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| Barnabas Collins |
When it comes to Halloween, or anything dark and spooky--I'm in! I think it all started in 1966 with my intro to the classic cult soap opera "Dark Shadows" The series ran from 1966-1971, in all there were 1225 episodes. I was 6 years old, and it was my all time favorite right from the start. I can remember my cousin Philip and myself hiding behind a big chair in the living room, watching the show, making sure we were well hidden, just in case... a stray ghost, vampire or werewolf, would miraculously jump through the screen and "get us!" And so my love affair began with the dark and shadowy, and has not wavered since. There's one episode that always stands out in my mind. I was eight years old, and home alone after school. I lived in an apartment. Dark Shadows aired at 4pm, and there I was eagerly watching the show. In this particular viewing there was a disembodied hand, set under glass, (if I'm remembering correctly) well, it escaped! It was floating about in the air, possibly chasing someone, or just floating? All I know is it scared the daylights out of me! I ran back and forth from the television, to the safety of the apartment hallway. I could not keep my eyes off of the screen, even though I was scared silly. If anyone in that apartment complex was looking through their peephole, I must have looked pretty silly running back and forth! Aw what the heck, I was eight years old! It looks much more silly these days when I do it!
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the photo reference for my interpretation
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I seem to be on a roll with black and white posts lately. The illustration above is a pencil portrait of Jonathan Frid. Better known as Barnabas Collins, my all time favorite vampire. A remake movie will be coming out with Johnny Depp playing Barnabas sometime in 2012, I'm sure Johnny will do him justice. Although it's some big shoes to fill! There was a remake in 1991, with Ben Cross, it was okay, and I like Ben Cross, but really, there's only one Baranbas Collins. There were also two movies made--"House of Dark Shadows"(scared the heck out of me) and "Night of Dark Shadows."(no Barnabas in #2)
Well that's that...
Just so I'm clear, you liked this show, right? Score one for latchkey kids. I wasn't allowed to watch it, and I was sure every other kid did. Nice drawing!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I remember watching "Dark Shadows" at my swim club when I was a kid. The pool would empty at 4 PM and everyone would gather aorund the television at the snack bar.
ReplyDeleteWonderful illustration. You've captured the sinister patriarch of Collinswood!
Ooo, another Dark Shadows fan here! I recently re-watched the remake. I was a young teenager when it first came out and I loved it. I didn't realize how low budget (and kind of lame) it was. Gave me a good chuckle.
ReplyDeleteYou're clear Linda :) I liked the show!! Thanks for the nice comment.
ReplyDeleteThank you Josh for sharing your Dark Shadow memory :) and for the complement.
Ruth, do you remember the run away mic that would sometimes hang over the actors heads, or the strings that would hold the various spookies up. Yeah a little cheesy, but I loved it!
Another original fan here. What fun to find Barnabas in IF. Johnny Depp is a great choice for the remake!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit Sandy! Always nice to find kindred spirits~
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