Fangoria! The Rondo Awards! Exclamation points!

First things first: The Collinsport Historical Society has been nominated for Best Website of 2020 by The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. The ballot for this year's honors was released yesterday, which saw the CHS nominated in this category for the ninth year running. It's great to see this website still represented at the Rondos, which always puts our work in great company. Don't expect to see a huge push from us in this year's competition, though ... I've got too much on my plate at the moment to focus on trying to win a contest against the likes of websites as big as Bloody Disgusting. But by all means, vote! Rod Labbe is also nominated for an interview he did for Retrofan with David Selby. You can see the full ballot at https://rondoaward.com/rondoaward.com/blog/

Meanwhile, Fangoria Editor in Chief Phil Nobile Jr shared shared the list of contributors to the magazine's upcoming issue, due out April. Look, there's my name! And Kathryn Leigh Scott! What could this possibly be about? WHAT?!

2021 began with Fangoria making a few changes to its circulation strategy. The current issue is the first to be available on newstands, so make a beeline for your nearest Barnes & Noble if you want to catch up. Or you can pick up a subscription to Fangoria today online at https://shop.fangoria.com/collections/subscription

- Wallace McBride

Dark Shadows: The Marilyn Ross Codex #1 - Dark Shadows

By JUSTIN PARTRIDGE

I suppose I owe you lovely readers an apology first and foremost.

It has been a good while since I have graced the hallowed halls of the CHS. So long in fact that my typewriter and paltry desk lamp have been moved BACK down to the Cupboard Under the Stairs, right back next to the mop and spare encyclopedias. It really is my bad.

Truth be told, some freelance work took me up to accursed Bangor and kept me there far, far too long. I got to talk about Swamp Thing over at Newsarama a bunch. I covered some horror film festivals AND wrote in a quite good zine (available now and with issue #2 on the way!) over at Dis/Member. I was even in a magazine! The Eisner winning PanelXPanel #25, all about the Sandman franchise, which was a trip and a half. It would have all been worth it had I not been in that festering cesspool of mediocrity that is Bangor. Schlepping down to what they pass off as a bar, filling pieces while choking down that weak freaking tea they call beer all while dodging mouth-breathing jabronis who haven't heard a goddamn Steely Dan song they didn’t love.

Anyone who tells you Bangor is a “decent enough town” is WRONG. Dead wrong. And probably selling you something.

But I’m back! And I have plenty of work ahead of me, work that will hopefully get me out of the broom closet and back into something at least resembling a workspace. Which brings us to this new column! The Marilyn Ross Codex! That’s right, after all these years, the Paperback Library’s’ Marilyn Ross books are finally receiving the audiobook treatment thanks to Oasis Audio. We here at the CHS have gotten a hold of some of these beauties and are going to be taking a listen to them. The immensely talented and far smarter than I am Alice Collins (@VampAly!) will also be joining us eventually along the way, and maybe a few other guests, if yer lucky! Welcome to The Marilyn Ross Codex!

So, I have a special relationship with the Marilyn Ross books, in that I DON’T have a relationship with them. Like my beloved Big Finishverse, I had only become aware of the cult classic tie-in novels here recently. Which is a bummer as I have heard they are quite insane. Like, fighting mummies and offering a completely separate prose universe alongside the TV canon insane. All of that sounds very much my jam. A lot of fans seem to really like these, and I have always meant to get around to them but a 32 book long series is daunting even for the most devout of fans. The closest I have come to really getting into these is listening to the fantastic Bodice Tipplers podcast episode about book #6 Barnabas Collins, by all rights, the horniest of the Marilyn Ross affairs.

Which is why I am excited to get to these reviews! I now have a pretty great in point for these and should I want to double-dip, buying both the old novels to display while keeping the audiobooks as my “reading copy” I totally can! It is nicely symmetrical for the obsessive collecting dork in me.

So how is the actual content itself, you may be asking now. And to that I say, pretty great! Though lacking the production values of the Big Finish audios and clocking in at a pretty decent chunk of time (which I will get into later), this first audio, carefully and lovingly read by Maggie Evans herself Kathryn Leigh Scott, is a fantastic entry point into this “Expanded Universe” of Dark Shadows.

Stop me if you have heard this before, but Victoria Winters has come to Collinwood. Lured by an offer to work at *checks notes* Collins House as governess to a child that lives there. Something, something beginning and the end of the world, you get it.  What follows is a pulpy, fairly loose adaptation of the first dozen or so episodes of the original TV series, stocked with all new characters and variants on the show’s opening dynamics. Characters like Ernest Collins, a seemingly famous concert violinist and suspected murderer who lives in Collins House (a canny anachronism that continues for the first few Ross books).   

As a fan of Expanded Universe, I sincerely love the idea of a semi-independent canon that stands alongside the TV canon, with it’s own cast and storylines. That said, the lack of production values is a bit of a bummer, especially when compared to the still ongoing Big Finish Dark Shadows line. Another bummer is the lack of any other cast members. Maybe the idea further down the line is to get other cast members in the booth and I DO love hearing Scott talk just in general as she has a smooth, caring tone that I find psychologically soothing. But part of the charm and drive of the Big Finishverse is hearing her play once again against other actors. I fear these might sound a bit stuffy after the full-cast efforts.

I also fear that the time commitment of this opener might be a turn off for casual fans. Clocking in at six hours, this thing really is a true blue audiobook (which, honestly, should have been something I anticipated going into this). Which means it's just bare bones reading for the whole time. Not helping matters is the fact that this first book is largely worldbuilding, setting up Vicki, Collins House, and the expanded cast of these novels. It has a pretty good hook, but anyone familiar with the TV canon won’t really be too surprised here. That said, I think die-hard Shadows people will find it a pretty great adaptation of this weird EU starter, but not having the frills of music or other cast members might be a tougher sell for me when I yell at people to get into the franchise. 

You might think that is a contradiction to what I said above, but I really, really did enjoy Dark Shadows. I think Scott continues to be really comfortable behind the microphone in any capacity and Ross’ odd, but engagingly written prose provides a spooky weekend listen for those still wondering what the hell this Dark Shadows thing is all about anyway. Those in the know too will find this fun as well as it brings the weirdness of tie-ins and the franchise overall into a wider market, hopefully snapping up more fans and devotees. To quote a great man, Joe Bob says, check it out.

