Victoria Winters was fascinated with the past, so much so that she ultimately got lost in it while chasing after a guy that she picked up during an 18th century witch trial. The Collins clan of 1960s Maine would never see her again and Victoria’s story never reached its logical conclusion— that the foundling-turned-governess was actually the daughter of wealthy family matriarch, Elizabeth— during the television run of Dark Shadows. 

Some might scold me for spoiling one of the gazillion plot lines that drove Dark Shadows between 1966 and 1971, but we’re talking about a daytime soap that aired more than 50 years ago. The expiration date for spoilers passed before the Watergate scandal pre-empted ABC’s daytime programming and sent housewives into a tizzy. Besides, there’s a point to this reference. Like Victoria, I spent much of 2023 with one foot in the present and one the past as I worked my way through the 1200+ episodes that comprise the original series and are streaming. Unlike Victoria, I still exist in the present timeline and am here to tell you what I learned from the past.