer break when they were both at work. I remember every morning at nine o'clock on the Sci Fi channel they would play the classic show, "Lost In Space" and then an hour after that "Dark Shadows" was aired. Every day during the summer I would wake up and watch both. I still love both shows but "Dark Shadows" always left me transfixed. Then again, I love vampires, the gothic culture or atmosphere, and also historical costume- "DS" was perfect! At times it was corny, I will admit but you have to remember the era it aired- the late 60's into the early 70's. I still have a love for "Dark Shadows" and also love the two movies that came out in the early 70's- "House of Dark Shadows" and "Night of Dark Shadows." I even belonged to the official "Dark Shadows" fan club and used to have my very own membership card (don't judge me...lol) I'm at a loss because after so many years I can't find the card anymore! :-( The search continues.....
After so many years, "Dark Shadows" still has a big following. In 2012 Tim Burton released the film, "Dark Shadows" starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins. First off, I know every DS fan has their own opinion. Mine is this: I went to see it in the theater not expecting much. And that's exactly what Tim Burton gave- not much. Really the remake was dumb. Burton tried too hard making it a dark comedy and sort of corny. Back in the late 1960's the corny thing worked but not in this day and age...lol I will say one thing, I am a fan of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp- both very talented. But when I found out who was making the film and who was starring as Barnabas, I knew it would be a disaster. And I was right. I felt like I wasted my money at the theater. Another issue was once again, Danny Elfman scored the soundtrack. No shocker there. Tim Burton is notorious working with the same people over and over again, which is fine, but when you take on a project like "Dark Shadows", a show that is beloved by so many, you need to be careful and choose wisely. I had hoped that Elfman would at least take some of the original score soundtrack from the soap opera and at first, I thought the film was kick starting in a good direction. I spoke too soon. The very beginning you hear the mysterious and haunting flute solo that I recognized from the original show. But then it goes into Elfman's own score and you never hear anything else original, not even close, for the rest of the film. I thought maybe he would re-record or re-score the original "Dark Shadows" opening theme- nope. I was thoroughly disappointed in the film. To each their own though. The only thing I really did like is they had Alice Cooper do a cameo in the film- that was cool! And more importantly, Burton understood that DS fans would love to see some of the original cast. It was so neat seeing Jonathan Frid, who was the original Barnabas Collins, make a cameo in the film. Jonathan actually passed away before the release of the Burton film so I think it was wonderful he was able to make one last cameo with a show that had originally made him everyone's favorite vampire! :-)
There was also David Selby (Quentin Collins), Lara Parker (Angelique Bouchard), Kathryn Lee Scott (Maggie Evans/Josette Dupres). It was so neat to see them all as guests at a party in the movie. Hey, Burton was a lifelong fan of DS and I think it's cool that he wanted to put his own stamp on the story. I just don't think he got it right. But he understood how important it was to honor the original cast and it was really cool that he put them in the film. :-)
