Episode 126 - 12/19/66

Matthew tells Vicki that the ghosts want her dead. They want a third girl to die. He says he figured out a way to kill her that will make them happy. He ties her to the chair. Matthew says he has to obey the widows, and leaves the secret room. Tied to the chair, Vicki pleads with for someone to help her.

Burke asks David why he called him to Collinwood. Roger tells Burke he's surprised he believes David's nonsense. David asks Burke to promise he won't get sent to jail. Burke tells him they don't put little boys in jail. Roger says he'll be punished, and David asks Burke to promise he won't be punished. Burke tells Roger to shut up, and promises David. David tells David he saw the ghost of Bill Malloy, and it said he needed to help Miss Winters. Burke asks how, and David says he knows she's with Matthew.

In his cottage, Matthew approaches an axe.

Vicki continues screaming, and in the old house, Josette's ghost steps down from the portrait.

Matthew sharpens the axe on a stone wheel.

The ghost of Josette appears before Vicki and tells her not to cry. She tells Vicki not to be afraid, and walks through the wall.

Burke asks David how he knows Vicki is with Matthew. Burke pleads with David to tell him where to find Vicki. He explains he was helping Matthew. He thought Matthew was innocent. He said he was bringing him food and helping him hide in the old house. Burke says he searched the old house. David says there's a secret in the old house that only he and Matthew know about.

Matthew brings the axe into the old house. He makes his way to the secret room, and approaches Vicki with an axe. Vicki tells him she just saw the ghost of Josette Collins.

David tells Roger and Burke there's a secret room. He tells Burke how to open the secret door. Burke asks Roger for a gun. Roger initially thinks it's a waste of time, but decides to get two guns and go with Burke.

Matthew asked what the ghost wanted. Vicki tells him that the ghosts don't want her harmed. And if he does harm her, they'll haunt him forever.

Roger and Burke load the shotguns. Burke tells Roger he won't shoot him, even though he's thought about it. They leave David behind and head out to the old house.

Matthew tells Vicki he thinks she's lying. He says the ghosts want her dead, and so does he. He raises the axe, and as Vicki screams, the ghosts call out to Matthew. He asks Vicki if she heard the voices. She says she did not, and he still thinks she's lying, He raises the axe again, and the voices return. He goes out of the secret room to look for the source of the voices. Bill Malloy's ghost appears, singing drunken sailor. Matthew swings the axe through him. Four additional ghosts appear, asking for Matthew's life. He wildly swings the axe through them. They approach him, arms outstretched.

In the secret room, Vicki hears Matthew scream. She then hears Burke's voice. He opens the secret door to find Vicki tied to a chair. Burke cuts her loose and they escort her out. She says Matthew is nearby with an axe.

They find Matthew sitting in a chair. Roger approaches him and when he touches him, he falls out of the chair.  They leave the old house, with Matthew's dead body sprawled out on the carpet.

Our thoughts

John: At last, Vicki is rescued. We'll see if David escapes the punishment that he still so richly deserves.

Christine: Finally! More importantly, will romance blossom between Burke and Vicki? Will Carolyn be sharpening the ax next?

John: The ultimate ghost party, and on a Monday! We get Josette Collins! Bill Malloy's singing ghost! And four widows... do we know who they all are? It didn't appear that Josette was among the ghosts who did in Matthew.

Christine: Christmas comes early to Collinwood. That was pretty awesome for a Monday episode. An ax murder was threatened and Dan Curtis went full bore on the ghosts! I was confused to see Maggie Evans listed in the credits, but apparently Kathryn Leigh Scott was responsible for the voice of Josette Collins.

John: While I don't think this is the case, Matthew could have just played possum and escaped after they left his presumably dead body behind.

Christine: Matthew is surely dead and his ghost will not get to roam the Old House with the rest. With his death comes the rise of supernatural events in Collinsport.

From our announcer, Bob Lloyd today: "He's talking. Do you hear me? Do want me to slate it again, or what?" At episode's end he says, "On behalf of our sponsors, we would like to wish you a very happy holiday season."

