401

Ben is able to indicate to Barnabas that Angelique is the witch.
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: A séance has been held in the great house at Collinwood, a séance which has suspended time and space and sent one girl on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the year 1795. There, each of the Collins ancestors resembles a present-day member of the Collins family, but the names and relationships have changed, and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger in a sea of familiar faces. There are those who believe that she has practiced witchcraft and would destroy her. But one member of the Collins family is besieged by doubts.
Determined to find out what Ben Stokes knows about the witch, Barnabas bribes a servant to get the keys to Ben's cell in the basement of Collinwood. There he questions Ben who claims to know nothing of the witch, it was just something he made up when he was caught robbing Abigail Collins' room. Barnabas doesn't believe him because there's no point in robbing Abigail; she has no money or jewelry. The witch must have made him do it, and there are only two persons who can be the witch, Victoria Winters and Angelique, Barnabas' wife.
Act I
Barnabas continues to persuade Ben into talking, culminating in Barnabas grabbing Ben, which frightens Ben so much he takes a bottle and hits Barnabas over the head, knocking him unconscious. Ben, horrified by what he has done, grabs the keys and escapes.
Act II
Joshua enters, notified of what's happened by the servant Riggs. Barnabas says it's possible Ben was telling the truth about the witch, therefore he had to question him. Joshua is still not comfortable with the thought of supernatural forces, but when confronted with his own disappearance, he has to admit there might be such forces at work. It doesn't matter because if there was a witch, she has been caught and is now locked up in the Collinsport Gaol. Barnabas questions if Joshua seriously thinks Victoria is a witch. Joshua says he doesn't really care anymore, she's out of their lives now and he need not worry about her anymore. Barnabas tries to get Joshua to use his position as the most influential man in town to help Miss Winters. Joshua says that for all he knows, Reverend Trask could be right. Whatever may be the truth, he's just glad to have her out of his house. The authorities will have to decide whether she is guilty or innocent.
Act III
Barnabas goes to the jail to talk to Victoria. At first he is reluctant to believe what she says, but when she describes the fire in her room as being cold as ice when she touched it, he has a revelation. "Heart of fire, fire in the heart of ice..." his wife had been chanting. He assures Victoria that he now knows she's telling the truth and is not a witch.
Act IV
To make sure his suspicions are correct, he locates Ben Stokes, and uses a different strategy this time. He says that he, too, is convinced that Victoria is the witch because the evidence is overwhelming. The witch will be destroyed by burning or hanging, preventing any further harm to the Collins family, something which should please Ben. Ben still tries to maintain his lack of knowledge in the matter, afraid of what Angelique will do if he reveals her secret. At last he agrees to write the witch's initial in the dust on a barrel. He writes a 'V', but Barnabas is unconvinced. Then Ben adds the last stroke, turning the 'V' into an 'A', thus confirming Barnabas' suspicions.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Joshua: Victoria Winters is a stranger to me and shall remain so! I owe her nothing!
: Barnabas: Do you really mean that?
: Joshua: Of course I mean that! I mean everything I say! Now, good night, sir!
== Dramatis personae ==
* Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
* Louis Edmonds as Joshua Collins
* Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters
* Thayer David as Ben Stokes
* Tom Gorman as Mr. Prescott (uncredited)
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
* The set design for the meeting room of the Collinsport Gaol has previously been used for Barnabas' room in the Old House of 1795 (368/369), the Collins family property known as Seaview (294), the Garner & Garner Collinsport branch office of Frank Garner (148), and Roger Collins' office at the cannery (45).
=== Story ===
* According to Barnabas, Abigail believes that worldly goods are the temptation of the Devil, and she is the poorest member of the family.
* The penalty for witchcraft is said to be death by fire or by hanging.
* INTERNAL MONOLOGUE: Barnabas: Why would Angelique lie?
* TIMELINE: Day 160 begins, and will end in 402. It was last night when Reverend Trask captured Victoria.
*Legal prosecution of witchcraft was not possible in 1795, since all mention of witches and witchcraft had been removed from the legal statutes in Massachusetts by the early 18th Century. Belief was still common, though, and civil litigation was still possible. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witchcraft_trial_(1878). However, with witchcraft no longer being a crime, the state could not try anyone for being a witch, no one could be found guilty of being a witch, and no one could be executed for being a witch.
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* Jonathan Frid tangles up a line to Thayer David: “I have an an– question to give you, and I want you to answer it truthfully.”
*The basement of Collinwood is completely different than it is in the present day. The walls show large chunks of plaster cracked or missing, revealing bare bricks beneath, implying age. Yet, Collinwood has supposedly just been completed.
==External Links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 401 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 401 - Bewitched
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 401: The A V club
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 401: 1/8/68
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