Terror at Collinwood Episode 82: The DS Characters of Clarice Blackburn with Tweetie Jackie Blackburn

The very skilled (and sometimes underrated) actress Clarice Blackburn played Mrs. Sarah Johnson, Abigail Collins, and Minerva Trask on Dark Shadows and appeared as Mrs. Castle in Night of Dark Shadows. After DS, Clarice also went on to become a successful television writer. Visiting the podcast to discuss Clarice’s DS characters is Tweetie Jackie Blackburn, an administrator of several prominent DS Facebook groups, including the Dark Shadows Appreciation Society, Angelique’s Lair (Fans of Lara Parker), and Barnabas Collins and the Old House! Other topics of discussion include: Tweetie’s experiences meeting DS stars such as Lara Parker, Christopher Pennock, and Jerry Lacy, visiting Seaview Terrace aka “Collinwood”, the upcoming Dark Shadows Remembrance weekend, future hopes for DS, and more! Join us for a fun and spirited chat!

Read More

Terror at Collinwood Episode 71: The Dark Shadows Podcast of Questions & Answers Volume 1

In the spirit of Dale Clark’s “Dark Shadows Book of Questions and Answers” series comes the first installment of Terror at Collinwood’s Dark Shadows PODCAST of Questions and Answers! In this episode, the following questions are addressed: How can it be that Josette’s maiden name was originally Lafreniere, and that she was said to have died in 1834, when we know this was not the case? Who was Abner Collins? How did Quentin end up sealed in his room in the unaltered version of 1897? How could Dr. Lang know about Dave Woodard? Is Barnabas a hero or a villain? Are the Leviathans aliens? Why was Amy called Molly at first? Listen, as Penny Dreadful unleashes a frenzied torrent of in-universe explanations, with references to everything from H.P. Lovecraft, to Marvel's Punisher, to the plays of William Shakespeare, and more!

Read More

Terror at Collinwood Episode 45: My Family Memories of Dark Shadows with… my family!

It’s a ghoul-tide trip down memory lane in this Terror at Collinwood Christmas/Holiday special. I sit down with my family to discuss their memories of Dark Shadows. Other topics include: moving to America from Portugal, getting into 60’s pop culture, growing up in the 60’s, Dracula actors, binge watching in the 80’s before it was a thing, family interests in spooky stuff, and much more! Featuring, in order of appearance, interviews with my: aunt Agatha, mom Zezinha, uncle Valdemar, cousin Karen, cousin Elijah, dad Tony, sister Amy, and sister Maggie.

Read More

Terror at Collinwood Episode 29: The Gothic World-Building of Dark Shadows with Dr. Andrew Higgins

Dr. Andrew Higgins is a respected J.R.R. Tolkien scholar and longtime Dark Shadows fan who wrote the essay “The Gothic World-Building of Dark Shadows” for the publication, Exploring Imaginary Worlds: Essays on Media, Structure, and Subcreation. He visits Terror at Collinwood for a fun and insightful discussion about transmedia world-building, the primary vs. the secondary world, formalism, canon vs. non-canon, how spin-off media and fandom enriches and informs story worlds, and much more! Other topics include J.R.R. Tolkien, Andrew's memories of Dark Shadows, the story that inspired the use of I-Ching on DS, Angelique's confusing timeline, Grayson Hall, 1795, 1840, and much more!

Read More