"My name is Victoria Winters. My journey is beginning. A journey that I hope will open the doors of life to me, and link my past with my future. A journey that will bring me to a strange and dark place. To the edge of the sea, high atop Widows' Hill. A house called Collinwood. A world I've never known, with people I've never met. People who tonight are still only shadows in my mind, but who will soon fill the days and nights of my tomorrows..."
—The opening narration of the very first episode.
Dark Shadows was an American Soap Opera created by Dan Curtis, which ran on American Broadcasting Company from 1966 to 1971. While the series had Gothic themes from the very beginning, it was not until six months into the first season when it gained notoriety by introducing overtly supernatural elements.
Though many soaps have since flirted with plots involving ghosts and psychic energy, Dark Shadows used almost every classic horror element (vampires, witches, werewolves, zombies, magic users) as well as sci-fi tropes like Time Travel and alternate dimensions.
The show was also notable for having storylines taking place in different time periods and parallel worlds, allowing the same actors to play identical relatives or lookalikes.
Dark Shadows has been an inspiration for numerous other supernatural series, including Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Port Charles and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One plotline even involved a vampire who gives an extended interview about the supernatural to a hack writer.
The show's music score, composed by Robert Cobert, was also notable, receiving a Grammy Award nomination and spawning a top 20 Billboard hit in addition to several soundtrack albums.
Dark Shadows is one of the few soaps of the era to boast a nearly complete archive. All but one episode survives intact, most as the original color videotapes, with a handful as black-and-white kinescopes. (An audio track exists for the "missing" episode, which was mated with publicity stills for later commercial release and syndication.)
During the show's run, two outside of continuity films were made, House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows. There was a short-lived television remake in The '90s, as well as a Tim Burton movie version in 2012, with Johnny Depp portraying Barnabas Collins. Since 2004 Big Finish has had the license to produce audios based on the series, having both new characters and many returning actors from the original series. The audios also exist in a Shared Universe that includes Big Finish's Sherlock Holmes audio series and The Confessions of Dorian Gray.
Dark Shadows provides examples of:
- Aborted Arc: Victoria's parentage, once the Driving Question, was left unresolved once Alexandra Moltke left the show. Word of God says: Elizabeth Collins Stoddard is her mother and a later Expanded Universe novel revealed her father is Quentin.
- All Relatives Share a Surname: Averted, as the show realistically shows what happens when women marry in an era where taking the husband’s name was normative.
- In the present day, Roger Collins’ sister is Elizabeth Stoddard, whose daughter eventually marries and becomes Carolyn Hawkes. Carolyn’s Parallel Time counterpart, married to Willie’s counterpart, is Carolyn Loomis.
- Also in the present day, the Jennings siblings, direct descendants of Quentin Collins, are cousins to Joe Haskell.
- In 1897, Edward and Quentin Collins’ sister Judith marries, becoming Judith Trask.
- In 1970 Parallel Time, Angelique Collins, wife of Quentin, is related to the Stokes family.
- In 1840, Samantha Collins, wife of the first Quentin, is the sister of Randall and Roxanne Drew. Daphne Harridge is the sister of widow Joanna Mills.
- In 1841 Parallel Time, Quentin Collins’ sister Melanie marries, becoming Melanie Young.
- All Crimes Are Equal: Garth Blackwood certainly thinks so, further believing they all deserve the death penalty.
- Alliterative Name: A few:
- Matthew Morgan, the Collins family groundskeeper in 1966.
- Carl Collins, prankster and general Manchild, and brother to Edward, Quentin, and Judith in 1897.
- Sabrina Stuart, both Chris Jennings’ love interest in the main time band and Cyrus’ love interest in Parallel Time.
- Chris Collins, the Parallel Time counterpart to Chris Jennings and the family lawyer in 1970 Parallel Time.
- Sebastian Shaw, an astrologer hired by Elizabeth in 1970, and The Renfield to vampire Roxanne Drew.
- Constance Collins, Brutus’ sister in 1680.
- Alternate Universe: A room in the East Wing of Collinwood is a gateway to at least one of these, in which Barnabas married and had a family with Josette. Over the course of the series, we see an Alternate Universe in the then-present of 1970 and later in 1841. It is never made clear whether these periods are the same Alternate Universe or two different ones.
- Ambiguously Gay: Count Petofi and Aristede have an intensely dysfunctional seme-uke sort of gay-coded relationship within the television censorship standards of the day, with Petofi commenting appreciatively on Aristede's physical beauty a number of times and Aristede constantly desperate for Petofi's attention and approval, even kneeling before a seated or recumbent Petofi in several episodes including their last together.
- Ambiguously Human: Implied with warlocks and witches. They apparently start out as human, as we see Edith initiated into witchcraft in 1840, and we see Angelique renounce witchcraft in 1841. However, they may not stay that way, as Angelique and Nicholas refer to ordinary humans as “mortals” in 1968.
- Amoral Attorney: Actor Humbert A. Astredo portrays two of these on the show.
- As Evan Hanley, he ostensibly represents the Collins family interests while helping renegade Quentin as well as the schemes of Gregory Trask and Count Petofi.
- As Charles Dawson, he prosecutes Quentin and Desmond while secretly being in league with Judah Zachery.
- Anachronism Stew: Oddly enough for a show not only set, but created, in The '60s, the series, with few exceptions, seems to be almost completely oblivious to technological and social changes, particularly after the first season or two. The aversion of this trope by The Movie makes this glaringly obvious.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: 1841 Parallel Time. In the previous transitions to different times or timelines, the viewers at least had a familiar character who maintained continuity with the present, main timeline, be it Vicki, Barnabas, Julia, or Prof. Stokes. Here, however, with the very brief exception of the dying Lamar Trask, we are introduced to an entirely new cast of characters with no involvement from any of the protagonists we’ve come to know over the previous few years.
- And Now You Must Marry Me:
- Jason McGuire tries to use the apparent murder of Paul Stoddard to blackmail Elizabeth into marrying him. It’s unclear whether he has any sexual interest in her as he’s obviously after her money.
- Angelique coerces Barnabas, and later Quentin, into marriage. Unlike with Jason, her interest in both of them is sexual.
- And Starring: In the closing credits, Joan Bennett got top billing in all the episodes she was in, with Jonathan Frid eventually getting second billing. Before she left the show, Alexandra Isles, then credited as Alexandra Moltke, got the last spot.
- And the Adventure Continues: Subverted, in one of the show's few moments of self-aware humor. In the final scene of the series Melanie is found with a wound on her neck that Ben Stokes declares looks like a vampire bite...only for the closing narration to inform us that, no, for the first time ever it was just a random animal attack, Melanie recovered, and everyone lived happily ever after.
- Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: An inversion, as the Leviathans aren't allowed to use lethal force on humans.
- Artifact of Doom:
- The hand of Count Petofi. It contains the majority of Petofi’s power and was cut from Petofi in 1797 as the price of removing his werewolf curse. It has the ability to heal vampire bites and remove a werewolf curse, but in the wrong hands, causes evil.
- The Mask of Baal. Putting it on got Gerard possessed by the evil warlock Judah Zachery, causing Gerard to betray his best friend and ultimately getting Gerard killed.
- Art Initiates Life: Quentin's true love, the eternal actress Amanda Harris, began as a painting that was brought to life.
- Artificial Human:
- Adam is created as a result of Dr. Lang’s cure for Barnabas’ vampirism.
- Later, Eve is created as a wife for Adam.
- Artistic License: Natalie du Pres is identified as a countess and claims she was born into the title. However, in pre-revolutionary France, “countess” was a landed title, and the only way a woman could inherit it in the eighteenth century was if she had no brothers. Since Natalie did have a brother, André, he should have been referred to as a count with his sister holding a courtesy title such as viscountess..
- Artistic License – Biology:
- Laura’s blood type is listed as RH+. Blood types are identified by blood type and the presence (or absence) of an RH factor, not simply the RH factor. E.g. A+, A-, B+, B-, etc.
- After Barnabas feeds on Willie for the first time, a doctor examines Willie and declares his arm to have been "completely drained of blood." Of course, individual body parts don't get drained of blood in this way because blood flows throughout the circulatory system.
- Ax-Crazy: Matthew Morgan is never exactly stable to begin with, but he really loses it toward the end, especially with help from the ghosts. Fittingly, he’s holding an ax — which he’s planning to use on Vicki — as he’s going to pieces.
- Baby-Doll Baby: Crazy Jenny in 1897 has a couple of these. She keeps them under the belief they're her twin children, who were taken from her as infants.
- Baby Trap: Discussed. When Barnabas announces his engagement to Angelique, Nathan wonders whether Barnabas got her pregnant.
- Back from the Dead: It's a soap, so pretty much everyone. Angelique deserves special mention, though, due to sheer persistence, even travelling forwards and backwards through time to do so.
- Bad Boss:
- Barnabas prior to his Heel–Face Turn, is prone to beating Willie with a cane.
- Count Petofi makes it clear that he doesn’t care about the people he’s ensnared, and finds it funny when people try to kill Aristede.
- Jeb is prone to beating up his followers, breaks David’s leg to teach him his place, and plans to kill Amy despite her being a loyal brainwashed Leviathan cultist.
- Bastard Bastard: As a counterweight to their Holier than Thou attitudes, the Big Finish Audio Dramas indicate the original Reverend Trask and his great-grandson, Gregory, were both born out of wedlock.
- Betty and Veronica:
- Barnabas Collins is torn between the memory of his fiancée, Josette du Pres, a Betty type, and the Veronica type (to the max) his ex-wife Angelique, the witch who gave him the vampire curse. At the end he gets over his torch for Josette, and avows to Angelique that he loves her. She is then killed, and Barnabas ends up with neither.
- Sam Hall in an article in TV Guide claimed that, had the show continued, Barnabas would have married Julia and found his cure to turn him human. Both would have ended up living in the Far East. There's a casual reference to their journey together away from the family danger in Return to Collinwood.
- Big Bad: Throughout different Story Arcs,
- Laura Collins
- In 1967, as Roger's ex-wife, she returns to Collinsport, ostensibly to gain custody of their son, ten-year-old David. In fact, she is a Phoenix, who is periodically reborn and who seeks to immolate herself and David.
- In 1897, as Edward's wife, Laura returns to Collinsport, ostensibly to reconcile with Edward. Again, as a Phoenix, her goal is to immolate herself and her children, Nora and Jamison.
- Jason McGuire is a conman who, in 1949, convinced Elizabeth that she murdered her husband. Now, he has returned to Collinsport with the goal of blackmailing Elizabeth into marriage and securing the Collins family fortune for himself.
- Barnabas is a vampire who has been released from his coffin after over 170 years. He terrorizes Collinsport, draining various women of their blood and kidnapping Maggie to bring his beloved Josette back to life.
- Angelique the witch
- In 1795, she uses a Scarpia Ultimatum to coerce a reluctant Barnabas into marriage. Still jealous of Josette, she curses Barnabas to become a vampire, engineers the deaths of Josette and most of the Collins family, and frames Vicki for her misdeeds.
- In 1968, as Cassandra Collins, Roger's wife, Angelique acts to restore Barnabas' vampire curse by way of a dream curse, tries to drive Elizabeth to suicide, turns Tom Jennings into a vampire, and aids Nicholas Blair's schemes.
- In 1897, Angelique tries to kill Rachel Drummond and uses a Scarpia Ultimatum on Quentin Collins that almost gets him killed by a jealous Beth.
- In 1840, Angelique turns Roxanne Drew into a vampire, using a Voodoo Doll.
- Nicholas Blair fills this role twice, but in an unusual way. On both occasions he's sent by a Greater-Scope Villain to bring an existing Big Bad in line when the existing villain's personal desires are getting in the way of their mission. This makes him arguably the most dangerous of all DS Big Bads, because he rarely, if ever, lets personal vendettas interfere with his larger plan.
- During the Adam storyline it's not totally clear what Angelique's goal was supposed to be, or if Diabolos was just sick of her wasting time and supernatural resources on the Collins family because she was still mad about events that happened the better part of two centuries earlier, but Nicholas Blair very quickly takes over her role, and eventually settles on discovering the secret of Adam's creation as the best use of their time.
- In the Leviathan People Arc, he's sent when Jeb Hawkes unexpectedly falls in love with Carolyn and begins to reject the Leviathans' plan for world domination.
- Quentin the ghost, who, in 1968-9, ensnares the two children, David and Amy, terrorizes Maggie and Mrs. Johnson, tries to kill Elizabeth and Chris, and drives the Collins family from Collinwood.
