220 - May 1, 1967

[bunniefuu]

[narrating]
- My name is Victoria Winters.

There is a strange illness at Collinwood.

An illness that has caused a collapse

and loss of strength.

An illness that appears with the daylight

and disappears as the sun sets

and the darkness grows.

[gasps]


- I thought you were asleep.

What are you doing out of bed?


- I just thought I'd get dressed.


- What for?


- I don't know.


- How do you feel?


- Better.


- Yes.

You're looking better.

In fact, you look very good.
- Sure.


- Almost yourself again.
- That's right.


- It's kind of hard to believe that only a few hours ago,

you were collapsing all over the place.

I even had to pick you up off the floor

and put you back into bed.


- Yeah, I appreciate that, Jason.


- Then it's kind of hard to believe

that only a few hours ago,

the doctor said you'd be in bed for a long, long time.


- Well, I'm feeling better.


- He said you were weak from loss of blood, Willie.

I don't understand it.

How can you be weak and collapsing from loss of blood

and still be up and around the way you are?

Can you answer that for me, Willie?

♪♪


- I'm still waiting for an answer, Willie.


- Well, I don't know what to tell you.


- Oh, sure you do.

Just what I ask.

Why are you running hot and cold?


- I don't know, I'm not a doctor.


- We've had the doctor's opinion, Willie.


- Doctors can make mistakes.


- Maybe so.

But when it comes to you, Willie, I don't make mistakes.

Now, you've got something going on

and I want to know what it is.


- I'm telling you, there's nothing.


- Come on, Willie, how stupid do you think I am?


- Why don't you just stop asking me questions?


- I can't!

Now, look, I talked Liz into letting you stay here

when she'd just as soon throw you right out the door.

And then I called a doctor in here because I was worried about you.

Now, I'm sticking my neck out for you, but you're not
-
-

you're not playing it safe with me, boy.


- Please, Jason.


- Oh, don't give me "Please, Jason."

You're just not confiding in me, Willie.

And as far as I'm concerned, that's betraying me.

And if that's the way it's going to be,

well, then we've got to make other arrangements.


- What do you mean?


- We came here with one purpose in mind, didn't we?

Didn't we?

Well, you've got something going on your own

and you want to keep it for yourself.


- No, Jason, no
-
-


- Well, whatever it is, you can keep it,

because I don't want in on it.

I don't want anything to do with it.


- I've got nothing, please believe me.


- I don't believe you!

We don't think alike anymore.

We don't even think the way we used to a week or so ago.


- Jason, please.
- Well, can you deny it?

I'll lose everything if I stick with you, kid.

You know that, don't you?


- Yeah, I know.


- Well, I can't let you stay here anymore.

You've got to go.


- I'll go.


- I'm sorry it has to be this way,

but there's no use kidding ourselves.

We have no future.


- No. No future.


- Well...

anyway, I'm not sending you away empty
-handed.

I got the for you.


- Doesn't make any difference.


- Since when doesn't a few bucks in your pockets

make any difference to you, Willie?

Now, you see, that's what I mean.

Your whole attitude is wrong.

Here we are, splitting up.

I'd expect you to take that pretty hard,

maybe even start swinging.


- I'm not looking to fight with you.


- No.

All the fight seems to have gone out of you.

Seem sort of
-
-

I don't know, empty somehow.

I wish I knew what it was, Willie,

because I'd like to help you.


- You
-
- you can't help me.


- You make everything sound so hopeless.

As if you were finished, washed up.

Dead and buried.

And now what's the matter with you?

[sighs]

You were always a man I could say anything to, Willie.

And now you're so sensitive, I don't know what to say to you.

I've asked all the questions I can ask, Willie,

and I haven't gotten one single answer!


- I'm sorry.


- Oh, sure.

You're sorry.

That's a new word you learned only recently.

I'd like to know where you learned to say it.

Well...

I've got the money in my room.

I'll get it and meet you downstairs.

You've become a man of mystery to me, Willie.

