330 - September 29, 1967

[bunniefuu]

[Dr. Hoffman narrating] - It is afternoon at Collinwood

and the bright afternoon sunshine

has dispelled the fears of the night.

But fear lingers in the mind of a child,

and before this day is over, fear will mount to terror.

♪♪

- David?

David!

- Yes?

- Why do you keep staring at the portrait?

- Don't you see it?

- See what?

- The eyes.

- What about them?

- They keep staring at me.

Whenever I walk past the picture,

I can feel them watching me.

- Darling, that's your imagination.

- No, it isn't my imagination.

He's watching me all the time.

I can feel him, watching me.

- David, you mustn't be afraid of the portrait.

It's just paint on canvas.

- It isn't the portrait that I'm afraid of.

I'm afraid of him.

- Who?

- Cousin Barnabas.

- That's only because you had a bad dream about him.

You've got to forget that.

- No.

That isn't the reason I'm afraid of him.

- What is the reason?

- It's because he wants me to die

♪♪

[eerie music] ♪♪

- David, how can you say that?

- It's true!

He wants me to die.

- How can you possibly even think that?

- Cousin Barnabas hates me.

I can tell by the way he looks at me.

- That's absurd, David.

Cousin Barnabas is very fond of you.

- No, he isn't.

He just pretends to be.

- Why should he pretend?

- Because he's hiding something.

He's afraid I'm going to find out about what it is.

- Hiding something?

- Yes.

There's something in the basement of the old house.

Cousin Barnabas doesn't want anybody to know about it.

I don't know what it is, but it's something spooky.

- David, where do you get these ideas?

- They aren't ideas and I'm not imagining things.

Cousin Barnabas is hiding something in the old house.

You'd better stay away from it.

I'm even afraid just to go near it.

- You never used to be afraid of the old house.

- I am now, since last night.

- What happened last night?

- You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

- What happened?

- Sarah appeared.

- Sarah?

- Yes.

She came to warn me not to go near the old house

because there's something in there,

something bad.

- David...

Don't you see, you just had another nightmare?

- It wasn't a dream. It really happened.

Sarah came to my room last night.

She told me not to go near the old house.

- How could Sarah possibly get into your room

in the middle of the night?

- Sarah can go anywhere she wants, because she's a ghost!

- David!

- I have heard about enough of this nonsense!

- It isn't nonsense!

I didn't imagine Sarah because she's real.

- So, I suppose, are your nightmares about coffins

and walking dead men.

- My dream meant something and so did Sarah's warning.

- Well, I certainly hope you take Sarah's advice.

I've been telling you for weeks to stay away from the old house.

- You should stay away from it too.

Everyone should.

Cousin Barnabas is hiding something in there,

something scary.

- Stop that, David.

- No, it's true!

- I won't have you talking about that about your cousin Barnabas.

- You won't believe me

because you don't know what he's really like.

He's really mean and bad!

- All right, David, go to your room.

Right now!

- There is something in the old house.

There is.

- I said go to your room!

Did you hear me?

- You don't understand!

- I understand that you'd better go to your room this minute

or you're going to get a sound spanking.

Now, do you hear me?

- Yes.

- Roger... - And stay there until dinner.

- Okay.

- Roger, would you come in here, please?

- That's not the way to handle him.

- What are we going to do with him, Liz?

His fantasies are getting wilder and wilder.

- Punishing him isn't going to help.

- Well, what should I do?

Either he's lying to us or he's losing his grip on reality.

In either case, I'm terribly concerned about him.

- Aren't you? - Yes, I am.

♪♪

♪♪

[banging]

♪♪

- David...

What are you doing here?

- I have a right to be here.

This house belongs to my Aunt Elizabeth.

- She gave it to your cousin Barnabas

and I don't think you have his permission to be here.

- What are you doing here?

- I'm working in Mr. Collins' library.

- Where's he?

- Out.

And you'd better be getting out of here before he comes back

or he'll be very angry with you.

Now, come along, I'll take you back to Collinwood.

- No!

Why is this door locked?

- I'm sure I don't know.

- It's never been locked before.

Why is it locked now?

- I told you, I don't know.

Now, we'd better be starting back.

It's starting to get dark.

- I'm not afraid of the dark.

- But you shouldn't be out in the dark.

Now, come along.

- What's he got down there?

- You've got to leave this house, now!

- You're hurting my arm!

- I'm sorry but come with me now, please!

[piano playing] ♪♪

- Roger! - Yes?

- David's not in his room.

[piano stops playing]

- What?

- I've looked everywhere for him.

- If he's gone back to the old house again...

- He was awfully upset this afternoon.

I hope he hasn't run away.

[door opening] David?

- Hello, Aunt Elizabeth.

- I told you to stay in your room.

Why did you disobey me?

- Please, Roger! - I want an answer!

- I had to go out.

- Where did you find him, Miss Hoffman?

- Down at the old house.

- I knew it!

Right after I told you not to go near that place!

You're going to get a spanking, young man!

- Roger, don't.

David, go up your room.

I'll call you when dinner's ready.

- And this time, stay there!

- May I speak to you both?

- Yes, of course.

- I'm sure Mr. Collins would appreciate it

if you could keep David away from the old house.

He has many very valuable things there.

Something could get broken.

- We've tried to keep him away but he keeps going back again.

- What was he doing when you found him?

- Oh, just prowling around.

- Yes, looking for ghosts, no doubt.

- Something in the old house seems to

stimulate his imagination.

- It certainly is stimulating his imagination.

He's making the most unbelievable statements

you can possibly imagine.

- Yes, Mr. Collins,

I know about the nightmares.

- Oh, but he's gone farther than that.

