322 - September 19, 1967

[bunniefuu]

[Maggie narrating] - Tonight, someone may die near Collinwood--

a death sudden, unexpected, and violent.

At this moment, a decision made by one man

will trigger the inevitable march toward destruction.

♪♪

[dog howling]

[thinking] - At last, the darkness has come.

Good-bye, Maggie Evans.

I might have loved you. I might have spared you.

But now, you must die!

[howling continues]

♪♪

♪♪

[eerie music] ♪♪

- Well, Dr. Hoffman. - Where are you going?

- Out. - That's not much of an answer.

- I was about to go out for a walk,

if that's any concern of yours.

What are you doing here? - I must speak to you.

- Can't it wait? - No, it can't. It's important.

- Very well, then. Come in.

Well, what is it that's so urgent?

- I know what you plan to do. - Plan to do?

- I know you plan to k*ll Maggie Evans tonight.

- k*ll her?

- You were starting to do it

when I came in just now and stopped you.

- Was I?

- Oh, please don't bother to deny it.

- I see you've been talking to my trusted servant Willie.

- Perhaps.

- Perhaps you should realize

that Willie is a highly unreliable young man.

- Are you saying he lied to me? That you didn't tell him

that you were going to k*ll Maggie Evans tonight?

- I'm sure he thought I did. - What does that mean?

- Well, it means that Willie has been very nervous lately

and tends to exaggerate anything I say.

- Well, what did you say to him?

- I said that as far as Maggie is concerned,

uh, I will do whatever is necessary.

- What do you mean by that?

- I simply mean that if her memory should return,

why, of course I would have to k*ll her.

- Well, it's not necessary.

Her memory of what happened to her in this house

is gone forever-- I saw to that.

- So you told me, and I believe you.

- Then, you no longer plan to k*ll Maggie.

- You've convinced me that it is no longer necessary.

- You trust me that much? - I trust you implicitly.

- Do you know something, Barnabas?

I don't believe you. - Don't you?

- No, you're lying to me.

Nothing I've said has made any impression on you.

You still intend to k*ll Maggie Evans.

- Well, if that's true, then nothing you can say

will stop me.

- Apparently not.

- You will simply accept her death as regrettable

but necessary and continue as usual.

- Apparently, I will.

- Well, that's very wise of you.

- Before you attempt to k*ll Maggie,

there's one thing you should know, however.

- That being?

- If you k*ll Maggie Evans, you'll be revealed

for what you are, and destroyed.

- You mean, I'll be captured. - No.

I know you're capable of k*lling Maggie without being captured.

- Then, what do you mean?

- I've done something-- something you don't know about.

- What?

- Recently, I gave a letter to a trusted friend.

That letter is to be turned over to the authorities

in the event of my death or the death of Maggie Evans.

That letter contains a full and detailed account

of who and what you are.

♪♪

- You did that?

- Yes.

So, you see, if you k*ll Maggie,

you'll be condemning yourself to destruction.

- Why haven't you told me this before?

- Oh, I didn't think it was necessary.

- Even when I tried to k*ll you?

- Oh, I knew you wouldn't,

and I was afraid that if I told you,

you might attempt to find the letter and destroy it.

- I could force you now to tell me where it is.

- Oh, but you wouldn't.

And if you k*lled me, that letter would be

turned over to the authorities immediately.

- Congratulations, Doctor.

Once again, you seem to have the upper hand.

- I'm glad you realize that.

- Of course, you might be bluffing.

There might not be a letter.

- Oh, but, then, on the other hand, there might be.

I don't think I'd take that risk if I were you.

Think it over, Barnabas.

I'm sure you'll decide that the wisest course of action

is to leave Maggie alone.

♪♪

[door opens, closes]

- [whimpers]

Papa!

[door opens]

Pa! - Maggie, what is it?

- I...

- What-- what's wrong? Did you see something?

Did you hear something? - No, but...

- What is it?

- I had the oddest sensation.

- Sensation?

- I felt it once before-- before, when I disappeared.

- Well, what was it?

- Eyes-- terrible eyes watching me.

Terrible, terrible eyes looking at me,

piercing through me.

