The Last Drive-In of Dark Shadows

I'll never get over hearing my name on television, even though I'm not sure I've ever heard my real name on television. That's the problem with working behind multiple pseudonyms and cutouts ... the Wizard of Oz gets all the press while Professor Marvel has to deal with the psychological fallout. I've had more personalities than a Batman villain, one of which was drummer in my band  (I was also a singer/guitarist in the group under a second pseudonym) who went on to win a state press award for "critical writing" about classic rock. I later killed this character off in an unsurprising motel fire. For those of you who want to argue that this guy was never real, I've got a plaque from the state press association that proves otherwise. RIP Lester Dented, fake drummer extraordinaire.

Last night two of my other identities got a shout out on The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs. Cousin Barnabas (which is both my Twitter handle and my Google ID for this website) and The Collinsport Historical Society received the Silver Bolo Award at the tail end of the live stream of 1988's Heathers. The award is "a weekly recognition of horror creators across the innerwebs" and it was immensely flattering. I have Diana “Darcy the Mail Girl” Prince, a fellow South Carolinian whose son happens to be a fan of all things Collinwood, to thank for this award.

Congrats to @CousinBarnabas !!! Silver Bolo Award well deserved! #MutantFam #TheLastDriveIn @kinky_horror @SetDarcyFree @therealjoebob pic.twitter.com/fGwwOzfbhL

— MutantFam.com (@mutant_fam) May 2, 2020

And here's where that personality crisis finds its way back to the stage. While this website is my vision, it can't be argued by anyone that I've done it alone. I've benched myself for much of the last year, letting Patrick McCray keep the lights on while I take a sabbatical from Collinsport. (I've been pecking away at a story about Dark Shadows' migration from Amazon Prime to iMDB TV but have been stymied by a lack of online data related to both streaming services.) There are a LOT of other people who pitch in, but I'll refrain from naming names out of terror that someone will be forgotten. This website stands as a testimony to their passion for Dark Shadows, so feel free to poke around in our archives. They've done a lot of great work and would enjoy hearing from you.

JB & D

For those of you here primarily  for the Dark Shadows news, make sure you check out on The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder. I've become an apostle for the channel during the last year or so, singing its praises every chance I get. The channel is the best argument I've seen for the value of a curated streaming service. And even without its generally excellent content, The Last Drive-In is worth the price of a subscription, alone. I've got a kindergartner in the house, so it's sometimes a challenge to watch horror movies without damaging him for life. There have been months where I've been able to watch nothing except The Last Drive-In ... and I still feel like I got my money's worth. Cousin Barnabas says check it out!

- Wallace McBride
(probably my real name)