The Scooby-Doo/DARK SHADOWS Connection

Growing up, I’d seen Collinwood, the sprawling mansion that served as home to the Collins family in DARK SHADOWS, and never even knew it. DARK SHADOWS went off the air in the spring of 1971. I was born a few months later. As none of the local stations (we only had a handful, representing the three basic networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC, as well as an independent station that went on the air when I was in middle school) aired reruns of the series, I had only heard about it, read about it in old issues of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND. Even so, I saw Collinwood every Saturday morning.

The haunted house shown in the opening credits of SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU?, right as the bats fly past and just before the theme song begins, is the cartoon version of Collinwood, modeled after Seaview Terrace, the real house that served as Collinwood for the original DARK SHADOWS series.

(All interior shots were filmed on a soundstage.) I never knew it. In fact I only recently learned of this. Though I have now watched the entire run of DARK SHADOWS, I never recognized the grand house of Collinwood in its cartoon form. The Kingston Mansion, as it was called in the cartoon, was the setting for the Scooby-Doo episode “What the Hex is Going On?” Keep in mind that the original Scooby cartoons debuted in 1969, when DARK SHADOWS was at the height of its popularity, so it isn’t surprising to learn that Collinwood would make an appearance, as would Barnabas Collins, although he wore the disguise of “Elias Kingston” in that episode.

By TheCheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS, specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced, and directed (and occasionally acted in) over two dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and True Crime genres. He obtained a doctorate in Occult Studies from Miskatonic University and is an active paranormal investigator. Is frequently told he resembles Anton Lavey. And Ming the Merciless. Denn die totden reiten schnell!

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