A man who disappears in a cemetery.

I'd like to know what happened to you in that cemetery.

[knocking on door]


- Come in.


- Mrs. Johnson asked me to bring this up to you.


- Thanks.


- I thought you'd be in bed.


- I'm feeling better.


- I'm glad to hear that.

Where should I put this?


- Anywhere will do.


- Well, if you want to sit over there,

I can put it on the table next to you.


- Okay.


- Here, now you sit there.
- Sure.


- The doctor says you have to follow a special diet.

So Mrs. Johnson prepared this for you.


- That's nice of her.


- Well, she feels that basically,

underneath your hard exterior, you're a good person.


- But you don't?


- I'd rather not discuss it.

Better start with the orange juice.


- No, I'd rather not.


- Well, then the soup, it's hot.
- No, not now.


- Willie, you have to eat something.


- I don't feel much like it.


- The doctor says you haven't eaten in a long time.


- Just can't.


- Well, look, I'm gonna leave this here,

so please try to eat something.


- Vicki?
- Yes?


- I'm leaving here.
- Again?


- I mean it this time.
- If you say so.


- Vicki.
- What is it?


- I just want to say that I've been a louse.

I'm sorry I did those things.


- Most people are sorry when it's too late.


- I just sort of hoped you might forgive me.


- Look, it's not for me to forgive you.

I'm sorry everything turned out this way.

And I'm sorry you've been sick.

But that's all the sympathy I can give you.


- I don't think I deserve even that.


- You've become awfully remorseful.


- Is that what I am?


- Yes, I'd say so.

What's made you this way, your illness?


- My illness?

Yeah.

My illness has made me...

very, very remorseful.


- Well, Liz, are you pleased?


- "Pleased" is hardly the word.


- He'll be out of here in a few minutes,

and then everything will be back to normal.


- Nothing will be back to normal until you're gone, too.


- Well, now, that might be sooner than you think.


- Anything that I can do to speed the day?


- I'll let you know.
- Yes, do.

I was under the impression that your friend

was very much sicker than he is.

I thought he'd be here a long, long time.


- Well, he's feeling better.


- Is he now?

What an amazing recovery.


- Well, now, Liz, the doctor said
-
-


- Yes, amazing.

And I must check with the doctor.

He must have given him one of those new miracle drugs.


- Pardon me?
- Ah, now, there you are.

Well, Liz, he'll be going now.


- Fine.
- Come on, Willie, let's go.


- Wait a minute.


- What's the matter?


- I gotta say something to Mrs. Stoddard.


- I'm not interested in anything you have to say to me.


- Mrs. Stoddard, please.

I've got to tell you.

It's important.


- Mrs. Stoddard.


- Come on, Willie, let's go.


- I gotta tell her.


- Mrs. Stoddard isn't interested in anything you have to say, Willie.

Let's get going.
- But this is something different.


- Willie, just say good
-bye and let's get out of here.


- Mrs. Stoddard
-
-
- Good
-bye, Willie.


- All right, Willie.

The talk is finished.


- Yeah, I guess so.


- Come on.

What's the matter with you, anyway?
- Nothing.


- What were you going to tell her in there?
- Nothing.


- Now, Willie, your conscience has been playing tricks on you.

You were going to blow the whistle on me, weren't you?


- No, Jason, I swear.

It was something else.


- You know, Willie, I'll tell you something.

In a way, I'll be kind of glad to see you go.

I don't think I could take much more of your peculiarities.

Here's the .

When you get to town, check into the hotel till you get better.


- Sure, Jason.


- Rest up.

I'll be down to see you before you go.


- What's gonna happen to me?


- Well, I don't know, Willie.

That's sort of up to you, isn't it?


- No.

No, it's not up to me.

[clock chiming]


- I seem to have developed this terrible habit

for dropping in unexpectedly.
- Oh, that's quite all right.

I wanted to talk to you, but I didn't know where to reach you.


- Then my visit is well
-timed.