NEXT TIME! Marilyn Ross #2! 1967’s Victoria Winters! To be honest, I’m just hoping we can get to the mummy fighting. Be seeing you!

Justin Partridge has always loved monsters and he thinks that explains a lot about him. When he isn’t over analyzing comics at Newsarama or ranting about Tom Clancy over at Rogues Portal, he is building Call of Cthulhu games, spreading the good word of Anti-Life, or rewatching Garth Marenghi's Darkplace for the dozenth time. He can be reached at the gasping Lovecraftian void that is Twitter @j_partridgeIII or via e-mail at [email protected] Odds are he will want to talk about Hellblazer.

Spooks haunt Tarrytown estate, 1970

The Collinsport Historical Society's new Facebook group The Drawing Room has really been a boon. Lots of readers have helped point the way toward trivia and newspaper clippings, so much so that I'm rushing just to keep up with them. This one comes courtesy of  reader J.R. Nichols, who is as much a clipping junkie as I am. It's an early newspaper account about the making of House of Dark Shadows, at this point still just titled "Dark Shadows." It's interesting for a number of reasons: It includes a rare photo of Kathryn Leigh Scott and Donald Briscoe on location, and it makes mention of many of the behind-the-scenes crew of the film. You can read a transcript of the story below.

Spooks haunt movie making on Tarrytown estate
By Blanche Feldstein
The Journal News (White Plains, New York)
April 4, 1970

If Washington Irving's ghost is wandering around Tarrytown, these days, he will be surprised to find at Lyndhurst some spooks who never haunted his tales of Sleepy Hollow.

Kathryn Leigh Scott and Donald Briscoe look over the script
 for "House of Dark Shadows" on location at Tarrytown, N.Y.

The vampires and ghouls occupying the imposing former Gould estate are part of a large cast and crew who are filming "Dark Shadows," MGM's new film based on the afternoon TV soap opera. Tarrytown is accommodating itself to the influx of celebrities, having already hosted two other films. "Lovers and Other Strangers," a Hollywood production, was shot at the Hilton Inn last fall, and the "Ceremony of innocence," an off-Broadway play for TV, used the Axe Castle as a set.

Lyndhurst, the charming gothic mansion, used as a country home by the Duchess of Talleyrand-Perigard, has taken on the eerie qualities of the movie plot. The gelled windows reflect the grim tale of lust and love played out by vampire Barnabas and those he gets his teeth into. The actors and actresses including Jonathan Frid, who plays Barnabas, and Joan Bennett, who is the elegant Elizabeth Stoddard Collins, in the movie, are imported daily by limousine from New York City.

Monday's bright sunlight after Easter Sunday's surprise snow kept the vampire Barnabas from appearing on the set. But Miss Bennett arrived late and told of the traffic problems which made the usual one-half hour commute to Lyndhurst into an hour and a half. The snow, wrong for the fall setting of the film, forced director Dan Curtis to call an unscheduled indoor rehearsal.

The stars, actors, sound crew, lighting crew, equipment and props moved into the mansion where the priceless collection of furniture, ''objects" and Tiffany glass will lend authenticity to the incredible story. As on the soap opera, the actors play the scenes straight, vampires and victims take their roles seriously.

Making a movie is grueling business. Director Curtis shouts to an actor, "If you don't step in, the whole scene will lay like a lox," as the scene is hot for the 25th time in a half-hour. Kathryn Leigh Scott, seductive young romantic lead who as Maggie Evans captures the vampire's affection, gets kissed about 300 times in one hour by Roger Davis, tall, blond and handsome, who plays Jeff Clark.

Kiss of Passion 
Each time, the kiss must portray passion, concern and tenderness. The director shouts for quiet in the hall. Filled with workers, photographers, makeup men who rush in every other minute to fix Kathryn's hair and powder her nose sound effects men and miscellaneous Lyndhurst personnel, total quiet is not easily accomplished.

Everyone tries, however, and stands frozen from the few minutes the shot is being taken. The actors and actresses with seeming infinite patience get new directions and start the scene all over again, until the director is finally satisfied.

Nancy Barrett, a wispy young actress with long blond hair, who plays Carolyn Stoddard, one of the vampire's victims, has the bad luck to become a vampire herself. Even as a vampire, her lot is not happy. After biting a few people, she is killed by a stake driven through her heart.

Last week, the scene where Carolyn tries to kill David Collins, is played by 14-year old David Henesy, was shot for three long hours in the freezing temperature and decaying atmosphere of what used to be the Lyndhurst swimming pool building. Offering a perfect setting for a murder, the gigantic former pool is surrounded by large pillars, partially eaten away by mold. The debris, mud and ice on the floor is caused by the leaking roof.

Shivers in Shroud 
Dressed only in a shroud over a body stocking, Nancy emerged shivering from the building and spoke of her role which she has played for four years on the soap opera. Biting has become a habit with her she explained and she finds no difficulty playing a vampire. Hot coffee was being sued on the grounds, but Nancy was afraid to have some since the only rest room was over a mile away from the pool building.

Bob Laden is the makeup man for the show. "Have blood, will travel," he says as he dashes around fixing faces and wounds with the proper gore. He also carries vampire bites, vampire teeth and lots of false eyelashes. Prop man is Michael Maloney, who weaves spider webs out of glue and creates fog out of carbon dioxide. He also has a wind machine to get the eerie effect' of the capes blowing in the wind.

Make believe Is very much in the mind of young Henesy, especially since the story calls for his being hanged. "Is that my hanging closet?" he asked the workmen as they carried a large wooden box gingerly through the front hall of the mansion. David explained that he really gets hung on a harness attached to a canvas vest he wears. "It's all fake," he says, "there's no way I can be hurt."

Never be the Same 
When the actors, directors, photographers, sound men, makeup artists and vampires pack up their gear and leave, will Lyndhurst ever be the same?

Hopefully no, says Gerald Fiedler, director of Lyndhurst. The guides and visitors feel the rooms come alive as they are used as settings for the film. An increase in visitors is excited.

Lori Watson, 20, of Yonkers, who works as a guide says, "Naturally it's much different because of the sets. The garden room is being used as a sheriff's office. People are shocked by the darkness but also are thrilled by being on a set."

Mr. Fiedler has some exciting long-range plans for Lyndhurst which includes creating a theater for stage productions and concerts out of the swimming pool building, restoring the greenhouse, the carriage house and barns and possibly creating a restaurant on the grounds. Although a 515 million project, Mr. Fiedler is optimistic about accomplishing much of the restoration, within the next five years. Meanwhile Tarrytown end Lyndhurst are getting known as a good place to make movies.

