The Happier Dead, written by theatre playwright Adam Usden, continues the adventures of student parapsychologist Amy Jennings (Stephanie Ellyne). It sees Amy, and her boyfriend Simon (John Chancer) investigating mysterious events at Collinsport Hospital.

“I first became aware of Adam's work when we both wrote plays for the 2012 Off Cut Theatre Festival,” says producer Joseph Lidster. “He'd written this stunning monologue that managed to be incredibly tragic and yet also uplifting. I then went to see another play of his – this time about a family facing the end of the world – and I knew then that we had to get him to write for Dark Shadows before he became too busy for us.”

“I was thrilled when Joseph asked me to pen my very own Dark Shadows tale, and especially one with Amy Jennings,” says writer, Adam Usden. “She’s a wonderful character - bookish and brave, but maddeningly distrustful of those closest to her, which is unsurprising given all she’s been through. And since this is Dark Shadows, we’re going to make sure she goes through a lot more.”

“The part of Edwin Beadle is a vital one,” says co-producer and director David Darlington, “and when we sat down to cast this series, I noticed that in either the script or the character breakdown there was a comment that he needed to be a 'Murray Melvin type'. That's the sort of casting clue you don't want to miss! Murray is actually a friend of a friend so I knew he'd be approachable enough, and he was an absolute darling – a real gent of the old school and splendid to work with.”

The full cast lists and behind-the scenes photos are available both for The Happier Dead and February's story The Harvest of Souls, written by James Goss. We can also reveal that as well as starring Kathryn Leigh Scott and Colin Baker, The Harvest of Souls features the return of the deadly Leviathans. Trailers for Curtain Call and The Harvest of Souls are also now available.

Dark Shadows (1966-1971) was a US TV series which told the story of the cursed Collins family. Set in the town of Collinsport, it featured witches, vampires, werewolves and warlocks plotting and scheming against each other. It was recently remade as a film starring Johnny Depp.