- Count Petofi, who comes to Collinwood in search for his missing hand, which contains his supernatural powers. The chaos he causes includes possessing Jamison, erasing Edward's memory and causing him to think he's a butler, causing Charity to be possessed by Pansy, killing people through his experiments with I Ching, and trying to switch bodies with Quentin — and later Barnabas — to leave 1897 to travel to the future of 1969.
- The Leviathans gain control over much of the Collins family, ruthlessly dealing with opposition such as Paul Stoddard (and framing Jeb's guardian, Philip Todd, for the murders they commit), calling forth zombies, and Jeb attempting to marry Carolyn so she can have a Half-Human Hybrid.
- Parallel Time Angelique, who rises from the dead, kills and switches places with her twin sister, Alexis, and drains the life of hapless men she ensnares in a plot to reunite with Parallel Time Quentin.
- Gerard Stiles.
- In 1995, his ghost, along with Daphne and two children, haunts Collinwood, repelling anyone who ventures near with deadly force. He tries to kill Barnabas and Julia, and kills Carolyn and Mrs. Johnson.
- In 1970, his ghost ensnares the two children, David and Hallie, and, with the help of Daphne's ghost, Quentin as well. He causes David and Hallie to be possessed by Tad and Carrie, who then resurrect Daphne. He kills all three of them, unleashes a horde of zombies to destroy Collinwood — killing most of the family — and drives Quentin and Carolyn insane.
- In 1840, Gerard is possessed by Judah Zachery, who is really responsible for the actions of his ghost in 1970 and 1995. He commits acts of witchcraft that kill Lorna Bell and Mordecai Grimes, frames Quentin I and Desmond for his deeds, and — in the timeline before it was corrected — had killed or engineered the deaths of Daphne and most of the Collins family.
- Laura Collins
- Big Bad Ensemble:
- In 1967, Jason McGuire’s schemes to gain control of the Collins family fortune clash with Barnabas’ own agenda.
- In 1795, Angelique schemes to gain Barnabas’ affections whether he likes it or not, then to destroy the Collins family out of revenge when her first plan fails. Trask serves as Angelique’s Unwitting Pawn, persecuting the innocent Vicki for the witch’s crimes. Meanwhile, Nathan schemes to gain control of Millicent’s fortune, drive her crazy, and kill her brother Daniel.
- In 1897, Gregory Trask runs a Boarding School of Horrors, engineers his wife’s death, then attempts to steal the Collins family fortune by marrying Judith. Meanwhile, Laura has returned to Collinwood to immolate herself along with Nora and Jamison. But the greatest threat is Count Petofi, who causes chaos at Collinwood and ultimately seeks to switch bodies with Quentin, then Barnabas, to flee to the future.
- In 1970 Parallel Time, Angelique has returned from the dead to ensnare Quentin. Meanwhile, John Yeager, Cyrus’ evil alter-ego, lusts after Maggie and kidnaps her. Angelique and Yeager end up working together to pursue their respective goals.
- Big Fancy House: Three such houses feature in the series:
- The Great House of Collinwood, where the Collins family lives, a mansion with two wings and forty rooms.
- The Old House, the Collins family home before the Great House was built. Barnabas describes it as follows:Barnabas: The design and construction of this house represented a marriage of the elegance of Europe and the vigor and enterprise of a new world. The foundations were made from rocks left behind by glaciers, thousands of years ago. The beams and supports were cut from ancient local forests. The plaster walls were made from crushed clamshells and horsehair. Bricks were imported from Holland. That dusty chandelier - brought over from France - gleamed with hypnotic brilliance. That faded wallpaper was specially designed by a Belgian artist. The parquet floors were installed by an Italian craftsman. Cornices and mouldings were the effort of a Spanish craftsman. It was a house to be envied by a prince.
- The deceptively-named Rose Cottage, known to Quentin II as the old McGruger Mansion.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Collins family. It was originally intended that Victoria Winters be Elizabeth Stoddard's illegitimate daughter. Roger Collins let another man take the fall for vehicular homicide (and is a cowardly, arrogant, jerk into the bargain); Elizabeth Stoddard confined herself to the estate for 20 years because she thought she'd killed her husband (and she didn't even like him that much); David Collins, besides having his own problems, was the son of a supernatural being who would kill her child as part of her rebirth; Carolyn Stoddard deliberately dated a biker to piss off her mother (and was supposed to be wed to a demon before he underwent a Heel–Face Turn) — and then there are the sins of Collinses past, which regularly come back to haunt the modern family. Barnabas was supposed to be one of those until the character proved too popular to get rid of. On the other hand, at times most of the Collinses can display sudden and surprising impulses toward genuine goodness. It's complicated. Most of them would actually behave fairly decently if circumstances were not so weirdly freakish.
- Black-and-White Insanity:
- Sadistic prison warden Garth Blackwood sees the world in these terms. If you help Aristede — or anyone else Blackwood’s after — you land on his hit list, no excuses accepted.
- Lamar Trask has absolutely zero tolerance for anyone involved in witchcraft in any way. Even if said person has renounced witchcraft, thwarted the Big Bad’s plans, and been exonerated by the proper authorities.
- Blackmail:
- In the backstory, Roger bought paintings from Sam to keep him quiet about the accident.
- Jason blackmails Elizabeth out of money, and later into marriage, using the apparent murder of her husband Paul.
- Dr. Lang blackmailed an amnesiac Jeff Clark into working for him by falsely claiming that Jeff killed someone.
- Barnabas uses Dr. Woodard’s murder to blackmail Julia into helping with Adam’s creation.
- In 1897:
- Gregory Trask discovers Evan attempting to summon Satan and blackmails him into conspiring to kill Minerva.
- Having gained control of Collinwood, Trask tries to evict Magda and Sandor, threatening to expose their involvement with Barnabas. Magda turns this back on him, threatening to reveal that she sold the deadly nightshade — which killed Minerva — to Tim, whom Trask alibied.
- Blind and the Beast: Newly-blinded Sam and Frankenstein’s Monster Expy Adam have these kind of interactions.
- Boarding School of Horrors: Worthington Hall. Sinister Minister and Headmaster Gregory Trask apparently keeps a record labeled "Punishment Book"...
- Breakout Character: Barnabas. Initially meant to be a Monster of the Week, whose character was expected to last six weeks before being written out, he became so popular that he became the major protagonist for much of the remaining series.
- Buried Alive: A few examples:
- Barnabas was kept chained inside his coffin for over a century.
- In 1795, Reverend Trask is bricked into a wall, The Cask of Amontillado-style.
- Burn the Witch!: Averted. Those sentenced to death for witchcraft are either hanged or beheaded. Laura tries to burn Angelique, but Angelique gets better.
- The Butler Did It: Not the butler, per se, but despite Burke, Roger, and Sam all being suspects in Bill Malloy’s death, the actual killer is caretaker Matthew Morgan.
- Call-Back. In 1897, when telling Rachel that the tower room is off limits, Quentin explains that it’s due to a suicide 100 years prior. This is a reference to Naomi Collins, who died by suicide upon discovering Barnabas’ secret.
- The Call Knows Where You Live: By 1970, Angelique wants nothing to do with the Collins family, and is living miles away, happily married. When Julia shows up, looking for Quentin's portrait, Angelique is none too happy, and gives her the portrait in exchange for a promise to be left alone. Too bad her husband is part of the Leviathan cult, and tries to kill her when he realizes her connection to Barnabas.
- Canon Welding: Two of Big Finish's Dark Shadows audios establish a connection to their The Confessions of Dorian Gray series, which in turn has connections to their Doctor Who audios, making it possible that Dark Shadows actually takes place in the Whoniverse, or at least the same Multiverse...
- Cassandra Truth:
- David discovers that Barnabas is a vampire. Too bad no one believes him, and those that discover the truth are either brainwashed or killed.
- During Vicki's trial, Ben testifies that Angelique is the real witch. Unfortunately, when Angelique — whom Ben had seen killed — shows up, Ben goes to pieces on the stand, losing all credibility.
- Especially since no time has passed during the months Vicki spent in the 1790s, no one believes her about her time travel experience.
- While in Petofi’s body, Quentin finds it impossible to convince most people of his true identity.
- Paul's warnings about the Leviathan conspiracy are dismissed, particularly by Carolyn.
- In Parallel Time, Maggie Collins initially dismisses Barnabas' claims that Alexis is out to kill her.
- After returning from 1995, Barnabas and Julia try to warn Elizabeth of the destruction of Collinwood, only for her to disbelieve them until it is too late.
- Cats Are Mean: Discussed during the 1795 storyline, in which Abigail and Natalie regard cats as the Devil’s pets.
- Character Check:
- Angelique starts out as a villain and becomes more heroic as the show progresses. However, whenever Barnabas travels back in time, it undoes this development, with Angelique once again reverting to her original villainous nature, and Barnabas and Julia back to square one with her.
- When Julia travels back to 1840 before Barnabas, she frees him there, expecting to encounter her friend from 1970. Instead, she encounters Barnabas as the ruthless, selfish vampire he had started out as in 1967, and it very nearly costs her her life.
- Characterization Marches On:
- As noted above, Barnabas, Quentin II, and Angelique each started out as the Big Bad of their respective story arcs, but eventually became heroic characters.
- The relationship between Tad and Carrie. In the 1995 arc, as ghosts, Carrie writes a love note to Tad and they kiss onscreen. However, when we see them alive in 1840, they are Like Brother and Sister, with Carrie being pursued by Jeremy Grimes and Tad not showing any jealousy.
- Maggie Evans starts off a wise-cracking working women who calls Vicki "a jerk" to her face in the very first episode. As the character became more prominent (essentially taking over the female lead role from Vicki) she became softer and more of an ingenue.
- Roger starts out as a selfish and cowardly Jerkass who lets Burke take the fall for his own crimes and sees David as a burden. He gets better over the course of the series.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Infamously, this happens when Willie Loomis breaks into the Collins Mausoleum to steal the priceless jewels rumored to have been buried with Naomi Collins. He finds the coffin sealed shut, and has a smoke while he considers what to do. Loomis decides to rig-up a pulley . . . .
- Comic-Book Adaptation:
- Gold Key Comics kept the exploits of Barnabas going for several years after the series ended. The 1991 remake also got a short-lived comic version.
- Dan Curtis’ estate authorized a continuation series of graphic novels. The first one was released in 2025.
- The Corrupter: Nicholas Blair fosters antisocial and toxic tendencies in Adam in an attempt to create a new sapient race loyal to Satan.
- Creepy Basement:
- Collinwood has a basement that, in 1966, is off limits by Elizabeth’s orders, as she had been tricked into believing her dead husband was buried there. Mysterious sobbing can be heard coming from the basement. In 1897, Jenny is briefly confined here.
- The Old House has a cellar where Barnabas’ coffin is often kept. It also contains a prison cell where Maggie is kept in 1967, and a possessed Jamison and — briefly — Barnabas are kept in 1897.
- The House By The Sea has a basement where Angelique’s coffin is kept in 1968.
- Creepy Cemetery: Eagle Hill, which is filled with ancient graves and has an almost-as-ancient caretaker who rambles on about how "the dead are restless" and things of that nature. He's got a point - the Collins family mausoleum, where Barnabas's coffin was kept for over 150 years, is also in the cemetery.
- Creepy Child:
- When we first meet nine-year-old David, he is obsessed with ghosts and death. He tries to kill his father in the first three weeks of the series.
- Both David and Amy Jennings are later possessed by the ghost of Quentin Collins, which makes them behave in very unsettling ways while they carry out his plans, which include luring people into danger so Quentin can kill them. They behave similarly when brainwashed by the Leviathans.
- Jeb, the Leviathan, who rapidly ages from infancy to adulthood in a matter of weeks. As a child, he terrorizes Maggie Evans in addition to ordering the deaths of Julia and his own guardian, Philip Todd.
- Sarah is the ghost of Barnabas' ten-year-old sister, making her an Undead Child as well.
- Crusty Caretaker:
- Matthew Morgan, caretaker for the grounds of the estate, starts out seeming to be like this. He turns out to be much worse.
- At Eagle Hill Cemetery. The man looks about as old as the graves themselves. He also rambles on about evil, ghosts, and the restless dead, which would make him seem Genre Savvy if he was actually able to tell when he was talking to one of them.
- Cult Soundtrack: Rare for a Soap Opera, an album of Bob Cobert's score was released in 1969, and, alongside it, bandleader Charles Randolph Grean issued a version of "Quentin's Theme" as an Instrumental single. Both the album and the song reached the Billboard Top 20.
- Damsel in Distress: Averted wonderfully with Maggie Evans at one point during her abduction by Barnabas early in the series.