Jonathan Frid's "hair" apparent

I'm going to begin this story at the end, because linear narratives are overrated.

In my living room is a small, plastic red and yellow table that my son has been using for several years for meals, play and other activities. It's actually a pretty neat design. If you remove the yellow tabletop lid, inside is a tiled board you can use with Lego blocks. There's also space to store Lego blocks, which is nice because we all know what it feels like to step on one of those little bastards.

Last September I used this table to take a few photos of items that had arrived by mail from the United Kingdon to my home in South Carolina. Inside the package was a letter signed by Kathryn Leigh Scott from 1996, and business envelope with the Dan Curtis Productions logo with its original address from the 1960s. The words "Barnabas Hair" were written in pencil on the outside.

Inside, as you probably guessed, was a rather large cutting of human hair. After taking the photos and reassembling the items safely back into their envelopes, I had to ... sweep tiny pieces of Jonathan Frid's hair from my child's table. Because that is the place this website has taken me.

How this package arrived at my doorstep is an interesting one. A few months earlier I'd received an e-mail from a reader named James in the United Kingdom about an oddity found in a book they'd recently purchased. He's bought a hardback edition of Dark Shadows Almanac and found the letter from Scott and the hair clipping inside.

"Pictures attached," he wrote. "Any chance this is genuine? The timeline date would surely be late 67 not 66. So maybe just weirdly committed hoax," noting that the envelope "still has someone's hair in it."



I reached out to Kathryn, who confirmed that the items were genuine. According to the letter found in the book (dated 1996 with Kathryn's Beverly Hills, California business address) Frid had just begun to receive his first wave of fan mail, which was beginning to accumulate in his dressing room. She went to see him in the makeup room, where Frid was having his hair cut, and told him "I could make a fortune selling your hair clippings!"



There are a few details in the story that appear to be wrong, though. She remembers the date of the event as 1966 (Frid didn't join the cast until 1967) and says the hairdresser wrote "Barnabas hair" on the envelope. Several people who have seen photos of the handwriting on the envelope believe it's actually Frid's handwriting. But that's memory for you.

Kathryn tucked the envelope into the pages of the script they'd taped that day and forgot about it. From there, the envelope traveled around the world. Kathryn would later spend time in France, England and California. It was in London in 1996 that she found the script and the envelope, and put them up for auction to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. The winner was a Dark Shadows fan from Toms River, New Jersey. How the envelope found its way to the United Kingdom is anybody's guess, but I suspect eBay was involved.

Which brings me back to this last September. Once we confirmed that the envelope and hair were the real deals, James let me know his wife "was not keen on this particular piece of memorabilia lingering." He asked if I knew anyone who'd like to have it. I offered to take it off his hands, if for no other reason to make sure it didn't continue making the rounds on eBay in perpetuity.

And then it arrived and I understood why James' wife was a little put off by it. After sweeping bits of Jonathan Frid's DNA off my kid's table and sharing the photos with friends, I put the envelope on my mantle ... where it remained until this past week. It took a while to wrap my brain around it, to be honest. It was clearly an interesting collectible, but it was also a little ... creepy? I'm glad to have it and eternally grateful to James for sending it my way and hope he understands why it took so long to publicly say thanks. Thanks!

It's a weird world, isn't it?

Now available: Maggie & Quentin - The Lovers' Refrain

A lot of new DARK SHADOWS dropped earlier this week, courtesy of the gang at Big Finish. The producers have fully embraced the new anthology format that has become the series standard since the release of "Echoes of the Past" in the summer of 2016. Rather that stagger individual tales throughout the year, the company is now giving us omnibus collections that feature multiple actors and creators.

Now available is "Maggie & Quentin - The Lovers' Refrain," a four-disc collection of stories starring, naturally, Kathryn Leigh Scott and David Selby. I'm still making my way through the collection (expect to read some reviews here next week) but so far it's been appropriately gothic.

You can listen to the trailer for "Maggie & Quentin - The Lovers' Refrain" below, or jump to the Big Finish podcast to listen to the first 15 minutes of it free HERE.

"Maggie & Quentin - The Lovers' Refrain" is available directly from Big Finish on compact disc or digital download HERE.



"The Girl Beneath the Water" by Lila Whelan

“If I don’t leave now something will try and stop me! Don’t you see what’s happening here? Something doesn’t want us to leave.”

As Maggie Collins welcomes her children home to Collinwood to celebrate her husband Quentin’s 65th birthday, she is blissfully unaware of the cruel magic at work underpinning the heartwarming scene. In a battle for reality, Maggie and Quentin must come together to protect their children against an ancient magical force that knows no mercy. But in doing so, they risk losing everything they love. For who can be trusted when you can’t trust yourself?

"The Sand That Speaks His Name" by Mark Thomas Passmore

"'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here…’ Just the standard disclaimer - nothing to worry about."

A mistake from Quentin’s past casts a dark shadow over his and Maggie’s weekend getaway in New York City. A Golem is loose, threatening innocents and only Quentin knows how to stop it. But first, he must learn how and why the creature has come back to life, a task which takes Maggie and Quentin on a quest through the hidden supernatural network of the Big Apple. Will Maggie’s foray into the perilous life Quentin used to live drive an irreparable wedge in their relationship? Will the rampaging Golem give them the chance to find out?

"The Hollow Winds That Beckon" by Cody Schell

“Ghosts. The seas are haunted. By the spirits of men - and women - who left land searching for something or other. A new land. Treasure. A new life. They keep searching.”

A sunny day of fishing is interrupted by dark clouds as Quentin and Maggie find themselves swept up in events beyond their understanding. They’ll do their best to escape a mysterious island, even if their failure means joining those who have failed before them - the ghosts on the waves.

"The Paper to the Flame" by Alan Flanagan

“Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet / She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet...”

When a group of Windcliff patients start chanting a centuries-old song, Maggie and Quentin investigate - and find themselves drawn to an abandoned town with haunted streets and a fire burning deep below. There they must face an enemy far stronger, and far more unhinged, than they could ever have imagined - one with a grudge that stretches into both their pasts, and will have a profound effect on both their futures...

