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Dark Shadows #8
The Demon of Barnabas Collins
The arrival of a movie company at Collinwood gives Barnabas a chance to escape Angelique's awful curse - the curse which has made him one of the living dead.
Barnabas meets and falls in love with beautiful film star Rita Glenn. In order to save him, she introduces him to the mysterious Dr. Moreno who has a cure for Barnabas.
Barnabas is jubilant over his recovery -- but not for long. Suddenly he is in a life and death battle with another vampire -- with Rita's life at stake. The only way to save her is to return to the curse once again.
Barnabas meets and falls in love with beautiful film star Rita Glenn. In order to save him, she introduces him to the mysterious Dr. Moreno who has a cure for Barnabas.
Barnabas is jubilant over his recovery -- but not for long. Suddenly he is in a life and death battle with another vampire -- with Rita's life at stake. The only way to save her is to return to the curse once again.
159 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1969
About the author
Marilyn Ross
131 books62 followersWilliam Edward Daniel Ross, W. E. Daniel "Dan" Ross (born 1912) is a bestselling Canadian novelist from Saint John, New Brunswick who wrote over 300 books in a variety of genres and under a variety of mostly female pseudonyms such as Laura Frances Brooks, Lydia Colby, Rose Dana, Jan Daniels, Olin Ross, Diane Randall, Clarissa Ross, Leslie Ames, Ruth Dorset, Ann Gilmer, Jane Rossiter, Dan Ross, Dana Ross, Marilyn Ross, Dan Roberts, and W.E.D. Ross. As Marilyn Ross he wrote popular Gothic fiction including a series of novels about the vampire Barnabas Collins based on the American TV series Dark Shadows (1966-71).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
April 3, 2026
A cure for vampirism? Barnabas all but jumped at the chance, and why wouldn't he? Me though? If I was a vampire, you wouldn't hear a peep out of me about being cured!!
It was a fun listen, despite the whole main cast being away for the entirety of the book. I do like Barnabas in the role of a hero for once, but I'm not sure it'll last.
It was a fun listen, despite the whole main cast being away for the entirety of the book. I do like Barnabas in the role of a hero for once, but I'm not sure it'll last.
April 24, 2025
This might be one of my favorite entries in the Dark Shadows book series, so far. I love that we have a movie being shot at Collinwood. This is a Barnabas-focused book, and I love his character. The main actress in the movie being filmed is an old flame of Barnabas'.
There is a mysterious doctor in this book and an actor who seems to be under the doctor's spell. We get to spend a little time with the main actors of the film. Each actor gets enough of a personality to stand out as distinct characters, which I appreciated. There is a mystery involving girls being attacked in the village.
I was never bored by this book. It moved along pretty quickly, and I really liked the last scene. I would have liked if the movie played a bigger part in the story, but nonetheless, I still really enjoyed this one. I am not sure if any of the Marilyn Ross Dark Shadows books will be five-star books for me, but they are cozy reads that allow me to spend time with characters I love.
There is a mysterious doctor in this book and an actor who seems to be under the doctor's spell. We get to spend a little time with the main actors of the film. Each actor gets enough of a personality to stand out as distinct characters, which I appreciated. There is a mystery involving girls being attacked in the village.
I was never bored by this book. It moved along pretty quickly, and I really liked the last scene. I would have liked if the movie played a bigger part in the story, but nonetheless, I still really enjoyed this one. I am not sure if any of the Marilyn Ross Dark Shadows books will be five-star books for me, but they are cozy reads that allow me to spend time with characters I love.
December 17, 2024
This was my favorite "Barnabas Collins" Dark Shadows novel so far. This one is set in the modern time of the 1960s rather than the older time periods of the previous novels starring Barnabas. It is odd how all of the supporting characters from the show are left out, and it's basically just Barnabas and an all new cast.
In this case, a movie is being filmed at Collinwood and all of the regular players have vacated until the movies over. Solid novel featuring some interesting characters.
In this case, a movie is being filmed at Collinwood and all of the regular players have vacated until the movies over. Solid novel featuring some interesting characters.
January 27, 2025
The eighth book in Ross’s Dark Shadows series, this is the first in which Barnabas Collins portrays the hero. Victoria Winters is still around to help lead us into the story and, for fans of the TV show, we get mentions of both Josette and Angelique. The idea, though, that Elizabeth would ever pack up the Collins family and remove to Vermont while leasing Collinwood to a movie production company is nonsensical.