♪♪

- Do you see anything? - No, nothing.

- [sighing] Maybe it's my imagination.

- [chuckling] Well...

you're on edge, darling.

Your imagination's been working overtime.

- I guess it is.

- You've got to remember

that we're not gonna let anything happen to you.

The backyard is just swarming with armed policemen,

all carefully hidden, all there to protect you.

- I know.

- Now, try to get some sleep, darling.

- I wish you hadn't given me those pills.

I'm afraid to go to sleep. - Ah, now, now, now, now.

Don't be afraid.

Just keep telling yourself you're safe.

- Safe.

♪♪

[door closing]

[footsteps]

- Willie?

- What happened?

- Everything's under control. - What do you mean?

- He's not going to k*ll Maggie Evans.

I managed to talk him out of it.

- Talk him out of it? - That's right.

- I don't think it's possible to talk him out of it.

He doesn't believe anything you say.

He doesn't think he'll be exposed

and he doesn't think he'll be captured.

- Oh, I told him something quite different.

- What?

- I told him that there's a letter in existence,

a letter that's to be turned over to the authorities

in the event of Maggie Evans' death.

That letter tells exactly who and what Barnabas Collins is.

- Is that true? Is there a letter?

- No.

- There isn't? You lied to him?

- Yep.

- Well, Barnabas will know you lied.

He'll never believe you.

- He does believe me.

- What, he said so?

- He intimated as much.

- Barnabas is hard to fool.

He knows when people are lying to him.

- Oh, he suspects I may be lying to him,

but he isn't sure, and as long as he isn't sure,

he won't risk exposure and destruction.

- And you really think he'll leave Maggie alone?

- I'm certain of it.

- But he knows her memory might come back.

What's he gonna do about that?

- Nothing.

- He's gotta do something.

- Yes, he has to trust me

and believe that her memory will never return.

- He doesn't believe you and he doesn't trust you.

He told me so.

- Well, after tonight, he will.

That letter is more of a threat to him

than Maggie's memory.

- If he believes there is a letter.

- He does.

- Well, how can you be sure?

- Oh, I saw his expression as I left him.

He was frightened.

- Scared? Barnabas?

- Definitely.

- Oh, no. Barnabas doesn't scare easy.

- Well, he's frightened now, and as long as he is,

Maggie Evans is completely safe.

♪♪

[thinking] - Was she lying to me?

Is there a letter?

Would she expose me to save Maggie Evans?

No, I don't believe she would.

But she might want me to be destroyed

in the event of her own death,

so, possibly, she did write such a letter.

But wait a moment.

The night I brought her to this house,

I threatened to k*ll her.

She had to say anything to save her life.

She said she wasn't afraid of me, but she was.

If there were a letter,

she would have told me about it then.

She was lying, I know!

Too bad, Dr. Hoffman.

You weren't clever enough.

Maggie Evans must die tonight,

and no power on this earth can prevent it.

♪♪

[flute playing "London Bridge"]

♪♪

Sarah!

Sarah!

I know you're nearby.

Where are you?

Where are you, Sarah?

Sarah!

♪♪

[door opens] - Maggie?

- Hey, don't-- don't wake her up if she's asleep, now.

- I'm not asleep. [laughing]

- Hi, sweetheart. - Hi.

- How are you feeling? - Okay.

- Listen, I brought the doll.

- Did Pop tell you she was here-- Sarah?

- Yeah, he told me.

- She told me that I had to have this doll.

It sounded like a warning of some kind.

- Well, you have it now.

- I wonder what she was warning me about.

- I don't know.

- Maybe she knows who the kidnapper is,

knows that he wants to k*ll me.

- Nobody is gonna touch a hair on your head, darling.

- Nobody is gonna get near this house.

The place is a real booby-trap.

I got within yards of the door,

and a policeman popped up from nowhere

and challenged me with a r*fle.

- [laughs] Yeah. He would have fired too,

if I hadn't told him that Joe was coming.

- I had a pretty tough time convincing him who I was.

- [laughs] Did you?

- I finally had to get Sam to come out and identify me.

- So, see, darling? You're safe.

You're completely safe. - That's right.

