Collinwood

Collinwood is the name of a fictional estate featured in the Dark Shadows television and film franchise. It was the provincial setting of the 1960s Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows as well as the Dark Shadows revival series of the 1990s. It has also been featured in three feature films, House of Dark Shadows, Night of Dark Shadows and the 2012 film remake of Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

Overview
Collinwood is the ancestral home of the Collins family. It is comprised of two stately manors on a large expanse of seaside property: The Great House and the Old House. The main house is actually the second residence to be known as Collinwood. Construction of the main house was completed in 1796 and was originally intended as a gift from Jeremiah Collins to his bride, Josette Du Prs. After the family moved into the new home, the previous Collinwood became colloquially known as The Old House.

First floor

 * Foyer: The foyer at Collinwood contained two chambers bisected by a wide stone entranceway. The large double-doors of the great house opened into a small vestibule containing a coat-rack to the left and a four-legged chest to the right. Facing inward, the vestibule channeled into a larger greeting area. To the left was a large 18th century portrait of Barnabas Collins and a door leading into Roger Collins' study. Towards the right was a staircase leading up to the second floor landing. Beneath the landing was a divan and a long, wooden table with a telephone and a sculpture of a man with a shovel resting upon it. A small doorway behind the table led towards another wing of the house containing the kitchen and dining area. Parallel to the table was a sideboard, above which rested a portrait of an unspecified Collins family member. Directly opposite from the entranceway, stood a grandfather clock and a large set of double-doors, which led into the drawing room – the most often-used room in the house. Aside from a few cosmetic differences, the foyer at Collinwood has remained relatively unchanged since the house’s construction in 1796.


 * Drawing room: The drawing room at Collinwood was the primary area of congregation in the great house. The residents of the home at any given time could routinely be found relaxing in front of the fire place or reading on the settee. The drawing room was located on the south end of the estate with large windows looking out upon nearby Widows' Hill. Access to the drawing room was through two large doors that led directly from the main foyer. There were three other known egresses from the drawing room into other areas of the house. On the right hand side of the mantle was a secret panel that was used by Gabriel Collins in 1840. Another door on the left side of the mantle led into an office/study area. A third (rarely seen) doorway led into a hall towards a small staircase. Note: This hall was almost never seen because it was positioned at the spot where the camera crews would be stationed during filming. Occasionally, a character would walk towards the camera indicating that an alternative exit did in fact exist.


 * Breakfast nook: This was where the Collins family members would enjoy their breakfast. One of the lesser-used sets in the series, it only made two appearances. The first was in episode 5 and the second was in episode 15.


 * Study: Collinwood study 001.jpg Often referred to as "Roger's study", this room was located on the first floor adjacent to the drawing room. Like most of the rooms on this floor, it was lavishly furnished and included a fireplace, a library, a wingback chair, a desk and at least one brandy snifter. Roger, and sometimes Elizabeth, often used the study when conducting business matters.

Second floor

 * David's bedroom: DS 189 001.jpg This was where David Collins slept. His mother, Laura Collins, visited him in his room late at night while trying to convince him to leave Collinwood.


 * Elizabeth's bedroom: This was where Elizabeth Collins Stoddard slept. She convalesced in her room following a curse placed upon her by Blair.


 * Roger's bedroom: This was where Roger Collins slept. Like every room that Roger spent any deal of time in, one could find a brandy snifter on a sideboard at the foot of his bed.


 * Victoria's bedroom: This was where Victoria Winters slept. In the 1920s and 30s, it was Elizabeth Collins' bedroom. She relocated to another room following her marriage to Paul Stoddard. Upon first arriving at Collinwood, David demonstrated his dislike for Vicki by sneaking into her room and re-packing all of her bags for her. This was also where Barnabas Collins proposed to her, but Vicki turned him down. That same night, the spirit of Jeff Clark appeared before Vicki and pulled her into the timestream back to the 18th century.

West Wing
No area of Collinwood is as rife with mystery and intrigue as that of the West Wing. At some point in the past, a secret passageway was built, which led from a storage room downstairs to a hidden panel in the drawing room. The scheming Gabriel Collins would use this passageway to sneak about the house. Gabriel's brother, Quentin Collins I constructed his "Stairway into Time" in the West Wing. The West Wing also contained a playroom filled with toys for Tad Collins and Carrie Stokes. In the late 1800s, Quentin Collins II resided in the West Wing. He was killed in his bedroom and following his death, the room was sealed up. At some point in the mid-20th century, Collinwood matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard had the entire area sealed off and the rooms began to fall into disrepair. Despite this however, her young nephew David Collins often found reasons to sneak into the West Wing to play. The ghosts of Quentin Collins and his lover Beth Chavez haunted the West Wing where they embarked upon a scheme to avenge themselves against the entire Collins family.

East Wing
The East Wing of Collinwood has it's own sordid history and dark secrets. For reasons that remain unclear, the East Wing of Collinwood was shut down sometime in the early 1800s and fell into disrepair. Few ever ventured there, but it did prove to be a suitable location for those who wished to conduct affairs of questionable value.


 * East Wing parlor: The parlor room of the East Wing was a focal point of mystical energy and served as a doorway into a parallel timeline. In the late winter of 1840, Daphne Harridge discovered the East Wing and looked upon the parlor room as if she were looking through a window, watching the lives of people who seemed familiar to her, and yet existed in a world she could not possibly understand. It was in the East Wing parlor room in the parallel time of 1841 that Morgan Collins first asked Catherine Harridge to marry him.

Basement
In 1949, when Elizabeth believed that she had murdered her husband Paul Stoddard, Jason McGuire took the liberty of "hiding" Paul's body in a trunk in a sealed room in the basement. In truth, Paul was very much alive and was now living abroad. The trunk in the basement was filled with nothing more than his old clothes. However, the belief that she had killed him is what turned Elizabeth into a recluse for more than eighteen years. There was only one key to the locked room in the basement and Elizabeth wore it about her neck.

Other locations

 * Cottage: A small cottage existed on the Collinwood estate, some distance between the main house and the Old House. During the 1950s and 60s it was occupied by groundskeeper Matthew Morgan. In 1967 it was occupied by Laura Collins during her brief stay in Collinsport. In 1968, it was occupied by Chris Jennings, who formerly rented a room at the Collinsport Inn, but relocated so he could be closer to his sister Amy who was staying at Collinwood.


 * Fishing shack: A small fishing shack existed on the Collinwood estate near Widows' Hill. In the year 1796, Nathan Forbes used the shack while scheming against the Collins family. He blackmailed Noah Gifford into abducting Daniel Collins and bringing him back to the shack, but Daniel escaped. In 1967, Laura Collins brought her son David to the fishing shack where she intended on killing him as part of the prophecy of the Phoenix. As per the prophecy, Laura was consumed in a column of flame, which burned down the shack. David managed to survive however. (DS 191)
 * Terrace: DS 493 006.jpg The terrace at Collinwood was located on the ground level towards the anterior of the estate. It was situated directly between the Great House and the gazebo. Carolyn Stoddard would often come out to the terrace for romantic interludes with whomever she was dating at the time. Barnabas Collins would sometimes lay claim to a victim out by the terrace, such as the instance when Carolyn caught him drinking the blood of Victoria Winters. One one occasion, Mrs. Johnson came out to the terrace and found the creature known as Adam drinking water from the fountain. (DS 493)

TV shows that take place in

 * Dark Shadows (1966)
 * Dark Shadows (1991)