Writer, film critic, and actor Vikrum Mathur visits the podcast to talk about his experiences as a fan of Dark Shadows and how the series connects with many people across cultures and generations. Vikrum recounts stories about his great grandmother’s love of DS and also talks about some of the creatures and folklore of India that would have worked well in the Dark Shadows setting. In addition, Vikrum reminisces about playing Dark Shadows with his friends, shares thoughts about some of his favorite characters from the original series, and discusses the various iterations of DS over the years. Join us for this fun discussion!

Over the course of its five-year run, Dark Shadows featured several classic monster archetypes which were drawn from the pantheon of supernatural horror and folklore. Visiting Terror at Collinwood for an overview of these dark and shadowy creatures are writer and podcaster Jeff Owens, co-host of the Classic Horrors Club Podcast, and podcaster Steven Turek, host of the DieCast Movie Podcast! Longtime Monster Kids and fans of DS, Jeff and Steven join Penny to share their thoughts about the various monsters of DS!

Award-winning filmmaker, writer, and television director Sam Irvin visits the podcast to talk about some of his monstrous adventures and his childhood love of Dark Shadows. Topics include: discussion about his books The Epic Saga Behind Frankenstein the True Story, and the 1973 film it covers, and the Rondo-winning I Was a Teenage Monster Hunter, Sam’s origins as a Monster Kid, his decades-long friendship with Vincent Price, his first meeting with Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) and how he got the job directing Elvira’s Haunted Hills, how Dark Shadows influenced his TV show Dante’s Cove, co-executive producing Gods and Monsters and being on the set during the filming of the Bride of Frankenstein scene, Famous Monsters of Filmland, collecting the Dark Shadows Paperback Library novels, and much more!

Actress and writer Kathryn Leigh Scott, admired by Dark Shadows fans for her portrayals of Maggie Evans, Josette DuPres Collins, Rachel Drummond, Kitty Soames, Parallel Time Maggie Collins, and Maggie Evans from MGM’s House of Dark Shadows, returns to the podcast to chat about a variety of fascinating topics! Along the way, Kathryn shares stories about her childhood in Minnesota, her Norwegian heritage, her teen years, and being New York in the 60’s. She also offers touching memories of several DS cast-mates including Mitchell Ryan, Joel Crothers, Joan Bennett, Jonathan Frid, and Lara Parker. Other highlights include: Kathryn’s opportunity to interview Carl Sandburg, NYC and The Bunny Years, training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and reuniting with Dan Curtis in England for the 1974 production of The Turn of the Screw TV movie. We also talk about some exciting things coming up in the future, such as this summer’s Dark Shadows Remembrance event and Ansel Faraj’s upcoming film, The Great Nick D! Also, Terror at Collinwood has been nominated for Best Podcast in the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. You can vote by sending an email to taraco@aol.com. Be sure to include your name in the email for your vote to be counted! See the full ballot here: https://rondoaward.com

What better way to celebrate Halloween than with Rondo Award and Pulp Factory Award-winning artist, Mark Maddox? The talented artist behind the much-loved official Dark Shadows lunchbox drops in to talk about Dark Shadows, Universal monsters, Hammer horror, silent German horror and sci-fi films, and much more! Mark has created beautiful covers for Screem Magazine, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Video Watchdog, and several other publications. In addition, Mark’s glorious Hammer horror artwork graces many Scream Factory Blu-Ray covers. Listen to Mark describe his eerie origins as an artist as he talks about his passion for horror, science fiction, and fantasy. This passion includes Dark Shadows, of course! Mark shares his childhood memories of the show and offers some great insights into his DS artwork. A multitude of fun and monstrous topics are discussed in this special Halloween episode! NOTE: The YouTube version of this show includes loads of pictures featuring Mark’s fang-tastic artwork!