Episode 125 - 12/16/66

David runs around Collinwood calling for his father. Roger comes downstairs, as he's closing up parts of the house in preparation for a storm. He stops when David pleads for his father to listen to him. David asks his father to promise that he won't get in trouble for telling what he knows. Roger refuses, and David says that he will be to blame for what happens. Roger sends him to bed, and David tells him that he hopes he dies.

Matthew starts to gather food, and tells Vicki they're going to leave together. The shutters bang on the house, and Matthew is convinced there's someone in the house. Matthew says his enemies are everywhere, and he has to keep an eye out for them. He says he should kill them all, including Vicki. She says she's his friend, and she'll stay with him and help him as long as he wants. Matthew grabs the bag of food to bring to the car. He says he'll drive back to the house to get her. He replaces the gag so she'll stay quiet while he's gone. Once he leaves, she immediately begins struggling with the ropes tying her to the chair.

David is confronted by the ghost of Bill Malloy, who pleads with him to help Miss Winters. He asks if his father killed him, and the ghost disappears as Roger appears. He tells his father he saw Bill Malloy's ghost, and Roger drags him up to his bedroom.

On his way to the car, Bill Malloy's ghost confronts Matthew. The ghost tells him that someone will die at Collinwood tonight. Matthew refuses to believe it's Bill.

David comes downstairs in the night, and goes into the drawing room to call Burke. He leaves a message asking for Burke to come to Collinwood right away, about Vicki.

Vicki frees herself from her bindings, and gets out of the secret room. She opens the front door to find Matthew standing just outside. Matthew says she looks scared, and he apologizes for startling MISS STODDARD. Vicki plays along with his delusion. Matthew realizes they're not in the main house. Vicki tells him they were in the old house looking for David. She suggests that he lie down and rest. He says he doesn't want to rest because he just had a bad dream - that he saw the ghost of Bill Malloy in the woods. Vicki explains she has to go to her room and tries to leave, and Matthew realizes that she's not Miss Stoddard, and he grabs her and drags her into the secret room.

Burke arrives at Collinwood and pounds on the door. Roger comes downstairs and asks what the devil Burke wants. He says David called him and told him to come to the house immediately. He said it had to do with Vicki. Roger refuses to let him see David, and Burke explains he'll go through Roger if he has to. David appears and comes downstairs to see Burke.

Matthew ties up Vicki again, and says he's going to have to kill her. She offers to cooperate. Matthew doesn't believe her. He says the ghosts want her dead. Matthew says her death will be quick and easy.

Our thoughts

John: It's ghost Friday in Collinwood! Nice to see—and hear—Bill Malloy again.

Christine: Well, it certainly took him long enough to appear! Vicki has been holed up in the secret room for two weeks (our time) now.

John: The 'almost-got-away' bits with Vicki are certainly getting tiresome, but something tells me we've finally seen the last of those. I'm surprised it took David so long to decide to call Burke. That was the obvious path once he determined his father wasn't going to protect him.

Christine: I hope you're right and we'll see an end to Vicki in captivity. Whatever happened to Frank Garner anyway? His absence will leave a clear path for Burke. Then Carolyn will be threatening to kill Vicki. If she survives this latest incident at Collinwood, perhaps she'll finally take Burke's advice and pack up and move out.

John: Will Burke arrive in time to save Vicki? Will Matthew be the one to die in Collinwood tonight? And if so, will his ghost hang around the old house with the others? Can't wait to see what transpires on Monday!

Episode 124 - 12/15/66

David opens the secret door in the old house and finds Vicki tied to a chair. She tells David that if Matthew finds him there, he'll kill both of them. David says Matthew wouldn't hurt them. She asks David to untie her. Vicki explains that Matthew is dangerous. She asks David again to untie her. They hear a sound outside the secret room. David goes to investigate, and it's the shutters hitting the house. David tries to untie Vicki, who says she'll call the sheriff when they get back to the house. David stops untying her, and says if the sheriff finds out, he'll be sent to jail. He runs off, leaving Vicki tied to the chair.

Maggie brings her new customer her check. The woman asks about Roger, and Maggie describes how Burke Devlin is back in town to deal with Roger about an accident 10 years ago. The woman admits to knowing Burke Devlin. Maggie explains that he's also staying in the hotel. The woman indicates she came in from Phoenix, Arizona. Maggie says she likes that name, and the woman describes the mythology of the phoenix, being reborn from the ashes.