I'm afraid anxiety about my proposal

to move into the new house is the reason for my visit.

I don't want to press you,

but I wonder if you've given more thought to it.


- Yes, I have.
- And what are your feelings?


- You're welcome to live in the old house

as long as you want to.


- How splendid.

I'm very grateful to you, Elizabeth.

You don't know how happy this makes me.


- When will you be moving in?
- Almost immediately.


- Oh, it doesn't need to be cleaned up?


- Perhaps a room at a time.


- Well, if you like, I can send Mrs. Johnson down

to prepare it for you.
- Oh, that won't be necessary.


- Well, can I help you find someone?


- Oh, I've already made preparations for that.


- My, you are well organized.


- Well, I've been looking forward to this for a long time.


- Well, is there anything I can do?


- Oh, I'm thankful enough for what you've already done.


- I have the keys to the house.

I don't know that they work or not.


- Everything seemed to be open.


- Well, you might want to lock up sometime.


- Of course.


- Hello, Mr. Collins.
- Miss Winters.


- Vicki, Mr. Collins is going to move into the old house.


- You mean you actually want to live there?


- Yes.

Live.

That's exactly what I intend to do.


- You'll have to excuse my surprise.


- I understand.

You've known that house to be an empty old place for so long

that it's difficult for you to imagine anyone living there.


- The other day when we met down there,

you had a way of talking about the features

and the construction and the history of the house

that convinced me you had genuine feeling for it,

but I had no idea you'd go this far.


- I intend to go quite far.
- How far?

[clock chiming]
- Well, I may, in fact,

restore parts of the house to its original condition.


- Oh, that would be a fascinating

and very ambitious project.

I'd be so curious to see the progress you make.


- You're welcome there anytime.


- Are you going to buy the house?
- No.

Mrs. Stoddard has merely given me permission to stay there.


- How long will you stay?


- I'm not certain.


- But won't it be awfully expensive to put so much money

into something you don't own?


- You cannot put a price on what I intend to do there.


- Well, here they are, some of them are rusty.

I don't even know which is the one to the front door.


- I'll find it. Thank you, Elizabeth.

I've been waiting for this.


- I'd like to wish you luck, but I don't know how it'll turn out.


- It will turn out all right. I have no doubt about it.

Well, now, I must leave.

I have an awful lot to do.

Good
-bye, Miss Winters.
- Good
-bye.


- Goodbye, Elizabeth.
- Good
-bye.


- You'll never know how much you've done for me.


- What a curious man.


- Yes, he is.


- To want to live in that awful old house.


- Apparently it means something to him that we don't understand.

Frankly, I don't think he'll stay long.


- Oh, I don't know.

I have a feeling that once he moves into that house,

he may never move out.

It's almost as though the house belongs to him.

Or maybe he belongs to the house.

If you could've watched him the other day,

moving around in there

and talking so knowingly about every detail of the house,

you'd see what I mean.


- Well, maybe he does belong to it.

If so, he's the only one who does.


- I hope he does restore the house.

It would be exciting to see it the way it used to be.

Oh, Mrs. Stoddard, I think you'll be very happy to know

that Willie Loomis has gone.


- No, I know that.


- Do you know, I'll never understand

the change that came over him.

He apologized for everything he did.


- Yes.

He did seem rather defeated.

Without spirit.

Illness often does that to people.

But unfortunately, in Willie's case,

I think he'll go back to his old self.


- I don't think so.

Somehow, I have the feeling

that the change in Willie is permanent.

[loud squeak]


- Where are you?

What are you waiting for?

Come in.

Close the door.

This will be our home from now on.

There'll be much for you to do.


- All right.


- Well, you don't sound very enthusiastic.


- I...
- What is it?


- Nothing.
- Good.

Now, Willie, it's time for you to go out.

You know what you have to do.

[shuddering]


- I can't!


- You no longer have anything to say about what you do.

Go.

Now!

[dog barking, howling]

♪♪

[announcer]
- "Dark Shadows" is a Dan Curtis production.