October 3, 2017
Another book in the Dark Shadows series of Paper Library Guide books. A movie company is going to use Collinwood for it's movie so Vickie and all the others go elsewhere until that's done. Barnabas is the only one to stay behind.
Clifton Kerr is one of the actors and he's a nasty piece of work. Rita Glenn is the leading female cast member. Dr. Moreno is not a member of the company but is there anyone, supposedly giving Kerr medical help.
Angelique makes a kind of appearance, not physical but leaving the smell of violets in her wake. Rita and Barnabas fall in love. Clifton causes problems, trying to be the big shot in the movie. One thing leads to another and it turns out Dr. Moreno has a temporary cure for vampirism which he makes available to Barnabas for a price. Moreno also wants control over everyone he can and he wants to be filthy rich.
Then women start being attacked by what appears to be a vampire yet Barnabas has not attacked anyone since starting on the cure. This all leads to a major scene between Greta and Moreno, Barnabas and Greta tracking down the real person causing the attacks, police asking lots of questions and two more deaths.
It's a complex plot but it is another good book in the series except that the series seems to be having Barnabas fall in love over and over, using that theme too often.
Clifton Kerr is one of the actors and he's a nasty piece of work. Rita Glenn is the leading female cast member. Dr. Moreno is not a member of the company but is there anyone, supposedly giving Kerr medical help.
Angelique makes a kind of appearance, not physical but leaving the smell of violets in her wake. Rita and Barnabas fall in love. Clifton causes problems, trying to be the big shot in the movie. One thing leads to another and it turns out Dr. Moreno has a temporary cure for vampirism which he makes available to Barnabas for a price. Moreno also wants control over everyone he can and he wants to be filthy rich.
Then women start being attacked by what appears to be a vampire yet Barnabas has not attacked anyone since starting on the cure. This all leads to a major scene between Greta and Moreno, Barnabas and Greta tracking down the real person causing the attacks, police asking lots of questions and two more deaths.
It's a complex plot but it is another good book in the series except that the series seems to be having Barnabas fall in love over and over, using that theme too often.
September 26, 2024
Barnabas in Bracken's World
The Demon of Barnabas Collins is the eighth wonder--if not of the world--of the Dark Shadows literary universe brought to us by Dan "Marilyn" Ross. What a fun book! Hollywood comes to Collinwood! It's like a crossover with Bracken's World, the 1969-70 series about the moviemakers and their magic. Film buffs like myself will enjoy the behind-the-scenes drama of making a major motion picture. The requisite scares and thrills are underscored by several moving scenes of genuine emotion. This novel was compelling and eminently enjoyable but does require the reader to have adjusted expectations and to have embraced the Rossverse as a place foreign to the television series.
Similar to the preceding book, Barnabas had been living in London and won the heart of a young woman. Clare Duncan in 1870 and a century later it was 21-year-old ingenue actress Rita Glenn. History repeats itself and just as Rita believed and hoped marriage was looming, Barnabas ghosted on her. But fate will not be thwarted and designed to cross their paths again, Rita is now a 26-year-old rising Hollywood leading lady cast in a movie to be filmed at Collinwood. The erstwhile lovers reunite and rekindle their romance.
Barnabas' vampirism is a poorly kept secret. It is the "demon" of the title, the one with which he wrestles, and which denies him love and happiness. But Rita knows a man who may have the solution--a cure! Dr. Moreno, personal physician and agent to Clifton Kerr, a leading man whom Moreno nursed back to health from a debilitating condition (which astute readers will have picked up from Ross' clues is... vampirism!)
I didn't think Moreno could pull it off, but not only did he diagnose Barnabas but had at hand a ready-made antidote. "How conveeenient," as Dana Carvey used to say on SNL. I was surprised Barnabas didn't inquire further into how Moreno recognized so quickly the demon that beset him or with what ingredients his miraculous remedy is prepared. But in the moment, enjoying life again, enjoying daylight and love, such critical questions were pushed to the back of his mind.
It was only a rash of vampire attacks on young women that stirred Barnabas and Rita from their bliss and forced them into action since Barnabas was a prime suspect (and was admittedly guilty of at least one attack earlier in the story). That another vampire stalked Collinwood was a plot twist that elevated this novel and gave it greater impetus. Ross' misstep, however, was hammering home the climax on page 127 and leaving thirty pages yet to fill. To his credit, he ably filled them and kept me engaged, but it all felt a little like anticlimactic epilogue.
The heartbreaker ending was well done and I admit moved me to tears. As Barnabas walked away bereft and alone, I heard in my mind the heartrending closing theme of The Incredible Hulk, which never failed to drive me into the depths of despair.
