Dark Shadows, the show that millions of kids ran home from school to watch. The first gothic soap opera aired on ABC-TV.

The show was the creation of a man named Dan Curtis, a TV producer and creator. Initially as a character-driven show, it aired first on June 27, 1966, with Alexandra Moltke's "My name is Victoria Winters. My journey is beginning. A journey to link my past with my future..." While a great beginning, the audience wasn't buying it. The series main attraction was Joan Bennett, a popular movie star from the 30's and 40's. She played the mistress of Collinwood, widowed Elizabeth Collins Stoddard.

Curtis intially tried to stay away from supernatural occurences, at least until the ghost of Josette was introduced. The second supernatural character was Laura Collins, the immortal phoenix. Following the Laura Collins storyline, the series introduced the third supernatural character, the character that changed the show forever. Barnabas Collins.

Barnabas Collins, a guilt-ridden, 175-year-old vampire, is released from his chained coffin by jewel-seeker, Willie Loomis. Barnabas was initially portrayed as a villian. He was just an evil, maroding vampire. After the introduction of Jonathan Frid in the part, the show became more popular than ever. More people started tuning in every afternoon to see this vampire. Barnabas commited several evil deeds in his early episodes, at one point, kidnapping a girl named Maggie Evans, because she resembled Josette, a woman he loved and lost in the 1790's. He tries to turn her into Josette but she escapes and loses her mind.

Barnabas' original plotline was to have him as an evil vampire and kill him off after 13 weeks. He became so popular that they decided to keep him on. The next character that was introduced was his partner.

While Holmes had Watson, Barnabas had Dr. Julia Hoffman as his sidekick. She initially came on the show to investigate what happened to Maggie Evans. The actress who played Julia, Grayson Hall, was the wife of staff writer Sam Hall. Sam Hall decided to write her in as one of the main characters.

Julia Hoffman was in love with Barnabas and tried to find a way to cure him of his vampirism. The original intention for that was to have Barnabas kill her and then soon he too, be killed.

They became so popular that they were in a sense, the show! They were the main attraction and the chemistry between Frid and Hall was real!

The show went on to be a supernatural phenomenon.
There were great actors and great storylines and the show is just as popular today. Dark Shadows used to be on Sci-fi but unfortunatley, has been taken off. The show is available on DVD through MPI Home Video. The show ran for 5 years, from 1966 to 1971. It even sparked two movies, House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows.

Dark Shadows has millions of fans and shows no sign of letting up. Forty years after the show came on, it is still loved by many.

The fanbase of Dark Shadows is gigantic. The spot on Fanpop.com has 85 fans of the show, people of all ages who have one thing in common: the love for a show that has lasted for a lifetime.

Dark Shadows was not only a great TV show, but a cult classic. It is loved, respected, and adored.
It has lasted not only for its generation and our generation, but for all time.