Land of Bliss and Shadow

  Chapter 11 sketch: Just some Fall oak branches blowing in the wind and rain.  Though Maine was known for the stout oak trees that were used to build revolutionary war-era sailing ships and grand homes like Collinwood, there didn't seem to be a lot of oak trees in the forest outside of the Great House.  At least not as many as the deadly nightshade shrubs that Angelique was quick to find. Chapter 12 heading sketch: It was hard to catch an un-fuzzy view of these candlesticks that graced the Old House's parlor mantlepiece, so some creative license was in order.  This is my favorite sketch of the bunch. Chapter 12 end sketch: The pattern of the grand entrance doors to Seaview Terrace (Carey Mansion), reimagined on the studio set of the  Collinwood foyer.   

 An image of an antique brass 19th Century inkwell set I found on the internet.  It seemed to me like the ornate style of inkwell that Barnabas's family might have had in the Old House.  I didn't get it quite right.

 This is an easy one!  These doors occur in two places: In the real Seaview Terrace (aka Carey Mansion) dining room in Newport, RI: And an interpretation of them on the DS set as the Collinwood drawing room doors.  You know - the ones that everyone closes for privacy but that anyone in the foyer can hear through:

  Yes, it's just a doomed string of pearls, but... ...it COULD be this string of pearls:

Of course the sketch from Chapter 6 was just a sand dollar with no particular magical qualities other than the miracle of marine life.  But Chapter 7 - now that object is quite special.  There are several throughout the lower floor of Seaview Terrace:  Beautiful and unique reflective wall sconces with candelabra bulbs; works of art that seem almost like stained glass. Annette Gordon, you knew the answer!  Wall sconces in the Music Room (and Breakfast Room). Photo by Gregory Drew

Chapter 5  Header Sketch  We have seen Barnabas Collins staring through these bay windows many times - in reverie, in grief, in waiting, in telepathic communication with his victims: My interpretation of the Old House drawing room entrance and bay window floor plan.  My inspiration was Sy Tomashoff's set sketches and Dark Shadows TV Series scenes:

Ch apter 4 Heading Sketch : Even though Collinwood is chock full of ships models in every era and parallel time band and Mrs. Johnson is tired of dusting them, this sketch is not from any of them.  It's an interpretation of the ship that Hannah sees, based on an illustration in the book The Encyclopedia of Ships , edited by Tonty Gibbons, Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, CA. Credit:  Dark Shadows TV Series screen capture The Dinkus riddle solved: Cincy Merritt Yeats you got it right!   Disembarking in the Seaview Terrace porte cochere you gain admittance through the heavy carved oak double doors to the foyer.  The iron gates are grudgingly opened for you by Mrs. Johnson, who ushers you into the two-story high great hall,.  She asks you to wait for Mrs. Stoddard to greet you. To your left are the marble stairs, the arched whispering gallery and the upper floor's carved wood balcony.  To your right, the triple stained glass windows.  Directly ahead lie...

 Chapter 3 Heading Sketch : I bet a lot of you will recognize this when you scroll down to see a screen capture from the early black and white episode 236 of Dark Shadows. Dark Shadows Old House set:  Josette's room Guess the Dinkus Clue: The dinkus is a detail from an object somewhere in Seaview Terrace/The Carey Mansion.  If you have ever been inside, you have walked under this object several times.   Which room?  What object?

  Chapter 2 Heading sketch : Kudos to Mick Massey over at the Facebook group Fans of Carey Mansion/Seaview Terrace - Historic Treasure for guessing it first! My interpretation (meaning I don't think I got it quite right) of one of the crystals from the absolutely gorgeous central drawing room chandelier in The Old House.   -Exact source of screen cap not known The Dinkus : I just discovered through the magic of the internet that a section break within a chapter, like this: **** Is called a dinkus.  What a funny word! This is a really tough one:  See if you can guess where my dinkus (dinkuses?  dinki?) are from: I'll give a hint with the answer for Chapter 3, coming next week.

Guess the Sketch:   Answers from Chapter 1!   Chapter 1 heading and Synopsis: Synopsis: This sketch is from the parapet of the Spratt Mansion, which no longer exists.  It is The Old House. This photograph is from hudsonvalleyruins.org: If you really want to geek out, you can see from the graph paper I drew the sketch on that the proportions of each of the three sections is 3 (high) to 5 (long).  The proportion 3:5 is one of the ratios of the Golden Mean or Golden Ratio, used extensively in classical architecture.  The Golden Mean is based on the Fibonacci Sequence of prime numbers (1,2,3,5,7, etc.) and found just about everywhere in nature.  The most famous examples are the chambered nautilus and the sunflower. Chapter 1 Heading : Ok, I admit this initial one is pretty obscure, probably the most obscure reference in all 12 chapters.  I imagined it as one of the posts of the open gate that Hannah drove through to get to the great house of Coll...

 The Hill and the House Guess the Sketch, and Chapter 2 Let's have some fun!  Are you familiar with the real settings for Dark Shadows?  The TV series sets?  Each chapter heading of my story has a sketch that reflects some feature in that chapter.  It could be from, or inspired by, one or more of these sources.  For example, Seaview Terrace was the inspiration for several elements of the Dark Shadows sets, and of course its exterior was "Collinwood." In the Comments section, go ahead and take a guess at the sketch in Chapter 1.  I'll reveal the answer when I post Chapter 3 next week.   Is it: A. From the real Seaview Terrace (Carey Mansion / "Collinwood"), and if so - for extra credit - what is it and where on the estate? B. From the real Spratt Mansion, no longer in existence ("The Old House"), and if so, what is it and where on the estate? C. From the Dark Shadows TV Series sets - and for extra credit, what and where? D. A different source ...