Dark Shadows ended its television run at the end of the 1841 Parallel Time storyline. For many, this was disappointing because the series ended without telling the viewers what had happened to fan favorites like Barnabas, Julia, Willie, Quentin, or Carolyn. At the same time, the ending to the 1841 PT storyline was unappealing in its own right. While Barnabas's and Angelique's stand-ins Bramwell and Catherine got their happily ever after, many characters were left with little. For instance, what happened to (1841PT) Quentin when he found out that what should have been his inheritance was given away because true love conquers all? What (or who) was the creature that bit Melanie in the last episode? And just why were Barnabas and Josette seemingly cast aside for another heir all those years ago?
These stories don't answer those questions in ways that the show would have. The first story, "Message Received", fancifully goes against the established story canon. "Message Intercepted" fares better canon-wise but asks us to imagine an alternate 1797 storyline to go along with it. An oft-planned but never-finished story titled "Message Denied" would have dealt with Josette in Collinwood and would have sown the seeds for an alternate 1797 storyline.
These three stories would have culminated in a sprawling story that would introduce a ton of new characters and a creeping horror that threatened them all.
As it stands now, all that is left of that is the character descriptions (with the preferred cast member to play the said character) and outlines for the first five chapters.
The last message story was written in 2005. The first was one of the first pieces of fan fiction I ever wrote.
