331

Sarah gives David a toy soldier as protection and warns him there is danger at the Old House.
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: There is terror in this night. One boy will live through an experience so terrifying that his mind will reel. And for an instant, his heart will stop beating.
Alone in his bedroom, David is alarmed when the window abruptly opens and a large bat swoops inside. He cowers and shouts for help as the bat proceeds to attack him.
Act I
Downstairs, Elizabeth and Roger hear David's cries and rush to his aid. By the time they reach the frightened boy, the bat has disappeared, and the window is closed and bolted. David despairs as neither his father nor aunt believes his tale. Elizabeth advises Roger to call Dr. Woodard right away. David tells Elizabeth that Barnabas sent the bat to attack and kill him.
At the Old House, Barnabas glares malevolently toward Collinwood.
Act II
Having called Dr. Woodard, Roger pays a visit to the Old House. He confides his troubles with David to Barnabas. Roger believes his son is in desperate need of a psychiatrist. Barnabas is surprised to learn that Julia Hoffman caught David prowling around the Old House earlier in the afternoon. He then asks Roger what David was searching for. It seems David believes Barnabas is hiding some dark secret in the cellar. Barnabas also learns that Sarah Collins appeared to David last night, warning to stay away from the Old House. Roger further alarms Barnabas by revealing that David's nightmare involved Barnabas rising from a coffin. Barnabas suggests Roger send David away to school, and Roger agrees to talking to Elizabeth about the prospect.
Act III
Later, Dr. Woodard has given David a sedative to calm his nerves. David tried to convince Woodard that he was attacked by a bat and that Sarah visited him. The mention of Sarah gets the doctor's attention, and Woodard questions David about her. David relates Sarah's warning about the Old House and that she believes Willie Loomis is innocent of the crimes he's been accused of. As David begins to drift off to sleep, he murmurs that everything he told Woodard about Sarah is true.
Downstairs in the drawing room, Roger attempts to convince Elizabeth to send David away from Collinwood. But Elizabeth will not hear of it. Woodard interrupts, informing them that David might not be fantasizing about the strange things happening to him.
Act IV
As David rests, Sarah appears in his room. She wakes him and scolds him for having gone to the Old House. Again, Sarah warns him of danger but cannot tell him what it is. She gives David an eighteenth-century toy soldier, which she says will keep him safe. Sarah makes David promise to keep it and to not give it away. She then disappears.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Dr. Woodard: I can't explain what I mean. All I can say is that...I find everything David tells me...strange but interesting...extremely interesting.
== Dramatis personae ==
* Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
* Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
* Louis Edmonds as Roger Collins
* Robert Gerringer as Dave Woodard
* David Henesy as David Collins
* 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 333.
* First episode narrated by Joan Bennett.
*This is the first episode without the end credits announcement "This has been a Dan Curtis Production."
=== Story ===
* GHOSTWATCH: Sarah's ghost appears to David.
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* When David starts screaming for help, Roger is in the foyer, from where he can easily determine that the sound is coming from upstairs, and he knows his son's voice. But instead of rushing upstairs to help his son, which every normal father would do, he doesn't even look up but stupidly runs into the drawing room and asks Elizabeth, "What is it?"
*The placement of furniture and the objects on shelves in David's room are noticeably different from the end of episode 330 to the start of today's show, though the action takes place in only a few moments [Addendum: I'm not exactly sure what is being referred to here; it appears much the same to me with maybe one or two minor exceptions. As well, the teaser is not a recreation of the previous episode's end but a repeat as taped.]
* After the bat leaves, the window is closed and bolted from the inside. This is impossible even for Barnabas. (Not for a creature of the supernatural it isn't.) At the very least, it suggests that he has more powers than we have seen up to this point.
*While Roger and Barnabas are talking about David's thinking there is something in the Old House basement, Jonathan Frid at several points seems to forget his lines, and looks around for/at the teleprompter.
*Loud footsteps can be heard while Barnabas and Roger are talking in the Old House.
*While lighting the candles, Jonathan Frid is unable to get the last candle lit.
* While talking with Dr. Woodard, David Henesy flubs the line "Sarah told me that Willie Loomis is innocent. She told me that she didn't do anything that she was supposed to have done." The correct line would obviously be "he" instead of "she."
*After Sarah gives David the toy soldier, the two mix up their lines a bit. David says he promises he'll keep it, but then Sarah asks if he'll promise to keep it.
==External links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 331 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 331 - Bat's Entertainment
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 331: Not always sure of the answers
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 331: 10/2/67
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