Philip Marlowe, but not Kathryn Leigh Scott, is on Amazon Prime

Every once in a while there are small signs that Amazon is growing at a speed it can't quite maintain. These are relatively small cracks in the corporate infrasture, but enough to give me pause. Because if I can spot these mistakes from the comfortable confines on my couch, what else am I not seeing? This is a company that took the baton from Walmart in regards to its role as America's coporate Alpha Parasite in local communities, decimating whatever is left of small businesses and replacing them with wage-slave jobs and psychotic working conditions. "In the West, we don't tend to ask workers to stick to a precise productivity rate," said author Jean-Baptiste Malet, who documented his experiences with the company in his book Inside Amazon: Inflitrating the 'Best of Both Worlds. "Yet every day Amazon asks them to go faster than the day before. They are also set against each other. For example, if someone talks during work hours, the rest are expected to shun them." This is a vision of Hell so cartoonish that it would make THE SIMPSONS blanch, but for an Amazon warehouse it's just a Tuesday.

So, whenever I see cracks in the fuselage it makes me wonder if the next "Too Big To Fail" monolith is about to fail, either requiring a massive bailout from taxpayers and/or creating black holes in small-town infrastucres around the world. During the last week I've seen Amazon Prime use imagery from the 2002 remake of ROLLERBALL as the key art for the 1975 original, photos from 1974's THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 with the 2002 remake, and the exciting/disappointing photo at the top of this post for the 1983-1986 HBO series PHILIP MARLOWE, PRIVATE EYE. Yes, that's Kathryn Leigh Scott standing with Powers Boothe in Amazon Prime's thumbnail art for the show. Scott appears in the first season of the series ... which is actually not available from Amazon Prime at the moment. All that's streaming is Season 2. Amazon's Alexa device is constantly scanning the audio in my living room, blankly awaiting the proper key words (some of which can only be heard in ranges inaudible to the human ear) so that it can satisfy my every consumer desire  ... but the company can't differentiate between Walter Matthau and Denzel Washington.

What do we do about this? The only solution I can offer is to plug into all 1,225 episodes of DARK SHADOWS on Amazon Prime and await the inevitable war with Skynet. Consider the show's time/dimensional hopping as training for the days when we'll be fighting terminators in 1984.

Kathryn Leigh Scott is headed to Austin this summer

Kathryn Leigh Scott will be representing Collinsport this summer at the Greater Austin Comic Con in Texas. Scott has just announced that she is among the guests scheduled to attend the event, which is set for June 16-17 at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas. It's going to be a little hot for DARK SHADOWS cosplay, but I'll still be disappointed if I don't see Instagram photos of at least one person wearing an Inverness cape at the convention.

For more information about GACC, visit their website at www.greateraustincomiccon.com.

And find Kathryn online at https://kathrynleighscott.com.

You can't see our faces, but we're blushing

Kathryn Leigh Scott gave the Collinsport Historical Society and Patrick McCray a shout out via Facebook over the weekend. The CHS has been nominated for Best Blog/Website of 2017 by the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. I'm currently stumping for Patrick as a write-in candidate for "Best Writer," primarily for his work on the "Dark Shadows Daybook" series. You can read more about the nominations HERE. (And thanks again, Kathryn, for the vote of confidence!)

Attention Dark Shadows fans . . . The Collinsport Historical site is up for a Rondo award, which is like the Hugo of...
Posted by Kathryn L Scott on Saturday, March 17, 2018

Save 50% on Dark Shadows this week at Big Finish

Big Finish is offering a sale this week on DARK SHADOWS audiobooks and full-cast dramas, knocking 50 percent off the regular price. Use the code QUENTIN50 at checkout to cut the list price in half, but you might want to hustle ... the sale ends at midnight on March 8. (And that's UK time, FYI.)

The sale also heralds the release later this year of "Maggie & Quentin - The Lovers' Refrain," an anthology featuring David Selby and Kathryn Leigh Scott. As a teaser, Big Finish is offering a digital bundle of the previous tales featuring Selby as Quentin Collins. While this bundle is not part of this week's sale, it's still a steal: It features eight tales, ranging from 2008's "The Skin Walkers" to 2015's delightfulyl weird "Panic," all for just $30. (After the sale, the price of this bundle will go up to $40.) You can find the bundle HERE.

You can read more about the sale over at the official website of Big Finish Productions.

Let Kathryn Leigh Scott stock your Dark Shadows library

Few celebrities give back to fans like DARK SHADOWS' own Maggie Evans, Kathryn Leigh Scott. A prolific author and publisher as well as an actress, Kathryn shares Christmas with fans by offering numerous special collections of mystery novels, autobiographical books, behind-the-scenes histories of the entertainment industry, and photos -- all bearing her personalized signature. 2017 might set a record for Kathryn, with six different gift bundles, all including her personal holiday card, and all offering -- honestly -- outstanding savings. A visit to her website finds various packages, and three are of special interest to DARK SHADOWS fans.

Her Hollywood Holiday package features two, rare, lavish coffee table books of classic cinema lobby cards, the first of which features a foreword by Joan Bennett. (I own both of the books, and in the age of Kindle uber Alles, they are increasingly rare and beautiful.) Both are available for only $39, which is astounding considering that, together, they’d be worth at least $90. Her Collinsport Collection, also for $39, is another opportunity to save. It contains DARK SHADOWS: THE COMIC STRIP BOOK, DARK SHADOWS: RETURN TO COLLINWOOD, a color photo, and her holiday card, all signed. The most amazing value, however, is the Barnabas Bundle, containing her novel, DARK PASSAGES (not necessarily backstage at the show, but a credible look at the making of a fictitious show that’s a lot like DS), the 35th anniversary edition of the DARK SHADOWS ALMANAC, a signed “mystery gift,” and four autographed photos. This is over $100 in merchandise for only $39! Kathryn reports that her home looks like Santa’s workshop, so it’s a great time to benefit. Everything is going fast at kathrynleighscott.com.

- Patrick McCray

Lara Parker reviews Kathryn Leigh Scott's new book

Kathryn Leigh Scott has a new memoir available today. Word of the book has been circulating for a while now, but I think DARK SHADOWS fans have been avoiding the subject. It's a tough issue to grapple with, regardless of the grace and maturity with which Scott has managed her grief. "Now With You, Now Without: My Journey Through Life and Loss" is about the 2011 death her husband Geoff Miller and the changes in life and perspective that accompanied her loss. Those of us who spend our days mired in escapism prefer to look away from sadness, almost always to our own detriment. I've reached the age where these facts of life are more difficult to ignore, and hope to find a little guidance from Scott's experiences. I wouldn't say I'm "excited" to read it ... but I feel ready. I hope more fans can pull themselves away from Collinwood long enough to give it a chance.

