Collins family/Dark Shadows

The Collins family are an aristocratic family whose origins can be traced back to 17th century America. The American branch of the family line began with Isaac Collins who came to Frenchman's Bay in Maine in the year 1690. He founded a small harbor and eventually established what would soon become the city of Collinsport. Isaac's brother, Amadeus Collins, became a judge and was a provincial member of a panel that accused warlock Judah Zachary of witchcraft. Testifying against Zachary was one of his own coven followers, Miranda Du Val. Miranda would eventually change her name to Angelique. Zachary took revenge against those who sentenced him and by the early winter of the following year, Amadeus Collins and his children all died from mysterious ailments.

The 1790s
By the late 1790s, the Collins family lived in a spacious mansion known as Collinwood. Collinwood was located on the bluffs near Widows' Hill. The ruling members of the family at this time consisted of three siblings: Abigail Collins, Joshua Collins and Jeremiah Collins. Abigail and Jeremiah did not sire any offspring, but Joshua and his wife Naomi had two children Barnabas and Sarah. There was a vast age difference between the two children as Barnabas was only a few years younger than his uncle, Jeremiah, while Sarah was not born until 1784.

The same year that Joshua and Naomi gave birth to Sarah, Jeremiah Collins took his first wife, Laura Murdoch. Laura unfortunately, passed away shortly after her wedding. What Jeremiah didn't know however, was that Laura was a Phoenix - a being that would return to life from the fire of its own demise time and time again. Laura would eventually resurrect herself and insinuate herself into the lives of future generations of the Collins family.

Other family members who existed at this time were Millicent Collins and her younger brother Daniel. They were the grandchildren of Theodore Collins, son of Amadeus Collins, and came to live at Collinwood at some point following the deaths of their parents. Daniel Collins would one day be the direct projenitor of the modern Collins family line.

By the year 1795, Collinwood became a seething ocean of controversey and intrigue, most of which coincided with the arrival of a young woman named Victoria Winters. Victoria had actually lived during the 1960s and had been thrust backwards in time nearly two-hundred years due to the cosmological effects of a séance gone wrong. She carried with her a book detailing the history of the Collins family, which included information on events that had yet to take place. Because of this seemingly clairvoyant tome, Victoria Winters was suspected of being a witch.

Adding to the family tension at this time was the arrival of French heiress Josette Du Pres. Josette was the betrothed of Jeremiah Collins, but was secretly in love with Barnabas Collins. As a dowery, Jeremiah had begun construction on a new family home for Josette and he. Josette's servant Angelique Bouchard, likewise had history with Barnabas Collins. Angelique was the same immortal witch who once testified against Judah Zachery in the year 1692. Prior to Josette and Angelique's arrival in Collinsport, Barnabas and she once had an affair with one another and while Barnabas had since moved beyond this seemingly petty tryst, Angelique was in love with him to the point of dangerous obsession. She used her supernatural powers to confound Barnabas' courtship of Josette and ultimately placed a curse upon, turning him into a vampire.

Like all vampires, Barnabas succumbed to the bloodlust and even began terrorizing members of his family. His young cousin Daniel suffered horrific nightmares from his encounter with Barnabas - nightmares that would have grave consequences in his adult life. When Josette found out that her lover was now a creature of the night, she took her own life by throwing herself off the peak at Widows' Hill. Barnabas' mother Naomi eventually learned the truth about him as well and, unable to deal with the shock and horror, poisoned herself. It was Joshua who ultimately decided to put a stop to Barnabas' actions. Unable to kill his own son, he instead chained him up in a coffin and sealed him within a secret room in the Collins family mausoleum. There, Barnabas remained trapped for one-hundred and seventy-five years.