- Dated History: A minor example, but when listing possible candidates for an "evil woman" to give Eve her life force, Nicholas Blair lists both Lucretia Borgia and Elizabeth Bathory. Viewers today are likely at least somewhat more aware of how questionable some of the accusations against the two really are, Lucretia especially.
- Deal with the Devil:
- This is how witches and warlocks get their powers. We see a possessed Gerard initiate Edith into witchcraft this way.
- Any bargain with Count Petofi shows shades of this. Except, unless you get what you’re asking for up front, there’s no guarantee Petofi will keep his end of the bargain. Even if he does, you’ll probably regret it.
- Decomposite Character: In 1841 Parallel Time, Bramwell takes on a somewhat toned down version of the personality, relationships, and vindictiveness of Heathcliff while Melanie takes on his status as the apparently-orphaned child taken in by the late head of the family (complete with the fan theory that said child is actually the natural child of said late head of the family).
- Did Not Get the Girl:
- Barnabas. His first love, Josette, is Driven to Suicide due to the machinations of witch Angelique. He spends most of the series trying to bring her back to life. Only late in the series does he get over her, first with Roxane Drew, whom he meets in a parallel universe. Too bad the room that is the gateway between universes changes with Barnabas in it, returning him to his home time but trapping Roxanne in a burning Collinwood. Next, after Angelique renounces witchcraft for good, Barnabas comes to realize he loves her, only for her to be immediately shot to death by witch hunter Lamar Trask.
- Quentin II as well.
- His pursuit of Beth Chavez is thwarted, first by a Scarpia Ultimatum from Angelique, then by the machinations of the evil Count Petofi. Specifically, Petofi switches bodies with Quentin, which Beth discovers shortly before Quentin switches them back. Unfortunately, this happens as Count Petofi, in Quentin's body, is pursuing Beth; when Quentin returns to his body, Beth, unaware that the switch has been undone, flees in terror and jumps from Widow's Hill.
- Next, Quentin falls for the eternally youthful Amanda Harris, but is again thwarted by Angelique's Scarpia Ultimatum, and then, having lost the portrait that controls his werewolf curse (and prevents him from aging), remains away from Amanda for the next seventy years. Returning to Collinsport, he is reunited with Amanda but doesn't recognize her due to the Leviathan-controlled Barnabas wiping his memory. When he recovers his portrait and his memory, it's too late, as Mr. Best, Amanda's Grim Reaper, has come to claim her. Quentin makes a deal with the Reaper, that requires Quentin to lead Amanda from the other side without the two of them touching. Unfortunately, as with the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, they fail the test and Amanda is Killed Off for Real.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: In 1795, Sarah Collins dies in the arms of her older brother, Barnabas.
- Dirty Coward:
- Roger starts out like this, from letting Burke take the fall for his crime to concealing evidence for Malloy’s murder — for which he was innocent. He gets better over the course of the series.
- Gabriel Collin’s in 1841 Parallel Time. When the Lottery of Doom is held, he votes with the women in order to increase bids odds of survival. When he “wins”, he tries to run off, then tricks one of his drinking buddies to take his place.
- Disappeared Dad:
- Paul Stoddard is this to Carolyn, having faked his death and run off when Carolyn was a baby. He returns in late 1969, only to be murdered shortly afterward.
- The original Reverend Trask was this to his son Lamar, having been bricked by Barnabas in 1796.
- Discretion Shot: During the destruction of Collinwood in 1970, we see Gerard ominously advancing on Daphne and the children, and their bodies are discovered a couple scenes later, but we don't actually see them — or anyone else that day — get killed.
- Disposable Sex Worker: The main portion of Barnabas's diet for a good while after he first turns into a vampire. The disposability is discussed here:
We're not really expected to care about the death of this young woman. We don't see her take her last breath, and we don't see anyone grieve for her. She's a fallen woman, and once she falls, we're done with her.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- The storylines with Laura, particularly the one with David. She tells him she wants him, she needs him, promising him they can be together forever. She has meetings with him that she insists are “[their] very own secret”. His reactions to her are a mixture of love and terror, including frequent nightmares. She plans to do something with him that will destroy them both. Did the writers intend to present a metaphor for Parental Incest?
- The storyline with the ghost of Quentin, secretly interacting with and eventually possessing young David and Amy, as summarized by ''Dark Shadows Every Day:''
The children have been spending time with an older relative, playing a mysterious game. The kids were excited when this began, but now they're scared and confused. What they do with the older man is a secret, and they know that he'll hurt them if they tell anyone about it. So what we've got is a surprisingly intense storyline about fantasy-metaphor child sexual abuse. If these characters had feelings, I'd be really worried about them.- In 1970, when Tad and Carrie, who are possessing David and Hallie, balk at bringing back Gerard, Daphne assures them that it will be different this time. This sounds like the kind of assurances a woman in an abusive relationship would give her children as she’s getting ready to take back her abusive ex. It rings just as false, too.
- Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest: Barnabas tried to turn Maggie into this and failed. He also attempted it with other love interests, even though they didn't resemble Josette.
- Dramatic Irony: Petofi engineers Aristede’s death in retaliation for Aristede being tricked into trying to kill him. However, Petofi restores Tate’s powers, not knowing that the artist stole Quentin’s portrait, thereby preventing Petofi from reaching the future and doing at least as much damage to the count’s plans, ultimately making it possible for Aristede to be tricked.
- The Dreaded:
- Count Petofi is this to anyone who’s heard of him.
- Garth Blackwood is this to Aristede.
- Driven to Suicide:
- Naomi in 1796. The curse on Barnabas (that everyone who loved him would die) might have been partially responsible.
- In 1897:
- Kitty is widowed after her husband died by suicide.
- While on one of his trips, Gregory Trask seduces a wealthy widow, aware that he has been widowed but unaware that he had remarried. When she discovered his remarriage, she killed herself out of shame.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- As noted above, there were no supernatural themes when the show premiered.
- “Collinwood”, the music which played during the Fauxlosophic Narration would play at other times in the first year of the series.
- In the pre-Barnabas episodes from 1966-67, instead of fading out into the opening titles, it cuts to the opening titles.
- Josette’s Theme had a different tune originally. It was changed because series composer Robert Cobert preferred to use his own compositions exclusively, and he didn’t want to pay royalties.
- Entitled to Have You:
- Before his Heel–Face Turn, Barnabas feels this way about his love interests.
- Adam feels this way about Carolyn, a trait Nicholas encourages.
- Tate created Amanda as the ideal woman; consequently, he thinks he has a claim on her, regardless of her feelings.
- Jeb initially feels this way about Carolyn.
- Every Man Has His Price: This is Burke’s mentality, which he states word for word as he tries to hire away Collins Enterprises employees during his feud with the Collinses.
- "Everybody Dies" Ending:
- The 1795 storyline comes damn close, given that the writers were essentially just playing around with a whole new cast of characters they wouldn't have to worry about after the storyline ended. Pretty much the only thing stopping them from truly killing everyone was that someone needed to live to provide future generations of the Collins family.
- The 1970 Parallel Time storyline had no such restriction. Of the Collins family, the only survivors were Quentin, Maggie, Chris, Amy, and Daniel.
- Evil Hand: That of Count Petofi in the 1897 arc. Petofi himself is just as evil, and once he's reunited with that hand, look out...
- Evil Laugh:
- Angelique is fond of these.
- Reverend Trask’s ghost lets out one of these when he walls up Barnabas.
- Quentin’s ghost lets out one of these when he chases the present-day Collinses from Collinwood.
- Aristede and especially Count Petofi are fond of these as well.
- Expy Coexistence: The Big Finish audio story The Darkest Shadow features a crossover appearance by Alexander Vlahos as Dorian Gray from The Confessions of Dorian Gray. It also features Quentin Collins, who is himself an expy of Dorian Gray.
- Facial Horror:
- Zombie Josette◊, as seen in a dream, looks like her face is melting off. Zombie Jeremiah◊ doesn't fare much better, and he's real.
- The Hand of Count Petofi causes Quentin Collins and Evan Hanley to suffer this when touched by it. Both times, the victim's face is reminicent of crumpled-up paper, with random wrinkles and creases. Evan also has one of his eyes bulging out of its socket and hanging lower down than it should on his face, while Quentin looks as though he only has empty hollows where both eyes should be.
- Zombie Josette
- Failed Future Forecast: In-Universe: Having been gifted a crystal ball by Burke, David makes some predictions. First, he says Bill Malloy was killed — by Roger. Second, he says Carolyn will not marry Joe — instead, she will marry Burke. He’s half right on both counts.
- Fake Brit: In-Universe. Barnabas pretends to be his own descendant, who supposedly came from England. This is based on his father's lie that he left for England in 1796.
- Fate Worse than Death:
- Immortal vampire Barnabas is chained up in his coffin for over 170 years.
- In hinting at Petofi’s Grand Theft Me plans for Quentin, Aristede says Petofi’s plans are far worse than death.
- Faux Affably Evil:
- When we first meet Barnabas, he gives the impression of a perfect gentleman with Old World manners. In reality, he is a vampire who, even aside from attacking women to drain them of blood, is a Bad Boss, regularly beating Willie, and who kidnaps and terrorizes Maggie in an attempt to brainwash her into becoming Josette.
- Count Petofi introduces himself saying, “Count Petofi, at your service.” He then goes on to terrorize people to get his way, making deals to undo the damage he’s done only to go back on said deals. If he’s ensnared you, he takes immense delight in reminding you how utterly screwed you are and that there’s nothing you can do about it.
- Fauxlosophic Narration: At the beginning of every episode in order to attempt to set a gothic mood. Originally done by Victoria, but others started joining in especially after she left the show.Vicki: My name is Victoria Winters...
Audience: WE KNOW!!!! - Femme Fatale:
- Angelique is a seductive woman, who is actually a witch (and temporarily during one arc, a vampire) who uses magic and murder to get what she wants.
- Laura is also an attractive woman. Too bad she's a phoenix, whose goals include immolating not only herself but any children her husband might have with her.
- The Film of the Series:
- The original series was accompanied by two films using the same story and actors, House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows. The latter was supposedly a sequel to the former, but had little continuity with it aside from a reference to the last Collins family member inhabiting Collinwood before her recent passing being Mrs Stoddard, who'd survived the first movie.
- Many years later, the 2012 Tim Burton film Dark Shadows would serve as an Affectionate Parody of the series, in a very different continuity.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling:
- This is why Elizabeth is running things instead of Roger. After their father died, Roger blew his share of the inheritance and listed his share of the family business for sale. Elizabeth bought him out to keep everything in the family.
- In 1897, we have two foolish siblings and two responsible siblings. Edward and Judith are the responsible siblings, managing family affairs with Judith ending up as head of the family. Carl is a prankster; and Quentin II starts out as a womanizer who was exiled from Collinwood after an affair with his sister-in-law, dabbles in the occult, and is an overall scoundrel before his Heel–Face Turn.
- A darker example is Quentin and Gabriel in 1840. Quentin is in charge of things while Gabriel relies on the Collins name, pretends to be disabled, frames Quentin for murder, and never reforms.
- Forced Transformation: Finding himself inexplicably in love with Josette (due to Angelique’s magic), Jeremiah resolves to leave Collinwood. To prevent this, Angelique causes a family emergency by making Joshua disappear by turning him into a cat. She later threatens to turn Ben into a moth.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Matthew Morgan first meets Burke Devlin, Matthew tries to strangle Burke. This is a subtle clue that he’s willing to use violence to defend the Collinses.
- In 1795, time-traveler Vicki brought a Collins family history book from the present day, which foreshadows the tragedies about to befall the Collins family, including Josette's and Sarah's deaths.
- In 1897, Jamison dreams about 1969, in which Quentin's ghost relates three events that led to Quentin's death.
- In 883, Petofi gets the idea to use Barnabas to travel to 1969, planning to exploit his relationships with the present-day Collins family. Just a few episodes later, the Leviathans will carry out a variation of this plan.
- Also, Carolyn's dying message in 1995, which foreshadows what happens once Barnabas and Julia return to 1970, that lead Collinwood to become a ruin.
- Foregone Conclusion: The 1795 arc was full of these (Barnabas becoming a vampire and his subsequent imprisonment in his coffin, the early death of Cute Ghost Girl Sarah Collins, etc.). Here's a promo shot specifically for it, promising to "discover the origins of this man and the secret of the chained coffin."
- Frame-Up:
- After trying to kill Roger, David clumsily attempts to frame Burke for the deed, having second thoughts at the last minute.
- In the 1795 storyline, Angelique frames Vicki for witchcraft. It’s implied she did the same to Sarah’s original governess, Phyllis Wick, the first time around.