Meanwhile, our own Lara Parker has a review of the book at Twitlonger. It's not a site that's easy to share on social media, so I'll plug it here, along with a sample.

"The surprise in Scott’s book is in the second half when she is left alone and the main source of her energies and efforts has been removed. After Geoff’s death, which she relates in sympathetic detail, and after a wrenching period of mourning, she finds the strength to become her own caregiver, employing all the skills she has mastered and showing the same compassion to herself she showed to Geoff. She discovers the resilience she never thought she would possess to go on with her own life."

You can read Parker's full review HERE.

"Now With You, Now Without: My Journey Through Life and Loss" is available in paperback and Kindle from Amazon.

Hugh M. Hefner: 1926-2017

By PATRICK McCRAY

“What sort of man reads Playboy?”

Barnabas read it to catch up on two centuries of culture -- not to mention the revival of the Edwardian suit. Quentin and Burke embodied it. Roger read it for the articles. No, really. David treasured it because there was no girl next door. Julia, because she was not about to be told she shouldn’t. And Stokes? He was waiting for Hef to catch up.

Hugh M. Hefner, founder and publisher of Playboy Magazine, died at 91 yesterday. His Dark Shadows connections are largely through one of the show’s female leads, Kathryn Leigh Scott, who worked as a “Bunny” waitress at the New York Playboy Club, the white hot epitome of 1960’s swank, even after the show went on the air. The Bunnies were both symbolic of a new kind of self-possessed fun that was everyone’s birthright as well as witnesses to a strange and marvelous cultural upheaval. Ms. Scott covers this in her book, A BUNNY’S TALE, one of her main projects of the 1990’s, where she became a noted Playboy historian.

As I jokingly hinted above, I think there’s another, subtler connection. If not connection, then sympathetic resonance. One of Playboy’s greatest triumphs was establishing the cultural legitimacy of a new model for manhood… and by implication, a congruent model for women as well. No longer were marriage, religion, crew cuts, kids, and Budweiser the cost of admission into adult culture. Playboy celebrated the possibilities of a fulfilling adult life where different choices were possible and justifiable. Choosing to be childfree. Embracing music, food, and literature from other eras and unfairly segregated segments of society. Enjoying fashion, art, technology, books, plays, and perspectives on life that were shocking to many, but which we take for granted, now.

Essentially, Playboy helped to invent the metrosexual. The intense, brainy, gentlemanly, passionate, erotic vampire, Barnabas Collins, is a fellow traveler from that new school of manhood. We think of Barnabas as a man from the past, but he’s just as much a man of the future. Balancing refinement and passion, at his best, Barnabas Collins is coincidentally an ideal embodiment of the Playboy. The intense appeal of Barnabas in the 1960’s demonstrates that his time had come. Considering that he’d been waiting since 1796, it was long overdue.

I will always remember Hugh Hefner's remarkable kindness and generosity when I was writing The Bunny Years about the...
Posted by Kathryn L Scott on Thursday, September 28, 2017

Kathryn Leigh Scott and Junior Sophisticates

It's easy to forget that DARK SHADOWS was a product of New York City. While contemporary programs like STAR TREK, BATMAN and THE MONKEES were able to pull from resources around the world, DARK SHADOWS had to rely almost exclusively on the talent residing within single city. Most of the show's creative teams were veterans of the NYC theater community, which proved to be up to the task of quickly finding actors to feed to the show's ever-changing narrative demands. At the close of the '60s, New York City was a place where you could see Brother Theodore perform one night, the Velvet Underground the next, and close out the weekend with an off-Broadway show featuring such actors as Al Pacino, James Earl Jones or Christoper Walken. Had DARK SHADOWS been produced in Los Angeles, it might have been a little more polished ... but it would have been a lot less interesting, too.

New York City even contributed to the fashions of DARK SHADOWS. Ohrbach's, a "moderate-priced department store," famously contributed to the show's costumes. Also pitching in was Junior Sophisticates, a clothing line launched in 1948 by Ben and Anne Klein. While Anne would later become a legend in the fashion world, it was a lesser-known designer for the company that brought Junior Sophisticates to DARK SHADOWS. Below is a surprisingly interesting puff piece about actress Kathryn Leigh Scott, who reveals in this interview from 1970 some surprising facts about our favorite gothic soap, shows an understanding of fashion that would make David Bowie blush, and displays her ability to deliver a good interview no matter how airy the subject matter.

Fashions for a Star: Clothes That Move

Afternoon TV
By Jay Edwards

Kathryn Leigh Scott, the long-suffering Maggie Evans of Dark Shadows, was standing in a pouring rain in front of her apartment building, wearing a rain suit with boots to her hips, when she had her first real conversation with Tom Nasarre, the young designer who is her neighbor and now the major influence on her very special fashion look.

"Every time I see you in the elevator," a young designer said to Kathryn Leigh Scott, "you look smashing. I think you'd look absolutely marvelous in my clothes."

"I loved the idea," Katie remembers. "Up to that time I'd been designing and making almost everything for myself — I love design, and I'm very particular about what I wear because my wardrobe has to be right for my way of life. Fortunately for me I knew Tom's work — he designs for Junior Sophisticates, and his clothes were featured in the May issue of Cosmopolitan — and I admired it very much. We had dinner together after that, and he sat there all evening sketching. Things I dream of making he actually does — his clothes are beautifully refined, very contemporary and very wearable."

An example of Scott's Junior Sophisticates wardrobe, from the May 20, 1970 episode of DARK SHADOWS.

That "very wearable" is a very important quality to Kathryn Leigh Scott; besides her natural feminine awareness of beauty and fashion, she is also a young actress very much on the go, and it is absolutely necessary that her clothes can be packed easily for traveling, and that they be totally comfortable.

On a recent whirlwind visit to Birmingham, Alabama, for the Antique Charity Auction Fair, she made seven personal appearances, including a visit to the mayor to accept the key to the city, and all her luggage went on board the plane in one leather satchel and a dress-bag containing one dress.

