Barnabas Collins - Vampire on the daytime serial DARK SHADOWS/ABC/1966-71. Bitten by a vampire bat in 1795, Barnabas Collins was cursed to walk the earth as one of the undead. In an attempt to save his son from this torment, Barnabas' father, Joshua placed a silver crucifix on his son's chest and then secured him inside the family burial vault. Some 150 years later Barnabas Collins was released from his coffin when drifter Willie Loomis (John Karlen) robbed the family crypt at Eagle Hill Cemetery in search of buried ancestral jewels. Taking up residence once again at the Collinwood Mansion in the guise of a distant cousin from England, Barnabas Collins roamed the night but continued to live an eternity of loneliness and regret always thinking of his true love Josette Dupres, his wife who soon died after their marriage a few hundred years before. When he saw a modern-day reincarnation of Josette, in the form of Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott), he pursued her. But his attempts at love were to no avail, even after biting and turning her into a vampire. When not feeding on the warm blood of his victims, Barnabas spent his time working with Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) who attempted to cure Barnabas of his vampirism. His recurring enemy was a sexy blond-haired witch known as Angelique (Lara Parker). Soon after the series was canceled, Barnabas again rose from the dead to star in two movie sequels House of Dark Shadows (1970), wherein Barnabas got a stake through his heart; and Night of Dark Shadows (1971), an uninspired follow-up to the first movie. In 1991, a prime time revival of DARK SHADOWS on the NBC network starred Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins, the vampire with a Byronic soul. Despite the moody atmosphere and luxurious special effects, (compared to the original series) the public just didn't sink their teeth into this revamped supernatural tale. It was soon canceled.    

           

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