David Collins and Mrs. Johnson were making yet another unsuccessful attempt to contact the ghosts of Collinwood with the Ouija Board that Burke Devlin had sent the boy. 

It was unsuccessful because Mrs. Johnson wasn't doing it right.  She was pushing it and David knew she was and several times he had spoken up about it, but she always assured him that that was not the case.  Sarah Johnson did not believe in such things as Ouija Boards and the only reason she participated and encouraged David in his endeavors was that she knew that Roger Collins would disapprove.  And since she had no faith in the board and she did not believe in ghosts she pushed the marker. 

She only wanted to have things spell out that would be pleasing to the boy or so she thought.  They had been going at it for about an hour and David was getting more and more disinterested.  He only kept asking her to help him because he thought that eventually she may do it right, and she was the only person in the house who would do it with him.  David had asked a question.  "What direction is my life about to take?"  And they had sat there and sat there and whenever he felt that Mrs. Johnson was going to push he would hold the pointer firm so they were getting nowhere.  David removed his fingers from the pointer and turned his head towards the window.  Sarah was just about to let go of the pointer too when it suddenly moved quickly upwards and to the left and this time she had not pushed it.  She gasped in horror. 

David looked back at her and said, "What's wrong, Mrs. Johnson?  Did something happen?"  Mrs. Johnson didn't tell David what had just taken place.  For one thing she wasn't sure it had really.  Maybe she was just tired and she had had a hand spasm. 

After all such things as this were not possible she said to herself, but not as convincingly as she was accustomed to.  "The only thing wrong is that it's past your bedtime and I have too much to do to keep playing this game with you." 

David hated to go to bed.  "It's not a game!  It's real.  It's really real and if you would do it right the ghosts would tell us all sorts of things!  And then you'd see!" 

Mrs. Johnson would have no arguement and it was into bed with the young master.  She was just about to turn off the lights and close the door when her eye was drawn back to the Ouija Board on David's desk.  She told herself again that it was complete and utter nonsense that the pointer had moved on it's own.  She told herself that there was no way that that pointer could have moved by itself from the bottom of the board all the way to the upper left corner without her doing it herself.  There was no way the pointer could have rested over the image of the sun.  It was impossible.

Roger Collins tore the telegram open and muttered outloud.  "I wonder what the bad news is this time?  He looked over the message and his face went a bit pale and then he got a very angry look in his eyes.  He stood up and moved to the bar to make a drink.  He still held the telegram in his left hand and he set it down on the bar. 

"What it is, Uncle Roger?  IS it bad?" 

Roger replied as he fixed himself a triple bourbon.  "Oh, no.  It's not just bad.  It it apocalyptic!  Here, let me read it to you.  'Am arriving in the morning.  I will be staying at the Collinsport Inn.  Please come see me tomorrow.  I have a surprise for you.'  And it's signed, Laura Collins."  He picked up the tumbler and shot the drink down in one gulp.

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.