424 - February 8, 1968

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] -A séance has been held in the great house of Collinwood,

a séance which has suspended time and space,

and sent one woman on an uncertain

and frightening journey into the past,

back to the year .

There each of the Collins ancestors resembles

a present day member of the Collins family,

but the names and relationships have changed,

and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger

in a sea of familiar faces.

The evil which plagues the family

makes itself seen and felt in many ways,

one of which will be death by violent means.

- I thought I heard--

Nathan! Nathan!

[bat squeaking]

What - what's that noise? What is it?

Nathan, where are you?

Oh. Oh! No, get away from me!

Get away!

Oh.

Oh. Where - where did that thing come from?

It just - it just appeared out of nowhere.

Mr. Collins! Mr. Collins!

Oh, Nathan, where are you?

He said he'd be here in just a few minutes.

What's keeping him? Nathan. Nathan.

No!

Those eyes staring at me, staring straight through me.

It's almost as if it were human and wanted to k*ll me.

Oh, Nathan, where are you?

Please come. Please, I'm frightened.

I'm so frightened, please come.

Please. Please.

[bat squeaking]

I don't believe this is happening.

- I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen.

- Oh, please.

- It's too late now to offer any mercy to you,

much too late.

- Oh, don't.

No!

- Suki! Suki!

-Help me! - Suki! Are you in there?

- Open the door.

Suki!

Suki!

Suki!

Suki.

Suki! Suki!

- I -- - What - What happened?

- Who did this to you?

- Barnabas. - What?

- Barnabas Collins. - What are you saying?

- Suki.

Suki! Suki!

♪♪

[eerie theme music] ♪♪

- Lieutenant Forbes. - Mr. Collins.

- Well, what is it, man? What's wrong?

- Something's happened.

- Is it Josette? Did you find her?

- No!

It's my sister!

- Ms. Forbes? - Yes.

- I was searching for Josette

in the woods near the old house.

I heard a woman screaming.

It was Suki.

By the time I managed to get into the house,

it was too late.

She was dead.

- Dead?

- Yes, she had been m*rder*d.

Somebody strangled her.

I put her on a chaise lounge and covered her with a sheet.

- Allow me to extend my deepest sympathies.

- Thank you.

- Do you have any idea of what your sister was doing here?

- Well, perhaps, she was searching for Josette.

- Who could have done this to her?

What kind of maniac?

- I don't know.

- He will be caught and he'll hang for it.

Mark my words.

- One thing puzzles me.

- What is it, Lieutenant?

- I'm still confused by what Suki said just before she died.

- Oh, Lieutenant, we're here to search the house

not to speculate on the meaning of your sister's last words.

- Doesn't it disturb you that the last thing

she was able to say was your son's name?

- I am certain that there is some simple and logical

- explanation for it. - How can there be?

Suki never even met Barnabas.

- But she did see his portrait at Collinwood.

In fact, she even questioned me about it earlier this evening.

- Well, I don't know. I still find it very disturbing.

- Then I fail to see why, Lieutenant.

- Then, perhaps, I want to tell you.

- I think it can wait until later.

- No, I think now would be the best time.

As I was approaching Collinwood last night to meet Millicent,

I saw the figure of a man at the edge of the woods.

I could have sworn that figure was Barnabas.

- May I ask what time that was?

- About o'clock.

- I see.

You know of course that my son, Barnabas, is in England

and you should have known that o'clock in the evening

is all together too late

to call on Millicent at Collinwood.

- Well, actually, I was simply returning a brooch

that she had left--

- Where had she left it, Lieutenant?

- At the inn.

We had dinner there the night before last.

She must have dropped it as she got up from the table.

Mr. Collins?

- What is it?

- If the man I saw in the woods the night - last night

was not Barnabas, then who do you suppose it was?

- At the moment, Lieutenant, I am more concerned

with another question.

- What is that?

- Was there any kind of ill feeling

between you and your sister?

- No, of course not.

- What was your feeling towards her?

- Well, I suppose like any man towards his sister.

I - I was very fond of her.

- Well, permit me to say that if I were to judge

your fondness for her

by the amount of grief that you had shown

since you discovered her body minutes ago,

I would suddenly - certainly, come to the conclusion

that she meant very little to you.

- Mr. Collins, I'm not yet over the shock, believe me.

- Then I respectfully suggest

that you show the proper amount of grief

and leave me to ascertain the meaning,

if any, to your sister's parting words.

- As you wish.

- Now, let's go on with the search.

You go south in this floor,

and then, you take the back stairway

- and I'll take this one. - Wait a moment.

- What is it?

There's someone upstairs.

[distant foot steps] Listen, can you hear them moving?

- Here, stand back.

Josette.

- Barnabas?

- Josette, what's wrong?

- Where are you?

- Josette!

♪♪

- Cousin Naomi, has there been any word?

- No.

- Poor Josette! - Yes.

- Poor Josette.

I shudder to think of what might have happened to her.

- I'm sure that Nathan and Cousin Joshua will find her.

- I hope so.

- Have you seen Nathan's sister? - No.

- Oh, I just went to her room to look for her,

but she's gone.

- Perhaps, she's with Lieutenant and Cousin Joshua.

- Yes.

It's odd about Suki, isn't it?

- Odd?

- Well, she and Nathan don't really look like

brother and sister, do they?

- Well, I haven't really noticed.

- Oh, I supposed it's natural for me to wonder

all sorts of things.

-Naomi! Come quickly!

- Joshua, what happened?

- I don't know.