It really is all-Barnabas all the time now. Victoria Winters is with us through page 17 and introduces Brad the film director to Barnabas before being unceremoniously shuffled off to Vermont for the summer with Elizabeth et al. Yeah, TV's Elizabeth would never at any price have given a Hollywood movie company free reign over Collinwood for the summer, and I admit it raised my eyebrows, but I paraphrased to myself an old movie line: "Forget it, Jake, it's Rosstown."
RANDOM THOUGHTS, OBSERVATIONS AND SPECULATIONS
In this novel, we find Barnabas living in the Old House with a deaf-mute neanderthal named Joab who is always growling, glaring maliciously, and ready to rip poor Rita to ribbons. How does the old man come by his Igors, anyway? I really missed Willy Loomis and the Odd Couple snarky barbs and bickering repartee they traded on TV.
I had reconciled myself to Hollywood occupying Collinwood and filming there until Brad was filming a scene in the Collins family cemetery and Barnabas was stoically unruffled about it, even pointing out the oldest headstones. I mean, to Brad these tombstones were just atmospheric props. But as Barnabas told Rita, "Under each of these stones lies someone I once knew. Someone who experienced passion, sorrow, joy, and ambition. Who lived their day and died as I was forbidden to do" (p. 151-52) I would think Barnabas would revolt at the sight of "wires and cables streaked in among the cemetery stones" (p. 150). Guess not.
Did you read the turgid plot of this movie on pages 11 and 12? Yeesh, what a direct-to-video dud it promised to be. A slave trader losing his wife's love to a Quaker, a slave casting a spell on him, hallucinations of a shipload of slaves attacking the trader while he's adrift at sea, and his wife now free to marry the Quaker and live happily after? It is a strange story," said Vicky in the understatement of the year.
In a surprising break from tradition, Josette is cast as the femme fatale, the jealous lover from beyond the grave. I expected Angelique, but nope. On TV, Josette showed she can play rough way back when she rescued Vicky from the hidden room, so her menacing presence isn't wholly unprecedented. And instead of jasmine, it's the scent of wild violets that indicate she's near. Why would Ross arbitrarily change that established detail?
Okay, if you thought Sgt. Sturdy was a goofy name back in The Curse of Collinwood, howzabout Inspector Freeze? Yeesh. I thought about how whenever he introduces himself everyone puts their hands up. Silly, I know, but so is that name!
Doctor Moreno played by Stan Lee, another power broker who never took off his sunglasses. Moreno was a fascinating character, even if one intent on playing Colonel Tom Parker to the rising Elvises of his day. I was recently reading the early Tarzan novels, and this passage took me right back to Burroughs: "I did not waste my years in Africa. I studied under the most expert of the voodoo practitioners and learned secrets known by no other white man. I can reverse the effects of the curse and make you a normal man" (p. 77). And whaddaya know? He did! Hmm, was Barnabas short-sighted in killing the golden goose?
Thoroughly modern Barnabas seemed on the brink of swapping his Inverness for a pair of striped bell bottoms and a buckskin jacket when he drops a couple colloquial phrases I never expected to fall from that stiff upper lip:
"He was high on blood," Barnabas said in a hard voice (p. 115).
And was Barnabas grooving on Gunsmoke Monday nights?
Rita was sobbing pitifully. "Barnabas, what are we going to do?" ...
"What I should have done in the first place. Have a showdown with Moreno" (p. 153).
The cover photograph of Barnabas holding a mallet and hawthorn stake makes sense as the story unfolds. But is that Jonathan Frid? Looks more like actor Charles Aidman with that pronounced lower lip.
Barnabas mentioned the possibility of his moving to sunny SoCal to be near Moreno. I would have enjoyed a What If... novel describing an alternate universe where Barnabas and Moreno settled their differences amicably, Barnabas married Rita and relocated to Beverly Hills. Though I guess to see that story I could just enjoy all over again the 1979 George Hamilton movie Love at First Bite and picture Barnabas and Rita disco dancing to "I Love the Night Life"!
PS only for fans of Marvel Comics' 1970's-era Daredevil. is it not likely that secretary-turned-starlet Karen Page would have known Rita Glenn, and at some posh Hollywood soiree would have introduced Matt to Rita's kid sister Heather? Makes perfect sense to me!
Onward to the ninth book in our continuing suspense series... The Foe of Barnabas Collins!
