The Dark Shadows Daybook: April 12

By PATRICK McCRAY

Taped on this date: Episode 209

Willie panics at the sight of the Barnabas portrait’s glowing eyes and the sound of its beating heart.  No one else can hear it, however.  Jason changes the subject by informing Willie that Liz has raised the $500 for him to leave, and that he’ll send Willie even more once he departs. Willie is hesitant to go, cagey as to his reasons.  Willie continues to study the history of the family, and Mrs. Johnson reveals that only Naomi Collins — and her pirate jewels, presumably — were buried in the Eagle Hill cemetery, unlike the rest of the family.  At the cemetery, Willie encounters the Caretaker, who reveals that she rests in a tomb, not the earth.  He tells legends of an evil force that exists there, according to Joshua Collins, who ordered the tomb sealed. Nevertheless, he shows Willie the way to the tomb, warning of monstrous evil.  Back at Collinwood, Mrs. Johnson kvetches to Jason about the history books that Willie’s reading, an act that stuns Jason.  Willie, despite warnings to avoid the tomb at night, goes there.  He hears the heartbeat again, although the Caretaker cannot.  Willie is chased away, but the heartbeat roars.

The Caretaker remains the eeriest guy in Collinsport.  He can only be described as a refugee from the EC Universe.  DARK SHADOWS is a show powered by the fact that no one sees the obvious.  Like real life.