Customer Reviews

Dark Shadows Memories

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"Dark Shadows Memories" - by Kathryn Leigh Scott
A Review - by Tim Choate

This book is an updated version of the Kathryn Leigh Scott's
1986 book, "My Scrapbook Memories of Dark Shadows."

"Dark Shadows Memories" contains the following:

1. Acknowledgements and A Table Of Contents
2. A Foreword - by Alexandra Moltke (Victoria Winters)
3. My Memories of Dark Shadows - by Kathryn Leigh Scott
4. A Conversation With David Henesy (David Collins)
5. The Dark Shadows Story - by Kathleen Resch
(a synopsis of all the plots)
6. A "House of Dark Shadows" plot summary (the first DS movie)
7. A "Night of Dark Shadows" plot summary (the second DS movie)
8. The Museum of Televion & Radio Tribute to Dark Shadows (03-08-01)
9. The Legend of Dark Shadows - Jim Pierson
10. Behind The Scenes Photo Gallery
11. Episode Guide - by Ann Wilson

Approximately 6 X 9 inches, 302 pages plus 16 pages for the
Acknowledgements, Table Of Contents and Foreward.

Her original book, "My Scrapbook Memories of Dark Shadows"
contained the following:

1. Acknowledgements & Table Of Contents
2. Dark Shadows Memories - by Kathryn Leigh Scott
3. Pictures From The Album
4. The Dark Shadows Story (a synopsis of all the plots)
5. The "House Of Dark Shadows" plot summary (the first DS movie)
6. The Dark Shadows Cast (Performer, Character and Time Period)
7. The Dark Shadow Staff & Crew
8. In Memoriam

Approximately 7 X 9.75 inches, 152 pages. Thick glossy paper.

What's new in "Dark Shadows Memories":

1. Added a Foreword by Alexandra Moltke
2. Slightly revised and updated her Dark Shadows Memories article
3. Added an interview with David Henesy (done via email)
4. Slightly revised the Dark Shadows Story
(a synopsis of all the plots)
5. Edited "The House of Dark Shadows" movie summary (much better)
6. Added "The Night Of Dark Shadows" movie summary
(it was barely mentioned in the original book)
7. Added "The Museum of Television & Radio Tribute To Dark Shadows." There are pictures, a summary and comments made by the Dark Shadows stars at the event. (March 8, 2001)
8. Added a short article by Jim Pierson detailing the many facets of Dark Shadows: the show itself, the merchandise, spanish versions of the episodes, the Sci-Fi Channel adding Dark Shadows to it's schedule and the recent tribute mentioned above.
9. Added "The Episode Guide" by Ann Wilson. It is available as a separate book from Kathryn Leigh Scott's publishing company, Pomegranate Press. It has been edited and included as part of this book, leaving out who did the voiceovers for each episode, ABC-TV's volume number for each episode, and the MPI video volume number for each episode.

The "Dark Shadows Cast" and "Dark Shadows Staff & Crew" listings have been removed along with the "In Memoriam" list but that's because all of that information is now in her book, "The Dark Shadows Almanac."

All of the pictures in Dark Shadows Memories are new - literally hundreds - some in color but her first book, "My Scrapbook Memories of Dark Shadows" was on a much higher quality of paper and that made all of the pictures breathtakingly beautiful. Her new book uses a lower grade of paper and although the pictures look very good, they are still a slight disappointment. But I suspect that the cost of doing a book like that now made using the higher grade of paper out of the question.

In conclusion, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND her new book, "Dark Shadows Memories."

"My Scrapbook Memories of Dark Shadows" is now unfortunately out-of-print. There is always the chance that someone might sell there copy but most likely at a very high price.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It's got some lovely photos that I've not seen before; the color ones are especially worth the purchase of the book. However, I strongly feel that this could have been a better effort by Pomegranite Press.

There's an episode guide which contains not only a one or two sentence synopsis of each episode but also a listing of the characters, writer and director involved in each.

The history of the show has been seen elsewhere, but it fits and it's worth the read if you don't happen to have the out-of-print books in which it was first published. I prefer the original version of the history which was written with more awareness of the absurdities to which the show was often subject.

Ms Scott has obviously made some much-needed corrections to her narrative that first appeared in "My Scrapbook Memories of Dark Shadows," but there are still any number of factual mistakes. They detract.

The paper quality and the black and white photos could have been better considering the price of the book.

Still, this has quite a few plums for anyone interested in Dark Shadows or certain facets of television history.

Pomegranate Press has chronicled and paid tribute to the "Dark Shadows" mythos for nearly 15 years now, and as the 35th Anniversary of the show draws close, "Dark Shadows Memories" becomes the latest in a long line of commemorative tomes.

The book is made up of cast remembrances and factual commentary, including a lengthy excerpt from Kathryn Leigh Scott's long out-of-print memoir, "My Scrapbook Memories of Dark Shadows". Scott speaks with warmth and anecdotal wit, feeling encouraged to comment warmly of the series that launched her career. This is an unashamedly subjective overview of the series, written with gratitude and nostalgia, leisurely trawling through happy times, but still manages to offer some occasional surprises along the way.

Perhaps the most interesting element of the book is its subtle shift in tone from its predecessors. Whereas past books have taken a firmly reverent, nostalgic look at the actors and their lives, this book seems more willing to acknowledge some of the disappointments and pain that the "Dark Shadows" cast also faced. Alexandra Moltke sets the tone in her foreword, in her comments about Thayer David. Presented warmly, but with pragmatism, they emerge as a commendation for the actor, delivered without malice or judgement.