- In 1840, a possessed Gerard tries to frame Quentin for witchcraft.
- Frankenstein's Monster: In curing Barnabas of his vampirism, Dr. Lang reenacts Frankenstein's experiment, creating an artificial man out of parts assembled from dead bodies. The creation is even named 'Adam', like the original.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Barnabas, after significant character development. In one of the better done sequences, we see Barnabas Collins the man regain the upper hand over Barnabas the Monster, when he refuses to be party to murdering a man to gain freedom from his curse.
- Fright Deathtrap:
- Although Josette’s first death is labeled a suicide, it’s actually this trope, as she jumps off Widows’ Hill while running away from Barnabas, whom Angelique has made her fear.
- While fleeing Quentin, whom she thinks is actually Petofi, Beth falls from widows’ Hill.
- Genre Shift: From a fairly standard Soap Opera (with a slight Gothic Horror tint) to the full fledged Supernatural Soap Opera it is remembered as.
- Ghost Story: Barnabas telling Vicky and Carolyn how Josette died. That he did it during a thunderstorm with the power out was a nice touch.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Poor, poor Joe Haskell, last seen carted away to Windcliff Sanitarium, screaming in terror after finding out his cousin Chris was a werewolf.
- Gold Digger: Being a wealthy family that dates back to the seventeenth century, the Collinses attract their faire share of them.
- In the backstory, Paul Stoddard married Elizabeth for her money, and tried to abscond with a good deal of the family wealth when he left.
- Jason McGuire tries to blackmail Elizabeth into marriage, for the same purpose.
- In 1795, Nathan Forbes pursues Millicent, seeking the money she was left by her late parents.
- In 1897, having engineered Minerva’s death, Gregory Trask marries Judith for her money. At the same time, he pursues other women for their money, driving one to suicide.
- Grand Theft Me: In 1897, Petofi switches bodies with Quentin II, then attempts to do the same with Barnabas — both of whom are alive in 1969 — in order to escape into the future.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Satan. Although he only appears in two episodes, credited as Diabolos, he is behind Angelique, Nicholas Blair, Judah Zachery, and — according to Word of God — the Leviathans.
- The Grim Reaper: Mr. Best, who makes a deal with Amanda Harris in 1897, only to collect in 1970.
- Gypsy Curse: Quentin II married Jenny, a Gypsy, then abandoned and later killed her. In revenge, Jenny's sister, Magda, cursed Quentin to become a werewolf.
- Harmful to Minors: Violence
- David
- First, his mother returns, intending to immolate him along with herself.
- Second, Barnabas considers killing him.
- Third, he becomes a victim of the Dream Curse.
- Fourth, he and Amy are lured into Quentin’s “game” and possessed, with the object being David’s death.
- Fifth, he and Amy are brainwashed into the Leviathan cult, which plans to kill Amy.
- Sixth, in a negated timeline, he and Hallie are possessed and ultimately killed by Gerard.
- Sarah dies as a result of Angelique’s curse.
- Daniel is menaced by Nathaniel and his confederate, Noah Gifford.
- Jamison and Nora.
- They are sent to an abusive Boarding School of Horrors.
- Their mother returns, intending to immolate them with herself.
- Jamison is possessed by Quentin, then Count Petofi.
- Nora sees Barnabas bite Charity.
- In the negated timeline, Gerard kills Tad and Carrie. Twice.
- In the backstory of 1841 Parallel Time, Melanie, then a child, was driven insane by the cursed room.
- David
- Haunted House:
- Collinwood, which is haunted, at various times, by the ghosts of Quentin Collins II and Beth Chavez, Jenny Collins, Jeremiah Collins, Peter Bradford, Gerard Stiles, Daphne Harridge, Tad Collins, and Carrie Stokes. In Parallel Time, the ghosts include Damien Edwards and Brutus Collins.
- The Old House, which, early in the series, is haunted by Josette and Sarah Collins.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Reverend Trask, a witch hunter in a series where witches are real and oftentimes evil. However, the woman he persecutes is the innocent Victoria Winters. Trask is eventually talked into a Heel–Face Turn as a ghost.
- Headless Horseman: Judah Zachery's disembodied head and his headless body terrorize Collinsport briefly in 1840.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Angelique finally renounces witchcraft, and is promptly shot to death by witch hunter Lamar Trask.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door:
- Reverend Trask is some mixture of this and a Wild Card. He's obsessed with rooting out evil, but tends to become focused on a singular target regardless of guilt. Of his three major targets, one was totally innocent Vickie, one he had a legitimate grievance against Barnabas had killed him in 1795, and one was an actual villain Angelique. He also does battle with the Obviously Evil Nicholas Blair, but in that case it was Blair who picked the fight, not Trask.
- Evan Hanley. The Collins family lawyer in 1897, he works for Edith and Judith, but at times, furthers the schemes of Quentin, Gregory Trask, and Count Petofi.
- Heel–Face Turn:
- Barnabas, initially an Expy of Dracula, became a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire.
- Quentin II was originally an evil ghost who terrorized David and Amy. When his death was prevented, he became one of the main protagonists.
- Heroic Bastard: If we accept the idea that Vicki was Elizabeth’s love child, she fits this trope.
- Hellhole Prison: Dartmoor Prison, from which Aristede escaped, had been run by a sadistic warden who flogged his charges with chains for fun, beating a few of them to death the month before his murder.
- Hiding Your Heritage: Jenny Collins is revealed to be Romani, which the Collins family only learns after her death. She passed for white while alive, refusing to acknowledge her sister Magda, saying at one point how angry she was when Magda and Sandor showed up in their caravan and started living in the Old House.
- Hoist by His Own Petard:
- To punish Aristede for his unwitting betrayal, Petofi has Tate paint the portrait of Garth Blackwood to bring him to life to kill Aristede. After killing Aristede, Blackwood ends up killing Petofi.
- To silence Charity, Petofi causes her to be possessed by Pansy Faye. Too bad she’s a psychic whose abilities make her a thorn in his side, ultimately contributing to his final downfall.
- Hollywood Genetics: Just how the hell do two black-haired parents like Gregory and Minerva Trask have a blonde-haired daughter like Charity?
- Hollywood Law:
- Elizabeth orders Collins family attorney Frank Garner to represent Laura in Arizona in the event of a murder charge. However, attorneys are generally licensed state by state, which takes no small amount of time and money per state. There is nothing to indicate that Frank, a Maine attorney, would be barred in Arizona.
- When Elizabeth is incapacitated due to Laura, Frank specifies that her will names Carolyn as her agent. There are two problems with this:
- First, a will only takes effect upon death. The proper document to give someone authority in the event of incapacity is a power of attorney.
- Second and far more important it is established that Carolyn is a minor. A minor cannot serve as an agent under any circumstances.
- Hollywood Satanism: This show's take on witchcraft blends this with Hollywood Voodoo, complete with VoodooDolls. Witch Angelique and warlocks Nicholas Blair and Judah Zachery profess allegiance to Satan, with Angelique praying to Satan in one episode and Judah inviting Edith to do so in 1840.
- Hollywood Voodoo: Angelique is from Martinique and her powers evoke this trope, including VoodooDolls and controlling a zombified Quentin in 1897.
- I Have Your Beloved: Subverted in the Leviathan arc, when the Leviathans claim to be holding Josette hostage to pressure Barnabas to carry out their schemes. When a seance is held to contact Josette, she assures them that she knows of no Leviathans.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die:
- Josette DuPres, whose suicide resulted from Angelique's machinations. One of Barnabas' primary motivations through much of the series is to prevent her death or to bring her back to life. An unusual example, as Josette's death serves as the motivation for Barnabas' more selfish actions, including kidnappping and attempting to brainwash Maggie, and, even after his Heel–Face Turn, attempting to brainwash other women into becoming Josette.
- A better example is Roxanne from Parallel Time, with whom Barnabas falls in love, finally able to get over Josette. Unfortunately, as Barnabas, Julia, and Roxanne are escaping into the main universe, the room that serves as the gateway between universes changes, with only Barnabas and Julia inside and Roxanne trapped in a burning Collinwood. Barnabas subsequently finds that Roxanne has a counterpart in the main universe. Too bad she's a vampire, and not the friendly neighborhood variety either. In 1840, Barnabas' attempts to prevent Roxanne from becoming a vampire fail, and she is ultimately killed via exposure to sunlight.
- I Lied: Count Petofi makes bargains with people. But when they attempt to collect on these bargains, it becomes clear he never intended to keep his end of things.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: What finally causes Barnabas' Heel–Face Turn; he has Jeff Clark (Victoria Winters' current paramour) at his mercy, but he overhears Vicki declare her love for him. He finally realizes that her happiness is more important to him than his own, and he lets Jeff go.
- Identical Grandson: Unsurprising, since actors often played different characters within the same time period.
- Louis Edmonds plays Roger, his grandfather, Edward, Edward's great-grandfather Daniel, and Daniel's cousin Joshua.
- David Henesy plays David Collins, his grandfather Jamison, Jamison's cousin twice removed Tad, and Tad's grandfather as a boy, Daniel.
- Joan Bennett plays Elizabeth Stoddard, her grandaunt Judith, Judith's distant cousin by marriage in an earlier generation Flora, and Flora's cousin by marriage in an earlier generation Naomi.
- Nancy Barrett plays Carolyn and her great-great-great-great-grandaunt Millicent.
- Denise Nickerson plays Amy and her cousin, twice removed, Nora.
- David Selby plays Quentin II and his granduncle, Quentin I.
- Kathy Cody plays Hallie Stokes and a distant collateral ancestor, Carrie.
- Jerry Lacy plays three generations of Trasks: the Reverend from 1795, his son Lamar in 1840, and Lamar's grandson in 1897.
- Thayer David plays Prof. Elliot Stokes as well as his ancestor, Ben.
- If I Can Only Move: Elizabeth, thought to be dead, is interred in a coffin. When Carolyn comes to visit her mother's "grave", Liz's voiceover says this.
- If I Can't Have You…: Beth’s motive for killing Quentin. In the original timeline, she succeeded: in the revised timeline, she fails.
- Impairment Shot: When Petofi pulls a Grand Theft Me on Quentin, Quentin wakes up in Petofi's body, but not wearing Petofi's glasses. The screen is blurry to reflect Petofi's poor eyesight until Aristede gives him the glasses.
- Impoverished Patrician: Kitty and her late husband, the latter who was Driven to Suicide, as a result of Count Petofi’s actions.
- Incest Subtext: Played for Horror with Laura and David. She tells him she wants him, she needs him, promising him they can be together forever. She has meetings with him that she insists are “[their] very own secret”. His reactions to her are a mixture of love and terror, including frequent nightmares. She plans to do something with him that will destroy them both. Of course, she plans to immolate the two of them, but her words and mannerisms make it look like she’s planning … something else.
- Insane Equals Violent: Discussed, as state police lieutenant Riley suggests that Laura’s history of mental illness makes it likely that she killed someone in Phoenix.
- Interrupted Suicide:
- Vicki stops Elizabeth from jumping off Widows’ Hill the day before her planned wedding to Jason.
- Harry stops Adam from stabbing himself after he learns of his true nature.
- Jamison stops Beth from poisoning herself after Angelique announces her engagement to Quentin.
- Quentin II
- Mr. Best stops him from killing himself after failing to save Amanda.
- Carolyn walks in on him trying to hang himself following the destruction of Collinwood.
- In 1970 Parallel Time, Quentin tries to hang himself as a result of Angelique’s spell making him obsessed with Maggie and an unfortunate word choice by Cyrus. Angelique stops him.
- Ironic Nursery Tune:
- Sarah's "London Bridge”, which includes the line, “Take the key and lock her up”, which Sarah sings to Maggie during the latter’s imprisonment.
- David also sings a creepy tune about "Mr. Juggins" (a clothing dummy with a face drawn on it) to the tune of "Yankee Doodle" in one episode during the Ghost of Quentin storyline. Amy sings "Rock-A-Bye Baby" to a doll during the same arc.
- Irony: Matthew Morgan’s initial attempts to silence Vicki regarding Bill Malloy’s death not only arouse suspicion, but arouse suspicion against Roger — the very thing Matthew’s trying to prevent.
- It's All About Me: Petofi explicitly says, in as many words, that only thing that matters to Petofi is Petofi.
- Jekyll & Hyde: Literally, in one of the Mad Scientist plotlines... mild-mannered lab rat Cyrus Longworth took a potion that turned him into aggressive psycho John Yaeger.
- Judge, Jury, and Executioner:
- Garth Blackwood certainly sees himself as this, pronouncing people guilty, passing the death sentence, and carrying it out practically in the same breath.