The Demon of Barnabas Collins is the eighth wonder--if not of the world--of the Dark Shadows literary universe brought to us by Dan "Marilyn" Ross. What a fun book! Hollywood comes to Collinwood! It's like a crossover with Bracken's World, the 1969-70 series about the moviemakers and their magic. Film buffs like myself will enjoy the behind-the-scenes drama of making a major motion picture. The requisite scares and thrills are underscored by several moving scenes of genuine emotion. This novel was compelling and eminently enjoyable but does require the reader to have adjusted expectations and to have embraced the Rossverse as a place foreign to the television series.
Similar to the preceding book, Barnabas had been living in London and won the heart of a young woman. Clare Duncan in 1870 and a century later it was 21-year-old ingenue actress Rita Glenn. History repeats itself and just as Rita believed and hoped marriage was looming, Barnabas ghosted on her. But fate will not be thwarted and designed to cross their paths again, Rita is now a 26-year-old rising Hollywood leading lady cast in a movie to be filmed at Collinwood. The erstwhile lovers reunite and rekindle their romance.
Barnabas' vampirism is a poorly kept secret. It is the "demon" of the title, the one with which he wrestles, and which denies him love and happiness. But Rita knows a man who may have the solution--a cure! Dr. Moreno, personal physician and agent to Clifton Kerr, a leading man whom Moreno nursed back to health from a debilitating condition (which astute readers will have picked up from Ross' clues is... vampirism!)
I didn't think Moreno could pull it off, but not only did he diagnose Barnabas but had at hand a ready-made antidote. "How conveeenient," as Dana Carvey used to say on SNL. I was surprised Barnabas didn't inquire further into how Moreno recognized so quickly the demon that beset him or with what ingredients his miraculous remedy is prepared. But in the moment, enjoying life again, enjoying daylight and love, such critical questions were pushed to the back of his mind.
It was only a rash of vampire attacks on young women that stirred Barnabas and Rita from their bliss and forced them into action since Barnabas was a prime suspect (and was admittedly guilty of at least one attack earlier in the story). That another vampire stalked Collinwood was a plot twist that elevated this novel and gave it greater impetus. Ross' misstep, however, was hammering home the climax on page 127 and leaving thirty pages yet to fill. To his credit, he ably filled them and kept me engaged, but it all felt a little like anticlimactic epilogue.
The heartbreaker ending was well done and I admit moved me to tears. As Barnabas walked away bereft and alone, I heard in my mind the heartrending closing theme of The Incredible Hulk, which never failed to drive me into the depths of despair.
It really is all-Barnabas all the time now. Victoria Winters is with us through page 17 and introduces Brad the film director to Barnabas before being unceremoniously shuffled off to Vermont for the summer with Elizabeth et al. Yeah, TV's Elizabeth would never at any price have given a Hollywood movie company free reign over Collinwood for the summer, and I admit it raised my eyebrows, but I paraphrased to myself an old movie line: "Forget it, Jake, it's Rosstown."
RANDOM THOUGHTS, OBSERVATIONS AND SPECULATIONS
In this novel, we find Barnabas living in the Old House with a deaf-mute neanderthal named Joab who is always growling, glaring maliciously, and ready to rip poor Rita to ribbons. How does the old man come by his Igors, anyway? I really missed Willy Loomis and the Odd Couple snarky barbs and bickering repartee they traded on TV.
I had reconciled myself to Hollywood occupying Collinwood and filming there until Brad was filming a scene in the Collins family cemetery and Barnabas was stoically unruffled about it, even pointing out the oldest headstones. I mean, to Brad these tombstones were just atmospheric props. But as Barnabas told Rita, "Under each of these stones lies someone I once knew. Someone who experienced passion, sorrow, joy, and ambition. Who lived their day and died as I was forbidden to do" (p. 151-52) I would think Barnabas would revolt at the sight of "wires and cables streaked in among the cemetery stones" (p. 150). Guess not.
Did you read the turgid plot of this movie on pages 11 and 12? Yeesh, what a direct-to-video dud it promised to be. A slave trader losing his wife's love to a Quaker, a slave casting a spell on him, hallucinations of a shipload of slaves attacking the trader while he's adrift at sea, and his wife now free to marry the Quaker and live happily after? It is a strange story," said Vicky in the understatement of the year.
In a surprising break from tradition, Josette is cast as the femme fatale, the jealous lover from beyond the grave. I expected Angelique, but nope. On TV, Josette showed she can play rough way back when she rescued Vicky from the hidden room, so her menacing presence isn't wholly unprecedented. And instead of jasmine, it's the scent of wild violets that indicate she's near. Why would Ross arbitrarily change that established detail?
