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 85 - 10/21/66

Vicki is locked in a room in the abandoned part of Collinwood. She calls for help, but no one can hear her.

Liz broods in the drawing room as she worries about Vicki. Carolyn comes in looking for her raincoat, and Liz asks if Joe is coming back for her. Carolyn says she's going out on her own. She said she apologized to Joe, and then he told her he had a date with someone else. Liz lectures Carolyn. She says that it was she who ran off to Bangor to meet another man. Carolyn refuses to hear it and runs off.

Sam drops in to the Blue Whale, and ignores a request from Burke to join him. Sam calls home to tell Maggie he'll be home shortly. He finds out she's hosting Joe for dinner, and suggests she might want to avoid a hornets nest. Burke convinces Sam to join him for a drink, promising not to bring up Bill Malloy.

Carolyn heads out into the rain. Liz pleads with Carolyn to help her stay and look for Vicki, but she refuses.

Vicki explores possible exits from the room, but the window is barred.

Sam and Burke continue to throw down drinks, just like old times. They discuss ghosts up at Collinwood. Burke says there's one person he wouldn't want to scare in Collinwood—Vicki Winters. Bill comes up in discussion, in particular his ghost. They begin singing Bill's favorite sea shanty, "What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor," when Carolyn arrives. Burke invites her to join them. Burke says she should have brought Vicki, and Carolyn starts to leave. Burke asks if Carolyn is hungry and Sam realizes he has to get home for dinner with Maggie and her guest. Carolyn realizes it's Joe. Sam leaves, and Burke asks Carolyn what they're going to do. Carolyn says that's entirely up to him.

The ghost of Bill Malloy appears in the room with Vicki, singing his shanty. He calls for her to wake up. He warns her to get away before she's killed. He walks through the door and Vicki is sure she's dreaming. She runs to the door to see water and seaweed on the floor.

Our thoughts

John: Yes! We welcome the Ghost of Bill Malloy to Collinwood, in what I truly hope will be the first of many such appearances! This is even more exciting than Josette's stepping out of the portrait a few weeks back. Of course, it would have been nice of him to open the door for Vicki, as opposed to just warning her...

Christine: Dan Curtis is continuing his experimentation with ghosts and watching the ratings go through the roof, so the supernatural element is around the corner. What's more exciting about this ghost is that it's a former character and he speaks! Unfortunately the loop above shows that the water and seaweed were on the floor before he appeared, though maybe he showed up earlier when we weren't looking.

John: Liz finally sets Carolyn straight. It's about time someone called her out on how she's jealous of Joe despite having spent the past few weeks pining over Burke Devlin in front of him.

Christine: It was super sweet when Liz told Carolyn, "You think your world's coming to an end because for once Joe didn't jump the minute you snapped your fingers, and if you want to know, I'm delighted." Too bad she was covering her ears at the time, though she wouldn't have heard it anyway.

John: I began to wonder how many times they'd loop Cobert's creepy music cue while Vicki was trapped in the locked room. But I will forgive them for that for giving us another Friday send-off, ghost-style!

Christine: That would be Cue 81: Theremin Whee and it played 7 times, which is probably significant, though I think perhaps the record was skipping. Speaking of Cobert's music cues, I'm glad to hear his selections are being played once again on the Blue Whale jukebox in today's episode.

Episode 46 - 8/29/66

Roger paces in the drawing room before putting on his coat and prepares to leave the house. Before he gets out the door, the phone rings. It's Burke Devlin. He tells Roger to be at his office at 11pm. He, Roger and Bill have business to settle. After hanging up, he removes his coat and makes a call to Bill Malloy. His housekeeper, Mrs. Johnson, doesn't know when he'll be back. Vicki comes in looking for a drawing of David's in the drawing room. She finds it and tries to impress Roger with it, but he couldn't care less. Roger describes Vicki as Pollyanna. Vicki is interested in having David meet Maggie's father, the artist Sam Evans. Roger isn't thrilled at the idea.

Sam works on a painting when Bill Malloy pounds on the door. Sam lets Bill in, who tells him after 11pm tonight he'll have all the time he wants. Bill says he'll be at the meeting in Roger Collins' office with he, Roger, and Burke Devlin. They're going to clean things up once and for all. Sam says he won't go, and asks Bill to leave. Sam takes a drink and says it's none of his affair. Bill told Burke what Sam said about being the only thing between Roger and a prison sentence. Roger makes it perfectly clear - Sam had better be at Roger's office at 11pm.

Roger tells Vicki Sam drinks too much, and when he does he gets ugly. He suggests there are other artists they could meet. Vicki says only Maggie invited her to dinner. Vicki leaves Roger alone, and he makes a call.

As she's about to go upstairs, there's a knock at the door. It's Bill demanding to see Roger. Vicki asks if Bill knows Sam Evans, and what kind of man he is. Before he can answer, Roger comes out and brings Bill into the drawing room. Bill says it's the end of the road. Roger finally starts to break. Bill said he had to choose between Roger and the Collins family, and he wasn't going to make Liz pay for something Roger did. Roger says Sam won't show up. Then he says Liz will never forgive him. Bill once again offers that Roger can avoid this by calling the police.

Vicki interrupts Roger to ask him about Mr. Evans. She asks Roger if the Sam she saw on the cliff when she first arrived is Sam Evans. Vicki wants to know if Sam Evans knows about her past, and if that's why Roger doesn't want her talking to him. Roger dismisses her, and leaves for his meeting.

At 11pm, Sam arrives at Roger's office. Burke is sitting in the dark. Roger arrives next. There's no sign of Bill.

Our thoughts

John: In the opening, Roger picks up the phone, puts it down, and then it rings. I think he jumped the gun.

Christine: It looked to me like he was going to make a call, as his finger reached toward the dial, then he reconsidered and got his coat on and went to the door to leave, but stopped when the phone rang. He sounds like he wants to cry when asking Burke "My office? Bill Malloy told you to come to my office?"

John: I love how Roger describes David's drawing is Collinwood with all its Dark Shadows. While it took nearly 50 episodes, the show's name has been given a meaning.

Christine: Are you kidding? Where have you been?

 

Dan Curtis said, "We didn't know what we were gonna call the show....somebody came up with Shadows on the Wall, which was gonna be the title of the show, and I didn't like that title...I gotta come up with a title that makes sense...Dark Shadows--that sounds pretty good to me. Why not?...and then somebody said, well shadows are always dark. I said, not necessarily. There are light shadows as well. Dark Shadows, that kinda says it all! So we named it Dark Shadows."

John: I loved the intensity of the scenes with Bill and Roger. Of course the way this episode ended, I'm a bit concerned that we may have seen the last of Mr. Malloy. The only question being, who did him in. I guess we'll find out soon enough. Perhaps he's just running late... or having car trouble...

Christine: Perhaps Mrs. Johnson made a meal that didn't agree with him. Bill was intense and sweaty in his scenes with everyone, though his interactions with Roger were especially fiery. It was Take #2, so Dan Curtis was probably hot tempered as well, which may have inspired the explosive acting. Both Sam and Roger seem rather desperate to stop Bill. Time is of the essence.

Roger leaves Collinwood.

Roger arrives at his office.

Read our 60th Anniversary commentary to see what new observations we made: https://dsb4idie.blogspot.com/2026/08/shadows-on-wall-episode-46.html