The day before her wedding, Elizabeth makes a decision and spends time with her family before taking a walk at Widows' Hill at night.

Synopsis

Teaser

My name is Victoria Winters. Near the ancient walls of Collinwood, there are cliffs that project upwards for hundreds of feet from the turbulent sea below. Some say the cliffs are haunted, for three women have died here. And yet, according to the legend, their spirits remain, lingering to beckon another to her death. One desperate woman has become obsessed by this legend, for she is beginning to believe that she is destined to fulfill it...destined to die on the rocks below the cliffs, summoned there by voices beyond the grave.

Elizabeth is in her room, looking at the Collins Family Bible. She gets up and opens it, then turns to the back, to the record of births and looks at her entry, Elizabeth Collins, born February 28, 1917. She closes it and asks herself "What am I doing?" then goes to the window, where she hears the Widows calling her.

Act I

Elizabeth latches the window shut, then paces until Victoria comes in, asking if she can take David to Bangor to get some new clothes. Elizabeth asks if she could put it off, but Victoria says it is so beautiful out today. Elizabeth asks about tomorrow and Victoria starts to say something, then Elizabeth bitterly remembers that she is supposed to get married tomorrow. Elizabeth says she hasn't seen much of David and would like to spend the day with him. Roger shows up asking to speak to Elizabeth. She tells Victoria she should take the day off. Victoria objects that Elizabeth will have her day quite full, planning for her wedding, but Elizabeth says she will have plenty of time. She tells Victoria that if she sees Carolyn, to tell her she wants to see her. Once Victoria leaves, Roger tells Elizabeth her lawyer called and said he had been instructed to look over Elizabeth's will, and asks her why. Elizabeth asks what is unusual about checking over her will before she marries and Roger asks if she is planning on changing it to favor her husband-to-be. Elizabeth says Carolyn and David are and shall remain her legal heirs. Roger is relieved, but says he still does not believe she wants to marry Jason. Elizabeth says she does not want to go into that argument again. Roger tells her it is not too late to back out, but Elizabeth says she does not want to back out, that she won't back out, and that is the last she wants to hear on the subject. Roger spies the Bible and asks why she has it. Elizabeth says she wanted to record her marriage date, but Roger reminds her nothing was ever recorded there until after the fact. After he leaves, she goes to the Bible and says "Later!"

Act II

David comes into Elizabeth's bedroom, asking why he and Victoria can't go to Bangor today. He is upset they can't go to the movies. Elizabeth says he can go to Bangor if he doesn't want to spend the day with her and David changes his mind. David says they can take a walk on the beach, and he will show her a cove on the rocks no one else knows about, but she has to keep it a secret. They talk and Elizabeth tells him he means more to her than almost anybody else. David asks her if she is going somewhere, because she is talking like she is leaving. She tells him she will meet him downstairs after he gets his coat and hugs him.

Act III

That evening, in the drawing room, Elizabeth is closing a window when she hears Carolyn returning home from a date with Buzz. Elizabeth tries to tell Carolyn how much she loves her and how Carolyn has been the center of her life since she was born, but Carolyn returns every loving statement with a comment about Elizabeth's impending marriage and her life with Jason. Carolyn finally flounces to the couch and tells Elizabeth that if she wants her consent, she has it. Carolyn finally gets to Elizabeth and tries to go to bed, but Elizabeth stops her. Carolyn asks why her mother keeps talking about the past and Elizabeth says she wants Carolyn to remember how things were. Carolyn tells her mother she is acting strangely, and Carolyn says they should go to bed, as tomorrow is a big day. Elizabeth starts to walk out, but before she leaves, she turns to look at Carolyn, who feels her mother's gaze, and looks back at her. Back upstairs Elizabeth goes to the family Bible, takes a pen, and writes April 10, 1967 as her date of death.

Act IV

In the drawing room, Carolyn hears Victoria return from her date with Burke. Victoria apologizes, saying she was trying to be quiet, as everyone will have gone to bed, but Carolyn tells her Elizabeth has just turned in. Victoria puzzles over Elizabeth being up so late, and Carolyn tells her she is worried about her mother because she was very quiet, almost too quiet, and that she refused to talk about the wedding or Jason, as if the wedding were not going to happen. She tells Victoria she felt like she and Elizabeth were saying goodbye, and Victoria begins to worry, but tells Carolyn she is probably just nervous about the wedding. Victoria suggests they go to bed and Carolyn turns out the lights. Victoria goes to Elizabeth's bedroom and sees she is not there. When she goes to turn out the table light, she sees the family Bible, and realizes what is happening. At Widows' Hill, Elizabeth walks close to the edge of the cliffs and looks down, hearing the Widows again.

Memorable quotes

Roger: Elizabeth Collins Stoddard McGuire. I can hardly believe you want to be Mrs. Jason McGuire for the rest of your life.

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Carolyn: Mother, we have to live in the present and think about the future.

Elizabeth: Sometimes the future can take care of itself.

Dramatis personae

• ← Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard →
• ← Louis Edmonds as Roger Collins →
• ← Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard →
• ← David Henesy as David Collins →
• ← Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters →
• Marin Riley as Ghost (uncredited)

Background information and notes

Production

• This episode was recorded out of broadcast sequence. The previous episode to be recorded was 266.
• This is the eighth episode since Barnabas' introduction in 210 not to contribute to the vampire storyline instead focusing solely on the blackmail storyline.

Story

• GHOSTWATCH: The ghosts of the widows call to Elizabeth.
• TIMELINE: Day 93 begins, and will end in 269. Elizabeth's wedding is tomorrow.
  • Today's date is given at April 10, 1967. There is no way to reconcile the dates with the information given in this episode with 189 happening on or around October 26, 1967, and 463 occurring on April 3rd, 1968. It's not stated outright that this is today's date, unlike 189 and 463, but that is what seems to be the implication. The writers most likely forgot that they printed the date on the paper prop in episode 180. It's also interesting to note that the tape and air dates for this episode are far off from the date Elizabeth writes for her death. If we stick with the date given in 189 of October 26, 1967, then today's date could be no earlier than sometime in December 1967. There is certainly no way to reconcile a date of April 10, 1967, with 463 occurring on April 3, 1968, as the passage of time suggested between 268 and 463 is not that of a year but closer to a couple of months at the very most, which fits with this episode taking place sometime in December 1967. [Addendum: As for any theory that Elizabeth chose this date because that day (in episode air dates) is when she feels like her life ended, there was no episode aired or filmed on April 10th due to the AFTRA strike that started that day. But by that airdate in the show Willie/Jason had moved into Collinwood and Jason had not yet insisted on a job/marriage so this explanation also does not hold.]

Bloopers and continuity errors

• In the teaser, as Elizabeth is sitting on her bed, the fan providing the "breeze" that is blowing the curtains is visible.
• In Act 1, Elizabeth tells Roger she needs to finish dressing (actually flubs her line at this point). But she seems fully dressed, and in the next scene with David, she has not changed anything on her attire.
• The shadow of a person moving around off screen can be seen as Elizabeth and David are talking in Elizabeth's room.
• When Elizabeth is supposedly writing her date of death in the family Bible, it is clear that all Joan Bennett is doing is drawing a line.
• When Elizabeth looks at the Bible's genealogy page, Roger's name is written above hers, even though Roger was actually born after she was. Whoever filled the Bible out obviously did it after Roger had already been born, which would be odd for an old family Bible.

End credits announcements

• Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.

External links 

Dark Shadows - Episode 268 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 268 - Suicide is Painful

Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 268: The future takes care of itself

Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 268: 7/5/67