Step Onto the ‘Dark Shadows’ Set: 12 Rare Photos of Barnabas Collins and Cast Between Takes

For a generation of viewers in the late 1960s, Dark Shadows was a daily ritual of chills, romance, and gothic glamour accompanied by the common proclamation, “I used to run home from school to watch it every day.”

Airing on ABC from 1966 to 1971, the series broke every rule of daytime television. It introduced vampires, ghosts, witches, time travel, parallel universes—and in doing so, redefined what serialized storytelling could be. But beyond the supernatural thrills and Victorian melodrama, there was a group of hardworking actors, inventive craftspeople and overworked crew members who brought the eerie world of Collinwood to life, often under the pressure of live-to-tape production schedules and minuscule budgets. In all, 1,225 episodes were produced (as well as two feature films, 1970’s House of Dark Shadows and 1971’s Night of Dark Shadows).

At the center of it all was Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, the reluctant vampire who arrived a year into the show’s run and became its most iconic figure. His presence transformed Dark Shadows from cult curiosity into a national sensation. But Frid was never alone. He was surrounded by a talented and versatile cast—including Joan Bennett, Alexandra Moltke, Kathryn Leigh Scott, David Selby, Nancy Barrett, Louis Edmonds, Grayson Hall and countless others (including Kate Jackson in her debut!)—who slipped in and out of period costumes, alternate timelines and wildly imaginative plotlines.

This collection of behind-the-scenes photos offers a rare glimpse into that hidden world—what the camera didn’t capture during the broadcast but what fans always longed to see: A makeup artist applying vampire pallor, Joan Bennett reclining regally between takes, David Selby and Nancy Barrett chatting in the shadows of the Collinwood drawing room or Grayson Hall, cigarette in hand, embodying cool intensity even off-script.

Step through the doors of Collinwood once more—and this time, see the shadows from the other side of the camera.

1. Behind the Curtain at Collinwood

Jonathan Frid confers with producer Robert Costello between takes on the Dark Shadows set. Frid’s transformation from reluctant soap actor to gothic icon was shaped as much by his performance as by the guidance of Costello and others, who helped steer the show through its most creatively ambitious periods.

2. Flashback in fashion

Kathryn Leigh Scott, striking a pose as 18th-century tragic heroine Josette du Pres, takes a break from the moody corridors of Collinwood during the 1795 flashback storyline. Far removed from Josette’s ghostly fate, Scott’s off-screen style captures the playful mod flair of late ’60s fashion—complete with flared sleeves, suede knickers, and a fireplace worthy of any Gothic mansion.

3. Glamour in the ‘Shadows’

Joan Bennett, the regal presence behind Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, sits patiently in the makeup chair as final touches are applied before filming a 1970 episode of Dark Shadows. A former Hollywood leading lady whose career spanned noir classics and Technicolor dramas, Bennett brought old-school gravitas to the gothic soap.

4. Back to 1897: shadows and schemes at Collinwood

Joan Bennett, Humbert Allen Astredo, and David Selby rehearse a scene on the  Collinwood set during the 1897 flashback storyline—one of Dark Shadows’ most ambitious and beloved time-travel arcs. Bennett, always a stately presence, returns as Judith Collins, while Astredo’s scheming Evan Hanley and Selby’s tormented Quentin Collins push the gothic melodrama to operatic heights. The visible ABC camera serves as a reminder that, despite the show’s supernatural themes, Dark Shadows was filmed live-to-tape on a breakneck daytime schedule.

5. Jonathan Frid and friend (or should that be fiend?)

Jonathan Frid, whose portrayal of Barnabas Collins redefined daytime television, is framed beneath a looming image of Bela Lugosi’s Count Dracula—his pop culture predecessor and spiritual shadow. This striking composition underscores Dark Shadows’ gothic lineage, drawing a direct line from Universal horror to ABC’s groundbreaking supernatural soap. While Lugosi embodied old-world menace, Frid brought introspection and tragedy to the vampire mythos, turning Barnabas into a tormented antihero.

6. From governess to glamour

Alexandra Moltke, who brought dignity and empathy to Victoria Winters on Dark Shadows, poses for a high-fashion shoot that reveals a very different side of the actress—one draped in fur and surrounded by exotic textures. Quite a different view of Victoria than viewers were used to.

7-9. Becoming Barnabas

With his eyes closed and face tilted upward, Jonathan Frid submits to the transformative ritual of vampire-making. The signature ghostly pallor of Barnabas Collins begins here, under the practiced hand of the Dark Shadows makeup team. Frid once joked that the heavy makeup made him feel embalmed—appropriate, perhaps, for a 175-year-old undead gentleman.

Frid, in full focus as his hair is styled into Barnabas’s tidy, Victorian side-part, slips further into character. The offscreen persona may have been gentle and cerebral, but the actor’s intense gaze in the mirror reveals a man preparing to channel one of television’s most tragic and brooding vampires.

With a mischievous grin, Jonathan Frid shows off Barnabas’ infamous fangs. Known for his dry wit and self-awareness, Frid often embraced the theatricality of his undead alter ego, understanding that part of Barnabas’ appeal came from walking the line between classic horror and gothic soap opera excess.

10. Conversation in ‘Shadows’

David Selby, Jonathan Frid, and Nancy Barrett gather in a quiet moment on the Dark Shadows set, caught mid-conversation under the dim glow of studio lights. Selby’s brooding Quentin Collins, Frid’s tormented Barnabas and Barrett’s many incarnations—from the sweet Carolyn Stoddard to the tragic Pansy Faye—helped anchor the series’ surreal blend of horror, melodrama, and romance.

11. Vampires and cigarettes

Jonathan Frid and Grayson Hall pause on the set of 1970’s House of Dark Shadows, surrounded by cast, crew, and the trappings of a moody gothic atmosphere. Frid, still in character as the undead Barnabas Collins, clutches a cigarette, while Hall—ever composed in her stylish scarf and signature eyeliner—exudes theatrical calm before another take. Shot on location at Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York, the film marked the franchise’s leap from daytime TV into bloodier, more cinematic territory.

12. ‘Dark Shadows’ reunion

Dark Shadows cast members reunited in November, 1982. Seated are John Karlen, Barbara Cason and husband Dennis Patrick and Jonathan Frid. Standing behind them are Jerry Lacy, Denise Nickerson and Michael Stroka.