709

Barnabas threatens Quentin that Edith's ghost will not rest until her will is found.
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: The great house at Collinwood stands deserted. The living have sought refuge elsewhere, leaving an evil spirit to roam the cold, empty corridors alone. At the Old House, Barnabas Collins remains in a trance. He has employed the mysterious powers of the I-Ching, and gone through the door to the infinite, hoping to find and defeat the spirit that haunts Collinwood. But beyond the door, he has been transported back in time to the year 1897, a time of crisis for every Collins -- a time of suspense and sorrow, for the matriarch of the house is dead.
Barnabas comforts Judith as she looks at Edith in her coffin. He tells her she should cry, but Judith says Edith would want her to be strong. She tells Barnabas she thinks Edith never put the will in it's hiding place and when Barnabas asks if she thinks it might be stolen, she asks him why "he" would steal it.
Act I
Judith asks Barnabas why he thinks the will was stolen. He reasons that Edith would not have forgotten, and Judith decides to blame Magda, but Barnabas reminds her that she said "He".
In his room, Quentin Collins talks to Evan Hanley on the telephone. He has read the will and knows Magda was right, that he gets nothing. Barnabas knocks on the door and Quentin hangs up. Quentin tells Barnabas he has been trying to figure out what he wants in Collinwood and that he is used to being blamed for everything bad that happens in the family. In Quentin's room, Barnabas finds the I-Ching wands, which Quentin says he picked up in the Far East one of the times the family sent him away. He claims to know nothing about using them. Quentin then asks Barnabas why he was accused of stealing the will and Barnabas tells him that Edith's spirit is restless and is lingering to take care of undone things and says she will not rest in peace until the will is found. He threatens that Quentin will discover this.
In the Drawing room, Judith discusses the funeral arrangements with Rachel Drummond and introduces her to Barnabas. Judith then asks Barnabas to serve as a pallbearer, at 2pm tomorrow. Barnabas makes an excuse that he was already expected in Bangor on business. Judith leaves the room and Barnabas talks to Rachel. He tells her she resembles the girl in a portrait at The Old House. He tells her Josette's story. Rachel tells Barnabas she loves the past and he invites her to see the portrait. She tells him what an incurable romantic she is. Quentin and Judith discuss the pallbearer issue when Judith sees a glove on the floor - she recognizes it as one Edith was wearing in the coffin.
Act II
Judith and Quentin go to see Edith, and she is not wearing the glove. Judith becomes upset, saying Edith's spirit must be roaming the house, looking for the will. Judith decides Edith must not be left alone in the room, that they must stand watch over her until the will is found, but Quentin refuses. He leaves the room as Judith starts talking to the corpse.
Downstairs, Quentin paces the floor until Beth Chavez shows up. He tells her he was wanting to see her, and she accuses him of lying. They talk and come very close to each other nearly kissing, but then she changes her attitude and becomes cold. He suggests they could become "more than just friends" sometime and invites her up to his room later. She leaves him on her way to sit with Judith, but encounters Dirk Wilkins in the foyer. It seems they had a date and she is breaking it. Quentin bursts in on them and congratulates Dirk on his excellent taste. Dirk asks how he can be down there when he just heard him, or somebody, inside his room. Quentin runs upstairs as Dirk asks Beth to see him tomorrow night, but Beth is cold and will not give him a definite yes. Upstairs, Quentin sees his room has been ransacked.
Act III
Quentin brings Barnabas to look at the room and accuses Barnabas of ransacking it, doing more damage than a ghost would. Barnabas asks if Edith found the will and Quentin orders him out. Quentin starts to clean up and the lights go out and a heart can be heard beating. Quentin calls to Dirk to bring an oil lamp and when he gets there Dirk says that the lights are not off anywhere else in the house and that he doesn't hear anything odd. He asks Quentin if he has been drinking and Quentin tells him he wants a carriage to take him into town. Dirk protests that the stable boys are asleep and it is not his job to wake them. Quentin protests that Dirk must hear the heartbeat and grabs Dirk, but Dirk pushes him aside and tells him to never call him a liar again. He leaves as Quentin is pleading for the noise to stop. Beth prepares to knock on Quentin's door as Dirk arrives. She tells him Judith wants Quentin to sit with Edith's body, but Dirk tells her it is just an excuse, that he has seen how Beth looks at Quentin and needs to stay away from Quentin. The heartbeat follows Quentin downstairs when he arrives at Edith's coffin.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Quentin: You're a very odd man, Mr. Collins. I find it hard to, uh, figure out exactly what you want in this house -- why you're here.