Okay, if you thought Sgt. Sturdy was a goofy name back in The Curse of Collinwood, howzabout Inspector Freeze? Yeesh. I thought about how whenever he introduces himself everyone puts their hands up. Silly, I know, but so is that name!
Doctor Moreno played by Stan Lee, another power broker who never took off his sunglasses. Moreno was a fascinating character, even if one intent on playing Colonel Tom Parker to the rising Elvises of his day. I was recently reading the early Tarzan novels, and this passage took me right back to Burroughs: "I did not waste my years in Africa. I studied under the most expert of the voodoo practitioners and learned secrets known by no other white man. I can reverse the effects of the curse and make you a normal man" (p. 77). And whaddaya know? He did! Hmm, was Barnabas short-sighted in killing the golden goose?
Thoroughly modern Barnabas seemed on the brink of swapping his Inverness for a pair of striped bell bottoms and a buckskin jacket when he drops a couple colloquial phrases I never expected to fall from that stiff upper lip:
"He was high on blood," Barnabas said in a hard voice (p. 115).
And was Barnabas grooving on Gunsmoke Monday nights?
Rita was sobbing pitifully. "Barnabas, what are we going to do?" ...
"What I should have done in the first place. Have a showdown with Moreno" (p. 153).
The cover photograph of Barnabas holding a mallet and hawthorn stake makes sense as the story unfolds. But is that Jonathan Frid? Looks more like actor Charles Aidman with that pronounced lower lip.
Barnabas mentioned the possibility of his moving to sunny SoCal to be near Moreno. I would have enjoyed a What If... novel describing an alternate universe where Barnabas and Moreno settled their differences amicably, Barnabas married Rita and relocated to Beverly Hills. Though I guess to see that story I could just enjoy all over again the 1979 George Hamilton movie Love at First Bite and picture Barnabas and Rita disco dancing to "I Love the Night Life"!
PS only for fans of Marvel Comics' 1970's-era Daredevil. is it not likely that secretary-turned-starlet Karen Page would have known Rita Glenn, and at some posh Hollywood soiree would have introduced Matt to Rita's kid sister Heather? Makes perfect sense to me!
Onward to the ninth book in our continuing suspense series... The Foe of Barnabas Collins!
January 22, 2012
This could well have been re-titled "The Redemption of Barnabas Collins," since this is the book that humanizes the monster. In earlier installments Barnabas was just a bad guy, despite his attractive exterior. Here he's depicted as a lonely, misunderstood outsider who wants to be human again. Awwww! He also states that "he never killed when he could help it." That's a bit of a stretch, considering some of his earlier outrageous crimes, but no matter. The point is, THE DEMON OF BARNABAS COLLINS features him as a true hero for the first time. He has been saved by the love of a good woman: i.e., beautiful actress Rita Glen.
Rita wants to help Barnabas, so she introduces him to the brilliant but unorthodox Dr. Moreno. Moreno actually has a cure for vampirism although the price he demands may be too high to pay. Barnabas willingly forks over large amounts of money but will not countenance the antics of undead Clifton Kerr, Moreno's other patient, who's killing without remorse. Barnabas takes the moral high ground and ultimately stakes Kerr in a very creepy scene. I could comment on the hypocrisy of this action, all things considered. Kerr, really, has done nothing worse than what Barnabas himself used to do back in the day, right? But no one except the reader will ever notice the double standard here.
I like THE DEMON OF BARNABAS COLLINS. It has some genuinely scary moments. Rita is menaced by an ACTUAL ghost: Barnabas's dead love, Josette, who is wildly jealous of her. In one memorable cemetery scene Josette causes Rita to fall, nearly impaling herself on the spikes of an ornamental fence! That was a nice touch. And then there are interesting new characters such as the deaf-mute servant Joab...and Brad Hilton, the clever, one-eyed movie director. Good work, Dan ("Marilyn") Ross! This one's a winner.
Rita wants to help Barnabas, so she introduces him to the brilliant but unorthodox Dr. Moreno. Moreno actually has a cure for vampirism although the price he demands may be too high to pay. Barnabas willingly forks over large amounts of money but will not countenance the antics of undead Clifton Kerr, Moreno's other patient, who's killing without remorse. Barnabas takes the moral high ground and ultimately stakes Kerr in a very creepy scene. I could comment on the hypocrisy of this action, all things considered. Kerr, really, has done nothing worse than what Barnabas himself used to do back in the day, right? But no one except the reader will ever notice the double standard here.