"The outfit I took with me for that trip happened to be one I designed myself. It's a 1930s fabric; bottle-green." (Unfortunately, the pictures with this story are not in color — Katie's hair is a gorgeous red). "It's a crushed panne velvet suit with a very long jacket closed by four little covered buttons. It has a deep neck and sleeves that are tight at the top and then flute out. The blouse I wore is 75-years-old; my great-grandmother made it for my grand mother."

Kathryn Leigh Scott manages to travel in style, but she never travels cluttered: "One day when I was at the studio doing Dark Shadows I got a late call to go to Philadelphia that night to replace someone in a show. I was wearing a pants suit and I just had time for a cab to run me home and wait while I grabbed my toothbrush and a skirt that goes with the suit. I was in Philadelphia for two days but that gave me a complete wardrobe that I packed — literally — in one large purse. I believe in clothes that move with you!"

Katie hasn't given up designing for herself altogether, but since working exclusively with Nasarre she does much less, and she never sews any more.



"For me to meet a designer I like enough to completely stop sewing is really something," she said, "but I think that much of his work. I've gone to every one of his fashion shows since, which is also great; he actually got a standing ovation at his most recent showing.

"He paid me a compliment once that I treasure. He saw me in a pants suit I had made, and said 'I love it — I'd put it in my own show!' Coming from a designer, that's like getting an Academy Award."

Working with Nasarre has also taught Katie a few lessons about making clothes that she had ignored before, when she was creating her own wardrobe: "I always used to make a lot of things that I just threw away, because they didn't work out right. Now, when I have an idea that I like, I make it first in muslin or crepe; sometimes I make three or four trials before I actually finish the dress. This way, if I don't like the result, I can just buy some more cheap fabric and make another test instead of giving up and hanging my mistakes in the back of the closet."

Interestingly, Kathryn Leigh Scott's fascination with design is not simply the usual style-consciousness that one might assume — the subject fits in with her whole attitude toward the world around her. "I'm fascinated by our way of life right now," she said. "All the sights, the sounds, the political unrest — design is just an extension of all the senses that make our awareness of life. The important thing to remember is that design isn't just the look of clothes; it's an expression of all your attitudes and values. I love making things because they're all mine — the same way that I love wearing Tom's clothes because he understands me.

"The important thing for a woman to remember — even if she doesn't feel she can design and make her own clothes—is that simply selecting things expresses the same personal values. Putting one special lorgnette with one special vest; one special blouse with one special suit — the important thing is that what you wear should express what you are."

And — if you happen to be a popular young actress starring in one of television's most successful daytime shows — it should be something that you can pack in one large handbag and still look as though you just walked out of a salon in Paris. 

What's happening with Dark Shadows at Decades?

Since launching back in 2015, the Decades network has had a pretty warm relationship with DARK SHADOWS. The show has been featured occasionally as part of its "binge" programming, and was even one of the first series to be showcased during the lead-up to the network's official launch. It also received a special episode last fall of it's docu-series "Through the Decades"  in celebration of the show's 50th anniversary.

Lots of fans have been asking for DARK SHADOWS to join the network's regular rotation, but that's yet to happen. But, if actress Kathryn Leigh Scott's Facebook page is any indication, something is in the works over at Decades:

Thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes! I'll be celebrating tomorrow with David Selby and Lara Parker . . . we're doing an interview for Decades! Honestly, what could be better than spending the day with dear good friends . . . decades indeed!

Feel free to speculate in the comments section below. Is there another binge in the works ... or something more?

UPDATE: Kathryn has shared a bit more information on Facebook. The trio were taping an interview with Herbie J. Pilato for the series "Then and Now." Any day is a good day to talk about DARK SHADOWS, but I'm still holding out hope that there's some mitigating factor for the interview ...

8 things I learned from Jeff Thompson's "Nights of Dan Curtis"

By WALLACE McBRIDE

"Nights of Dan Curtis" is not an especially friendly book. Author Jeff Thompson (a frequent contributor to the CHS) is possibly the reigning scholar on the works of Dan Curtis, and it certainly shows in his latest publication, which is saddled with the subtitle "The Television Epics of the Dark Shadows Auteur: Horror, Western, and War." Having already tackled Curtis' horror movies and television shows in his books "The Television Horrors of Dan Curtis" and "House of Dan Curtis," Thompson focuses here on his outlying productions, which range from the trivial (1998's THE LOVE LETTER) to possibly his most important work (1983's WINDS OF WAR.)

Unsurprisingly, DARK SHADOWS lurks in the recesses of almost every chapter "Nights of Dan Curtis." Despite the filmmaker's efforts to marginalize his breakthrough achievement, the gothic soap provided Curtis with friends and professional relationships that endured his entire career. You'll see many of the same names appear throughout the book, such as Kathryn Leigh Scott, Robert Cobert, Barbara Steele, Lysette Anthony and John Karlen. No matter the subject matter (and Curtis produced everything from westerns to melodrama) you were bound to find some kind of connection to DARK SHADOWS.

When I cracked this book open for the first time (and I've returned to its pages many times during the last few weeks) it was under the delusion that I knew a little something about Dan Curtis. As it happens, I didn't know much of anything ... I've seen very few of the projects documented in this book, many of which were total revelations. It begins with a forward by one of my childhood heroes, Larry Wilcox (I was never much of a Ponch fan) who writes about working with Curtis on 1979's THE LAST RIDE OF THE DALTON GANG. There are details on the 1979 SUPERTRAIN debacle, 1974's MELVIN PURVIS G-MAN, 2005's SAVING MILLY and tons of other projects that were entirely new to me.

Still, it's not what I'd call a friendly read. Thompson has crafted a fine reference book here, which was almost certainly his intention. This isn't a book about Jeff Thompson; it's a book about Dan Curtis, and it's refreshing to see such an absence of ego in this kind of book. But it also makes it incredibly difficult to review in a typical fashion. In light of that, here are eight factoids I learned from reading "Nights of Dan Curtis," which ought to give you an idea of what to expect from the book.

1: Holy Candy Man, Batman!

Two years before DARK SHADOWS, Dan Curtis tried to develop a BATMAN television series for CBS. In 1964, Curtis got the go-ahead to develop a pilot, with CBS given right of first refusal. The vision of the series doesn't sound very far removed from the show created by William Dozier in 1966: actor Don Murray (CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES) had agreed to star as the caped crusader, with Sammy Davis, Jr. as the Joker. Had a change in management not torpedoed the project, BATMAN would have stocked its rogues gallery with members of the Rat Pack.

