This year I’m counting down the days ‘til Christmas with books and other fun
things readers enjoy! I love the Holiday Season so I’m sharing ideas for you to
fill your holiday stocking!
Yesterday, I shared the first chapter of my newest novel, The Witch's Kiss. Today, I'm looking at some of the inspiration for my writing: the television show Dark Shadows. It was one of my favorites as a child and continues to intrigue me even as an adult.
Dark Shadows was a gothic soap opera about the Collins family which included the mysterious Cousin Barnabas who we learn is a vampire! The show was filled with all things supernatural. Ghosts, werewolves, witches and warlocks. There was also time travel! It kept me glued with all the dramatic plot twists and story lines and interesting characters. The show has garnered a cult following which continues to this day! And I'm fan, too! *waving my hand*
Not only are the episodes available on a Deluxe Edition set of DVDs, there are also books!
I was lucky enough to get the ENTIRE DVD collection as a Christmas gift from my husband last year. Look at that set! Complete with coffin-style case! My husband so loves me! And now I'm able to watch my favorite episodes any time I want. Not only that, now I'm sharing my favorite show with my children who are becoming a new generation of Dark Shadows fans!
Maybe this year I'll find some DS novels in my stocking? Hint, hint, Marc! :)
Dark Shadows’s two most popular characters, Barnabas Collins and Angelique, were eternally bound by love and hate. Now actress Lara Parker, Angelique herself, tells the story of how it all began.
The dashing heir of a New England shipping magnate, Barnabas Collins captures the heart of the exquisite, young Angelique amidst the sensual beauty of Martinique, her island home. But Angelique’s brief happiness is doomed when Barnabas deserts her and becomes engaged to another. With this one betrayal, Barnabas unleashes an evil that will torment him for all time.
For Angelique is no ordinary woman. Raised in the mysterious black art of voodoo witchcraft, she long ago pledged her soul to darkness and became immortal. Vowing to destroy Barnabas, a vengeful Angelique damns him to eternal life as a vampire—a companion to accompany her forever. Little does Angelique understand the depth of Barnabas’s fury....
In Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch Barnabas Collins, the vampire hero of the series, has recently become a human again through the efforts of his devoted descendent Dr. Julia Hoffman and is living in current day Collinsport, Maine trying to adjust to normal life. Although engaged to marry Dr. Hoffman, he falls in love with a mysterious woman named Antoinette who has bought the ruins of "the old house" on the Collins estate and is restoring it while living with a band of hippies in the woods. Antoinette settled in the area because her daughter is being treated in a nearby mental hospital. Her daughter suffers from flashbacks to her previous incarnation as Miranda du Val who was burned as a witch in the Salem witch trials. One of the judges who condemned her to death was a Collins--Barnabas's ancestor. Barnabas is desperate to win Antoinette's love and to protect her and her daughter from the new vampire that he suspects is attacking the inhabitants of Collinsport.
When a portrait is lost that has maintained Quentin Collins's youthful appearance for over a century—and has also kept his werewolf curse at bay—Quentin begins to dread the full moon.
Meanwhile, David, the sixteen-year-old heir to the Collins fortune, has fallen in love with Jacqueline, a young girl living at the Old House who is the reincarnation of Angelique. David and Jacqueline are swept back in time to the prohibition era of the Twenties, where David uncovers the dark secrets of the Collins family history.
Most threatening of all, Dr. Nathanial Blair, an expert in the paranormal, has come to Collinwood because he suspects they are harboring a vampire. Fortunately, Barnabas Collins has returned to his coffin after a disastrous flirtation with life as a human. Nevertheless, what Blair discovers places the entire Collins family in jeopardy.
Happy Holidays!
~Tricia
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