I like THE DEMON OF BARNABAS COLLINS. It has some genuinely scary moments. Rita is menaced by an ACTUAL ghost: Barnabas's dead love, Josette, who is wildly jealous of her. In one memorable cemetery scene Josette causes Rita to fall, nearly impaling herself on the spikes of an ornamental fence! That was a nice touch. And then there are interesting new characters such as the deaf-mute servant Joab...and Brad Hilton, the clever, one-eyed movie director. Good work, Dan ("Marilyn") Ross! This one's a winner.
February 28, 2018
After 7 books which were each better than the one before, Number Eight in the series arrives with a thud. You don't read these books for the quality of the writing--they're all uniformly mediocre. You read them for the plots. This one is ludicrous, even by DS standards. Everyone from the series (except Barnabas) has left Collinwood to allow a movie studio to use the estate for a location. There's a sinister doctor who doubles as a talent agent (yes, you read that correctly). The dr/agent is forcing one of the cast members to do his will, and tries to do the same with Barnabas and the stand-in for Victoria, an actress named Rita Glenn. If I may be permitted one more thing to complain about, would it have been too much to ask "Marilyn Ross" to make sure that the antecedents for his pronouns are obvious--and to not begin chapters with such vivid lines as "For no reason she could clearly understand the sight of the man approaching her froze her with fear".
April 4, 2023
A Hollywood film crew comes to Collinwood!
The Collins family go to Vermont for the summer and lease Collinwood to a movie production company to shoot a film there. Barnabas, however, stays behind at the "Old House. " Among the arrivals is the fiftyish director, Brad Hilton, blinded in his left eye from a boxing injury years before. The actors include David Billings, C. Stanton Shaw, Clifton Kerr, and the beautiful Rita Glenn. Romance blooms between Barnabas and Rita. A mysterious doctor named Moreno seems to have a cure for Barnabas' vampirism. Will Barnabas be able to become a normal man at last? And find happiness? Events unfold quickly; blackmail, murder, ghostly visits, and what seems to be a 2nd vampire on the loose are all on the menu. Nice atmosphere and good use of secondary characters.
The Collins family go to Vermont for the summer and lease Collinwood to a movie production company to shoot a film there. Barnabas, however, stays behind at the "Old House. " Among the arrivals is the fiftyish director, Brad Hilton, blinded in his left eye from a boxing injury years before. The actors include David Billings, C. Stanton Shaw, Clifton Kerr, and the beautiful Rita Glenn. Romance blooms between Barnabas and Rita. A mysterious doctor named Moreno seems to have a cure for Barnabas' vampirism. Will Barnabas be able to become a normal man at last? And find happiness? Events unfold quickly; blackmail, murder, ghostly visits, and what seems to be a 2nd vampire on the loose are all on the menu. Nice atmosphere and good use of secondary characters.
March 19, 2019
This alone made the reading of it worthwhile:
"I'd say that Moreno died from natural causes....The coroner says there was hardly a drop of blood in his body. He must have been suffering from some debilitating disease."
Delightful!
The protagonist is a simpering dolt, but she is in love with Barnabas Collins so that's to be expected.
"I'd say that Moreno died from natural causes....The coroner says there was hardly a drop of blood in his body. He must have been suffering from some debilitating disease."
Delightful!
The protagonist is a simpering dolt, but she is in love with Barnabas Collins so that's to be expected.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2020
Did the writer change from the last few books in the series? The writing in this one is much better, more professional, smoother. Gone is the laughingly clunky exposition and dialogue. The story and characters tees are well developed. I see people marking it down because it’s “not like the tv show.” But if you look at it as a stand-alone, it’s a quite well done gothic mystery.
January 2, 2022
Another day, another beautiful woman falls in love with Barnabas Collins. This time it’s the star actress of a film that’s being shot at Collinwood. The regular cast of characters, including Victoria Winters, vacation elsewhere so the crew can have full access to the estate. Only Barnabas is left behind at the guest house, hoping to mind his own business.
So much for that.
Our heroine, who knew Barnabas from years ago and nearly married him, is excited by the chance opportunity to try again. His vampire baggage does little to dissuade her from making it work. For a time, it even seems possible. With the aid of a voodoo serum, Barnabas can live as a human again. It’s almost like he’s never thirsted for blood!
All is great until the sinister doctor raises the price on his vampire remedy. And the price is very high indeed.