- I wonder why I'm supposed to have this doll.

I wonder what it means.

- Well, do you feel better now that you have it?

- Much better. - Good.

- Listen, Maggie, I'm planning to spend

the rest of the night here, so Sam and I

will be right outside the door, just in case you need us.

- Joe, maybe we'd better go

and let her have a little sleep, huh?

- No, don't go. - Hmm?

Now, darling, I told you there's nothing to be afraid of.

- I'm not afraid, but...

- What is it, darling?

- Do you sense it?

- Sense what?

- There's a feeling.

It's all around me. It's a feeling of warmth.

- Uh, I don't feel anything.

Do you, Joe? - No, I don't.

- I do. It's warm.

Warm. It's all around me.

- It's just that you're slipping off to sleep, darling.

Don't fight it.

- It's so warm. Warm...

- Oh, you sleep, Maggie.

- It's warm.

I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid.

♪♪

[door closes]

[wind whistling]

[thinking] - Dr. Hoffman is wrong.

I know that she didn't fool Barnabas.

Nobody can fool him.

He just let her think she fooled him

so she'd leave him alone.

Now, he's gonna k*ll Maggie Evans tonight,

the same as he k*lled Jason.

Well, at least Jason deserved it. She doesn't!

Now, who will be next? David probably. Then Devlin.

Then anybody who gets too close to him.

And all I can do is stand by and watch as long as I live!

I'll live with death, people dying, and worse.

I can't let it go on! I've got to do something!

I got to warn Maggie Evans,

tell her to get out of town as fast as she can.

That's right. I could do that. I've got to do that!

Oh, what's the use of kidding myself?

I won't. I can't.

If I did, Barnabas would know.

He'd k*ll me or worse.

So, I have to stand by and let her die.

All of them... one by one...

all of them die!

Hey, there's nothing I can do.

Nothing at all! Nothing!

♪♪

- Well, everything seems quiet.

- Yeah. Listen, Sam, I've been thinking.

- What about?

- Well, about Maggie.

I think we ought to get her out of town.

- Yeah, well, I have got some relatives up in Canada.

I've been thinking I ought to send her up there for awhile

and keep her safe 'til this maniac,

whoever he is, is captured.

- I think you ought to send her there tomorrow.

- Tomorrow? So soon?

- The sooner-- the sooner she gets out of Collinsport,

the safer she's gonna be.

- I'm afraid I have to agree with you.

Maggie's gonna kick up a fuss,

but, well, I'll see that she leaves tomorrow.

- And-- and listen, another thing--

I don't think we ought to tell anybody where she is.

Nobody should know but us. Just-- just in case.

- You're right. You're right, well keep it a secret.

Actually, I've been putting it off

'cause I know how much I'll miss her,

but I know it's the right thing to do.

- I'll miss her too, but it-- it'll be a relief

just to know she's safe.

- Yes. Yes, yes, it will.

- And now, if we can just get through this night

without anything happening to her...

[bell tolling]

- Heh! There's not much of it left. It's :.

- It's gonna be a long night, though, just the same.

- Come on, let's go in the house

and I'll make us a pot of coffee.

- Good idea.

[ticking]

[wind whistling] [crickets chirping]

[rustling]

- Did you hear something?

- Yeah.

- Look! Over there! There's a man moving in the shadows.

[g*n c*ck]

Be quiet. Don't make a sound.

Let's see if he goes near the house.

[creaking]

♪♪

[g*nsh*t]

- Aah!

- Halt! Don't move! - Pop! Pop!

- Halt! Halt or I'll sh**t! - Pop!

[g*nf*re]

- Maggie! - Maggie!

- Maggie, what's happened? - Pop, he was here!

- Did you see him? - No!

But I thought he was in the--

- It's all right, now, darling.

- Pop! Oh! - It's all right.

- No! - Don't be frightened, now.

- Oh! - It's safe now, Mr. Evans.

- Did you get him? - Oh, we sure did.

- Is he dead?

- Well, if he isn't, it's a miracle.

He's got about five b*ll*ts in his back.

- Oh! - Now, now, now.

- Oh! Oh! [sobbing]

♪♪

[eerie music] ♪♪

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