Barnabas the vampire
Barnabas the Vampire is a series of horror novels written by William Edward Daniel Ross under the pen name Marilyn Ross . The original title of the series was Dark Shadows .
series
The novels are based on the TV series Dark Shadows .
The TV series' original script did not contain any supernatural elements. The first ghosts only appeared about six months after the series began. The vampire Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid , appeared for the first time in a year . There were also werewolves, zombies, witches, wizards and other supernatural things .
A total of 32 stories about the TV series were published in the United States between 1966 and 1972. Unlike in the TV series, Barnabas appeared here early (volume 6). In the later novels, the author focused on the character of Barnabas.
In Germany, the series was published under the title Barnabas the Vampire . After a few volumes within the Gaslicht series , later novels appeared within the Vampire Horror novel . The sub-series Barnabas the Vampire was clearly identified.
There is also a novel about the film for the series ("House of Dark Shadows" by WED Ross). The film was released on DVD in Germany in 2012.
The long question of the TV series and the magazine series was also who really Victoria Winters' parents were. Ross wanted to explain this to his series, but after Victoria disappeared from the TV series, the writer was told to make the character disappear without any explanation. Because of this, the novella about her past appeared in 1993: "The Secret of Victoria Winters".
action
The series begins with an unknown girl, Victoria Winters, assuming her position as governess for the youngest member of the family (David Collins) in the small town of Collinsport. The author shows in the first volumes that Victoria is an orphan and came to Collinsport with the hope of finding out something about her identity. But the "horror" begins in the first volume, where the lover of Ernest Collins' cousin plunges into the depths of the so-called widow's hill. Her death is referred to in the following volumes, with Victoria also being in mortal danger several times.
Although Victoria starred in the first five volumes, she became only a supporting character from volume 6 onwards. Because from there the vampire Barnabas Collins is predominantly the main character.
Up until the arrival of the werewolf Quentin Collins, many of Barnabas' affairs are described in the novels, and it is also explained how it all came about; In 1795 he was engaged to Josette Collins, but the jealous West Indian witch Angelique Bouchárd made things much more difficult for him. She killed the love of his life and turned him into a vampire.
From volume 14 the werewolf Quentin Collins also plays the leading role and Victoria no longer appears, but is replaced by Maggie Evans.
Novel list
The novels appear in Germany as part of Gaslicht (GL) and Vampir Horror-Roman (VHR), two series of novels published by Erich-Pabel-Verlag .
# | Original title | United States | German title | D. | |
01 | Dark shadows | 1966 | The widow's hill | 1973 | GL 60 |
02 | Victoria Winters | 1967 | No mercy for Victoria | 1981 | GL 470 |
03 | Stranger at Collins House | 1967 | The stranger in the Collins house | 1977 | GL 245 |
04 | The Mystery of Collinwood | 1968 | The house above the death cliff | 1981 | GL 485 |
05 | The Curse of Collinwood | 1968 | |||
06 | Barnabas Collins | 1969 | His first victim | 1977 | VHR 211 |
07 | The Secret of Barnabas Collins | 1969 | The blood festival on the cliffs | 1977 | VHR 215 |
08 | The Demon of Barnabas Collins | 1969 | When the bird of death complains | 1977 | VHR 223 |
09 | The Foe of Barnabas Collins | 1969 | The werewolf and the witch | 1977 | VHR 219 |
10 | The Phantom and Barnabas Collins | 1969 | The crypt of the phantoms | 1977 | VHR 227 |
11 | Barnabas Collins Versus the Warlock | 1969 | |||
12 | The Peril of Barnabas Collins | 1969 | The blood count | 1977 | VHR 231 |
13 | Barnabas Collins and the Mysterious Ghost | 1970 | The vampire and the dancer | 1974 | VHR 068 |
14th | Barnabas Collins and Quentin's Demon | 1970 | |||
15th | Barnabas Collins and the Gypsy Witch | 1970 | |||
16 | Barnabas, Quentin and the Mummy's Curse | 1970 | |||
17th | Barnabas, Quentin and the Avenging Ghost | 1970 | The devil woman from Collinwood | 1978 | VHR 253 |
18th | Barnabas, Quentin and the Nightmare Assassin | 1970 | Hunt for werewolves | 1977 | VHR 238 |
19th | Barnabas, Quentin and the Crystal Coffin | 1970 | |||
20th | Barnabas, Quentin and the Witch's Curse | 1970 | |||
21st | Barnabas, Quentin and the Haunted Cave | 1970 | The spirit cave | 1978 | VHR 245 |
22nd | Barnabas, Quentin and the Frightened Bride | 1970 | |||
23 | Barnabas, Quentin and the Scorpio Curse | 1970 | |||
24 | Barnabas, Quentin and the Serpent | 1971 | |||
25th | Barnabas, Quentin and the Magic Potion | 1971 | |||
26th | Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers | 1971 | |||
27 | Barnabas, Quentin and Dr Jekyll's Son | 1971 | |||
28 | Barnabas, Quentin and the Grave Robbers | 1971 | |||
29 | Barnabas, Quentin and the Sea Ghost | 1971 | |||
30th | Barnabas, Quentin and the Mad Magician | 1971 | |||
31 | Barnabas, Quentin and the Hidden Tomb | 1971 | |||
32 | Barnabas, Quentin and the Vampire Beauty | 1972 |
swell
- Jochen Bärtle: Grusel, Grüfte, Groschenhefte , BoD, Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-4043-2
- Thomas König Geisterwald catalog. Bibliography of the German booklet novels . König, Berlin 2000-2001
- Volume 1: Horror, Scary and Mystery . 2000, ISBN 3-89811-741-3
- Jörg Weigand: pseudonyms. A lexicon , Nomos, Baden-Baden 2000, ISBN 3-7890-6906-X
- Alan Morton: The Complete Directory to Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Television Series , Other World Books, Peoria 1997, ISBN 0-9657358-0-X
- Interview with Marilyn Ross on collinwood.net