This eighth installment is not peak satisfaction, but far from a disappointment either. A slow first half tests our patience, but once the voodoo doctor is introduced and another surprise villain shakes things up, the story falls into place. Enough action compliments the familiar love story that it feels like a fresh adventure. For a period it even seems like a consequential turn of events that might alter the storyline forever.
For readers who’ve made it this far into the 32-book saga, there’s little doubt The Demon of Barnabas Collins will score enough points to create desire for going on to book nine. I know that’s where I’m heading!
So much for that.
Our heroine, who knew Barnabas from years ago and nearly married him, is excited by the chance opportunity to try again. His vampire baggage does little to dissuade her from making it work. For a time, it even seems possible. With the aid of a voodoo serum, Barnabas can live as a human again. It’s almost like he’s never thirsted for blood!
All is great until the sinister doctor raises the price on his vampire remedy. And the price is very high indeed.
This eighth installment is not peak satisfaction, but far from a disappointment either. A slow first half tests our patience, but once the voodoo doctor is introduced and another surprise villain shakes things up, the story falls into place. Enough action compliments the familiar love story that it feels like a fresh adventure. For a period it even seems like a consequential turn of events that might alter the storyline forever.
For readers who’ve made it this far into the 32-book saga, there’s little doubt The Demon of Barnabas Collins will score enough points to create desire for going on to book nine. I know that’s where I’m heading!
October 27, 2019
I needed a short, easy listen for a recent promotion to earn a gift card for time spent listening to a book using an app. While browsing, I happened upon audio versions of the Marilyn Ross Dark Shadows books from back in the day. I never thought I'd see them available on audio-- certainly not 53 years after the first in the series was published. I used to collect the paperbacks, but I'd never so much as cracked the cover of a single one.
I had to try one of the audio titles. But which one?
I figured the first few would deal with plot points I was already familiar with, as a long-time fan of the series. So I chose the latest title available. Sigh. Wrong decision.
If I'd done my homework, I would have learned that this title barely had any series regulars in it, aside from Barnabas. It's basically a Barnabas romance-- or as close to romance as the sensibilities of a daytime drama in 1966 could get. At one point, our beautiful heroine goes in for a kiss, which Barnabas rebuffs with “Not on the lips.”
I knew it wouldn't be a five star read, but I was hoping for something more in the spirit of the series, and less formulaic. I did earn the gift card, though, so I'm happy.
October 1, 2020
Barnabas continues to hog the spotlight in this book series.
Vicki has a quick cameo at the beginning of the story, then her and the entire Collins clan (save Barnabas of course) are off page and out of the story. Though the ghost of Josette kind of pops up at times....
Hollywood has come to Collinwood, to film a Major Motion Picture.
Star Rita Glenn is surprised to find Barnabas Collins there. The two met in London a few years before. She thought marriage was in the cards, but Barnabas took off...
Complicating the situation is temperamental actor Clifton Kerr and his personal doctor Dr Moreno.
Throw logic out the window and this is an enjoyable story.
The familiar aspects of the Soap Opera are there...Barnabas, desperate for a cure. A doctor who may be able to cure him. Though this is no Doctor Hoffman.
Borderline silly at times, but still enjoyable.
Vicki has a quick cameo at the beginning of the story, then her and the entire Collins clan (save Barnabas of course) are off page and out of the story. Though the ghost of Josette kind of pops up at times....
Hollywood has come to Collinwood, to film a Major Motion Picture.
Star Rita Glenn is surprised to find Barnabas Collins there. The two met in London a few years before. She thought marriage was in the cards, but Barnabas took off...
Complicating the situation is temperamental actor Clifton Kerr and his personal doctor Dr Moreno.
Throw logic out the window and this is an enjoyable story.
The familiar aspects of the Soap Opera are there...Barnabas, desperate for a cure. A doctor who may be able to cure him. Though this is no Doctor Hoffman.
Borderline silly at times, but still enjoyable.
August 5, 2022
Why do vampires attract beautiful women? Barnabas still mourns for his lost-love Josette, but he has no trouble falling head over heels for every woman he crosses paths with in these novels (more like novellas).
The Demon of Barnabas Collins is an oddball story from start to finish. I take it that Daniel Ross couldn't find anything for the Collins family to do, so he shipped them off to Vermont for the summer. That's one way to sideline everyone so the new protagonist can take over the series. I can't blame the author or the publisher for putting Barnabas front and center - he's the star of Dark Shadows for a reason.
