Guest Commentary: THE ROAD TO COLLINSPORT

Jeff Kenny, Brooke Perrin, and Carl Hershberger at the Seaview Terrace, which served as TV's "Collinwood."

By BROOKE PERRIN

Last week, myself and fellow fans JEFF KENNY and CARL HERSHBERGER embarked on the ultimate DARK SHADOWS road trip. For nearly a year we planned a trip to New England where many of the key locations from the original series were filmed, in order to take our own sojourn to Collinsport, Maine. Once the dates were announced for the Friends of the '91 Dark Shadows Cast Reunion, we decided to include the Reunion and Lyndhurst mansion part as part our journey.

From my apartment in New York City we made our way to Connecticut and spent the evening in Essex, where many of the locations you see in Collinsport reside. Essex is an incredibly beautiful and quaint little community with an adjoining marina along the coast. While there we couldn't pass up the opportunity to have dinner at the lovely Griswold Inn, aka the Collinsport Inn. I cannot speak highly enough of the friendly staff and delicious food we enjoyed there.

"Collinsport," 2013 and 1966

The Griswold Inn, left, Vs. "The Collinsport Inn."

The "Evans Cottage," now and then.

The next morning we set out for Newport, Rhode Island, the home of Seaview Terrace, the culmination of our journey. We were privileged to be granted permission from the owner to walk the grounds and photograph the magnificent house.

Seaview Terrace, TV's "Collinwood."

 

From there we ventured to the Cliff Walk in search of Widows' Hill and the iconic crashing waves from opening title sequence.

Cliff Walk/Widows' Hill

We concluded our time in Newport at Bannister's Warf home of the Black Pearl, better known to fans as the Blue Whale. There we enjoyed drinks, a hearty meal, and the best clam chowder I've ever tasted.
 

Carl, Brooke and Jeff visit "The Blue Whale."

That evening we traveled back to Westchester, New York, for the Reunion. Over the course of the weekend we sought out many of the locations from the films HOUSE and NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS, as well as a number of other locations from the original series on the Lyndhurst estate.

Beechwood in Briarcliff Manor, NY, which served as the "Old House" in HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS.

The "Collins' Mausoleum" from HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS, located in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery.

Near by is the historic Sleepy Hollow cemetery prominently featured in HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS. Also in the area are Beechwood (the "Old House" in HOUSE) as well as the train station (now a post office) that delivered Victoria Winters to Collinsport in the very first episode.

The train station from the first episode of the Original Series.

The trip proved to be an outstanding success and an experience I know the three of us will treasure for the rest of our lives. We would like to thank CHAD HOPKINS and committee for their hard work and dedication in putting together a wonderful Reunion as well as the incomparable GUY HAINES for his expertise and guidance which made our trip possible.

Disclaminer: Be advised some of these locations including Seaview Terrace, the Evans cottage, and Beechwood are private property. Should you wish to visit these locations understand entering the grounds without express permission from the owner is trespassing. Please respect their privacy.