281 - July 24, 1967

[bunniefuu]

[Victoria narrating] - A strong star has pierced

the mists that cover Collinwood.

Vague outlines appear, elusive now,

but soon they will reveal themselves for what they are.

But the mists within the mind

and the mists that have protected the present

from the past are lifting too.

And what there is to be seen

will be witnessed by no strong star

but by something as frail

and frightened as the human mind.

- What, what's happened?

- Don't speak, she's gone into the trance.

- We've got to stop this. - No, no sound, anybody.

- Who are you?

- This is not something to play with.

- I'm not playing, there's obviously something there.

- Can you say something? Who are you?

- Ahh.

- She's-- she's trying to say something.

[Carolyn] - Yes. Who are you?

- I, uh... I...

[Roger] - Yes, go on.

[Elizabeth] - I don't like this.

- Quiet.

Now try to tell us who you are.

- I-- I must run!

[Carolyn] - What did she say?

[Roger] - Something about run!

[Carolyn] - Who are you?

What is your name?

- Run... please, faster, I-- I must run.

Don't stop me! Don't stop me!

♪♪

♪♪

- Faster, faster.

I-- I've got to run faster.

I've got to-- I've gotta get away.

- Why are you running?

- Faster, faster.

I can feel the stones beneath my feet.

They hurt me!

Why am I so cold?

The rain it, it stings my face!

[Carolyn] - She's going through some kind of experience.

[Burke] - Something that happened to her when she was a child.

- No, not her own experience.

Someone else's.

[Carolyn] - Can you tell us who you are?

- The roaring...

...it's getting closer and closer!

I mustn't stumble, I mustn't fall!

He's getting closer!

[Carolyn] - Someone is chasing her!

- I have nowhere to go! Nowhere!

The roaring, it's getting louder!

- What is the roaring sound?

- He's getting closer! - Who is chasing you?

- My dress, I've-- I've torn my dress!

He mustn't catch me!

[Roger] - Who mustn't catch you?

[Elizabeth] - This is cruel, Vicki is obviously in pain.

- She feels nothing.

Only the person who's speaking through her.

[Burke] - That's not the way I see it.

- Leave her alone, I wanna find out what this is.

- I don't care what it is.

- Somebody please help me!

He mustn't catch me!

The cliffs. I must get to the cliffs.

- The cliffs? Does that mean the cliffs near here?

- We'll find out in a minute.

- Why do you want to go to the cliffs?

- He mustn't catch me.

The sea, I can hear the waves.

The cliffs, they're my only escape!

[Elizabeth] - Oh, no!

- Don't talk.

- I think I know what's happening.

- She's the one who has to tell us.

- Perhaps we've gone too far.

[Roger] - No, let her finish.

[Vicki] - He's getting closer!

[Carolyn] - Who is getting closer?

Can you tell us his name?

- I've got to jump!

- She's Josette!

- Josette!?

- No! Stay away from me!

Please stay away!

- No!

- [sobbing] - Vicky, what's happened?

- I couldn't let her go on!

- Why not?

- Well, if Elizabeth was right,

if that was Josette,

she was re-creating her death.

- But she was about to tell us

the name of the person who was chasing her.

- I couldn't let her go through that death again!

- Vicki, Vicki, are you all right?

- You shouldn't have stopped her.

- It was the only way I could save her.

♪♪

- Vicki, are you sure you're all right?

- Of course I am, what happened?

- Josette was here, again.

- Josette?

- I think it's an incident best forgotten.

- You mean she spoke through me like last time?

- It seems that she was reliving the experience

just before her death.

- The last time, there was something very specific

Josette wanted to tell us.

I wonder if there's something she was

trying to tell us this time too?

- Obviously not.

She was merely experiencing a pain that--

that troubled her.

- You mean that I was-- I was reliving the--

the night when she threw herself of the cliffs?

- Somebody was chasing you, that's why you jumped.

- Somebody chasing me? Who?

- You never said.

- Well-- - Well, perhaps that's what

Josette was trying to tell us.

The name of the person who was chasing her.

- No one ever found out. - But we were about to.

- Well, it makes no difference.

Whoever it was is now long gone,

dead these many years.

And I hardly think it humane that we should put Miss Winters,

or the spirit of Josette, through so much torment

merely to discover the name of a man

who's been in his grave for almost years.

- You're obviously right.

- Maybe that's not the reason Josette wanted us to know.

- The last time someone was in danger.

David, remember?

No one's in danger now.

- How do we know?

- Oh, Carolyn, please, you're letting your imagination

run away with you.

- Your mother is right.

Why create a fear when none exists?

- Who could be in danger?

None of us.

Unless--

- Unless what?

- Well, what I'm thinking about has--

has nothing to do with Josette, but--

Well, we haven't forgotten

what happened to Maggie Evans, have we?

- Maggie?

- The person who k*lled Maggie could still be somewhere around.

- But, as you say, there's no connection between that

and our ancestor Josette.

- You're right.

That's why I don't really think that she could have

been warning us about anything.

- This whole thing should never have happened.

- I'm beginning to feel it now.

- What is it?

- I-- I feel as if I-- I'd been running as--

as fast as I could, as far as I could.

- I'd better take you home.

- Oh, no, no, I'm all right.

I'm just a little bit tired.

But I don't want to go, not yet.

- No, you mustn't.

Have some more wine.

- No, I would really just like some fresh air.

- Good idea, come on.

- No, you stay here.

I'm just gonna go outside for a minute.

- Well, come everyone, please have some more wine.

We mustn't forget that this is a party.

[flute playing "London Bridge" in minor key]

- Little girl?

- Vicki? Vicki, what is it?

- I saw a little girl.

- What are you talking about?

- A little girl standing on the top step.