The Demon of Barnabas Collins is an oddball story from start to finish. I take it that Daniel Ross couldn't find anything for the Collins family to do, so he shipped them off to Vermont for the summer. That's one way to sideline everyone so the new protagonist can take over the series. I can't blame the author or the publisher for putting Barnabas front and center - he's the star of Dark Shadows for a reason.
July 24, 2023
Ms Ross knows her characters from the series well and portrays Barnabas Collins very well here but the storyline is frankly poorly done and the additional characters just are not believable, nor the premise of the Collins family being willing to rent out the Collinwood home and estate for two months to a movie company and they leave to Vermont, leaving Barnabas back at the Old House. The lead actress is a former love of Barnabas when he supposedly lived back in England and their love is rekindled as an evil doctor helps him control his vampirism but at a huge price. Even the ending was disappointing too. Definitely the worst in the series so far (number eight).
July 14, 2025
A "cured" Barnabas is finally able to woo his movie star lover in broad daylight (!!) but sinister forces, both corporeal and otherwise, are determined to dash the couple's happiness. Muahahaha! Despite some unfortunate printing errors (repeated sentences, upside-down text, missing words) this addition to the Dark Shadows library is actually a lot of fun. It's an effectively written high gothic/romance/horror hybrid that reads well in front of a roaring fireplace with a glass of wine and a box of chocolates. Or, as in my case, a bedside lamp and a Snickers.
June 27, 2022
A cure for Barnabas? An unpleasant doctor has a serum that makes Barnabas human again, but only for 48 hours. He initially wants only money for it, but then he sets his sights higher. Barnabas has to decide how high a price he is willing to pay to be human once again. A nice idea, but rather pedestrian writing.
September 6, 2020
A story of a contemporary effort to cure Barnabas of vampirism. This "present day" novel is an improvement over previous flashback entries in the series, but still not as entertaining as the early stories not bound to revolve around the Barnabas character.
January 13, 2022
The Demon of Bananas Collins s
I enjoyed the book. I liked it beautiful kept me in suspense, but I dis liked the part of Rita. I lime the book when it is about Elizabeth, Roger and Victoria. I would recommend it.
I enjoyed the book. I liked it beautiful kept me in suspense, but I dis liked the part of Rita. I lime the book when it is about Elizabeth, Roger and Victoria. I would recommend it.
November 10, 2022
Of all of Barnabas' girlfriends, Rita Glenn is a bore. He's the same long faced lover as ever, but the glamour of a Hollywood star does little for him. What does get interesting is the introduction of a different vampire and a possible cure! Will that thread be picked up in later books?
December 5, 2024
Like all of the Marilyn Ross Dark Shadows novels, it's clearly hastily written and a bit formulaic and doesn't mesh with the show. Still, it captures the moral complexity of Barnabas and includes some classic DS plot elements (sedatives!). All in all, a fun time for any DS fan.
February 4, 2025
A new chapter of the estate, involving only Barnabas Collins, this book is different from the previous editions. Here we meet yet another young woman in love with Barnabas, and see him struggle with a possible cure. Fun, simple, and quick to listen to!
December 2, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up. Even though the regular cast of Collinwood is not featured in this by in large, this seemed a step above some of the previous books in pacing. There is a ton of suspended belief needed for parts of the plot, but it was still fun.
March 27, 2021
Two words: too predictable.
July 18, 2022
Despite the 🙄 description of a movie being made at Collinwood, I think this turned out to be one of my favorites so far.
February 1, 2025
Listened to audiobook. Decent but the mfc needs to just give up on Barnabas 😂 She can do better!
December 20, 2025
Audiobook read by Kathryn Leigh Scott!
August 7, 2011
Compared to the last story in the Dark Shadows series, this was just an OK read - mostly the same old, same old. I felt like both books were written by two different people.
We had the usual - woman loves Barnabas, discovers what he is, tries to help him so they can spend the rest of their natural lives together, yada, yada, yada.
I hope the others in this series are better than this one was. But 8 books in, this was the only clinker so far so I guess that's OK.
We had the usual - woman loves Barnabas, discovers what he is, tries to help him so they can spend the rest of their natural lives together, yada, yada, yada.
I hope the others in this series are better than this one was. But 8 books in, this was the only clinker so far so I guess that's OK.
October 18, 2019
Marilyn Ross has a slightly different take on the progression of events that are different from the TV series. Very enjoyable, the only thing I don't like about these audio books are they set the chapters so far apart. If you need to listen to it again because you've missed something, it is usually an investment of 30 minutes of relistening which can be rather tedious as my mind can tend to wander .
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