Similarly, David Henesy's contribution shares a welcome candour with readers, delivering healthy doses of nostalgia and gossip with aplomb. Where previous books tiptoe coyly around sensitive areas, David gleefully shares stories of cosmetic surgery and narcotic substances with moments of genuine insight. In many ways, his contribution is the highlight of this book, and thus seems frustratingly brief. His memories are vivid and detailed, and he clearly has a lot of unique things to say about the "Dark Shadows" phenomenon. I hope that he will be encouraged to share some more memories soon.

Complimenting the text is an excellent range of previously unpublished photographs, married with two sumptuously reproduced colour inserts. The colour sections are made up of full-page portrait shots of the actors, with some genuinely stunning treasures included.

Around a third of the text is composed of episode synopses and plot summaries, which seem to jar oddly with the more emotional, nostalgic material elsewhere. For many fans, these sections will seem superfluous, such information having already been made available in several other books. However, for new devotees freshly drawn in from SciFi Channel reruns, they will probably be gratefully accepted.

Ultimately, the book scores most strongly when it concentrates on people and their stories, which prove far more compelling than any episode guide. And by letting these stories play in a more pragmatic, less sugar-coated way, they prove genuinely illuminating. On that note alone, "Dark Shadows Memories" claims a place as one of the most important books published about the series, and it would be rewarding to see future "Dark Shadows" references build on this promise.

This is a great book for those wanting to learn more about "Dark Shadows", whether the show is new to you or you're rediscovering it after years of last seeing it. Behind-the-scenes information, a short synopsis for each episode, and memories of the other cast members by the author. Kathryn Leigh Scott really enjoyed her time on the show, and it comes through in the book as she talks about the hectic shooting schedules, almost with a fondness. It's nice to read that over 30 years later she is still friends with her "Shadows" co-stars. How many people can say they are friends with their ex-co-workers after that many years? I recommend this book to anyone who ever had or still has a fondness for the show.

I found the book enjoyable, especially the David Hennessy interview. He was candid, humorous and insightful into the people he worked with as a child. It would be nice for him to write a book expanding more on his memories + what it was like to be a child actor in NYC in the 60s-70s. It would also be a fun movie idea if you ask me. . .from his perspective, working on this crazy show with actors who 'lived' the life. Observing all the craziness of the fans, the hysteria. . .

I would like to see a future DS book catalogue more of the crazy stories we've heard over the years. This one was a rehash of earlier Memories books and the attempts to explain the DS storylines (convoluted as it was).

R Jamison

This is just one of the best books I've ever read on Dark Shadows. Kathryn writes brilliantly on her time in the show, describing the marvellously. Reading the various anecdotes made me wish I was there when the show was originally broadcast and there were a lot of stories I'd never heard. A great shame it has never been shown properly in the U.K. - thank goodness I've got the videos! Well recommended for anyone who loves Dark Shadows or fans of cult tv-programmes who are curious about this series.

This book was well worth the wait! And it would have been well worth the money if it contained nothing else than the incisive interview with David Henesy that forms the emotional centerpiece of Dark Shadows Memories. He was the little boy in the Collins mansion who always gave me the creeps, he and his sister were obviously being coached to channel Miles and Flora in Henry James' TURN OF THE SCREW, and he has a great memory for details of his life as a child actor and an obvious relish for remembering his brief period of stardom, that makes the interview as delightful as it is penetrating. Kathryn Leigh Scott, who was appearing with the two Dark Shadows features recently at a horror weekend at the famous Castro Theater in San Francisco, has her own memories as well, but for some reason they don't seem as vital and hard-edged as that of the unnervingly possessed (in every sense) little boy who was the heart and soul of the soap.

This interview took place a number of years ago, when Henesy was a grown man and (according to Kathryn Leigh Scott) a successful New York restauranteur. Wonder what he's doing now? I loved his story about his chain smoking (at, what, age nine or ten), with the little girl who played his sister sister out on the New York fire escape, and how nobody ever called him on it. Sounds like he hadn't a chaperone or a tutor, but he had the native smarts that allowed him to realize that Joan Bennett's heavy signature perfume, "Jungle Gardenia," was strong enough to hide the tobacco smoke. The kids also whipped up tuna casserole in their dressing room and sold it to the older cast members--a bit more sophisticated than the Koolaid stands in my neighborhood.

This book incidentally tells the whole story of Dark Shadows, though understandably it skips the sad last days a bit, for Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans) decamped early, in order to try her wings in London. There's an appendix listing all 1,245 episodes of the long running serial which, now that Twilight is a certified hit, will continue to entertain lovers of the supernatural (and fine acting) for generations to come.

A little inferior to the DS Almanac 2000 that came out last year in terms of info. Not as much in this book. There are mistakes also (like in DS Almanac 2000). On page 3 Kathryn Leigh Scott claims her first words ever on Dark Shadows were "You're a jerk..". Actually in the first Dark Shadows ep Scott ever appeared in she first said "Roast beef rare and coffee right". Then she said "You are also a jerk".

Beautiful Alexandra Moltke (who played Vicki Winters on DS) is 15th to 20th cousins with former German Chief of staff Helmuth von Moltke. Helmuth was Chief back in World War One. Dark Shadows Memories neglects to mention this fact about beautiful Alexandra. Also, this books makes other mistakes, including not mentioning Josette Collins' original maiden last name: La Freniere!

Dark Shadows Memories is a great read for fans of the original 60th's show. It is filled with some wonderful photos or the cast. A rare interview with David Henesy. It also has a full episode guide. Very enjoyable.