- Lamar Trask rejects Angelique’s exoneration by the proper authorities and sees himself as this when he kills her.
- Killed Off for Real: Numerous people throughout the series. Please note that, although the following list contains only a few superhuman or supernatural characters, with the remainder being ordinary humans, in this show, even mundane people can be brought back to life via sorcery or Body Surfing, or have their deaths negated via Time Travel.
- Bill Malloy is killed by Matthew Morgan to stop him from airing Collins family dirty laundry
- Matthew Morgan, who kidnapped and was going to kill Vicki to cover up the first murder, was frightened to death by the ghosts of the widows and Bill Malloy
- Dr. Guthrie, a parapsychologist who was working against Laura, is murdered by Laura, who stages a car accident.
- Jason McGuire was killed when he discovered vampire Barnabas in his coffin.
- Dr. Woodard is poisoned by Julia when he discovers Barnabas' secret.
- Burke Devlin dies in a plane crash in South America.
- Jeremiah, whom Angelique has enchanted to fall in love with Josette, is killed in a duel by Barnabas.
- Abigail Collins dies of fright when she sees her apparently dead nephew, Barnabas, risen as a vampire.
- Naomi is driven to suicide upon learning of Barnabas' vampirism.
- Ruby Tate drowns while attempting to escape Barnabas
- Suki Forbes and Maude Browning are strangled by vampire Barnabas.
- Josette is Driven to Suicide by Angelique. Later, when her original suicide is prevented, she kills herself shortly afterward, believing that Barnabas has abandoned her.
- Sarah, seeing Barnabas as a vampire, hides in the cemetery during a storm and dies of pneumonia.
- Noah Gifford, Nathan's accomplice in his attempt to steal money from the Collins family, is shot by Vicki while trying to kidnap Daniel.
- Reverend Trask is bricked by Barnabas.
- Phyllis Wick takes Vicki's place at the gallows and hangs.
- Dr. Lang, who cured Barnabas of vampirism, is killed by Angelique using a Voodoo Doll
- Sam Evans dies from injuries sustained defending Maggie from Adam.
- Tom Jennings, turned into a vampire, is killed by bursting into flames when forced by Barnabas to stay up past dawn. His actor Don Briscoe, however, remains on the show as Tom's Angsty Surviving Twin Chris, who is introduced a bit before Tom's death.
- Eve, Adam's mate, is strangled by a jealous Adam when she pursues Peter Bradford.
- Janet Findley is killed by Quentin's ghost while investigating the hauntings in the West Wing.
- Ezra Braithwaite, called to Collinwood to examine a medallion he made, dies of a heart attack when he sees Quentin's ghost.
- Donna, a friend of Carolyn, is killed when Chris transforms into a werewolf in front of her.
- Edith Collins dies of shock after encountering and recognizing vampire Barnabas.
- Jenny, Quentin's wife, who tried to kill him, is strangled by Quentin.
- Dorcas Trilling, a teacher at Worthington Hall, is killed by Quentin in werewolf form.
- Julianka, granddaughter of King Johnny, is killed by Count Petofi.
- Pansy Faye is killed by newly-turned vampire Dirk Wilkins.
- Minerva Trask is poisoned by Tim Shaw, who was brainwashed to do the deed by Minerva's husband Gregory and Evan Hanley.
- Rachel Drummond, who is held hostage in a pointless attempt to make Barnabas bring back Laura, is shot by Judith on the orders of vampire Dirk.
- Dirk, a vampire, is killed with a stake through the heart.
- Beth jumps from Widows' Hill fleeing from Quentin, who she thinks is possessed by Petofi.
- Wanda Paisley is killed in one of Count Petofi's experiments with the I Ching.
- Sandor, whose wife Magda stole Count Petofi's hand, is killed by other Gypsies.
- King Johnny is killed by Aristede.
- Aristede and Evan Hanley are strangled by Garth Blackwood.
- Gregory Trask is sealed with bricks in Quentin's room by Judith and Tim Shaw, after she discovers his plots against her.
- Petofi is burned alive by Garth Blackwood.
- Charles Tate is killed while painting Chris' portrait, when Chris transforms into a werewolf.
- Amanda Harris dies when she and Quentin fail the challenge her Grim Reaper has set out for them.
- Paul Stoddard, Sheriff Davenport, and Lawrence Guthrie are killed by Jeb.
- Philip falls from Widows' Hill after a struggle atop the cliff with Jeb.
- Megan Todd, having been turned into a vampire, is staked through the heart by Willie.
- It is revealed that the Leviathans were responsible for the deaths of Vicki and Peter Bradford.
- Nicholas Blair is killed when Jeb transfers Angelique's shadow curse onto him.
- Bruno is killed by Chris in werewolf form, while trying to kill Carolyn.
- Jeb, who has renounced the Leviathans and become mortal, is thrown from Widows' Hill by Sky Rumson.
- In revenge for the above, Sky is shot by Barnabas.
- In Parallel Time, Angelique rises from the dead by killing her twin sister, Alexis.
- Also in Parallel Time, Bruno is killed by Angelique with a Voodoo Doll, framing Quentin for his murder.
- In Parallel Time, Horace Gladstone, having attempted to blackmail Cyrus, is killed by John Yaeger
- Again in Parallel Time, John Yaeger/Cyrus Longworth, having abducted Maggie, is killed by Barnabas during her rescue.
- In Parallel Time, Will dies rather than betray Barnabas to Angelique.
- Also in Parallel Time, Hoffman is killed by her counterpart, Dr. Julia Hoffman, to stop her from staking Barnabas.
- In Parallel Time, Carolyn and Elizabeth are killed by Roger, to cover up his murder of Angelique.
- Again in Parallel Time, Fred Block's, Larry Chase's, and Roger's life force are drained by Angelique.
- Also in Parallel Time, Claude North is stabbed by Timothy Stokes, who refuses to return Roxanne to Claude.
- In Parallel Time, Angelique dies when Roxanne, whose life force has been keeping her alive, speaks.
- Also in Parallel Time, Timothy Stokes dies while burning down Collinwood.
- Ben Stokes is forced to kill himself by the head of Judah Zachery.
- Roxanne Drew, turned into a vampire, is killed by being forced by her brother Randall to remain in the sunlight.
- Randall Drew, Daniel Collins, and Edith Collins are killed by Gabriel.
- Mildred Ward, Mordecai Grimes, and Lorna Bell are killed by a possessed Gerard to frame Quentin for witchcraft.
- Gabriel dies falling from the roof of Collinwood.
- Samantha is forced by Joanna to jump off Widows Hill.
- Possessed by Judah Zachery, Gerard is shot by Desmond, ending the possession but killing Gerard as well.
- Having renounced witchcraft, Angelique is shot by Lamar Trask, who in turn, is killed by an enraged Barnabas.
- In Parallel Time, Justin, dying of old age, dies in the cursed room.
- Also in Parallel Time, Daphne dies of illness.
- In Parallel Time, Stella Young, a secretary to the Collins family, is stabbed to death by Melanie, who is prone to bouts of schizophrenia as a result of time spent in the cursed room.
- Again in Parallel Time, a homicidally insane Gabriel is killed by Morgan in self-defense.
- Also in Parallel Time, Morgan is killed by Bramwell and Kendrick in self-defense.
- In the flashback episode to 1680, Amanda Collins, Brutus' wife, and James Forsythe, with whom she is having an affair, are both killed by Brutus. Brutus then kills his sister Constance, who discovered the previous two murders.
- Lampshade Hanging: Unintentional. Louis Edmonds once flubbed a line, referring to his character's ancestors as "incestors." As noted in My Own Grampa below, Roger unwittingly married his own grandmother, Laura, who is an immortal Phoenix.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Julia uses hypnosis to erase Maggie's memories of her abduction by Barnabas.
- Leave Behind a Pistol:
- Upon learning Barnabas' secret, Joshua leaves him alone in a room with a loaded gun, expecting him to do the honorable thing. Unfortunately, the gun is loaded with regular musket balls, to which Barnabas is immune.
- Done more successfully with Gregory Trask. Judith and Tim brick him up in Quentin’s room. After leaving him to suffer over the course of a few episodes, Judith reveals there’s existence and location of a hidden pistol with which to end his torment.
- Leitmotif:
- "London Bridge" for Sarah.
- Both music box tunes for Josette.
- "Ode to Angelique" in both the 1970 parallel time plot and the film Night of Dark Shadows.
- The theme referred to as "Joanna" on most soundtracks was also (over) used in Night of Dark Shadows in scenes featuring Kate Jackson's character Tracy.
- Quentin's gramophone song. Not only is it a plot point at times, but in the Big Finish drama The House of Despair he and Angelique discuss why it fits him.
- "I'm Gonna Dance For You" for Pansy Faye, including when Charity Trask becomes possessed by her ghost.
- "Back at the Blue Whale" for Carolyn, as befitting a Hard-Drinking Party Girl.
- Local Hangout: The Blue Whale is a local bar in Collinsport where people go to unwind. In the early seasons, it has a jukebox.
- The Lost Lenore: Josette, Barnabas' lost love, who killed herself as a result of Angelique's machinations. Barnabas spends most of the series trying and failing to return her to life. Only later in the series is he able to move on, only to have both of his subsequent love interests — Roxanne and Angelique — also die tragically.
- Lottery of Doom: In Parallel Time, from 1680 to 1841, the Collins family holds one of these every generation, in which the "winner" must spend the night in a cursed room, resulting in death or insanity.
- Love Makes You Crazy:
- Angelique. Her obsession with Barnabas, who was about to marry Josette, led to Barnabas' becoming a vampire, as well as the deaths of Josette and Barnabas' family (except for Joshua, Millicent, and Daniel).
- Jenny, Quentin’s wife. When he leaves Collinwood with Laura, Jenny loses her mind and has to be confined in the tower. When he returns, she kills him (temporarily).
- Love Potion: Angelique is fond of these. She uses one to make Josette and Jeremiah fall in love in 1795. Later, she uses one to make Maggie and Quentin fall in love during the Leviathan arc of 1970.
- Love Transcends Spacetime: Peter Bradford follows time-traveling governess Victoria Winters from 1795 to 1968, based entirely on the strength of his love forever. Immediately following their wedding, Vicki and Peter disappear, returning to the 1790s for an off-screen life together.
- Lovecraft Country: Collinsport, a fishing village in Maine, with its seemingly endless fog and storms and hauntings. It even includes an Expy of Cthulhu in the form of the Leviathans.
- Mad Scientist: Three examples:
- Dr. Eric Lang, who successfully cured Barnabas of his vampirism by reenacting Frankenstein's experiment.
- Dr. Cyrus Longworth, who reenacted the experiment of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, turning himself into the sociopathic John Yaeger.
- Dr. Julia Hoffman, upon discovering the identity of the vampire who has been murdering women, terrorizing Collinsport, and who kidnapped Maggie, sought to cure him through unethical experimentation.
- Reluctant Mad Scientist: Dr. Hoffman is also double-timing as the show's Ultimate Reluctant Mad Scientist (at least 4 times): she was forced into participating in Lang's Experiment as his Renfield, then when he died was forced to take over for him, then repeat the same experiment for Nicholas Blair's plan to create a race for Satan. Later, (but probably too soon for Julia), she was kidnapped by Leviathan/Antichrist Jeb Hawkes who wanted her to remove his monstrous elements. Lastly, in 1840, possessed into assembling a third corpse from spare parts to animate Judah Zachary/Antichrist #2. In the audiobooks, she is accosted by an undead Egyptian priest for similar reasons.
- Madwoman in the Attic: Poor Jenny Collins, wife of Quentin II, who lost her mind when Quentin ran off with Edward's wife Laura. As a result, Jenny was locked in the Tower Room at Collinwood.
- Magical Romani: All over the 1897 arc, with multiple curses from various Romani characters periodically appearing throughout.
- Maiden Aunt: Abigail Collins, Barnabas's aunt in 1795. She's an unmarried religious zealot who is quick to accuse anything unfamiliar as being a sign of witchcraft.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe:
- The series teases the idea that Burke is David’s father. Given David’s resemblance to other Collinsesnote , this is unlikely.
- In her arguments with Quentin, Samantha suggests Tad might not be his son. She later admits that’s a lie and, as above, note his resemblance to his grandfather Daniel.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In the early episodes, before the supernatural elements emerge, David claims that he sees and hears ghosts and blames some of the happenings at Collinwood on these ghosts. Of course the others, especially Vicki, don’t believe him, but given how the show develops, one must wonder if David was telling the truth at the time.
- Missing Mom:
- Laura is this to David prior to her return in 1967.
