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After David is instructed to stay away from the Old House, he sneaks back in and discovers a brainwashed Maggie dressed as Josette.
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: My name is Victoria Winters. The evenings at Collinwood are quiet now and long. But the twilight seems to hold menace in their lengthening shadows. An omen of rain, and the quiet is disturbed by the strange disappearance of a young woman. It remains a mystery no search can solve. And as the evening comes once again, even the strongest hopes falter. And the night wind says again the word "lost... lost."
Roger is reading the newspaper article concerning the search for Maggie Evans. David is excited that Victoria found the Portrait of Josette, and Roger scolds him for believing in the childish fantasy that Josette's ghost is wherever the painting is. He argues with his father, then goes outside to play. Despite Victoria having told him not to go to the Old House, David goes straight there anyway. He peers through the window and sees Josette--actually Maggie, wearing Josette's wedding gown and wandering around in a daze.
Act I
David knocks frantically on the door, pleading with "Josette" to let him inside. As he turns away, defeated, the door opens of its own accord. David hurries inside, calling for "Josette"; he goes upstairs and discovers Josette's room, and begins talking to her portrait. He can't feel her presence, although he just "saw" her downstairs. Suddenly, the door opens and Barnabas demands to know what David is doing there. David explains he was talking to Josette's portrait, and tells Barnabas he caught a glimpse of her downstairs. Barnabas tries to convince David it was his imagination, then proceeds to scold the boy for peering through the window. He invites David to take a long look at Josette's portrait, and David sadly admits that he can't sense her ghost at all.
Act II
Barnabas returns David to Collinwood, where Roger chastises the boy and Victoria ushers David upstairs. Barnabas and Roger retire to the drawing room; Roger assures Barnabas that David will not bother him again. He goes on to mention the search for Maggie and David's renewed interest in Josette, which seem to be directly connected in a strange way. Barnabas is disturbed by this.
Act III
Roger and Barnabas further discuss the search for Maggie, and Roger notes that Dr. Woodard has samples of her blood and thinks that they might hold a clue. Roger admits he almost feels sorry for "poor old" Sam Evans. Meanwhile, David is still obsessed with Josette and he can't figure out why she seemed to be so different. Victoria suggests some studying will take his mind off the subject. But this begins an argument between the two. David heads to the kitchen, but once he's sure that Victoria's gone, he sneaks back out of the house.
Act IV
Later, Victoria reports David's disappearing act to Roger, who knows exactly where David has gone: the Old House. Roger believes that Victoria's anxiety over Maggie is causing David to act up, and she promptly tells him off for it. He apologizes, and Victoria admits how frightened she feels; David's actions are only exacerbating her stress. Together, they decide to retrieve David. Down at the Old House, David sneaks inside and resumes his search for Josette. At that moment, Maggie descends the staircase playing Josette's music box.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Victoria: I don't think I like your telling me to pretend about the way that I feel.
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: Roger (speaking of Dr. Woodard and the blood samples he has from Maggie): You know, that doctor loves a mystery, gives him an extra feeling of importance.
== Dramatis personae ==
* Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
* Louis Edmonds as Roger Collins
* David Henesy as David Collins
* Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters
* Dorrie Kavanaugh as Maggie Evans (uncredited)
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
* This episode was recorded out of broadcast sequence. The previous episode to be recorded was 238.
* Kathryn Leigh Scott does not appear in this episode. Instead, stand-in Dorrie Kavanaugh, with her features concealed beneath Josette's wedding veil, portrays Maggie in two brief scenes.
* The soundtrack warps as the teaser fades into the title sequence.
=== Story ===
* TIMELINE: Day 74 begins, and will end in 241. Roger reads the newspaper previously seen in 238. 8:15pm: David arrives at the Old House.
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* Barnabas switches the finger the onyx ring is on between climbing the stairs in the previous episode and the next episode. When he climbs the steps to go upstairs, the ring is on his left finger. When talking to David, the ring is on the right finger.
* In the previous episode (the previous night), much was made of leaving Sam's unfinished portrait of Barnabas at the Old House. Sam and Joe even discussed whether to take the easel, and Sam said it would be best to leave it there for the painting to sit on. The portrait is nowhere to be seen in this episode. 
* When Vicki is scolding David on the foyer stairway early in the episode after David has returned from the Old House, she gives him his coat and tells him to go upstairs to his room. Later, when David sneaks away to the Old House again, skipping his dinner, he fetches his coat from the front hallway.
== End credits announcements ==
* Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.
==External links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 240 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Every Day - Episode 240 - Open House
The Dark Shadows Daybook - Episode 240
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 240: Don't look for her there
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 240: 5/26/67
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