Returning to ‘Terror at Collinwood’ are Guy Haines, Bob Issel, and Nina Ogle, who all became enamored with ‘Dark Shadows’ when it originally aired in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. They’ve remained steadfast fans of the show, becoming heavily involved in DS fan events and activities over the years. Listen as these three fandom all-stars share many fascinating stories including: how they discovered DS and its fan community, memories of ShadowCon and the Dark Shadows Festivals, meetings and interactions with actors such as Jonathan Frid, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Louis Edmonds, Nancy Barrett, and Joan Bennett, visiting Charles Randolph Grean’s house, parties at Seaview Terrace, creating fan collectibles based on the Ben Cooper Barnabas Collins Halloween costume, trips to Essex, Connecticut to visit “the Evans Cottage”, and much more!

SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED DAN CURTIS AND PENNY DREADFUL INTO THE RONDO HATTON CLASSIC HORROR AWARDS MONSTER KID HALL OF FAME!!!

Mark Dawidziak is a noted television, film, and theatre critic, author, actor, and Journalism Hall of Fame inductee. He visits the podcast for an in-depth discussion about the pivotal influence of Barnabas Collins on vampire fiction, the importance of Dark Shadows to the horror genre, and the fact that DS often doesn’t get enough credit for the significant impact it continues to have on popular culture. Other topics include: Mark’s conversations with Dan Curtis, Mark’s childhood introduction to horror and DS, writing about Carl Kolchak, Dark Shadows and the cultural influence of the 60’s, Edgar Allan Poe, and much more!

The twenty-first annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards are upon us! A special category in the Rondos is the write-in for Monster Kid Hall of Fame, which honors those who’ve made a permanent mark on the world of classic horror appreciation. Many of the inductees are/were fans of the genre themselves. This award is a rare distinction indeed, and there are several notable recipients. Missing from the list, however, is Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis! This episode of Terror at Collinwood includes a series of interview clips featuring Dan Curtis himself, along with writer Sam Hall and actress Lara Parker. The clips help illustrate why Curtis should be considered for Monster Kid Hall of Fame status. A known enthusiast of classic terror tales and motion pictures, Curtis certainly made prominent puncture marks on the genre with Dark Shadows. He also unleashed the iconic The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler, and he helmed adaptations of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Turn of the Screw, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. He directed both Dark Shadows MGM feature films, the horror cult classics Burnt Offerings, Trilogy of Terror, Dead of Night, and many more! After his epic miniseries Winds of War and War and Remembrance, he returned to the world of the gothic with the 1991 Dark Shadows revival series, which featured horror legend Barbara Steele (who is also long past due for induction into the Monster Kid Hall of Fame). See the full ballot at https://rondoaward.com/ and email your votes to taraco@aol.com. Voting is open until Sunday at midnight, April 23, 2023. PS - And thanks to those who nominated Terror at Collinwood for Best Podcast and Penny Dreadful for Favorite Horror Host. It's an honor to be on the ballot, twice!

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Another frenzied (and geeky) lecture? You bet! This time, Penny Dreadful tackles major characteristics of gothic horror & gothic romance and illustrates their use in Dark Shadows. Topics include Terror at Collinwood’s Rondo Award nomination for best podcast (!!!), Terror vs. Horror, “spackling” continuity and bloopers, atmosphere of the gothic, otherness, serials, obsession, madness, love triangles, monsters and the supernatural, heightened emotion, the sublime, subverting the gothic, and much more!

Be sure to vote in the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards!

Terror at Collinwood was nominated for Best Podcast & Penny Dreadful was nominated for Favorite Horror Host

The full ballot can be found here: https://rondoaward.com

Rondo Award-winning filmmaker Ansel Faraj visits with Penny to discuss his filmmaking experiences and influences, as well as many other Dark Shadows-related topics such as working with the DS stars, info on the 'Night of Dark Shadows' restoration project, what happened with the Burton film, not giving up on 'Dark Shadows: Reincarnation', trying to categorize the classic series, and tons of references to horror movies, TV shows, plays, and stories. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! There's a lot of info packed into this episode!