The Collinsport Gazette vol 1

 (EPISODES 401-415)

EXTRA! EXTRA!

    Barnabas Collins of the Collins Family has finally discovered his newly wedded wife Angelique is the witch. According to the sources, the Collins Family handyman Ben Stokes played an important role identifying the "witch" when he drew the letter "A" as the inital of the witch's name. It's been rumoured that Ben Stokes had a curse on him that prevented him from uttering her name, so that's why such a peculiar method was used.  

     Upon learning this rather unnerving news, Barnabas Collins confronted his wife who in turn mercilessly threatened to kill Josette Collins (formally known as Josette duPres) aka Mr. Collins' would-have-been-wife if Angelique the witch hadn't intervened.  So Mr. Collins rightfully resorted to murder by stabbing and poisoning but each time his plans backfired... Then one night, a gunshot from the Collins House was heard.....More on page 2

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Attack of the rubber bat

So here's how it went down: Having had enough of her threats and probably her weird accent too, Barnabas shot Angelique..but on the shoulder. Angelique the drama queen, however thought she was dying and right there on the spot cast a spell on Barnabas that would kill whoever Barnabas loved and vice versa  (I actually don't get why Barnabas just didn't blow her head off before she could finish the spell but anyway). Then, out of nowhere a bat entered the room and bit him on the neck. And this is where vampires come from!!

Josette watches on as yet another
one of her lovers dies in front of her

Realizing that she wasn't dead, Angelique tried to help Barnabas get well cause she still luuuvs him. Actually at first she tried to hide Barnabas away from the others but eventually they discovered him in the sickbed. (That scene was pretty cool, where Natalie grabbed Angelique's arm to stop her from stopping Josette from finding Barnabas. I was gonna High 5 the screen)

Anyways Barnabas suffered for a while before he could tell anyone about Angelique. Doctors couldn't help him, Angelique's spells certainly couldn't help him. Then he died. Aww~

Angelique's gravely demise

His father Joshua, to prevent rumours of plague, had him secretly placed in a coffin in the backroom of infamous Collins Tomb and nobody outside the Collins & duPres families was to know about it. However Angelique knew what was about to happen to Barnabas and went there to stake him once and for all. <<DING DING DING ~ This is the first instance where the word "vampire" is uttered and it's by Angelique>> I'd have offered to give her a special prize but then she kinda died two minutes later when Barnabas rose from the coffin for the first time and snapped her neck, so..
This is also important cause it's first time Barnabas uses his signature move of grabbing someone by the throat when they open his coffin. Remember Willie? Or Jason? Or Julia? We're witnessing the history making here~

An-ney-ways after Angelique's poetic justicesy death (afterall she cast the spell to curse whoever loved Barnabas), Barnabas uses Ben to do his dirty work, just like he will do with Willie a century and a half later. However he's not a psychopath yet, not that he ever really was, but he's just beginning to grasp the situation and all. Too bad there ain't a vampire bar like Fangtasia in Collinsport where he could hang out with homie vampires.

Opening a parenthesis here, this is what I learnt about vampires watching Dark Shadows:

a)Barnabas was turned by a bat under a spell. I think it's also possible in this universe for another vampire to make a vampire (remember how he was gonna try it on Maggie)

b)They can turn into a bat or teleport.

c)They can influence someone's free will if they're feeding from them. (We should note that is not the case with Ben Stokes' character. He's helping him willingly due to his friendship with him)

d)They aren't vicious animals..least Barnabas isn't. Ok he can't stop himself from drinking blood but at least feels guilty about it afterwards.

Julia Hoffman v. 2.0

^ That brings me to Ruby Tate. She was the prostitute that Barnabas ran into at the docks while looking for fresh blood, whom he flirted with until he bit her and caused her to fall into the sea and presumably drown. Normally I wouldn't care about such a character but she looked and talked extremely like Grayson Hall (aka Julia Hoffman & Natalie du Pres) that I thought she would be her sister or something. I couldn't find any info on it though.

UP NEXT: Vicki is arrested but will she find love in prison?
  And another tragedy strikes the Collins Family!