- She was this to Jamison, having run off with Quentin until her return in 1897.
- Mistaken for Suicidal: Implied when Chris (a werewolf) desperately seeks sleeping pills from Julia (to prevent him from attacking people while transformed), Julia (who doesn't yet know of his curse) expresses alarm at his desperation.
- Monochrome Casting: With just three minor exceptions. The entire series, which lasted nearly five years and contained over 1200 episodes, included three actors of color.
- Sho Onodera, who played Mr. Nakamura for a single episode.
- Beverly Atkinson, who played an unnamed nurse in episode 563.
- Henry Baker, who played Istvan, King Johnny’s voiceless bodyguard.
- Morality Pet: Jamison is this to his uncle Quentin. Even before his Heel–Face Turn, Quentin’s selfless actions are motivated by Jamison, and Quentin characterizes his nephew as the only person he ever truly loved.
- The Movie: House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows, neither of which took place in the main continuity despite featuring the same actors. House was a more grisly retelling of the introduction of Barnabas, whereas Night was barely connected at all, essentially retconning all characters and lore for a new story involving Angelique's spirit trying for a Reincarnation Romance with Quentin.
- Multiple Demographic Appeal: The show had the normal soap opera watchers, but also attracted a large number of kids ("running home from school to watch Dark Shadows" was a popular phrase at the time) as well as horror and monster movie fans of all ages.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: In the 1795 storyline, which Angelique was obsessed with Barnabas, who in turn pursued Josette. Josette's death is the end result of Angelique's schemes.
- My Grandson, Myself:
- Barnabas, the immortal vampire who was turned in 1796, poses as various identically-named descendants in 1840, 1897, 1967, 1970 Parallel Time, and 1995.
- Quentin II, who, in 1897, had a portrait painted that ages instead of him, poses as an identically-named descendant in the then-present of 1970.
- Amanda Harris, who made a deal with The Grim Reaper back in 1897, poses as her granddaughter, Olivia Corey in 1970.
- My Own Grampa: Almost. Laura Collins, a phoenix who was reincarnated every few decades, ended up married to her own biological grandson Roger, whose father was her son Jamison. Never pointed out in the show, either due to censorship or the writers not having the best grasp on the continuity (thanks to Barnabas's time travel adventures, her appearance in the past as the wife of Edward Collins and mother of Nora and Jamison was part of a later arc than her appearance in the present as the wife of Roger Collins and mother of David, so by then the writers could have forgotten some relevant details).
- Mysterious Past:
- Victoria Winters. It’s never resolved in the series, but supplemental material indicates she’s Elizabeth’s illegitimate daughter.
- Jeff Clark, who somehow turns out to be Peter Bradford.
- In 1841 Parallel Time, Melanie, Justin’s and Flora’s adopted daughter, who turns out to be the love child of Justin and Josette.
- Never My Fault: Matthew Morgan claims that he doesn't want to kill Vicki, but she forced him into it. Naturally, she calls him on this.
- Never Sleep Again:
- The victims of the dream curse attempt this.
- Count Petofi tries to switch bodies with Quentin once more, with his plan taking effect once Quentin falls asleep. Discovering this, a possessed Charity tries to keep Quentin awake. To complicate matters, Quentin has been awake for the previous two nights.
- Inverted in an arc where a character turns into a werewolf and kills people in his sleep. He is able to trap his curse in a portrait, but needs to stay awake until it is finished.
- New Era Speech: Although not a speech, in the 1840 storyline, Gabriel warns Barnabas that, with Daniel dead and Quentin in jail, there will be a "new régime" at Collinwood. Gabriel's right as far as it goes — only he will have no part in it; according to Daniel's will, Gerard is to hold Collinwood in trust for Tad until he comes of age, and Gabriel will be killed a few episodes later.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!:
- To thwart Angelique, Stokes and Julia call up the ghost of Reverend Trask. Unfortunately, he’s more interested in going after Barnabas.
- To deflect suspicion off of himself, Barnabas turns Dirk into a vampire. This sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Rachel being killed on Dirk's orders, and Pansy — whom Dirk killed — exposing Barnabas' secret from beyond the grave.
- No Challenge Equals No Satisfaction: Angelique refuses to use a Love Potion on Barnabas, saying he has to turn to her willingly. Doesn’t stop her from using a Scarpia Ultimatum, along with other dirty tricks.
- Non-Indicative Name:
- When Barnabas and Julia are warned about the destruction of Rose Cottage in the 1995 storyline, they are puzzled, not knowing of any building by that name. Later they discover that the house named "Rose Cottage" is actually a mansion.
- Ironically, it would transpire that the two Alternate Continuity movies, House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows, would be better suited to each other's names, since the latter was much more about the significance of the house itself (of course, House had already been made by then) and the former had a greater number of scenes set at night.
- Normally, I Would Be Dead Now:
- Hardly surprising, given the number of supernatural characters, but a special shout out has to go to the human Julia, who survives being attacked and drained by two separate vampires, shot in the chest with a pistol, poisoned, barricaded in a remote location and left to starve and possessed by a malevolent spirit who drains her life force when Barnabas attempts to sever the connection. This doesn't even count the Leviathan storyline where she was kidnapped by zombies after Jabez Hawkes initially planned to kill her but changed his mind. She also survived seeing Jeb Hawkes' True Form which was known to be fatal to mortal eyes. None of this covers the multiple attempts on her life she *doesn't* know about; Barnabas tries to murder her almost as soon as he meets her but she talks him out of it. He goes through a few more attempts before things settle. There's also the tiny fact that she tells Barnabas to his face that she loves him and still manages not to die from the Curse.
- A Super Special Shout-Out in conclusion: Dr. Hoffman's character was originally meant to die. She was going to be murdered by Barnabas Collins after a brief stint on the show, allegedly killed in her own acid baths powering her lab. Come to think of it, Barnabas was supposed to have a brief run and die too.
- Inverted in the case of Angelique, the immortal witch, who rescinds her powers in the 1840 storyline and is felled by a bullet to the chest two days later.
- Hardly surprising, given the number of supernatural characters, but a special shout out has to go to the human Julia, who survives being attacked and drained by two separate vampires, shot in the chest with a pistol, poisoned, barricaded in a remote location and left to starve and possessed by a malevolent spirit who drains her life force when Barnabas attempts to sever the connection. This doesn't even count the Leviathan storyline where she was kidnapped by zombies after Jabez Hawkes initially planned to kill her but changed his mind. She also survived seeing Jeb Hawkes' True Form which was known to be fatal to mortal eyes. None of this covers the multiple attempts on her life she *doesn't* know about; Barnabas tries to murder her almost as soon as he meets her but she talks him out of it. He goes through a few more attempts before things settle. There's also the tiny fact that she tells Barnabas to his face that she loves him and still manages not to die from the Curse.
- Nostalgic Music Box: A music box that belonged to Josette, which Barnabas has as a keepsake and uses in his attempts brainwash successive women into becoming Josette.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent:
- Despite being set in Maine, few of the characters have New England accents. The Transatlantic accents of characters such as Elizabeth and Roger could be explained by education (which accounted for the Transatlantic accents of many Real Life upper class Americans of the period), but most of the locals speak General American English. In the early series, Bill Malloy’s authentic Maine accent stands out.
- None of the French characters, Josette, her father, her aunt, and Angelique have French accents.
- Not Using the "Z" Word: The word "vampire" is used pretty rarely, not showing up at all until the 1795 storyline when Angelique explains her curse to Ben. This makes the scene where Barnabas reveals himself to his father by shouting "I am a vampire!" quite shocking and moving.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Jeb Hawkes' true form is never shown on screen.
- Ominous Music Box Tune: Josette's music box, used to brainwash Maggie during her time as Barnabas's captive vampire-bride-to-be. The tune itself shows up periodically where Josette is involved, with the music box itself usually not far behind.
- One-Steve Limit: Even if we ignore Parallel Time counterparts, other examples are present, usually concealed by nicknames, titles, or middle names:
- Bill Malloy and Willie Loomis.
- Joseph “Joe” Haskell and Joseph, the name of the Leviathan child as a baby.
- James Blair, an associate of Burke Devlin, and James Forsythe, the business partner and murder victim of Brutus Collins in 1680 Parallel Time.
- Tim Shaw and Timothy Elliot Stokes, the latter referred to either as Elliot (by Julia) or Professor Stokes.
- David Collins and Dr. Dave Woodard, the latter referred to as Dave or Dr. Woodard.
- Dr. Peter Guthrie and Peter Bradford, the former referred to as Dr. Guthrie.
- Elizabeth Stoddard, known as Elizabeth, Liz, or Mrs. Stoddard; and Elizabeth "Beth" Chavez.
- Charles Tate the artist in 1897 and Charles Dawson the lawyer in 1840.
- Amanda Harris in 1897 and Amanda Collins, Brutus’ wife in 1680 Parallel Time.
- Henry “Harry” Johnson and Henry Osmond.
- King Johnny Romano and John Yaeger
- Sarah Collins and Sarah Johnson, the latter known to everyone as Mrs. Johnson.
- Edward Collins and Edward “Ned” Stuart.
- Averted as there four separate characters (and a fifth on ''Night of Dark Shadows) named Quentin Collins, all played by David Selby. To wit - 1897 Quentin Collins, 1970 Parallel Time Quentin Collins, 1840 Quentin Collins, and 1841 Parallel Time Quentin Collins.
- Only Known by Their Nickname:
- Joseph “Joe” Haskell, Collins fishing fleet employee and the love interest of Carolyn and later Maggie.
- Samuel “Sam” Evans, alcoholic artist, associate of Roger, and father of Maggie Evans.
- Margaret “Maggie” Evans, waitress and eventual governess for David and Amy.
- William “Bill” Malloy, manager of the Collins fishing fleet.
- William “Willie” Loomis, initial henchman of con artist Jason Mc Guire and eventually The Renfield to Barnabas. His Parallel Time counterpart is known as Will.
- Dr. David “Dave” Woodard.
- Anthony “Tony” Peterson, attorney.
- Benjamin “Ben” Stokes, Collins family servant in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
- Henry “Harry” Johnson, shiftless son of maid Sarah Johnson.
- Thomas “Tom” Jennings, turned into a vampire by Angelique.
- Christopher “Chris” Jennings, werewolf and brother of Tom Jennings.
- Amelia “Amy” Jennings, kid sister of the above two.
- Edward “Ned” Stuart, brother, and initial guardian, of Sabrina Stuart.
- Elizabeth “Beth” Chavez, ghost, maid, and love interest of Quentin Collins.
- Timothy “Tim” Shaw, childhood sweetheart of Rachel Drummond.
- Katherine “Kitty” Soames, Lady Hampshire, widow of an impoverished aristocrat and reincarnation of Josette.
- Schuyler “Sky” Rumson, Leviathan cultist and husband of Angelique.
- Jebez “Jeb” Hawkes, the Leviathan child as an adult.
- Wilfred “Fred” Block, groundskeeper of Collinwood in Parallel Time.
- Caroline “Carrie” Stokes, granddaughter of Ben Stokes.
- Only One Name:
- Aristede, Petofi's servant in 1897.
- Joseph, the initial form of the Leviathan creature.
- Bruno, one of the Leviathan cultists, in the main timeline. Averted in Parallel time, where his counterpart is given the surname Hess.
- Roxanne in Parallel Time. Averted by her main-timeline counterpart, who is named Roxanne Drew.
- Lazlo, Angelique's servant in 1840.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: A werewolf in the show doesn't just change during the full moon, but on the night before and the night after as well.
- Outliving One's Offspring:
- Joshua Collins outlives both his children (Barnabas and Sarah), as does his wife Naomi - though she commits suicide soon after they're gone.
- Quentin Collins's infant son dies. He was unaware of his children's existence before his son's death, though he becomes concerned for his daughter afterward. Due to the nature of the curse, he also outlives said daughter, though she was an adult by the time of her death.
- Roger Collins, albeit very briefly, when David dies in the present concurrent with the 1897 arc.
- Outside-Genre Foe: Barnabas. Before he shows up, the only other paranormal thing in town is Josette, whom every other character believes is a figment of David's imagination. Throughout all the investigation of the mysterious puncture wounds that show up on the necks of Loomis, Maggie, and assorted cattle, no one so much as utters the word vampire, even in jest, as though they don't know what one is.
- Parental Issues:
- Carolyn’s abandonment by her father plays a role in her commitment issues with Joe.
- Being in Collinwood certainly doesn’t help, but the nastier aspects of David’s personality stems from his emotionally abusive father and Missing Mom. Then his mother returns and tries to immolate him.