: Barnabas: Do you spend much time thinking about it?
: Quentin: Recently I have, yes. Why are you here?
: Barnabas: Did you ask me to your room just to have me explain myself, or are you interested to find out why I have accused you of stealing Mrs. Collins' will?
: Quentin: Oh that! But I'm used to being accused of everything that happens -- everything bad, that is. Won't you come in?
----
: Judith: Of course, Edward and I will want you to serve as a pallbearer; the funeral will be at 2:00 tomorrow...
: Barnabas: (startled) 2:00? Well, I'm afraid that I won't be able to be there.
: Judith: Really?!
: Barnabas: (stammering) I have some business in Bangor.
: Judith: Surely you can postpone it!?
: Barnabas: Oh, I only wish I could!
: Judith: But you must try.
: Barnabas: But, I will, but please don't count on me.
----
: Rachel: (about Barnabas's story of Josette and Jeremiah) What a tragic story.
----
: Judith: I'm frightened!
: Quentin: You were always such a scaredy-cat. I remember that. I always hated playing with you.
: Judith: I'm not a child now, Quentin. Open the door!
: Quentin: After you.
----
: Quentin: I simply refuse to give in to this superstitious nonsense about ghosts and wills.
----
: Quentin: Sometimes at night, this house, when I think of all the strange and unexplained things that have happened here, it's as if a curse had been put on it.
----
: Barnabas: I thought of the fact that ghosts often search for something missing.
: Quentin: You are the ghost!
: Barnabas: Prove it!
== Dramatis personae ==
* ← Joan Bennett as Judith Collins →
* ← Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins →
* ← Kathryn Leigh Scott as Rachel Drummond →
* ← Roger Davis as Dirk Wilkins →
* ← David Selby as Quentin Collins →
* ← Terry Crawford as Beth Chavez →
* ← Natalie Norwick as Edith Collins → (uncredited)
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
* This episode was recorded out of broadcast sequence. The previous episode to be recorded was 706.
* First appearance of character Dirk Wilkins. This was the third role played by actor Roger Davis in the original series. [fourth if you count Peter Bradford and Jeff Clark as separate characters]
* Natalie Norwick plays the body of Edith Collins in his coffin instead of Isabella Hoopes.
* There is a tape edit as Quentin and Barnabas discuss the wrecked room.
=== Story ===
* Rather than sticking to the "official" family history of Josette Collins, Barnabas tells Rachel that Josette came from Martinique to marry "his ancestor" for whom he is named, but instead married her fiance's uncle, Jeremiah Collins, whom the "original" Barnabas Collins then killed in a duel. Barnabas knew the official version of the family history and takes quite a chance telling her the real story.
* The west wing storage room and Quentin's room appear for the first time during the year 1897.
* GHOSTWATCH: Judith is convinced Edith's spirit is trying to find the will. Quentin finds his room mysteriously ransacked, then hears the sound of a beating heart.
** It is rather ironic that Quentin is the one being haunted and then accuses Barnabas of being the ghost, when in the present day it was Quentin's ghost haunting Collinwood.
* TIMELINE: Edith's funeral will take place at 2pm tomorrow. About an hour has passed since the start of the episode. Dirk wants Beth to do "something" tomorrow night. Day 280 begins and will end in 711.
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* Jonathan Frid fumbles his lines terribly when Barnabas is talking about Edith hiding her will: "Well, your grandmother, certainly, from what I’ve heard, was not the sort of woman who said, when she was going to do something, that she didn’t do it. She certainly wouldn’t have placed the will in a special place in her coffin, and then… and then forget to have it put there."
* Someone can be heard coughing as Barnabas enters Quentin's room.
* An overhead stagelight can be seen as Quentin exits the drawing room.
* After hearing that somebody is in his room, Quentin starts up the staircase but then stops on the staircase part of the way up. [It would seem that David Selby had to quickly run to the set for the next scene.]
* Once again Barnabas, a vampire, is caught in the reflection of a mirror in Quentin's room. Vampires do not cast reflections as shown in 288 and 704.
* The shadow of the boom microphone pole quickly moves off-screen as Quentin searches his ransacked room and yells for Dirk. Shortly after, the boom microphone itself makes a brief appearance overhead.
* A shadow of a boom mic also appears on the back of Quentin's head as he talks to Beth.
==External Links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 709 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 709 - Forget You0709