How do I remove dark stain?

Stripper or lots of sanding.

Removal is like Mona said, strip or sand or perhaps a combination of both.

If the finish isn't bumpy and you want to paint you can lightly sand, clean with TSP, prime and paint.

Hi Bev,

With out going back to raw wood, it will be impossible. but you could try and lighten it by adding a Limed wood look........

Hi Bev! I have listed some very good sites with great information. Good luck to you! Merry Christmas!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=I+live+in+an+OLD+house.+The+used+a+dark+Brown+%22stain%22+on+all+the+doors+and+door+frames+how+do+I+remove+it%3f&qpvt=I+live+in+an+OLD+house.+The+used+a+dark+Brown+%22stain%22+on+all+the+doors+and+door+frames+how+do+I+remove+it%3f&FORM=VDRE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bX4mWhik7o

https://www.hunker.com/13401510/how-to-lighten-a-dark-wood-stain

https://www.wikihow.com/Stain-Wood-Doors

Hubby and I lived in an old house when we were first married in Galveston, TX. It was split into four apartments. We had the front first floor, it was built in about 1911 after a hurricane leveled the island. It had the original hardwood floor and wood trim around everything. The trim was gorgeous, but had so many coats of paint on it that you couldn't see the intricacy of the trim. We asked the owner if we could see if we could get all the layers off around the entrance door and he said to go ahead. We used a wire brush on a electric drill to carefully get off the paint and the result was fantastic. He was impressed with the change and supplied everything we needed to get the paint off all the trim in our apartment and to stain the wood. He even decided he was going to do it in the other apartments as the tenants changed! You can do this, Bev, do it in sections at a time so that you don't burn yourself out, but it is doable with the right tools. You can use stripper if you don't want the dust sanding will cause, just make sure you protect the areas around it.