- Pendulum of Death: In episodes 795 and 796 ("The Pits" and "Death and Taxes") Aristede straps Quentin to a table beneath a slowly descending swinging axe blade as he attempts to extort the Legendary Hand of Count Petofi from Angelique.
- Playground Song: Sarah is fond of these. When she meets David, she sings "London Bridge". Later, she uses a counting rhyme to help Maggie escape from Barnabas.
- Poisoned Chalice Switcheroo: Sent by Cassandra to poison Professor Stokes, Tony falls afoul of this trope when a suspicious Stokes secretly switches the cups.
- Practically Different Generations:
- 1795
- Joshua is 65 years old. His first cousin, Daniel, is ten, implying there may have been a significant age gap between their respective fathers.
- Despite being Joshua’s brother, Jeremiah is closer in age to his nephew and Joshua’s son, Barnabas.
- Sarah is ten while her brother Barnabas is (supposedly) twenty-five.
- Daniel is ten while his sister Millicent is twenty-three.
- In 1968, Tom and Chris Jennings are twenty-four while their sister Amy is around eight or nine.
- 1795
- Pragmatic Villainy: The reason the Leviathans are against killing people because they’re vulnerable to ghosts.
- Prematurely Grey-Haired: Seeing Chris transform into a werewolf instantly makes his fiancée Sabrina's hair go white with shock. When she recovers, her hair regains its natural color.
- Psycho Supporter: Matthew Morgan is one to Elizabeth, leading him to kill Bill Malloy, who was in the process of uncovering Collins family dirty laundry.
- Put on a Bus: Both Joe Haskell in 1969 and Maggie Evans in 1970 were sent to Windcliff Sanitarium. Joe was sent there when, after being repeatedly Mind Raped by Angelique and discovering that his cousin Tom had become a vampire and his cousin Chris was a werewolf, he went insane and tried to abduct young Amy. Maggie was sent there to protect her from the vampire Roxanne Drew. Neither they nor their respective actors appeared on the show again.
- Recycled Premise:
- In 1970, David and Hallie have to deal with two ghosts — a malevolent man and the benevolent woman he loves — just like David and Amy did in 1968-9.
- In 1840, (1970 in Real Life) Quentin is on trial for witchcraft. He is innocent of the charge and being framed by a real warlock. Similarly, in 1795-6 (1967-8 in Real Life) Vicki was on trial for witchcraft, being a similarly innocent victim of a frameup by an actual witch.
- Recycled Soundtrack: Not only did the series re-use its music, House of Dark Shadows was also almost entirely reliant upon the show's recordings. Night of Dark Shadows, though also featuring a Recycled Soundtrack, had more original music written for it.
- Reincarnation Romance: No less than four times in the show did Barnabas fall in love with a woman believing she was the reincarnation of his beloved Josette. Only the last one, Kitty Soames, was her reincarnation, and after she died, Josette's ghost finally told him he needed to move on.
- Remember the New Guy?: Tom Jennings was presented as always having been close to Maggie and Joe, despite no mention for hundreds of episodes.
- The Renfield: Barnabas's instinct seems to be to locate someone who fits this trope whenever he finds himself in a new situation. Most notably, the reluctant Willie Loomis after he unwittingly releases Barnabus from his coffin.
- Resist the Beast:
- After his Heel–Face Turn, Barnabas attempts to resist his vampiric urges, seeking a cure for his condition.
- Cursed to be a werewolf, Quentin tries to keep from harming others before his portrait effectively cures his condition.
- Chris, also a werewolf, tries to keep from harming others, with sleeping pills and later by having Barnabas lock him in a secret room.
- Revenge Myopia: Angelique tells Nicholas she hates Barnabas for all the years she’s suffered because of him, oblivious to the fact that, while he did dump her after having slept with her, her turning him into a vampire and engineering the deaths of his mother, aunt, uncle, sister, and Josette were far worse than anything he did to her.
- Running Gag: Reverend Trask and his great-grandson, Gregory, both get bricked in the manner of The Cask of Amontillado.
- Sadist:
- Gregory Trask, the headmaster of Worthington Hall, takes pleasure in knowingly punishing kids for things they didn’t do, including locking nyctophobic kids in dark rooms, delighting in their screams.
- Aristede takes great pleasure in killing people in creative ways.
- Garth Blackwood, as warden of Dartmoor Prison, flogged his prisoners with chains for fun, beating three of them to death the month before Aristede killed him.
- Sadly Mythtaken: Tad and Carrie are referred to as the astral twins of David and Hallie. However, in astrology, astral twins refers to people who are born at the same time, latitude, and longitude. Being born 130 years before David and Hallie, Tad and Carrie could not possibly be their astral twins. Curious, because reincarnation is a thing in this series and would fit the circumstances much better.
- Same Surname Means Related: Averted in at least a couple cases:
- Investment banker James Blair, an associate of Burke Devlin, shares the same last name as Nicholas Blair, though there is no indication of any relationship between the two.
- Parapsychologist Peter Guthrie shares a surname with special detective Lawrence Guthrie, one of Jeb’s victims. No mention is made of any relationship between the two
- Buzz Hackett, Carolyn’s biker fiancé when she’s trying to get back at Elizabeth for marrying Jason, shares the last name as Michael Hackett, one of the forms of the Leviathan child. Obviously, they are unrelated..
- Ruby Tate, one of Barnabas’ victims in 1796, is apparently no relation to the artist Charles Delaware Tate.
- Questionable with Judge Hanley, who presides over Vicki’s trial in 1796, and Evan Hanley, the Collins family lawyer in 1897. No explicit connection is made between the two, but given not only their last name but shared profession, Evan might be the judge’s descendant.
- Satan:
- Although the big guy himself, credited as Diabolos, appears in only two episodes in the series, during the Nicholas Blair arc, he serves as a Greater-Scope Villain, being behind such figures as Angelique, Nicholas Blair, Judah Zachery, and, according to Word of God, the Leviathans.
- Evan and Quentin attempt to summon him in 1897.
- The Scapegoat:
- In 1795-6, Angelique frames Vicki for her witchcraft.
- In 1897, to throw suspicion off himself, Barnabas turns Dirk into a vampire.
- The Leviathans frame Philip for Jeb's murders.
- In 1840, the possessed Gerard frames Quentin for his witchcraft.
- Scarpia Ultimatum:
- Levelled against Barnabas by (who else) Angelique. She actually uses this twice: once she makes him marry her if she saves his sister (whose pains Angelique caused for exactly this purpose), and once they are married, she threatens Josette's life to keep Barnabas acting as a "faithful husband." When he tries to remove Josette from danger, the threat is simply expanded to his family.
- During the 1897 arc, she uses this against Quentin as well. She persuades him to marry her in exchange for healing Jamison from Petofi's spells. Later, when Quentin reneges and tries to pursue Amanda Harris, Angelique threatens Amanda to keep him in Collinsport.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: This is Jeb’s attitude as an adult. He basically throws the Leviathan rulebook out the window, saying his will is the only thing that matters.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Before he is released by an unwitting Willie Loomis in 1967, vampire Barnabas Collins had been chained in his coffin for over 170 years.
- Security Cling: Done wordlessly by Daphne and the possessed David and Hallie, when Gerard who is really Judah Zachery, kills them.
- Series Continuity Error: A few, including:
- Josette was originally said to have lived from 1810-1834. This was subsequently shifted back in time by 36 years.
- During his earliest episodes, it's clear that Barnabas was supposed to be from the 1830s, rather than the 1790s.
- Originally, Dr. Hoffman was supposed to be male, and was referred to as such shortly before her first appearance.
- Similarly, Amy's original name was Molly.
- After Vicki's return, Elizabeth referred to Daniel as her great-great-grandfather. Later episodes would reveal that he is, in fact, her great-great-great-grandfather.
- When Barnabas first describes Josette's marriage to his uncle Jeremiah, it's clearly as an Arranged Marriage to a much older man that she clearly did not want, and that their relationship was adulterous. When we see them in 1795, Jeremiah is much closer to Barnabas's age and the marriage was a spell cast by Angelique.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong:
- Subverted in the 1795-6 time period. Any attempt to change things in this period are doomed to fail.
- Played partially straight in 1897. Barnabas and Julia fail to completely prevent or end the werewolf curse, or save Beth, but Quentin is saved, preventing the haunting in 1968-9.
- Also played partially straight in 1840. Barnabas and Julia fail to save Roxanne, but she doesn’t live into the present day. What’s more, they save the Collins family of that era, thwarting a possessed Gerard’s plan and preventing the catastrophe of 1970.
- The Show Must Go On: Numerous times:
- Barnabas's heart-wrenching dramatic pauses were reportedly just Jonathan Frid forgetting his lines.
- Frid accidentally walked in on the end credits while carrying everyone's coats...
- The camera once caught Frid quite visibly picking his nose when he thought the camera was pointed on Robert Rodan and Betsy Durkin.
- Given that the show was "live" because at the time editing costs were off the chart there are really too many to list from bugs flying around actor's heads to people tripping. In a rare instance Frid managed to get them to edit an particularly bad gaffe on his part by agreeing to waive a bonus owed for working extra late on an episode.
- Plus, the very first thing the show ever aired: The ABC announcer saying in an irritated tone, "Okay, I'm here. What do you want me to do?" (pause) "I can't see the slate!" He then proceeds to read the episode number as usual.
- In one of the better-done dramatic moments of the series, when the witch Angelique is face-to-face with the newly risen vampire Barnabas, alone and cornered by the monster she has created, simultaneously grief-stricken, terrified, and even remorseful, as Barnabas realizes the true horror of his new status, we see a stage hand realize that he is in the camera view-zone...
- Maggie mysteriously receives a pair of expensive earrings. She and Joe start fighting about her wearing them... And one falls out, causing the two to continue to have the argument while one of them is missing. Kathryn Leigh Scott attempts to hide it with her hand but it's obvious.
- Sinister Minister: Reverend Trask in 1795, a fanatic witch-hunter from Salem. His descendant in 1897, Reverend Gregory Trask, is quite possibly even worse - while his ancestor was willing to kill innocent people on the charge of witchcraft, he was much more singularly targeted in his crusade, focusing almost solely on Vicki.note Gregory Trask runs a Boarding School of Horrors that has been abusing countless children for years, some of them into adulthood, such as Rachel Drummond and Tim Shaw.
- Spoken Word in Music: The soundtrack for the series features Jonathan Frid and David Selby performing what may be a forerunner of spoken word goth music.
- Spooky Séance: A staple of the series. Most notably, a seance to contact Sarah is what sends Vicki back to 1795, beginning the first Time Travel arc of the series. Unfortunately, her participation in the seance comes to light at her trial for witchcraft and is used against her.
- Stalker with a Crush: Angelique — and how! Spurned by Barnabas, she coerces him into marriage using a Scarpia Ultimatum. Out of continued jealousy over Barnabas' love for Josette, Angelique curses Barnabas with vampirism and engineers the deaths of Josette and most of the Collins family.
- Start of Darkness: The entire 1795 storyline, for Barnabas, as it shows how he became a vampire as well as the family tragedies that embittered him.
- Sting: The show had a variety of different stings to choose from before each Act Break.
- Succubi and Incubi: In Parallel Time, Angelique is functionally the G-rated version of a succubus, draining the warmth of men who hold her in their arms before ending their lives via a kiss.
- Supernaturally Young Parent: In 1970, Quentin II is chronologically 99 years old but hasn't aged since he was 27. His great-grandchildren, Chris and Amy, are 25 and 9 respectively.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: When Victoria was written off the show, Maggie Evans was shifted into her role as David's governess and the primary POV character.
- Sycophantic Servant: Willie, to Barnabas. Also, Ben Stokes.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Eventually leads to a Heel–Face Turn for Barnabas, Angelique, and Quentin.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Discussed by Burke when he’s talking to Dr. Woodard about Maggie’s kidnapper. He suggests that the idea of an obviously deranged maniac may be misleading; instead, the kidnapper might be someone who blends in with everyone else.
- Third-Person Person: Petofi often refers to himself in this manner.
- Time-Shifted Actor:
- Daniel Collins is played by David Henesy as a child in 1796 and Louis Edmonds as an adult in 1840.
- Edith Collins is first seen as an elderly woman in 1897 played by Isabella Hoopes, and later as a young woman in 1840 played by Terry Crawford.
- An odd case: Parallel Time Josette, as an older woman in 1840, is played by Mary Cooper. Regular Time Josette, who died in 1796 as a young woman, is played by Kathryn Leigh Scott. Presumably, her younger self in Parallel Time would have looked identical to her Regular Time counterpart.
