HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS: Greek VHS art

DARK SHADOWS aficionado Darren Gross recently found a rare Greek VHS edition of HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS. Released in 1991, this particular home video release was probably prompted by the 1991 "revival" series, but also followed the previous year's home video release of HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS from MGM/UA. There's a wealth of promotional materials created for the film's theatrical release back in 1970, yet "Audio Visual Enterprises," the company that licensed the film for home video in Greece and Cyprus, opted instead to use what appears to be a photo of Castle Bran on the cover. Bran is located in Romania, and is often marketed to tourists as "Castle Dracula."

Gross is told the film's Greek title translates as "The House of Shadows." I guess the overseas distributors decided the "Dark" was implied.

UPDATE: Artist George Caltsoudas posted a translation of the film summary in our comments section. The movie's title translates as THE HOUSE WITH THE SHADOWS:

"The residents of the estate of Collinwood are startled by the arrival of their cousin Barnabas (VarnAvas) Collins from England. And this is because the newcomer relative bares an exact resemblance to the portrait of the founder of the tower, who came from the other side of the Atlantic to start a new life after the mysterious death of his fiancee...

What the don't know, though, is that he is the one and the same ancestor of theirs!
Because Barnabas Collins is a... vampire! And he has come here, to New England, from the underworld, with the intent to hunt the beautiful governess of the area, Maggie, who bares and incredible resemblance to his dead beloved..."

When Barnabas met Velma

I don't know if I mentioned before, but I'll be getting married later in 2012. Rather than crank out a bland, forgettable "Save the Date" card (known by those in the wedding industrial complex as an "STD"), I decided to have a little fun with it. I asked George Caltsoudas, whose art you might have seen here, if he'd be interested in providing the art for the front. As you probably figured out, he agreed ... and the cards have gone over incredibly well with friends and family.

In case you're wondering, the characters depicted on the card are Barnabas Collins and Velma Dinkley, which were how my fiancee and I dressed for Halloween last year.


Now that (most of) the cards have been mailed, it's time to share the art with you good people. If you like it, drop Caltsoudas a line at his various websites and let him know what you think. Personally, I think he's an incredible artist, and I'm grateful that he could find the time for me.



Dynamite Comics is currently producing semi-monthly series based on Dark Shadows, and seriously needs to sign Caltsoudas to draw a story arc.