This afternoon, he's announced that Barnabas wants him to die.

♪♪

- Die?

- Yes, he's imagined that his little friend, Sarah,

appeared to him last night and warned him

to stay away from the old house.

- What a strange fantasy.

- He's convinced that Barnabas is hiding something down there,

some deep, dark secret.

Well that's why he was probably poking around there

this afternoon when you found him earlier.

- You've got to keep him away from the old house.

I mean, it-it isn't good for David

to have all of these fantasies.

He should be made to forget them.

- We'll do our best.

- I don't think I would mention this to Mr. Collins.

- Why not?

- Well, he's a very sensitive man.

I think he'd feel terrible if he knew that David imagined

all these things.

- Well, he knows that David is frightened of him,

but he doesn't know why.

- I wouldn't tell him about David's most recent fantasies.

I think he would be very upset by it.

- I'm sure he would.

He's been so friendly to David.

- I don't know what to do about David.

I really don't.

- Just keep him away from the old house

and everything will be all right.

- Why does Barnabas keep the basement locked up?

He has something hidden down there.

I know it!

♪♪

- How do you feel?

- Better tonight.

- Good.

We're making splendid progress.

- Are we?

- Yes.

I couldn't be more pleased.

- Then why are you behaving so strangely tonight?

- Strangely?

- You seem tense.

Ill at ease.

- I'm not.

- Now, don't tell me that it's my imagination.

I know these moods of yours.

I know when something is troubling you, now what is it?

- Nothing of any importance.

- I'll be the judge of that.

- Well...

Willie was shipped to a home for the criminally insane today.

I'm sorry, that's all.

- Is that all?

- Yes.

I was fond of Willie.

- In an odd way, so am I.

- But his insanity has taken the pressure off of you.

Everyone's convinced that he is the one who kidnapped Maggie.

Maggie's memory will never return,

so neither you or I have anything to fear.

- But one threat remains.

- What threat?

- Young David.

- David is no threat to you.

- You mean you hypnotized him?

You obliterated the memory of the secret room from him?

- Well, I...

- Well? Did you or didn't you?

- I tried.

- You tried?

- I-I picked the wrong time to do it, Barnabas,

he wasn't receptive.

- What does that mean?

- Something...

Something about my medallion frightened him.

I couldn't get him to relax.

- Why would your medallion frighten him?

- Well, it seems he had a dream about it.

- A dream?

- And I know it doesn't make any sense

but the whole point is that he wasn't receptive.

But he will be.

I just have to win back his confidence.

- In the meantime, he still remembers the secret room.

- Oh, he hasn't told anyone about it.

He probably doesn't.

- He was there. I have his penknife.

- But he hasn't said anything to anybody.

If he does say anything, no one will listen to him.

He's a highly imaginative child.

- He still remains a threat.

But you've just given me an idea.

- What does that mean?

- It means I have thought of a way of dealing with David.

Highly imaginative.

No one will ever believe a word he says.

- What are you planning to do?

- You'll see, Doctor.

You'll see.

[dog howling]

♪♪

[door opening]

- David.

- Are you going to spank me now?

- No, I want to talk to you.

- You're going to scold me, aren't you?

- No, son, I'm not going to scold you

and I'm not gonna spank you.

I just want to understand you, David.

That's all I want.

I just want to understand you.

Do you believe that?

- I guess so.

- Then tell me something.

Why do you continually disobey me, time after time?

- I had to disobey you today.

- Why?

- Because.

You thought I was a liar, and I'm not.

- No, that's not so, David.

- Yes.

You didn't believe what I said about Sarah

coming to my room to warn me.

- Well, that doesn't mean that I think you are a liar.

I believe you dreamt about Sarah,

it was a vivid dream and you thought it was real.

- But I didn't dream it.

It really happened.

- Now, calm down.

- Sarah really came to my room

and she warned me not to go near the old house,

'cause cousin Barnabas is hiding something there.

Something terrible!

- David, now don't get excited, I'm...

- You won't believe anything bad about Barnabas.

You don't know what he's really like.

- Do you, son?

- Yes.

He's scary.

- What is scary about him?

- He's hiding something scary in the old house.

- How could he be hiding something?

- I don't know, but he is!

- Well, now you have been down there yourself.

Have you seen anything strange?

- I found a locked door.

- Now, David, what is so strange about a locked door?

- It was the basement door.

It's never been locked before.

He's hiding something down there.

- Has it never occurred to you that your cousin Barnabas

might have some valuable things that he wants to keep locked up?

And in any case, it is not our business

if he locks his basement door.

- You won't believe anything about Barnabas,

but he's mean, and terrible and...

- Now, David, I am trying to very hard

to keep my patience with you.

Maybe we had better not talk about cousin Barnabas.

Let's talk about us instead.

- Us?

- I'm your father, David.

I care about you.

You believe that, don't you?

- I guess so.

- Then why do you continually disobey me?

- I try to obey you, but...

- Well, try a little harder, will you?

For me?

- Okay.

- I want you to promise me not to go down

to the old house again.

I want you to promise me this, David.

And this time I want you to mean it.

- Okay, I promise.

- Now, will you keep this promise?

- Yes.

- That's a good boy.

- I'm really afraid to go to the old house anyway.

I just went there today to prove to you that I'm not a liar.

- No, you're not a liar.

- Well, you're not mad at me anymore, are you?

- No, I'm not mad at you.

- Good.

- Well now, it's getting a little late.

Don't stay up too much longer.

- I won't.

- Good night, son.

- Good night.

[wind whistling]

[bat squeaking]

No!

No!

Get out.

Oh!

No!

Help!

Help!

Help!

♪♪

♪♪

- "Dark Shadows" is a Dan Curtis production.