Dark Shadows #6 Part 2

Today's Monster Memories are of:

Gold Key's Dark Shadows #6: Part 2
(Click on images to view in Big-Bellied Mummy size!)

Barnabas savagely attacks the innocent mummy both physically and verbally. All he wanted was to borrow some Grey Poupon and ask directions back to Egypt.

Last time, as you remember (if you don't, read the previous entry below) I posted the first half of the Gold Key Dark Shadows comic #6, published in 1970. In it, we discover a mummy has somehow come to the perpetually-overcast town of Collinsport, and not just your usual mummy; this one is, shall we say, somewhat "brawny" or "big-boned." He's unique in another respect... in that he can run at full tilt like a sprinter. Now, most traditional movie mummies (not to be confused with the real-world mummies who move very little, if at all) creep along at a geriatric's pace, dragging one leg behind them like they stepped in doggie doo-doo and swinging the one free arm. They are never in a hurry, and depend solely on either the element of surprise or a paralysing fear that causes the intended victim to only stare and scream as the moldy fingers approach to choke the life out of them. One would not be surprised in the least to see one plodding along using a walker with little wheels on the front!

Even Christopher Lee's rather athletic Mummy in the Hammer film moved in such a stiff-legged manner that if he didn't corner his victims they could usually have escaped. But the mummy in this story is not only nimble for his considerable size, but unusually quick on his feet for a 3,000 year old gauze-wrapped corpse. Oh, and he howls like a dog, also! What's up with that?

Here it is, for those patiently waiting; Part Two, the conclusion of the opus I glibly called "The Case of the Howling Mummy." Drink a smoking cup of Tana Leaf Tea to summon forth the immortal Inner Child, and enjoy!

And, so, the poor pot-bellied mummy is burned to death and everything is once again right in Collinsport. The Bandaged One, finding himself awakened in a strange country, in unfamiliar surroundings and hounded by torch-waving villagers who spoke not his language, becomes a misunderstood victim of cruel circumstance. I hope you feel good about this, Barnabas... you cold-hearted, friend-poisoning, mummy-bashing bloodsucker creep!

Gold Key's Dark Shadows Issue #6

Today's Monster Memories are of:

Gold Key's Dark Shadows comic Issue #6
(Click on images to view Giant-Mummy-Sized)

In August of 1970, when this comic was published, I was 11 years old and living in Parkersburg, West Virginia. We rented our house from the owner of a convenience store which we lived behind, and I would sweep his store and parking lot to earn some extra money, which quickly went back to the store for candy, soda and comic books. This was one of those I bought there, and stands out in my memories of that time. I mean, really; vampires, werewolves, mummies; what wasn't there to like about it?

The photo cover was cool, although I thought as a kid that the boy in the picture had a pointed ear, and must be a mini-werewolf like Eddie Munster. But I realised years later in looking at it, the it's only a leaf in the way. I remember holing up in my hideout, which I had cleared out under an overgrown thicket of wild bushes covering a small gully, and reading it while I nursed a cinnamon Square-Shooter sucker and a peach Nehi.

In the story, a downright hefty and obviously well-fed mummy ends up in Collinsport. Barnabas, turning into a detective, only needed to don a deerstalker cap and smoke a pipe, while wielding a magnifying glass to be Sherlock Holmes. There's a lot of running, and finger-pointing, and Barnabas is suspected; while he blames poor lycanthropic Quentin for the mummy's misdeeds. Ol' Barney, being the good guy that he is, prepares to poison his pal to help him out. After all, what are friends for, if not to show tough love? Quentin has a killer hangover and just wants to be left alone. As for the mummy's murderous ways, there's never any reason for the bandaged one to attack those random people, but I guess it's just what he does, being a mummy and all. Maybe his weight causes him to be insecure and the killing is just a way of compensating.

Anyway, here's the first part, scanned in and formatted for your maximum viewing pleasure; a story I call "The Case of the Howling Mummy!"

Now, that's what I call a mix-up... switching the bodies of the old man and an Egyptian mummy! How does something like that happen? The overweight mummy would had to have been removed from his sarcophagus (by several strong men) and put in the modern coffin, and the dead American placed in the ancient tomb. Somebody would have HAD to have done it on purpose. But why?

And look at the body of Capt. Collins; nearly a hundred years after death and not a sign of decomposition! Why? Or am I thinking too much about it? Surely, if I can swallow a vampiric hero and a living mummy I can overlook a slight plot hole or two.

To Be Continued next time... same Monster-time, same Monster-channel!

House Of Dark Shadows

Today's Monster Memories are of:

"House of Dark Shadows."
(Click on images to view full-sized.)

The newspaper ad that so enthralled me as a kid!

"Come See How The Vampires Do It," was the tagline for the 1970 movie. What "It" may have been is only inferred, but it must have been blood-sucking, because the sex level was no higher than the TV version, despite it being freed from the restrictions of the small screen. But the romantic aspect of the teen-idol Barnabas was played up so that the girls would flock to it. The appeal of Barnabas as the idol of teenybopper girls was lost on me, as I thought he was too old and not particularly appealing in a physical sense. But, I wasn't a teenage girl or a soap opera fan so I had no frame of reference. I just liked the show because it featured vampires and werewolves! It was a little like a Hammer movie in daily installments. So when the feature movie came out, I was anxious to see it; of course I couldn't. But I finally got the chance when it was shown on TV a few years later, while I was staying over at my Grandma's house, where I had freedom to watch what I wanted. Unfortunately, the TV versions edited out the more graphic gore scenes that the theatrical release allowed them to have.

Below are some of the ads slicks made available to the theaters.

Unfortunately, this movie has not yet been released on DVD, so when I chanced upon a scheduled showing on Turner South last year, I managed to catch it and record it onto DVD as it played. That explains the Turner South logo in the bottom right corner of each screen capture. Sorry for that, but I hope you enjoy viewing them!

The house used for Collinswood was different in the movie from the TV series. Filming took place at Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York with additional footage at nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. At the bottom of this post you will see some photos of the location used for it!

Rather than a new story based on the series, it was decided to do a remake that told a condensed version of how Barnabas came to Collinswood, and take the story to it's originally intended conclusion as far as Barnabas was concerned. Not a part of the show's continuity, it was a stand-alone movie that featured the same characters, even killing some of them off. Perhaps a disappointment to the fans of the show, but a good choice for those not so familiar with it.

"Man, this place could use a 'Stick-Up!'"

After the credits, the "dead" Barnabas fades into the mist and a bat flies up out of the frame. He lives... to bite again! But he doesn't show up in the sequel, sadly.

You can see the locations used for "House" if you go to the long-haunted countryside of Sleepy Hollow, NY. Of course, this is where the ghost of the Headless Horseman rides, the very same that tormented poor Ichabod Crane.

You can view pics of all the movie and TV locations here. It's a great DS fan resource.