New DVD Trailers

Amazon.com have posted two video trailers for MPI's upcoming Dark Shadows DVD compilations, The Vampire Curse and The Haunting of Collinwood. To view them, click on the hyperlinked titles. Both titles are due out on September 15 and are available to pre-order at a discount price.

Curse of the Pharaoh

Big Finish are now taking orders for their latest Dark Shadows Dramatic Reading CD. Curse of the Pharaoh stars Nancy Barrett and Marie Wallace. Both actors have previously made cameo appearances in the full-cast Dark Shadows audio dramas and now take the lead for this new story. Nancy reprises her classic role as Carolyn Stoddard, while Marie tackles an intriguing new character.

Famed Egyptologist Dr. Gretchen Warwick has come to Collinwood, searching for the answers to life in the hereafter. At first, Carolyn cannot understand why Warwick needs her help, but, to her horror, she soon discovers that she is the key to the dark, dangerous world on the other side of death...

"Gretchen Warwick is a mystery," says writer Stephen Mark Rainey. "She’s brilliant and eccentric – not to mention abrasive. As a woman accustomed to being in a position of authority, she’s just the kind to raise Carolyn’s hackles!"

Marie Wallace is full of enthusiasm for her new character, Gretchen: "When I received the script, I read it from beginning to end and was so intrigued by the character of Gretchen. She had all the qualities that make a person interesting, compelling, fascinating, and out of the ordinary. Such fun to play! And of course, to then work opposite Nancy Barrett, with whom I hadn’t been on camera for many a year, why, I couldn’t ask for anything more... Until the next script comes along!"

To order the new story, click here.

2010 Festival Announced

I'm back from last weekend's Dark Shadows Festival in Newark, NJ. It was wonderful to meet so many of this site's readers, so thanks to anyone who said hello. I didn't manage to take any photos, but if you attended and have pictures from the event that you'd like to share, get in touch and I'll post the best here.

The Festival returns to the west coast for 2010's event, which will take place on July 16-18 at the Burbank Marriott Hotel. Look out for registration information and more details soon.

Dark Shadows Festival This Weekend

The Dark Shadows Festival takes place this weekend in Newark, NJ, at the Newark Renaissance Hotel. Guests include Jonathan Frid (Barnabas), Lara Parker (Angelique) and Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie). A full schedule of events for the weekend's activities can be seen here and for more information, visit the Festival's official website.

I'll be there to promote my work on the Big Finish audio dramas CDs, so please stop by our stand and say hello. Also, don't miss the stage panel on the dramas on Sunday afternoon, which will include Jerry Lacy (Reverend Trask) performing a brief sneak preview from the first script of the new full-cast dramas, Kingdom of the Dead. Hope to see you there!

Audio Author Interviewed

The latest issue of Big Finish's magazine Vortex features an interview with writer Stephen Mark Rainey, discussing his Dark Shadows audio dramas The Path of Fate and the upcoming Curse of the Pharoah. Check it out by clicking here.

In other Big Finish news, Echoes of Insanity, the latest in the ongoing series of Dark Shadows dramatic readings has just been released on CD and digital download. The story stars John Karlen (Willie) and Lara Parker (Angelique), and can be purchased here.