51 years ago today, the final episode of Dark Shadows aired on ABC. It aired from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The series became hugely popular when vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) appeared a year into its run. Dark Shadows also featured werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe.

Yes, the beloved Dark Shadows,” was a must-see event every weekday at 4:00 PM in NYC. Although, I hated how Dan Curtis ended the show with characters nobody cared about, like the insufferable “Bramwell” Collins, the obnoxious Morgan Collins and the bland Catherine Harridge in 1840 Parallel Time.

What I think most DS fans wanted to see at the end show was Barnabas, Willie, Dr. Hoffman, Maggie, Angelique and the rest of the beloved contemporary DS characters.

Several years later, I saw the great Joan Bennett on a local tv show and someone asked Ms. Bennett why DS had been cancelled. Ms. Bennett replied that the DS writers had simply run out of ideas.

Requiem aeternam, Dark Shadows.

Loved that show when I was kid. I used to watch it every summer and during the school year I'd only get to see the last 10 minutes of the show.

Remember that sad day forever. I was inconsolable. :(