Episode 1412

Aired: Tuesday November 23, 1971

After a replay of Monday's close and the titles, the spirit of Eddie Daniels stands before Carl, Stokes and Gladstone in the drawing room. Gladstone can't believe what he's seeing, but Stokes only shouts "Who are you?" to the strange apparition. Daniels starts to groan a little, and Stokes says "Are you Eddie Daniels, the spirit we seek?" The ghost nods, and Stokes says "This man to my side wants to know how you died. He must know why you are so old when you should not be." The ghost groans again, Stokes commands him to "tell us" and the ghost groans "Murder! Murder!" Carl says "Murder? How?" The ghost grabs his throat and says "Pain...it hurts from the grip....you are all in danger! All of you!" Gladstone asks why, and the ghost suddenly gets terrified and screams "No! Not again! It will kill again! It must.....it must....." Stokes asks "What will kill again? What is it that murdered you?" Suddenly the ghost grabs his throat and screams - the ghost fades for a moment and then a much younger ghost is standing in his place. The three men watch this amazed, and Stokes asks "Who are you?" The younger ghost answers "I am Eddie Daniels....I am the true Eddie Daniels....this is what was stolen from me....." and with another scream, he turns back into the raggedy old ghost before their eyes. "Nooooooo!" he screams before he vanishes. The windows blow shut and the candles relight themselves. Carl asks Stokes "What just happened? That was fantastic! I've never seen anything like that!" (Clearly someone else who's never watched Dark Shadows). Stokes says he's not sure, and Gladstone asks "How could he have been murdered? What kind of a murderer can make a young man age and die?" Stokes answers "Certainly not a human one."

The doors of the drawing room open, and Benjamin walks in. He asks "What's been going on in here? I thought I heard some shouting." Stokes answers that "we were conducting an experiment." Carl starts to rant and rave about the fantastic things he's seen, but Benjamin asks him if he's been drinking again. Gladstone defends him by saying he saw the same things, and now "has more to work with" as far as a "strange death" he's investigating. Stokes tells Gladstone he will need to research some of the books he has before he can help in any way, but "I too am intrigued by this case of yours, Mr. Gladstone." Benjamin asks them if they've seen Kitty, and they answer no. "I was supposed to take her into town earlier, but I can't seem to find her." Outside, Evan enters through the front door and Benjamin sees him as he leads Gladstone and Carl out. He asks Evan where Kitty is, and Evan gets a bit evasive and says he doesn't know. "But I do need to take care of something upstairs. Perhaps you could meet me up there and I could check her schedule." Evan goes upstairs and Carl asks Benjamin "So, Kitty came back. Does that mean she changed her mind about marrying you?" Benjamin answers "One can hope, cousin." Carl and Gladstone leave as Benjamin heads upstairs after Evan. Meanwhile, Catherine is reading in her bed when Quentin enters. She asks him why he wants to see her, and he only answers "I need to talk to you about the future of this family."

Catherine tells Quentin not to "take that tone" with her, and Quentin snaps that her "games" over the estate "have the family at each other's throats. No one knows how to behave anymore. Didn't Valery tell you what she's planning?" Catherine answers that Valery can make her own decisions, and Quentin counters that he doesn't trust Trask. Catherine says she doesn't either, and that's why "my real will is not with Trask." Quentin, surprised, replies "Your real will?" Catherine answers "Yes. My true intentions are recorded on my real will, which I hid in this house long ago, before I was confined to this peculiar prison. The material I gave to Trask was only to see how people would react..." Quentin can't believe what he's hearing. "Why are you so insistent on playing games with all of us?" She answers "Because it's the only way I can see who really deserves to inherit this estate, that's why. I'll see all of your true colors, just the way I'm seeing yours now. Quentin, the Casanova, the carefree traveler, yet look at you now, defending your siblings who you may or may not even like. I'm impressed. That's why I told you of the real will." Quentin says "What if I find where you've hidden it? Will these games end then? Is that what it will take?" Catherine laughs and says "Maybe. Do you think if you find it in time, Mr. Trask will change his mind?" Quentin looks at her, disgusted. "You're insane. How can you treat Valery like this after all she's done for you? I'm going to find that will and put a stop to all of this!" She calls to him "Quentin, remember.... it's all about love! It's all about love!" He storms out of the room.

Benjamin finds Evan upstairs and Evan tells him that Kitty had to go into town. Disappointed, Benjamin wonders why she didn't wait for him. Evan smiles an evil smile and says "Do you really think she'll marry you, Mr. Collins?" Benjamin answers that it's not a servant's "place" to ask such questions. Evan answers "Oh, but it is in this case. You see, I know very much about Miss Soames. I know what kind of a marriage she would want, and she has confided many things to me. I could be a great help to you." Benjamin thinks a moment and says "Perhaps you're right. Perhaps I was too quick to dismiss you." Evan smiles and says "Yes, perhaps you were." Meanwhile, down at the docks, some sailors have finished drinking at the Blue Whale and are spilling out. One of them separates from the others and turns the corner. He suddenly smiles and says "Ooooh! Hello there, luv! What are you doin' down here?" He looks curiously off camera but suddenly gets terrified as rotting hands, bloody flesh falling off greenish bone, come into the frame and grab him by the throat. His eyes open wide and he begins to scream. As he screams, his hair whitens and his face ages before our eyes - just as the rotted hands return to healthy soft hands...and as we pan along them up the arms we stop on the smiling face of Kitty, as she watches her victim die.