David runs into Matthew outside the old house. Matthew says he left ahead of him, and asks how he ended up behind him. David makes up a story about hiding from a sheriff's deputy. Matthew says he's lying. He asks what David found out at the old house.

 Meanwhile, Vicki struggles to get free of the ropes she's tied up in.

Matthew starts to drag David with him to the old house. David breaks free and runs away.

Sam arrives at the restaurant. Maggie pours him a cup of coffee. Maggie asks when he's going to pull himself together, and if it's the booze that keeps him from doing it. Maggie suggests maybe they need a change of place. She throws out Phoenix, and mentions the woman who came from there. Sam asks who she is. He says she looks familiar. Maggie explains that she knows the Collins family, and Burke Devlin. Sam asks Maggie to let him know if she finds out the woman's name, and then he leaves.

Vicki continues to try and break free. Matthew finds her and asks how her gag came off. He asks if David had been there. He says he can't take any more chances.

David arrives home and calls for his father. 

Our thoughts

John: I'm really going to lose faith in Vicki if she forgives David for abandoning her; leaving her tied up as a prisoner of Matthew.

Christine: Of course she will forgive David. He is a child and he is afraid. She will understand and forgive as long as she lives to do so.

John: How long is Maggie going to chat up the mysterious stranger before introducing herself, or at least asking the woman's name?

Christine: Maggie asks if she's come back to Collinsport to be reborn and she responds,  "Either that or to die again." No wonder Maggie won't introduce herself. What kind of creepy answer is that? Die again? Maggie does ferret out a lot of other information from her and we learn that she's been gone for ten years and only spent the end part of it in Phoenix. She avoids answering where she spent most of her time during her ten year absence.

John: Aha! Laura Collins makes the end credits, just in case anyone was still wondering about this stranger in Collinsport.

Christine: I believe she's the first lady we've seen light up a cigarette on the show.

Here's the 12-7 taping we missed yesterday. Alexandre Moltke must be getting restless being bound for nearly two weeks, as she attacks today's slate with her knee.

Episode 123 - 12/14/66

Matthew stares at Josette's portrait. He speaks to it, and it starts to glow. As it does, he runs out of the old house.

Joe stops in to the restaurant and orders a cup of coffee from Maggie. He tells her there's no update on Vicki. Carolyn comes up in conversation, and Joe explains they've crossed each other off of their Christmas card lists. Maggie asks if it's for this season only, and Joe says it's permanent. He describes finding her in Burke Devlin's hotel room the night before. Joe explains that he punched Burke, and Burke punched him before Carolyn broke it up. A woman enters the restaurant and sits down. Joe asks Maggie who it is, and she doesn't know, either.

Matthew returns to the old house and retreats to the secret room. David enters shortly thereafter and calls out for him. Matthew doesn't give away his hiding place. As David walks around, and up to the bookcase, Matthew knocks over a candlestick, which David hears. David then leaves the old house, but peers in the window to see Matthew open the secret door. Matthew comes to the window to look out, and doesn't see David hiding outside.

Maggie offers a menu to her new customer. Joe tells Maggie she looks familiar to him. Maggie asks about the fight, and Joe said that as soon as he mentioned Vicki was missing, Burke all but forgot about Carolyn. Joe leaves, and Maggie offers the woman a cup of coffee. She asks for a glass of water, and then asks Maggie about Grace. Maggie says she replaced Grace when she started. The woman describes the town as not having changed since she last saw it. The woman explains that she just got into town, and she's staying at the hotel. She asks Maggie if the Collins family is the same as ever. She asks about Liz and Roger. Maggie describes Roger as being like Scrooge. She asks about David. Maggie explains that he could use a dungeon.

Matthew steps outside and finds David. David comes in and offers him the food he brought. Matthew says David was snooping. David asks where Matthew was when he was looking for him in the house. Matthew says never mind where he was, and grabs him forcefully. David says he's going to go back to the house. Matthew gets angry and sends him away, and then apologizes and thanks him for what he did. He tells David not to return until the morning.  After David leaves, Matthew goes to get water.

