On November 22, 1967, the vengeful and powerful witch Angelique made her debut on Dark Shadows and became an instant hit with viewers, remaining an important part of the series for the remainder of its run. The character subsequently took her place alongside Barnabas, and later Quentin, as a pop culture icon, appearing on assorted products and in DS spinoff media. Visiting the podcast to commemorate her legendary character's 55th anniversary is Lara Parker, the talented actress who portrayed Angelique onscreen! Discussion topics include: Lara's thoughts on Angelique, memories of working on DS, Night of Dark Shadows, Lara's DS novels, what makes DS special, terror vs. horror, the allure of vampires, the fans, and much more!

Released in 1970, and directed by Dan Curtis, the MGM theatrical film House of Dark Shadows featured the TV series cast in a darker and more violent reimagining of the Introduction of Barnabas storyline from the show. The picture proved to be a hit for MGM, and while it is loved by many fans and disliked by others, it stands as a notable and compelling entry in vampire film history. Visiting the podcast to discuss House of Dark Shadows is prolific Hollywood conceptual designer and artist, Ricardo Delgado. Ricardo’s book Dracula of Transylvania and the upcoming Art of Dracula of Transylvania are also discussed. Other topics include Ricardo’s memories of watching Sombras Tenebrosas (Dark Shadows) as a child in Costa Rica, buying Famous Monsters of Filmland, reading Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf by Night comics, and much more!

What’s the perfect way to celebrate Halloween?... With Dark Shadows and Horror Hosts, of corpse! In this episode, Penny Dreadful summons many of her fellow television and internet horror movie hosts to share their memories and thoughts on DS. Hosted by Penny Dreadful and featuring (in order of appearance): Count Gore De Vol, Sally the Zombie Cheerleader, Dr. Gangrene, Doctor Sarcofiguy, Professor Anton Griffin, Undead Johnny, Marlena Midnite, Sicko-Psychotic, The Bone Jangler, Karlos Borloff, Dr. Dreck, Remo D, Bobby Gammonster, Scarlett Kaiju, The Host, Danvers, Stevie Gothling/Tim the Enchanter, Octavian Hallow, and Halloween Jack. You won’t want to miss this hex-clusive Halloween Horror Host celebration of Dark Shadows! Listen to the very end to hear a fascinating interview clip from a horror host who tried to audition for the original Dark Shadows in the early 70’s!

Robert Cobert’s iconic music themes for Dark Shadows were integral to the identity of the entire series and its two film spinoffs. Musician, author, and DePaul University College of Law professor, Ben Alba, visits the podcast to discuss and celebrate some favorite Cobert pieces. Throughout the course of episode, Ben even plays a few bars from several of the themes on his keyboard. Topics include: Ben’s lifelong fascination with the music from Dark Shadows, playing on the piano for fans at a Dark Shadows Festival, Bob Cobert’s incredible range as a composer, Dark Shadows soundtrack albums, and much more!

Correction: According to the interview with Bob Cobert in the booklet included with Discs 5 & 6 of ‘The Complete Dark Shadows Soundtrack Music Collection’ – “Many people assume that the instrument playing the Dark Shadows theme was a Theremin, but it wasn’t. The opening theme was neither a Theremin nor an Ondes Martinot. It was a Yamaha synthesizer with a string on it that made a Theremin-like sound. We couldn’t find an Ondes Martinot player or a Theremin player in New York, so we used that, and it was played by a very famous pianist named Dick Hyman… What you’re hearing in the theme is, melodically, a Yamaha on top, an alto flute on the bottom, then a bass, vibes, and harp, playing atonal accompaniment – five players in all.” I actually knew about this but misremembered the tweaked synthesizer organ as the way Robert Cobert initially presented the theme to Dan Curtis. Cobert presented the theme to Curtis by describing it and sort of whistling it while shaking his head about. I pulled the instrument listing (including the Theremin) from an online article and should have double-checked everything before recording the episode. Apologies. Also, from the same interview: “Almost all of the Dark Shadows music cues were recorded in England. It was money, pure and simple... the theme itself was recorded in New York.”

UPDATE: However, according to listener Jim Negro, it was an Electro-Theremin ("Tannerin") that was used in the DS theme: "The instrument used on the Dark Shadows Theme is indeed a Theremin, but not a traditional model. It was called an Electro-Theremin, and was invented and played by a man named Paul Tanner. Modern versions of this instrument are called the "Tannerin" in his honor, and also to help differentiate it from a traditional Theremin. It was Paul Tanner that contributed to the score; not Dick Hyman (see below).

Traditional Theremins are notoriously difficult to play and record with, so the Electro-Theremin was created as a substitute. It's played much like a regular keyboard, but has slide controls that alter pitch and volume. Most famous "Theremin" songs you've heard like the Dark Shadows Theme and the Beach Boys Good Vibrations are actually the Electro-Theremin.

Bob Cobert misspoke in the interview (perfectly understandable, given he was an octogenarian at the time) which has caused a lot of confusion. Yamaha Synthesizers didn't exist until 1974, and there's no "string" attachment to be had on them. He was describing an Electro-Theremin and its slide controls.

Dick Hyman confirmed he did not contribute anything to the Dark Shadows score. He's kept meticulous notes of all his sessions, going back to the late 1940s, and there's nothing for the Robert Cobert Orchestra or for any television/film score at that time. On the dates Bob Cobert was recording the theme in New York, Hyman was in Chicago recording material for the I'll Never Be The Same Again album. It would have been pretty unlikely that Hyman finished recording in Chicago during the day, flew to New York that night to record an Electro-Theremin part for a soap opera theme, then flew back to Chicago by the next morning to resume his album sessions, and not have any memory or record of doing so. There's also no evidence he ever played the Electro-Theremin or even knew what it was.

There was only one Electro-Theremin in existence, and it was owned by its inventor, Paul Tanner. He was the only person that was ever known to play it. All verified instances of its use (The Beach Boys Pet Sounds album, the My Favorite Martian score, the Music For Heavenly Bodies LP, the Ghost and Mrs. Muir theme, etc) were all performed by Paul Tanner, meaning the Dark Shadows score is almost certainly performed by him as well. The fact that he was under contract to ABC Television at the time pretty much seals the deal."

This episode of the podcast features the return of listener email! The show kicks off with a special thanks to every forum and group where Terror at Collinwood is shared, plus plugs for other podcasts. After that, Penny Dreadful dips her claws into the Collinsport mailbag to read and address messages and comments from fellow Dark Shadows fans! Topics include: Dark Shadows memories, time travel conundrums, thoughts on Roxanne Drew, quitting the podcast over criticism of the Burton film, listening to the show while exercising, stigma of not being a first generation fan, DS and Doctor Who, what if Mitchell Ryan had played Jeremiah, and much, much more!