258

Maggie is intrigued by the appearance of Sarah in her cell and talks with her at length. Willie later tries to convince Maggie that no one could have visited her, but Maggie finds Sarah's doll. 
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: My name is Victoria Winters. The only fact that man knows of his future is that death is inevitable. And yet this is the only fact that he continually resists accepting. For one who has accepted death as imminent, all hope vanishes.
In the Old House cellar, Maggie is still being held a prisoner in an old, disused room. She moves to the door and calls through the little barred window for the little girl who appeared to her. There is no answer; Maggie is losing hope and she is certain her death is near. Suddenly, she hears the little girl singing London Bridge. Maggie turns... the little girl is not outside the cell, but she's inside of it with her.
Act I
Maggie is stunned; the door is still locked and she asks the little girl how she gained access to the cell. Sarah simply replies that she came to visit Maggie again. She heard Maggie crying, and remembers a lot of crying a long time ago: Sarah's mother, father and brother. Maggie wonders if anyone saw Sarah, but the little girl assures her that no one ever sees her. She "has a way" of coming and going. Sarah admires Josette's music box and Maggie plays it for her. Maggie asks if Sarah told her parents about seeing her, but the little girl says she can't find them. Everyone she knew is gone, although she does have one friend. Maggie promises to be Sarah's friend and to play with her. They toss a ball Sarah has brought with her back and forth, and after a bit of encouragement, Maggie sings London Bridge with her. When Sarah agrees to take Maggie with her, Maggie rushes to the door in an attempt to figure a way out. But when she turns back, the little girl has vanished.
Act II
Later, Barnabas pauses outside Maggie's cell when he hears her singing London Bridge. She cowers away from him in fear. Barnabas, once more, offers her the chance to become Josette Collins, and again, Maggie refuses. Slowly losing her grip on reality, a childlike Maggie claims she's going to escape and has a secret friend. A saddened Barnabas, who realizes his actions have driven Maggie insane, leaves her alone in the cell.
Act III
Upstairs, Barnabas informs Willie that Maggie is going out of her mind, and that his hopes of her becoming Josette are gone. Unwilling to keep her at the Old House any longer, Barnabas plans to dispose of her. Willie pleads with Barnabas to change his mind, to have mercy. But Barnabas remembers a time when he was shown no pity. He grabs Willie by the throat and warns him not to interfere, otherwise he will share Maggie's fate. Tomorrow night Maggie will die.
Act IV
Back in her cell, Maggie continues to sing and then calls out for Sarah to come and play with her. At that moment, Willie arrives with a bowl of soup. He believes Maggie is playacting in an attempt to convince Barnabas she is insane. When she persists, Willie becomes rough and yells at her. But Maggie will not be swayed: she does have a friend, her best friend who comes to play and sing with her. Defeated, Willie leaves her alone. Maggie weeps, calling for Sarah and insisting to herself that the little girl is real. She looks down and finds an 18th-century doll lying at her feet. Maggie cradles the doll, knowing that Sarah is going to come back.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Barnabas: Mercy? There was a time when I needed it, a time that I begged for it from those who could have so easily have given it, from those who could have understood and helped. But they chose not to. And now I choose not to.
== Dramatis personae ==
* Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
* Kathryn Leigh Scott as Maggie Evans
* John Karlen as Willie Loomis
* Sharon Smyth as Sarah Collins
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
* This episode was recorded out of broadcast sequence. The previous episode to be recorded was 255.
* Having been credited as "Sarah Collins" in previous episodes, Sharon Smyth is credited as simply "Sarah" here.
=== Story ===
* The speed of Maggie's growing mental instability and regression into childhood appears to have been very fast, so it's possible time has passed between Act I and Act II, and Maggie has seen Sarah more than twice. However, she's being held captive by a vampire and a little girl appeared in her cell despite the door being locked, so it's not at all unlikely she would have a sudden breakdown.
* GHOSTWATCH: Sarah's ghost appears to Maggie.
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* When Sarah says, "Why were you crying?" to Maggie, she stops, and Kathryn Leigh Scott feeds Sharon Smyth her next line, whispering softly, "I remember..." Sarah then picks up with "I remember...a long time ago, there was a lot of crying."
* When Maggie asks Sarah if anyone saw her come into the basement, Sarah says, "No one ever sees me." But David did see her in episode 256 (and Sarah does say just a couple minutes later that she has "one friend," which seems to be referring to David). [No one ever sees her inside the house, when she comes into the basement. She doesn't let them. David is different--he's a child outside, and she wants him to see her.]
* At the end of Act II the camera approaches the cell door for a close up of Maggie, and the camera dolly bounces off the door of her cell.
*Someone seems to snap their fingers as a cue to start Act III.
== End credits announcements ==
* Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.
==External links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 258 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 258 - The Casual Ghost
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 258: Secret friend
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 258: 6/21/67
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