David sees Matthew leave, and he sneaks back into the old house. He goes to the bookcase and opens the secret door. He is shocked by what he sees.

Our thoughts

John: Wow. Joe says he would have liked to have punched Carolyn. Now THAT would have been a pivotal moment.

Christine: Except Joe Haskell would never ever hit a lady. I wonder if Maggie will be his girl before the new year begins.

John: A new face in Collinwood? Who could she be? It didn't take long to figure out that she must be David's mother!

Christine: She was very interested in hearing about David and none too pleased when Maggie suggests a dungeon would help him. It was unusual to hear Maggie reference the holidays, describing Roger as Scrooge and asking if the mystery gal was back for the holidays. Perhaps we'll have a Collins family Christmas and all the ghosts will come a-caroling.

John: David finds Vicki, and we get the fastest outro segment of any episode to date. There's barely enough time to display the Dan Curtis Production vanity card, and without a full refrain of the Dark Shadows theme music. So much for getting the name of the new actress from the credits!

Christine: I wonder if it was done on purpose to keep her identity a mystery. You can find her name in the labels if you want to know who she is. The actress is Diana Millay.

For those who enjoy the minutiae, yesterday's episode taped 12-6, so 12-7 was skipped.

Episode 122 - 12/13/66

Vicki remains trapped in the secret room of the old house while Matthew tells David that he won't go to jail for helping him. David asks when Mathew plans to leave. He says he'll leave that night if the sheriff's men are gone. David leaves, and Matthew returns to the secret room. He threatens to break Vicki's neck for trying to get David's attention. Vicki tells Matthew that he had better leave before David tells what he knows, now that he's afraid of going to jail.

Carolyn calls Burke. He asks if she has news about Vicki. She says she didn't call to talk about Vicki - she called to talk about what's going on in Collinwood. Her family says she can't see him anymore. Burke asks if they can talk another time, and Carolyn hangs up, depressed. David walks in and asks about his aunt and father. She says they're resting. David asks Carolyn if she thinks Matthew would hurt Vicki. Carolyn tells him if Matthew got a hold of Vicki, they probably won't ever see her alive.

Burke tries to reach Blair unsuccessfully. There's a knock at his door; it's David. David asks Burke if he thinks his father killed the man 10 years ago. He says if his father killed once, he could have killed again - Bill Malloy. And he could also have tried to kill Vicki. He asks if Matthew might be innocent. David asks Burke to tell him that his father killed Bill Malloy. He's interrupted when Blair calls. He tells Blair to hire someone to come and search for Vicki. When he hangs up, he sees that David has left.

Matthew is falling asleep. He ties a gag around Vicki's mouth so he can lie down and go to sleep. A voice calls out to Matthew. He lurches up. He asks Vicki where the voices are coming from, and she says she didn't hear anything.

The portrait of Josette Collins begins to glow again.

Vicki tells Matthew he must have been dreaming. He leaves the secret room to look around. He hears the voice calling to him. The voice identifies herself as Josette Collins. Matthew sees the painting glow and runs back into the secret room and shuts the door. He unties Vicki and brings her out of the room to see Josette's portrait. He says the picture lit up, but Vicki doesn't see it. Matthew thinks he's going crazy. Vicki tells him he was half asleep, and he must have dreamed it all.

Our thoughts

John: Carolyn wasn't thrilled that the first thing Burke asked about was Vicki.

Christine: Or that he cut their phone call short and didn't give her much time or attention.

John: Matthew is looking particularly creepy in this episode. I think in part that they wanted him to look run down and tired; but the resulting make-up almost makes him look ghoulish.

Christine: Vicki is not much of a fighter. Matthew is exhausted and disoriented from hearing ghosts talk to him. He had his back to her when he brought her into the main room to see the ghost lights. It was the perfect opportunity to knock him over and run for her life, and she missed it. Let's hope Josette takes pity on her and gives her a chance to finally get free.

John: Josette speaks! Or does she? It must be the ghost, and not Matthew's imagination, as the portrait lights up, as we've seen before, and they play Robert Cobert's creepy music cue which has predicted the two times she's stepped out of her portrait.