Dark Shadows: 646

"Of all the dark and evil secrets that plague the great house at Collinwood, none has escaped detection longer than the secret behind a wall in the abandoned West Wing. For over seventy years a vengeful spirit has been imprisoned here. Now, through the curiosity of two children, it has been released. And soon it will bring about the final destruction of the Collins family."

Episode 646 of Dark Shadows originally aired on ABC on December 16th, 1968. It was directed by Lela Swift and written by Gordon Russell. In this episode, David and Amy continue to converse with the ghosts of Quentin Collins and his lover, Beth. Quentin's malevolent spirit takes control of the children and forces them to do his bidding. David and Amy become the unwitting instruments of Quentin's plot of revenge against the entire Collins family.

Synopsis
It is 1:30 am at Collinwood. David and Amy go back up to the secret room. As they enter, Amy looks forward, smiles and cheerfully says "Hi, Quentin!" The ghost of Quentin Collins steps out to greet them. Amy asks if Quentin is going to speak to them and David queries if they are going to "play the game". Quentin smiles and turns towards the antique Edison phonograph which begins playing music. David appears to go into a trance. Amy tries to talk to him, but David's personality is drastically different. From another corner of the room, a blonde-haired woman in Victorian-era dress steps out. She takes her place next to Quentin's side. Looking upon her, Amy falls under a similar trance.

Downstairs, Elizabeth paces back and forth. Roger comes out of his study to greet her and see what is the matter. She is still bothered by the séance from a few nights ago and cannot get it out of her mind. She fears that something terrible is about to happen.

In the West Wing, David and Amy dress up in old fashioned clothing. David asks Amy to call him Quentin. Playing along, as if it were truly a game, Amy tells David to call her Beth. David reminds her that she cannot tell anyone about their new hiding place. In fact, he even plans on sealing up the door so that nobody can get through. David begins talking about even greater schemes, but it is with Quentin's voice and anger that he declares vengeance upon the entire family. The first stage of their scheme involves a plot against Roger. First however, there is a more pressing matter. They must dispose of Quentin's corporeal remains.

David finds an old trunk and places Quentin's bones inside of it. Amy and he take it through the stairwell and go downstairs with it. Roger walks out of the drawing room with Elizabeth and sees them carrying the trunk. He asks David what he is doing and the boy tells him that Amy and he are taking a box filled with toys outside. Unaware of the true contents of the box, Roger helps David bring it downstairs. The children make up a story about having to bury one of David's toy soldiers.

David and Amy take the trunk outside and walk to a secluded part of the property. They dig a hole and place the skeleton inside. Amy wants to say a prayer, but David dismisses the notion, citing that Quentin's spirit is still alive. After the deed is done, the children go back to the house and the secret room. As night falls, they begin the next phase of Quentin's ultimate plan. David finds a length of wire that he plans to use as the instrument of Quentin's revenge.

Late into the evening, Roger sits in his room reading. There is a knock at the door and Roger gets up to answer it. It is Amy. She tells Roger that she heard a scary noise from downstairs and fears that it might be a burglar. Roger decides to investigate and takes a handgun from his dresser drawer.

As he walks down the steps to the foyer, he fails to see the thin wire stretched between two steps. Roger trips and falls the rest of the way. He lands hard on the floor and is knocked unconscious. Blood begins trickling out of his mouth. The children enter the room to observe their handiwork.

Quotes

 * Quentin Collins/David Collins: My family has made the two of us very unhappy. They must be made to realize that. They must pay for what they've done to us.


 * David Collins: All we're doing is giving Quentin what his family refused to give him... a decent burial.


 * Roger Collins: Of all the morbid games children play.