Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Return from Sleepy Hollow

Well folks, I'm back as of last night from a sojourn south to New York, where I paid an all-too-brief visit to Sleepy Hollow and its cemetery. Of note during the tour of the grounds was a mausoleum that was used as the grave of Barnabas Collins during the filming of the Dark Shadows series (with the addition of the name "Collins" to its doorway). Pictures to follow soon.

I mention this because Dark Shadows is one of those pop culture concoctions that uses Maine as its fictional setting. In the future, Chris Wallace and I would like to post an article (in process) about the connection between Maine and this prominent supernatural television show.

The Scifi Network, upon reairing the series in 1999, states thusly:
"The series stars Jonathan Frid as a vampire named Barnabas Collins who presides over a mansion in Collinsport, Maine, which is home to werewolves, witches, ghosts and other monsters."

Do they mean that the mansion is home to these ghoulies, or Maine in general? One must wonder.

To whet your appetite, here is the purported website of the town of Collinsport, Maine.

At any rate, once again, it's good to be back in Maine!!! :)

Michelle

3 comments:

Chris said...

I used to watch Dark Shadows reruns when I was a kid, every day after school at 4 o'clock (on WMTW, I believe). I remember wishing it had been a bit more like a horror movie and a bit less like a soap opera.

Who knew that Barnabas Collins had his own website?

Chris Jart said...

There is a huge fan base for Dark Shadows still. They have fan conventions every year, alternating between New York and Los Angeles.

I was actually scared to watch Dark Shadows when I was young, and only discovered it as an adult. But I was really glad it was a soap opera as it made it even more ridiculous. How I love that show!

Chris Jart said...

Oh my god! That Collinsport site is incredible! Unfortunately all they've done is the first page, but it is just brilliant - although it may not seem as great if you aren't familiar with the show.