---

2: CBS hacked Drac

In 1972, Curtis returned to the vampire well with DRACULA, which aired on television in the U.S., and was released theatrically (with a bloodier cut) in Europe. It was originally meant to be a much grander project, though. Curtis and screenwriter Richard Matheson wanted a three-hour time slot, but CBS granted them only two. While it was the first legitimate attempt to faithfully translate Bram Stoker's novel for film, both creators felt the shorter time slot hobbled (to a certain extent) the final product.

---

3: "That's the signpost up ahead ..."
As DARK SHADOWS was hitting its stride in 1967, Curtis was in the U.K. producing and directing THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. The TV movie was written by Ian McLellan Hunter and starred Jack Palance in the title roles, but neither were Curtis' first choice. When the project began development, actor Jason Robards was attached, and Rod Serling (!) was tapped to write the screenplay.

---

4: Author, author!
Herman Wouk was unhappy with the filmed adaptions of THE CAINE MUTINY and MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR, and was resistant to the idea of allowing WINDS OF WAR to suffer a "watered down" adaption. Curtis countered by bringing Wouk on board to write the screenplay of the 15-hour 1983 television mini-series, going so far as to give the author final approval on scripts.

---

5: It takes a thief
Robert Cobert frequently cribbed his own music from other movies. Listen carefully and you'll hear music from DARK SHADOWS appear in such productions as INTRUDERS and THE GREAT ICE RIP-OFF. "Quentin's Theme" made stealth appearances in both movies. If you've got to steal, steal from the best!

---

6: Great Scott!

Kathryn Leigh Scott auditioned for the role of Liz Stoddard in the 1991 DARK SHADOWS revival. Just let that idea sink in. If you've got to lose a part, though, you might as well lose it to Jean Simmons.  (Oops. KLS actually auditioned for the role of Liz in the 2004 pilot, but lost to Blair Brown. Jeff got it correct in his book; I got it wrong here. My apologies.) Still, just think of the possibilities. THINK ABOUT THEM.

---

7: The Number of the Beast
Dan Curtis was briefly attached to direct DAMIEN: OMEN II. As a not-terribly-proud fan of THE OMEN movies, the lack of detail on this bit of trivia is maddeningly frustrating. But I probably shouldn't expect too many details about a production that ultimately didn't involve Curtis. Mike Hodges (GET CARTER, FLASH GORDON) was signed to direct but was booted and replaced during shooting by Don Taylor (THE FINAL COUNTDOWN).

---

8: A Monstrous Monopoly

Curtis' television adaption of FRANKENSTEIN debuted Jan. 16, 1972, the same night as THE NIGHT STALKER, which he also produced. THE NIGHT STALKER earned a 32.2 rating and 54 share, making it the highest-rated television movie to date. It was followed in 1973 by a sequel, THE NIGHT STRANGLER. The sequel marked the end of Curtis' relationship with Carl Kolchak.

Are there DARK SHADOWS in Disney’s Haunted Mansion?

Even with the cost of visiting their parks rising to exorbitant, borderline unholy levels, Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction is enough to justify at least one trip to a Disney theme park in your life. It's just that good.

The attraction got off to an incredibly rocky start, though. The mansion made its first appearance on Disneyland’s official souvenir maps in 1958, but construction on the project didn’t commence until three years later. By 1963, it had still not opened to the public, and Walt Disney’s death in 1966 brought the project to a thudding halt. The park’s “Imagineers” pooled their resources to find out how to salvage the concept, drawing from such influences as Robert Wise’s THE HAUNTING, the 1927 feature THE CAT AND THE CANARY and Jean Cocteau BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

In 1969, the mansion finally opened its doors to visitors. The concept later expanded to Disneyworld in 1971, Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, Disneyland Paris in 1992, and Hong Kong Disneyland in 2013.

What does this have to do with DARK SHADOWS, you ask? The author of LONG FORGOTTEN, a blog devoted Disney’s Haunted Mansion, believes that the changing portrait of Josette DuPres — the perpetually doomed damsel of DARK SHADOWS — might have inspired one of the images in the attraction’s “changing portrait gallery.”

The gallery was the work of lead artist and animator Marc Davis, who designed many of the original scenes found at The Haunted Mansion. Davis had a storied career with Disney, designing many of their most iconic characters, including “Snow White,” “Maleficent,” “Tinker Bell” and “Cruella de Vil.”

While most of Davis’ work on The Haunted Mansion was done before 1965 (a year before the debut of DARK SHADOWS), it appears the April-December portrait wasn’t added to the gallery until sometime in 1968.

The portrait of Josette made its first appearance on DARK SHADOWS on episode 70 of the series, which aired Sept. 30, 1966. The portrait was seen frequently on the series, but it’s the episode that aired Jan. 12, 1968, that the author thinks inspired the April-December Portrait. (Coincidentally, this is the episode voted by our readers as being the best of the entire series.)

The portraits of Josette DuPres and "April-December."

Here's a quick summary: As a challenge to his new wife, Angelique, Barnabas Collins has placed the portrait of his former love, Josette, over the mantle in their home. Not one to ever be outdone, Angelique casts a spell that transforms Josette’s painted image into that of a monster. You can see the two illustrations above, as well as the transformation of the April-December portrait from The Haunted Mansion.

“The point is, there is no evidence that April-December existed before the DS episode featuring the morphing Josette portrait aired,” the author concludes. “April's absence is particularly noticeable when we take into account how often the other changing portraits make appearances. That doesn't prove any kind of connection, of course, but it does mean that there is currently no chronological obstacle to the theory that Marc got the idea for April-December from Dark Shadows. For the record, I am of the opinion that he did.”

Sadly, the “April-December” image was removed from the changing portrait gallery back in 2005. As for the artist’s original inspiration? Well, Disney is notoriously tight-lipped about such things. Almost 60 years after its release, we still have only the word of Maila Nurmi — TV’s “Vampira” — that she served as the inspiration for SLEEPING BEAUTY’s “Maleficent.”

Via: Long Forgotten

Dark Shadows: Into the Light, Episode 2

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of DARK SHADOWS, Jim Romanovich recently launched an 8-part DARK SHADOWS retrospective titled "Into the Light" at radioretropolis.com. The Collinsport Historical Society will be archiving these episodes as they become available; you'll be able to find the series in the tab above titled "Dark Shadows: Into the Light."