- Time Travel:
- In 1967, a séance transports Vicki back to 1795, bringing a woman of that era to the present. The two switch back just as Vicki is being hanged.
- To stop the ghost of Quentin II from haunting Collinwood in 1969, Barnabas uses I Ching to travel back to 1897. Later, Julia joins him using the same method, but is prematurely pulled back into the present.
- Josette's portrait transports Barnabas and a possessed Kitty back to 1797, where he tries, and fails, to save Josette. He returns to 1969 via the Leviathan stone table.
- Emerging from the parallel universe of 1970, Barnabas and Julia somehow find themselves in the then-future of 1995. They return to 1970 via what turns out to be the Stairway into Time.
- Upon failing to stop Gerard from destroying Collinwood, Julia escapes to 1840 using the Stairway into Time. Later, Barnabas joins her using the I Ching, and Prof. Stokes joins them both using the Stairway. Upon succeeding in their mission, they all use the Stairway to return to the present.
- Time-Travel Romance: Vicki meets jailer Peter Bradford when she's on trial for witchcraft during her accidental trip to 1795. He somehow follows her back to the 20th century, residing there under the name of Jeff Clark. The two marry, and he's suddenly yanked back into the past. Vicki ultimately finds her way to him, and they both ultimately remain in the past.
- Timey-Wimey Ball: To save the present family from the ghost of Quentin Collins, Barnabas travels back to 1897 to save the living Quentin. Once he returns, the family, especially Amy and David, still has memories of Quentin's ghost, despite the fact that, with history changed, Quentin is now still alive and has lived away from Collinsport for decades.
- Title Drop: Near the beginning of Collection 3.Vicki: Barnabas likes this house more than you do.Burke: Yeah, all the darkness and the shadows...
- Four exact title drops take place throughout the series:
"…Collinwood, with all its dark shadows."—Roger Collins, Episode 46"Another touch of blackness has been added to the dark shadows that fill the halls of Collinwood."—Victoria Winters, introduction, Episode 65"What a primitive mind you have Trask… There are other ways of helping you other than running around repeating everything that you say publicly. No, I think it would be best if I just remain in the dark shadows."—Gerard Stiles, Episode 1162"For as long as they lived, the dark shadows at Collinwood were just a memory, of the distant past."—Thayer David, Episode 1245, parallel time, final scene, Epilogue - Together in Death: David, Hallie, and Daphne, the first two being possessed by Tad and Carrie, are killed simultaneously by Gerard, and their bodies are found together in their dying Security Cling in 1970, before Barnabas and Julia change history.
- Unbuilt Trope: For Romantic Vampire Boy; Barnabas is immediately taken with Maggie Evans for her resemblance to his lost love Josette - which he expresses by biting her, kidnapping her, and forcing her to undergo a Death of Personality to turn her into the woman he lost. When she proves too resistant, he simply decides to kill her and start over with Victoria Winters. None of this is ever played for anything but horror. Even after his Face–Heel Turn, whenever Barnabas shows interest in a woman, there's always a predatory element to it. Today it comes off as a preemptive Deconstruction of vampire romances like Twilight (2005).
- Undead Child: Sarah is the ghost of Barnabas' ten-year-old sister, who died in 1796 and haunts the grounds of Collinwood in 1967.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: Tim and Rachel, for each other. Very unlucky indeed, as, having met as children at Gregory Trask's Boarding School of Horrors, they are separated due to Trask's machinations, with Rachel finally being fatally shot on the orders of vampire Dirk Wilkins.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
- Had Barnabas simply left Angelique alone when he was in Martinique, he and his family would have been spared considerable misery.
- Had Quentin II remained faithful to Jenny, and especially not had an affair with his own sister-in-law, he would have been spared the werewolf curse, and Petofi would have never come to Collinwood.
- Desmond really should have left Judah Zachery’s head alone. He certainly should never have thought it was a good idea to obtain it as a gift for his cousin Quentin.
- Gerard should have ditched the Mask of Baal. Because he didn’t, he ended up getting possessed by Judah Zachery, betraying his best friend, and getting killed.
- Vampire Hickey: The usual bite on this show is two puncture wounds in the neck (though occasionally the wrist is bitten instead, as with Willie).
- Vampires Are Rich: Barnabas. How he pays for things like modern clothes and house restoration is anyone's guess.
- Vehicular Sabotage: David removes the bleeder valve to the brakes on Roger’s car, causing a crash in Episode 15.
- Villainous Rescue:
- Petofi stops Beth from killing Quentin.
- Garth Blackwood does this on two occasions.
- He thwarts Gregory Trask’s plot to have Aristede kill Judith and make it look like a robbery.
- He ends up rescuing Barnabas and a possessed Charity from Count Petofi.
- Visions of Another Self: For nearly a whole season, the characters, chiefly Barnabas and Julia, travel to a parallel universe and interact with alternate versions of the present-day Collins family. In the last arc of the series, after the 1840 storyline is resolved, the series then shifts to the 1840 Collins family's Parallel Time counterparts.
- Voodoo Doll:
- Angelique uses these several times.
- She afflicts Barnabas with pain when he refuses her advances.
- She makes Sarah Collins extremely ill, only to "cure" her when Barnabas agrees to marry her. She does it again when Barnabas learns she's a witch (threatening to outright kill Sarah this time), which causes him to shoot her, leading to her casting a curse...
- To stop Dr. Lang from curing Barnabas' vampirism, she uses one to kill the doctor.
- When Barnabas pursues Rachel, Angelique uses a Voodoo Doll to strangle her (fortunately, this is stopped).
- As a demonstration of her power, she uses a Voodoo Doll to strangle Aristede.
- She uses one to turn Roxanne into a vampire.
- Her Parallel Time counterpart uses one to strangle Parallel Time Bruno, serendipitously framing Parallel Time Quentin for the murder, and uses one on Quentin to lure Maggie back to Collinwood.
- Gerard uses one to kill Mordecai, framing Quentin for the deed.
- Angelique uses these several times.
- Wardens Are Evil:
- Played straight with Garth Blackwood, the warden of Dartmoor Prison who flogged prisoners with chains for fun, killing a few of them in the month before his murder.
- Averted with Peter Bradford, Vicki’s jailer in 1796, who ends up representing her at trial and falling in love with her.
- Wham Shot:
- In Episode 70, when Josette’s ghost emerges from her portrait. This is the first time unambiguous supernatural elements appear on the show.
- Episode 210; Willie Loomis finds the secret room in the Collins family crypt, pries it open the coffin within - and out flies a hand that grabs him by the throat.
- Episode 225; Barnabas enters Maggie's room, smiles sinisterly - revealing his fangs.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Sarah gives one of these to Barnabas and Julia, after they kill Dr. Woodard. She says that Barnabas has lost his way and that he will never see her until he is reformed.
- During the Adam and Eve storyline, Julia delivers one to Barnabas when he announces his plan to use Maggie Evans as the lifeforce for Eve.
- What Year Is This?: During the time travel storylines, particularly in 1795 and 1995, Vicki, and later Barnabas and Julia, want to know what year it is.
- Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Totally averted. It's established repeatedly throughout the series that the closest city to Collinsport is the real-world Bangor, Maine.
- Whole-Plot Reference: Several story arcs were taken whole hog from classic horror and gothic literature:
- The initial plot for the show, an orphaned governess coming to an Old, Dark House with a Big, Screwed-Up Family living there, draws from Jane Eyre. This is recycled in 1897 with Rachel Drummond and Jenny Collins acting as the Madwoman in the Attic.
- Burke Devlin's backstory of being falsely imprisoned by Roger and coming back to Collinsport for revenge is The Count of Monte Cristo.
- The Laura Collins storyline borrows a good deal from She.
- The introduction of Barnabas is Dracula, with Vicki as Mina and Maggie as Lucy. Dr. Hoffman was initially set up to be Van Helsing, but was changed to curing Barnabas instead of hunting him, due to the character's unexpected popularity.
- The "Vampire Cure" storyline invokes House of Dracula.
- The Millicent Collins and Nathan Forbes subplot from 1795 invokes Gaslight.
- The Adam and Eve storyline is blatantly Frankenstein.
- The haunting of Collinwood by Quentin Collins and Beth Chavez adapts The Turn of the Screw - completely removing all ambiguity about the ghosts and was adapted again in 1970 with Gerard Stiles and Daphne Harriage.
- The hand of Count Petofi acting as a Jerkass Genie is "The Monkey's Paw."
- Quentin's cure for his werewolf curse, getting a magical painting commissioned that changes every full moon and with the side effect of granting him immortality, invokes The Picture of Dorian Gray.
- The Leviathan arc is an early attempt to adapt the Cthulhu Mythos.
- Quentin's descent into the underworld to rescue Amanda Harris retells Orpheus and Eurydice.
- The first Parallel Time story arc, with PT Angelique as PT Quentin's recently deceased wife casting a shadow on his marriage to PT Maggie, and PT Julia as the housekeeper devoted to the late wife's memory, is clearly based on Rebecca.
- The Cyrus Longworth/John Yeager subplot in PT is based on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
- The 1841 Parallel Time that the show ended with combines Wuthering Heights with "The Lottery."
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Played Straight, Averted quite a few times (having the same actors play multiple characters meant people could be Killed Off for Real), and, in the case of the Leviathans, Justified (they considered ghosts much more dangerous than humans, so killing enemies is an Idiot Ball).
- Wicked Cultured:
- Barnabas starts this way. Ostensibly from England, he displays Continental manners which he learned as the Collins heir in the eighteenth century. In the beginning, he is also a vampire who drains women for their blood and kidnaps Maggie to brainwash her into becoming Josette.
- Count Petofi is a Hungarian count whose tastes include classical music and fine brandy. He ensnares people and makes Leonine Contracts and deals with the devil with them, having no intention of fulfilling his end of the bargain.
- Woman Scorned: It's heavily implied that Barnabas and Angelique had sex before he became engaged to Josette, but Angelique still got the short end of the stick. These events were the catalyst for Angelique's hatred for the Collins family.
- Working-Class Werewolves: Initially played straight with Chris, then inverted with Quentin.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- Laura Collins, who, being a Phoenix, continually comes back in different centuries to sacrifice her children to Ra via burning them to death.
- Barnabas plans to kill David when he thinks the boy knows his secret.
- Angelique uses Sarah Collins's doll as a Voodoo Doll against the girl, first to make her extremely ill, and then threatening to plunge the pin into her heart, killing her.
- Lieutenant Nathan Forbes attempts to kill Daniel Collins, the young brother of his new wife, Millicent, when he learns the boy is now in possession of all Millicent's money.
- The ghost of Quentin possesses David and Amy, and is later said to be outright killing David through this process.
- Gregory Trask (along with his wife Minerva and daughter Charity) and his Boarding School of Horrors Worthington Hall.
- Magda not only curses her brother-in-law Quentin with lycanthropy for his treatment of her sister Jenny, but any firstborn son he and his descendants would potentially have as well. This comes back to bite her when she learns she has a nephew... Downplayed, as the curse does not manifest until adulthood (as seen with Chris).
- Jeb Hawkes breaks David’s leg to teach him his place and plans to kill Amy.
- In the negated 1970 timeline, Gerard kills like a possessed David and Hallie. It’s implied that he was responsible for Carrie and Tad’s deaths in 1840.
- Yandere: Angelique. Prior to his engagement to Josette, Barnabas had an affair with Angelique. She became obsessed with him, using a Scarpia Ultimatum to coerce him into marrying her. Angelique's continued jealousy resulted in Barnabas being cursed to become a vampire as well as the deaths of Josette and much of the Collins family.
- You Can't Thwart Stage One:
- Nothing Vicki does in 1795 prevents the deaths of Jeremiah, Sarah, Josette, or Naomi, and nothing saves Barnabas from becoming — or staying — a vampire.
- Cassandra’s dream curse reaches its conclusion before being thwarted.
- Barnabas and Julia are unable to thwart Quentin’s plans in 1969, requiring Barnabas to travel back to 1897.
- After Jamison’s dream in 1897, the three predicted events leading up to Quentin’s death all take place, only for the actual death to be prevented at the last minute.
- Later, Barnabas and Julia fail to prevent the destruction of Collinwood in 1970, requiring them to return to 1840.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Once Blackwood takes care of Aristede, Petofi and Tate attempt to eliminate him. It only seals the former’s fate.
- You Have to Believe Me!:
- David lapses into this when he tries to warn the family about Barnabas. Justified, as he is ten years old.
- Paul certainly doesn't help himself when he sounds like a paranoid maniac when warning the family about the Leviathans. To be fair, the Leviathans are actually setting out to drive him crazy, with disembodied voices and phone calls that warn him that they are watching his every move.