- It's too dark up there to see anything.

- A little girl?

- Yes, I saw a little girl standing there

at the top of the stairs.

- Who's there?

Is there anyone there?

[Elizabeth] - There couldn't possibly be,

it's only Vicki's imagination.

- You're probably right, I guess I am tired.

- What did she look like?

- She looked like a shadow.

That's all she was.

- I'm not so sure.

Do you know what she made me think of?

- What? - Yes, of course!

- What did she make you think of?

- Do you remember that dress, that little girl's dress

that we found in the trunk with the other old clothes?

- Yes.

- Well, from the little that I could see,

she seemed to be wearing that dress.

♪♪

♪♪

[Elizabeth] - I still say it was wrong,

going to the party wearing these clothes.

- Well, I found it all very interesting for a change.

- Only I do wish Barnabas hadn't stopped the séance.

- Séances, ghosts, it's all wrong.

- Oh, come now Liz, you found it anything but wrong.

If anything, you found it real.

That's why you're objecting so strongly.

- It's wrong to tamper with the past that way.

- I think it lends excitement to the present,

an ingredient it badly needs.

- How are you feeling now, Vicki?

Better?

- I wish the party hadn't ended so soon.

- Well, I should think you'd be happy that it's all over.

- Strangely enough, I'm not.

- Well, of course you aren't, you had more fun than anybody.

- How can you call that fun?

- Well, that's what it was.

Oh, Liz, you surprise me. You take it all so seriously.

- You took the séance seriously.

- Well, I believed it,

but that doesn't mean I take it seriously.

I believe a lot of things but that doesn't

prevent me from being amused by them.

- Well, it was hardly amusing.

- We really shouldn't have left.

- How can you say that?

Even poor Barnabas was upset by what happened.

- All the more reason that we should have stayed.

- What do you mean?

- We shouldn't have left him alone

when he was in a mood like that.

- He tried so hard to give us a wonderful party.

And looked what happened.

- And it was a wonderful party.

And now to bed.

With dreams of lovely ladies jumping off cliffs

and all sort of ancestral exercises.

- Don't make fun of other people's suffering!

- Oh, nonsense Liz,

what is the value of suffering if it isn't to be enjoyed?

- Enjoy your own then, not other people's.

- I think that all of the unhappiness

of all of my ancestors is my rightful heritage,

and you shouldn't try to keep it from me.

[yawning] Good night, ladies.

- We should probably all go to bed.

It's been a very difficult evening.

- I wish we could have done something

for Barnabas before we left.

- I'll give him our apologies tomorrow.

And... I think we should all get to bed, aren't you going?

- Not just yet. - I'm not tired.

I suppose I should be, but I'm just not.

- Well, don't stay up too late.

And Vicki, try not to be up-- Too upset by what happened.

I mean the séance.

- I'm not upset, honestly.

- You are, I can tell by looking at you.

- I just can't stop thinking

about the look on Barnabas' face when we left.

It was so sad, so lonely.

- Well, don't brood about it too much.

- I won't.

I just want to sit here for a little longer.

- Good night. - Good night, mother.

♪♪

[wind whistling]

Vicki? - Mm-hmm?

- Did you really see a little girl

at the top of the stairs?

- I don't know, I guess not.

[flute playing "London Bridge" in minor key]

[footsteps approaching]

[Barnabas] - I had to stop them.

I had to send you away again.

Because you are truly gone as the past is gone.

I must live in the present.

And if I'm to have you at last,

you must be someone from the present.

So go away and never come back.

Any of you.

♪♪

- I just wanted you to know that it didn't bother me at all.

- What?

- Weren't you listening?

- I'm sorry, what did you say?

- You at the party with Burke.

- Burke?

- You know how I used to feel about him.

Well, I don't anymore, I really don't.

- And you know how I used to resent it when he asked you out.

- Yes, I know.

- Well I don't resent it anymore.

Really, I don't.

You do believe me, don't you?

- Yes, I believe you.

- Good, because it's true.

Well, I just stayed up to let you know how I felt.

- Thank you.

- Well, good night. - Good night.

- He's really very nice, isn't he?

- Who? - Burke.

- Oh, oh, yes, of course.

- Good night, Vicki.

[knocking on door]

- Who is it?

- Miss Winters? It's Barnabas.

Forgive me for calling at such a late hour.

- I'm afraid Mrs. Stoddard has gone to bed.

- But it was you who I wanted to see.

- Me? Won't you please come in?

- Thank you.

I wanted to thank you.

- Thank me? - For coming to my party.

- We all came to your party.

- But I thought that you fulfilled the spirit of it

more than anyone.

- That's very kind of you.

- I'm sorry that it wasn't a more delightful evening.

- Please, don't let it bother you.

- I apologize if I seemed perturbed.

- I shouldn't have said that about seeing the little girl.

It probably was just my imagination.

- And I shouldn't have been so upset.

But, in spite of everything,

I must confess that I don't believe in ghosts.

- You don't? - Do you?

- I don't know.

I believe in a past, and I believe in a present.

And I think that sometimes

at some very special moment, they-- they become confused.

They meet.

I think that perhaps tonight was one of those nights.

Do you understand?

- Oh, I do, I certainly do.

And there were moments tonight, seeing you,

that I could have sworn that Josette had come back,

and not only in spirit.

- I'm very flattered. - Oh, it's very true.

And those moments made me feel that my evening was a success.

- I'm very glad that I could make you feel that way.

- And for that reason, I feel deeply grateful to you.

And which is why I want you to have this.

- Josette's music box.

- Please take it. - No, I couldn't.

- Oh, you must, as a gift of gratitude.

- It's so lovely.

- Listen.

[music box playing]

Please accept it.

♪♪

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