Moose Is Home, Terror at Collinwood, and Other Fun Horrors

Mr. Moose was able to come home yesterday, though he still requires blood sugar monitoring and a battery of medications. He's eating normally and seems much more comfortable now. We're hoping he's going to do well for the duration, as we're feeling quite done with the trauma of having to take him to veterinarians both in and out of town. It's bad enough that it's so hard on him, but the financial burden is astronomical. He is family, though, and we're doing what we've gotta do under these circumstances.

 

It's a busy day all around for me. A little earlier, friend Bob Issel and I participated in a chat with Danielle Gelehrter (a.k.a. Penny Dreadful) for her Terror at Collinwood podcast. This one was about the release of Our Shadowed Past III, the massive;Dark Shadows book that Bob and I recently produced (see "Our Shadowed Past III Is in the House," November 4, 2025). It was a great conversation that ran about an hour, and it should appear online within a week. If you're at all a fan of Dark Shadows, this podcast is for you. Of course, I'll post an alert when the episode is live.

I've got another podcast at 7:00 p.m. EST this evening, this one with the Lovecraft eZine group. It's to be a discussion of Roman Polanski's classic film, The Ninth Gate. It's a favorite horror flick of mine, and Brugger and I watched it for the umpteenth time just before Halloween. I believe the movie discussion is for eZine editor Mike Davis's Patreons only, and if you're not currently subscribing to his podcasts, you really otter.

This afternoon, I'm hard at work on Freezer Burns, the newest collaboration between Elizabeth Massie and me. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we're hoping to have it finished up in the very near future.

OUR SHADOWED PAST III in the Works

To devout Dark Shadows fans, the name Bob Issel is well known. For several decades, he has hosted countless gatherings of fans, actors from both the original soap and the 1991 remake, and creative individuals who have contributed to every aspect of the franchise. In 2021, he conceived a volume of essays by both Dark Shadows fans and cast/crew members titled Our Shadowed Past, and—because Bob is a very brave man—he engaged me to do all the production work on this 300-plus-page monster (the original print run sold out, but it is currently available for Kindle). The book included my essay, "Dreams of the Dark," which detailed the many dreams and nightmares that came true during the writing of the novel, Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark (HarperCollins, 2000), by Elizabeth Massie and me, back before the turn of the century.

A couple of years back, Bob produced a second volume—you guessed it—titled Our Shadowed Past II. I wasn't available at that time to do the production work, so Bob's friend and graphics guy Jeff Kenny undertook that project. I had an essay in that one as well, titled "The Shadows of the Towers," about my adventures (and misadventures) at the first Dark Shadows Festival I ever attented, back in 1999, at the late, lamented World Trade Center in New York City.

And now, yes, there will be a third Our Shadowed Past volume. Bob Issel designed the cover and Aleah Shockley provided the art, which you can see above. And once again, because Bob is a brave and possibly foolish young man, he has engaged me to take the ball and run with it. Yep, the book is currently in the works and slated for release in late fall 2025. It includes essays about the franchise, the settings, and the actors (including interviews with original series stars Nancy Barrett, Donna McKechnie, and Christopher Pennock, and 1991 series star, Joanna Going). Plus, there's even some fan fiction.

If you'd like more information about the book or wish to place an advance order, please contact Mr. Bob Issel at bobubas59@gmail.com. Of course, I'll be posting updates and additional information closer to release time.

Coming Soon: Running Home to Shadows

On the heels of Bob Issel's Our Shadowed Past — a huge volume of essays from fans and the stars of legendary soap Dark Shadows (in which I had a hand in the production) — comes Running Home to Shadows, from Jim Beard and Becky Books. I also have a new essay in this volume, which features plenty of recollections about Dark Shadows from a host of writing professionals — plus a foreword by Dark Shadows's own Kathryn Leigh Scott.

From the editor: 

School is out, and Barnabas is IN!

They were a generation all their own, the army of children who ran home from school to watch Dark Shadows, TV’s very first supernatural soap. A breed apart, they set aside the worship of mundane pop stars to follow vampires, witches, and werewolves. From 1966 to 1971, they were daytime Monster Kids… and today they have stories to tell.

Writer-editor Jim Beard has gathered these grown-up kids together in this tome to tell those tales. Their experiences are sometimes tragic and terrifying, yet also uplifting and inspirational, but above all, Dark Shadows touched them so deeply as to leave an indelible impression on their lives that lasts to this day.

Return to Collinwood to brave the stormy nights and rainswept days of yore to listen to this coven of writers spin yarns of childhood encounters with Barnabas, Angelique, Quentin, Vicky, Maggie, and their compatriots. Cross the threshold of the Old House, take a seat by the crackling fire, and make yourself comfortable to the strains of maudlin music issuing forth from the gramophone — the ghosts of the past are about to arise in Running Home to Shadows. Won’t you join us?

Edited by Jim Beard with Charles R. Rutledge

Cover illustration by Mark Maddox with logo design and formatting by Maggie Ryel

Foreword by Kathryn Leigh Scott

Featuring essays by Greg Cox, Kathleen O’Shea David, Mark Dawidziak, Dave Dykema, Bob Freeman, Ed Gross, Nancy Holder, Tina Hunt, Katherine Kerestman, Mark Maddox (with Ed Catto), Elizabeth Massie, Kimberly Oswald, Martin Powell, Dana Pride, Stephen Mark Rainey, Michael Rogers, Charles R. Rutledge, Chris Ryan, Frank Schildiner, Duane Spurlock, and Jeff Thompson

Afterword by Rich Handley

Stay tuned for release news and ordering information.