The latest episode of the series landed last night, and features conversations with Kathryn Leigh Scott, David Selby, Jerry Lacy, Lara Parker and John Karlen. It's a highlight reel (of sorts) for future episodes in the podcast series, which will feature the full interviews with these cast members.

Topics in this episode include:

• Auditioning for the show
• Remembering Jonathan Frid
• Acting inspirations
• The Death of Dan Curtis
• Flubs and TelePrompters
• What made the series successful

You can stream the episode below, or click on the arrow button to download it as an MP3.

Who needs Santa Claus when you've got Kathryn Leigh Scott?

Here's a cool gift idea for the holidays: Kathryn Leigh Scott is having a sale on her books "Return to Collinwood" and "Dark Passages," bundling them together for $24.95 (plus shipping.) To sweeten the deal, she's adding a personal telephone call to the package!

You can get the full details on the holiday sale at her official website.
 
Via: kathrynleighscott.com

Review: AND RED ALL OVER

By WALLACE McBRIDE

Admittedly, I might not be the best person to review “And Red All Over.”

I’ve got an emotional investment in the early episodes of DARK SHADOWS that’s a little unusual. Most of the OG fans of the series didn’t start watching the show until after it became a phenomenon, with later attempts at syndicating the show (and even releasing it to home video) completely omitting the first 200 episodes. As weird as it might seem, these episodes aired only once on television until The Sci-Fin Channel picked up the series during the early 1990s.

This is when I first started to watch DARK SHADOWS in any meaningful way: two hours every morning on The Sci-Fi Channel, beginning with the first episode. At the time, episode guides weren’t easy to find, so I had no idea when Barnabas Collins might make his first appearance on the program. It always felt as if he might arrive at any time, like an uninvited — but thoroughly welcome — guest.

This anxiety went on for more than 20 weeks before we rolled around to Jonathan Frid's debut, but there was enough going on during these early episodes to keep me occupied and entertained. These remain some of my favorite stories in the series. As I’ve said before (and will certainly say again), you can’t really understand DARK SHADOWS without seeing these episodes.

Which is why I can’t fully approach “And Red All Over” with any real objectivity. I love having Mitchell Ryan back in the fold. He’s one of my favorite character actors (a short list that also includes Ian Holm and Stanley Tucci) and it feels like a semi-miracle to have him return to DARK SHADOWS after almost 50 years. Does it even matter if the episode is any good? Would I know the difference?

Director Lela Swift leads the cast of DARK SHADOWS through the shooting of the show's first episode, June 13, 1966.

Spoilers ahead.

I like to think “And Red All Over” is one of the best installments in Big Finish’s range of DARK SHADOWS audio dramas. I was engaged throughout, and not just because I was starstruck by Ryan. It’s not a coincidence that the best stories in this series feature Kathryn Leigh Scott, who is cursed with the kind of charm and consistency that makes it easy to take her for granted (see also: Tom Hanks). But she’s terrific here. Again.

Ryan created the role of “Burke Devlin” on DARK SHADOWS in the first episode of the series. When last we saw the character, he was played by Anthony George and headed for an ill-advised plan ride to South America.  Since 1967, we’ve all had to live with the character’s dubious, unsatisfying exit for the show: The Dreaded Soap Opera Plane Crash™.

While the logline for “And Red All Over” is a little coy about the presence of Burke Devlin in this episode, there’s little suspense in the tale about his real identity. The producers at Big Finish would have to be real assholes to tease us with Devlin’s presence, only to snatch it away. So yes, this is Burke. And we find out quite a bit more about him than we ever learned on the original series.

Writer Cody Schell delves deep into DARK SHADOWS mythology, revisiting everything from Devlin’s relationships with Roger Collins, his engagement to Victoria Winters and, most importantly, his mysterious business dealings in Montevideo. Which is where things get interesting. And occasionally confusing.

In 1966, Devlin returned to Collinsport with a grudge and a sizable fortune. The origins of this fortune were never revealed, but the hints that Devlin occasionally dropped were … unsettling. Schell expands on these clues in some interesting ways, revealing Devlin’s associates as the sort of creepy crime cult you might find in a DAREDEVIL comic. The Ink (as they like to be called) is either a gang of masked criminals who use costumes and hallucinogenic drugs to terrorize their enemies, or they have access to very real magical powers. What happens in the story might not actually be happening, at least in the ways that the characters believe. Don’t be shocked if you’re occasionally confused by the constant sleight-of-hand taking place in “And Red All Over.”

Still, I have quibbles. There are times that Ryan sounds like he’s reading the script for the first time, but these awkward line readings are in keeping with the theme of the tale — for better or worse. And the sound design for “And Red All Over” is not among the best produced by Big Finish (that title is still held by 2013’s “Beyond the Grave.”) It seems like a weird complaint to level against anything bearing the DARK SHADOWS trade mark, but the music and sound effects on this episode were sometimes … cheesy.

The dreamlike/acid-trip nature of this story also complicates its resolution in a way that reminds me of TAXI DRIVER.  People still argue today about that movie’s denouement, which sees disturbed vigilante Travis Bickle getting a (totally unearned) second chance at life. Here, we find Maggie Evans reunited with one-time boyfriend Joe Haskell — who we last saw on DARK SHADOWS getting carted off to a sanitarium. Later audio dramas claimed Haskell was dead, which makes his cameo at the end of “And Red All Over” a little startling. It’s also amazingly effective, and provides a much needed happy ending for the couple. You probably think you’re prepared to hear the sound of actor Joel Crothers voice, but I assure you that you’re not.

Assuming I’m not a delusional fanboy, it’s my opinion that “And Red All Over” serves as a fitting cap for the entire DARK SHADOWS storyline. While I’m hoping for more from Big Finish in 2016, this is as good an ending as DARK SHADOWS will ever get.

Get DARK SHADOWS: AND RED ALL OVER from Big Finish HERE.

DARK SHADOWS: AND RED ALL OVER

The last DARK SHADOWS audio book of 2015 dropped this morning. "And Red All Over" reunites original cast members Kathryn Leigh Scott and Mitchell Ryan, who returns to the role of "Burke Devlin" for the first time since 1967. I've got a spoilery review of the story ready to go later in the week, as well as an even more spoilery podcast interview with its author, Cody Schell.

Until then, experience "And Red All Over" for yourself, courtesy of Big Finish Productions.

Via: Big Finish