by Herbie J Pilato
The haunting theme music plays as the lilting gothic graphic title floats across the crashing waves, and it all becomes poetic, romantic and terrific, with an emphasis on “terror” – and yet not.
Such is the opening credit sequence for Dark Shadows – a television show ahead of and before its time, present, past or parallel time.
Initially screened on ABC-TV from 1966 to 1971, Shadows was a spooky weekday soap opera that took the world of afternoon viewers by storm — literally, thanks to its coastal New England setting.