We - we found her at the old house.

She was walking around barely conscious.

Where's the - where's the countess?

- She went searching in the other direction with Ben.

- Well, then, you will have to take care of her

until she returns.

- Go up and prepare her bed and I'll bring her up. - Yes, of course.

- Lieutenant, find Riggs.

Send him to the village to fetch the constable

and go back and wait for the body

- until he gets there. - Yes, Mr. Collins.

- Nathan, what was he talking about?

What body?

- My sister Suki is dead.

- Dead?

- Yes, I found her at the old house.

She'd been strangled by someone.

- Oh, Nathan.

- She was still alive when I reached her.

She tried to speak and--

I'm sorry, Millicent, I can't talk--

- Oh, it's all right.

I understand and I'm so terribly sorry.

- I better go find Riggs.

I'll be back when the constable arrives.

- You said she was barely conscious when you found her?

- Yes.

- Well, did she say anything before collapsed?

Well, did she?

- She said nothing.

- Then, you don't know how she got to the old house

or what - what she was doing there.

- No.

Perhaps, we can bring her around with some smelling salts.

- I have some in my bureau drawer.

[gasps]

[knocking]

Yes?

- Is she going to be all right? - I don't know.

- She's still unconscious.

- Did Cousin Joshua tell you about Nathan's sister?

- Yes.

- Except for Nathan and an aunt in Baltimore,

she had no family.

I thought the aunt should be notified as quickly as possible,

so I've written a letter to her.

- Would you read it and tell me if you think it's all right? - Yes.

- How did you know about the aunt in Baltimore?

- Suki was talking about her this afternoon.

She was terribly fond of her.

- The letter is fine, Millicent.

Give it to one of the servants and have them

take it into the village and post it this evening.

- I'll go to Suki's room and get the address.

I'm sure it's somewhere among her belongings.

- Here is the smelling salt. - Thank you.

- Before we try this,

there's something I want you to see.

Look at her neck.

- Why, it's just like the wound on Barnabas' neck.

- I know but what caused it?

- I don't know.

Let's hope that she can tell us when she wakes up.

- Well, maybe, she won't wake up.

When this happened to Barnabas,

he was never completely rational again.

He was just the way she is now until the moment of his death.

- Did the constable arrive? - Yes.

- They've taken the body into the village.

Do you suppose your cousin would mind if I had a drink?

I'm still a little shaky.

- No, of course, he wouldn't mind.

Nathan, after you've poured yourself a drink,

I'd like you to read a letter I've written.

- Oh, what letter?

- Suki told me about your aunt in Baltimore.

- What about her?

- Well, since she's the only relative you and Suki had,

I thought that she should be notified.

So, I've written this letter telling her what's happened.

- What are you doing with that box?

- Well, I found it in Suki's room.

It seems to contain all her papers.

So, I'm sure your aunt's address must be here somewhere.

- Well, let me - let me help you find it.

- I'm sure I could-- - Nathan, please, go sit down and rest.

- You've been through quite enough for one night.

- No, look, Millicent, I'm going to have to go through

Suki's effects sooner or later--

- Well, I think it should be later.

I'm sure it would be much too painful for you now.

- No, as a matter of fact,

you need not go to any of that trouble.

I can - I can simply tell you my - my aunt's address.

- Oh.

What is it?

- Uh, number

Franklin Lane,

Baltimore,

Maryland.

Here, let me - let me do that.

- No, no, no. It's all right.

I'm almost finished.

I want to put everything back just exactly as I--

- Nathan, I didn't know Suki was married.

- Married?

- Yes. There's a marriage certificate in here.

- Millicent, let me have that. - No, Nathan, just a moment.

- Don't you understand?

If Suki was married,

then I must write another letter to her husband--

- Millicent, please.

♪♪

"To certified that on this the th day of April ,

Suki Welles and Nathan Forbes--"

She wasn't your sister. She was your wife.

- All right, now, Millicent. Just let me try--

- She was your wife! - Yes. But--

- And you've been deceiving me!

Everything you've said to me was a lie.

- I swear to you, Millicent-- - Don't say anything else, Nathan to me, please!

- Millicent-- - I don't want to hear anymore of your lies.

- No, I wanted you to know but there was no way

for me to tell you.

It was a marriage in name only.

- I wanted to end it, but Suki wouldn't let me go. - No!

- No! No! I don't want to hear it.

I don't want to be hear you or see you

or be anywhere near you!

- Millicent, wait!

Millicent, you must listen to me!

- When did Madame DuPres leave?

- Just a few minutes after you and the lieutenant left.

- Oh, and she ought to be back soon?

- I don't see what she can do that we haven't already tried.

- There may not be anything any of us can do,

if what Madame DuPres said is true.

- What are you talking about?

- The witch told her of a book.

It contained our family's future history.

- Ms. Winters mentioned something to me about the book

when she warned me about Sarah.

- And Sarah died just as Ms. Winters predicted.

- You still think she caused it, don't you?

- Naomi, my first concern at the moment

is not to place blame on anyone.

I'm trying to save Josette.

- Save her?

- Yes, according to Madame DuPres,

the book also predicts Josette's death.

- When? - She will die tomorrow

- unless we can prevent it.

- Tomorrow?

- The book says she will die by her own hand,

but if one of us is with her all the time,

this can't happen.

If we can keep her alive through tomorrow,

then she'll be safe.

- Tomorrow.

Barnabas, tomorrow.

I'll belong to you forever.

♪♪

[eerie theme music] ♪♪