Dark Shadows scribe Joe Caldwell dead at 97

Former Dark Shadows writer Joe Caldwell is dead at age 97. According to a Facebook post by fan podcast Terror at Collinwood, Dark Shadows fan event mover and shaker Bob Issel confirmed the news.

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Issel reported that Caldwell passed away on July 13 after suffering a "massive stroke." He added that the scribe joined Dark Shadows in 1967 and helped develop, along with Ron Sproat, popular character Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), a vampire.

Issel said:

On a personal note, over the last several years, Joe was kind enough to sign several copies of his Memoir, 'In The Shadow of the Bridge' for the raffles held at Seaview Terrace(Collinwood) in conjunction with the gatherings I hosted there. He would sign each copy 'Dark Shadows Forever!!' Joe had just signed a handful of his Memoirs for me three weeks ago back on June 20th. At that time he was convalescing at a rehab center after having a recent fall.

Caldwell's memoir, In the Shadow of the Bridge, chronicles its writer's life in Manhattan throughout mid-century and late 20th-century Manhattan and working at classical station WQXR. Caldwell also opened up about his life as a gay man and activist in New York City.

Julie Francella, a professor of Indigenous Studies, shared a fond memory of her friend in her Substack newsletter. She remembered how many years Caldwell devoted to volunteering at a soup kitchen in Manhattan. She added that he was HIV negative but didn't stay at a distance during the AIDS epidemic, volunteering to help at a hospital one-on-one.

Francella noted of Caldwell's signature character, Barnabas Collins:

In his memoir, Joe took particular satisfaction in the fact that the program’s homophobic producer achieved his greatest success through a character knowingly created by two gay men—two writers who had placed something of their own hidden struggle inside that reluctant vampire.

What are your favorite Dark Shadows memories? Let us know in the comments.