Altar of the Leviathans

The altar of the Leviathans is a fictional item featured in the daytime gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, which aired on ABC from 1966-1971. It first appeared in a flashback to the year 1796 in episode 886 in 1969.

The altar of the Leviathans is a stone structure relating to a msytical cult known as the Leviathans. The altar consists of a horizontal table as well as an upright pillar engraved with the symbol of the Naga - a four-headed serpent diety. The altar has the abilty to manifest at any location where it is required and can also disappear from existence, returning only when it is required to in accordance with cult prophecy. The altar is a critical ceremonial tool of the Leviathans who use it to not only subjugate new followers, but also to usher in the birth of the Chosen One - a leader who is destined to bring the Leviathan beings to a new level of power and reassert their power upon the Earth.

The altar mysteriously appeared on the Collinwood estate in 1796 in a patch of forest halfway between the Great House at Collinwood and the Old House. While en route to the Old House to meet his lover Josette du Prs, Barnabas Collins came upon the altar, as well as two Leviathan cult members named Oberon and Haza. Using simple mind control, they mentally enslaved Barnabas to their cause, imprisoning him within the interior of the altar itself. (DS 886).