Originally a daytime soap opera, DARK SHADOWS garnered a huge cult following during its original 1966-1971 run and separated itself from its peers by dealing with increasingly bizarre and daring story lines. The central figure was the tortured vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), who was part of a family around which strange events seemed to circulate. VOLUME 25 of the series, includes episodes 1143-1185 of the series.

At Collinwood in the year 1840, Daphne Harridge describes strange occurances she viewed in a room in the east wing. Dr. Julia Hoffman warns her to beware of the parallel time band she has witnessed. Barnabas begs Angelique to use her powers to help save Quentin Collins from being executed for practicing witchcraft. Using Quentin's stairway through time, Barnabas, Julia and Professor Stokes travel back to the future. In 1841 parallel time, Bramwell Collins insists that Catherine Harridge marry him instead of Morgan Collins. As the family's oldest son, Morgan is placed in charge of the dreaded lottery, where a family member is selected to endure a night in a mysterious, cursed room. Kendrick Young discovers that his lover Melanie Collins suffers from a split personality. Carrie Stokes reveals that Morgan is possessed by James Forsythe, the man who placed the curse on the Collinses in 1680. The ghost of Brutus Collins taunts Morgan.