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!

Ricardo Rebelo is a filmmaker, professor of communications, and former director of the Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival. In this episode, Ric joins Penny Dreadful as they rank the Dark Shadows remakes and reboots! Other topics include the atmosphere of New England, Ric’s introduction to DS and the horror genre, hopes for the future, and much more!

This episode features an interview with three-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Nick Besink, who served as a video engineer on the original Dark Shadows. Nick offers a fascinating look at what it was like to work on DS, and talks about his extensive career in broadcasting and video production.

Penny is joined by Dominique Lamssies, writer and blogger at the University of the Bizarre and head necromancer at the House of Silent Graves Etsy shop. Dominique and Penny are sent on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past as they explore Dark Shadows' groundbreaking 1795 storyline! Other topics include Dominique’s introduction to DS, the intersection of classism and sexism in 18th century Collinsport, Sarah’s powers, and more!