785

Magda uses the hand of Count Petofi in an attempt to lift the curse from Quentin.
== Synopsis ==
: The time is the turn of the century. A new day at Collinwood brings no answers to the terrifying questions that hang over the great estate, and in the Old House, on its grounds, a gypsy puzzles over the powers of a mysterious hand, a hand that can do good or can do evil.
The full moon is tonight. Evan, who has been hidden in the basement, peers through the bars on the window of the door. Quentin cannot recognize Evan, and lets him out. Quentin bullies Magda ceaselessly to tell him more about the man (Evan), even assaulting her physically, until she eventually snaps and tells him she's had enough and to leave her alone. Quentin drops the subject and begins interrogating her about the Hand, asking if it can do anything to him other than cure him, and if so, what. Magda replies, "Only the ancient gods know." Quentin then engages in a self-pitying soliloquy about how magic was a game to him; he thought people should know every world, not just "our own.", and he wishes he knew the everyday world as others know it: living and dying.
Edward returns from Bangor wearing a top hat. Quentin comes to Edward and they start in on each other. Judith tells Edward and Quentin she is married to Trask now. Granny always said best wishes and congrats but Quentin cannot remember which is for the bride and which is for the groom, so he tells her both. Judith slaps an insulting Edward. Trask will live here. When Jamison turns twenty-one, the money will go to him. If Judith dies before Jamison is twenty-one, Trask gets the estate.
Judith is haunted. The drawing room doors close by themselves. She finds the torn-up will inside. A knife or letter opener is stuck in the Bible at Isaiah 57:1, "The righteous perish, and no man taketh it to heart; none considering that the righteous are taken away, but the evil is still to come." A childlike drawing labeled 'Mrs Trask' is pinned to the wall.
Quentin and Edward are in the study, each obsessed with their own problems – Quentin about his curse, and Edward about Judith's marriage to Trask and the risk it imposes to Jamison's inheritance. Edward berates Quentin for constantly checking the clock, and Quentin replies, "It's my hobby. Time is my hobby." Edward wants them both to see Evan Hanley that evening to find out if there's anything they can do about Judith's marriage, but when he pressures Quentin to accompany him, Quentin becomes angry and tells Edward not to count on him, before leaving the room. 
Magda arrives and gives Judith best wishes. Judith mentions to her about Barnabas. "All Collins are hard to work for." Magda goes to Edward, "You must be so happy to have a man in the family at last." 
At the Old House, Evan is finally able to speak and identifies himself to Quentin. Evan then reacts with fear when presented with the Hand, and Magda has to guide him from the room. Quentin accurately guesses that the Hand has disfigured Evan, and in spite of frequently insisting that he would rather die than go on living under his curse, he is too afraid to try the Hand as the moon starts to rise; however, Magda persuades him to, against Barnabas' wishes.Category:Dark Shadows episodes
== Memorable quotes ==
: Quentin: Happiness does not exist.
----
: Magda: (to Edward) You must be so happy to have a man in the family at last.
----
: Quentin: Oh, before all of this happened to me... magic... magic was a game to me, to be used for excitement on long winter evenings. The black arts! Know every world, not just the one around you! Oh, that was my theory. Oh, how I wish I knew the world as everyone else knows it... the everyday world of living and dying.
----
: Judith: You never wanted me to marry.
: Edward: Frankly, I never thought anyone would have the courage to ask you.
----
: Edward: Would you please stop looking at that clock?
: Quentin: It's my hobby. Time is my hobby.
----
: Judith: I'm surprised you even dare come here after working for Barnabas.
: Magda: He's a Collins, like you. All Collins are hard to work for.
Category:Dark Shadows episodes
== Dramatis personae ==
* Joan Bennett as Judith Collins
* Louis Edmonds as Edward Collins
* Grayson Hall as Magda
* David Selby as Quentin Collins
* Humbert Allen Astredo as Evan Hanley
Category:Dark Shadows episodes
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
=== Story ===
* If Judith dies, when Jamison turns twenty-one, he will inherit the Collins estate. Until then, Gregory Trask would administer the estate.
* GHOSTWATCH: Judith's will is ripped up mysteriously, and a knife is stood erect. Judith finds a drawing labeled 'Mrs Trask'.
* TIMELINE: Day 307 begins, and will end in 787. A new day at the start of the episode. 2pm: Magda and Quentin at the Old House. 2:35pm: Edward returns to Collinwood. Judith married yesterday. 5pm: Quentin and Edward discuss Judith's marriage.
Category:Dark Shadows episodes
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
*The shadow of the boom microphone can be seen as Edward moves about the drawing room.
* As Quentin looks at the Petofi Box, the top of the set is visible behind him (this happens a lot with David Selby, because of his height).
* During the end credits, someone is moving around inside the Old House window.
== External Links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 785 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Every Day - Episode 785 - We Interrupt This Program
The Dark Shadows Daybook - Episode 7850785