Quentin Collins was a young newlywed, who in the summer of 1971, discovered that he had inherited the great family estate known as Collinwood in Collinsport, Maine. In June of that year, Quentin and his new bride, Tracy, moved into the great house. The only other resident was a strange woman named Carlotta Drake. Carlotta was Collinwood's housekeeper and made certain that Quentin had little trouble settling in.
The Visions[]
Quentin was a painter and expressed a desire to establish a studio somewhere in the gothic mansion. Carlotta suggested that he could use the 3rd floor tower room, due to its atmosphere and privacy. Quentin began setting up his studio in the musty room, when he came upon a 19th-century portrait of a beautiful blonde-haired woman. Carlotta explained to him that the portrait was that of Angelique Collins, a woman who lived at Collinwood over 150 years ago. The portrait had a dramatic effect on Quentin and that same evening he began suffering nightmares wherein he saw Angelique being hung from the bough of an old oak tree on the Collinwood estate.
The following day, Quentin went out to the stables to meet a slow-witted stable hand named Gerard Stiles. He suddenly suffered a waking vision wherein he saw himself dressed in 19th century attire attending the funeral of Angelique. Shortly thereafter, Quentin visited his friends, Alex and Claire Jenkins and explained to them the bizarre dreams he had been having.
Quentin continued to suffer from these traumatic visions and discovered that the caretaker, Carlotta, had intimate knowledge of the history of this house. Angrily, he forced Carlotta to tell him everything that she knew.
Memories of Charles Collins[]
Carlotta explained that what he was experiencing were the memories of his ancestor, Charles Collins. In the year 1810, Charles Collins had been the head of the Collinwood household. His younger brother Gabriel was married to a witch named Angelique Collins. Angelique, unhappy with her marriage to Gabriel, used her magic to bewitch Charles into falling in love with her. One evening, Gabriel had discovered them in each other’s arms, and the two brothers came to blows. Gabriel informed a local clergyman named Reverend Strack that his wife was a witch and Reverend Strack had Angelique sentenced to death-by-hanging on the grounds of the estate. After Angelique's funeral, Charles Collins murdered Reverend Strack by trampling him with his horse.
Learning of the house’s history did nothing to satisfy Quentin's mental health, and he began to spend more and more time up in the tower room painting.
What Quentin didn't know was that he was in fact the reincarnation of Charles Collins. The spirit of Angelique was still strong in Collinwood and through the use of her familiar, Carlotta Drake, she tried to invigorate the spirit of her lover, Charles, inside the body of Quentin.
The Possession[]
As days passed, Quentin's behavior became more bitter and surly. He spent almost all of his free time locked away in the tower room and even his wife, Tracy, suspected that something was terribly wrong. One evening, Tracy tried to coax him out of the studio, but Quentin shouted at her to "Get out!"
Quentin eventually left the tower room for an evening to spend some time in town. Tracy took this opportunity to sneak into the tower to see the painting that Quentin had been working on. What she found was a grotesque piece of artwork depicting Quentin dressed in 19th century attire carrying Tracy's dead body and laying it at the feet of Angelique. Tracy was terrified and feared that Quentin might try and kill her. That evening when Quentin returned, he suffered one of his most violent episodes to date. The spirit of Charles Collins was strongly overtaking him and he attempted to rape Tracy in the middle of the night.
The next day, the spirit of Charles Collins possessed Quentin once again. Quentin even began walking with a limp, similar to the ailment that Charles once suffered. He attacked Tracy and tried to drown her in the old swimming pool at the original family mansion known as the Old House, located elsewhere on the property. Tracy survived however and ran away to stay with Alex and Claire Jenkins.
The Final Fight[]
Before long however, Quentin finally managed to regain some control over his body. He learned that Carlotta Drake was in league with the spirit of the witch, Angelique and that she had recently sent Gerard Stiles to kill Tracy Collins. Quentin and Gerard fought one another on a wooden bridge on the outskirts of town, but it was Tracy who landed the fatal blow ending Gerard's life.
Quentin and Tracy decided that they had to return to Collinwood to stop the ghost of Angelique for good. Otherwise, they would never be free of her, or the possessing spirit of Charles Collins. They went into the basement of Collinwood where Angelique's essence began to manifest. Angelique's spirit tried to kill Tracy, but together, Quentin and Tracy were able to drive her off. In the meantime, Carlotta Drake had taken her own life, and Quentin felt as if the curse that hung over his head was finally over.
This was not the case however. After a final visit with their friends, Alex and Claire, Quentin and Tracy went back inside Collinwood. The spirit of Charles Collins completely and permanently consumed Quentin. Whether or not the possessed Quentin managed to kill his wife, Tracy, is unknown.
Charles Collins[]
Charles Collins was the Collins family patriarch living at the lavish Collinwood estate in the early 19th century. In 1810, Charles Collins had an affair with his brother Gabriel's wife, Angelique. Angelique loved Charles more than she could ever love Gabriel, and the two enjoyed a passionate if albeit brief love affair. Charles learned that Angelique was actually a witch, and that she had cast a spell upon him, which forced him to fall in love with her.
One evening, Gabriel learned of his wife's mystical heritage, as well as her extra-marital indiscretions with Charles. The two brothers came to blows and Gabriel's marriage to Angelique was essentially destroyed. Gabriel alerted a local clergyman named Reverend Strack who promptly had Angelique arrested for witchcraft (he charged her with the mysterious murder of a fellow clergyman named Harridge).
After Angelique's trial and subsequent execution, Charles went insane. He tracked Reverend Strack down and trampled him to death beneath the feet of his horse.
The story of Angelique did not end with her death however. Her ghost lived on through the years and manifested itself at Collinwood in the year 1971. By this time, Charles' descendent, Quentin Collins had become the heir of Collinwood. Quentin was the reincarnation of Charles Collins. Angelique's ghost used her magic to slowly infuse the spirit of Charles Collins inside the body of Quentin. As Charles' influence became dominant, he attempted to eradicate all emotional ties to Quentin; namely, his wife Tracy and his friends, Alex and Claire Jenkins.
Before long, Charles Collins took full and permanent possession of Quentin Collins.
Notes & Trivia[]
- This is the third version of Quentin Collins that has been played by David Selby. Selby also played two other iterations of the character, both of whom appeared on the popular 1960's daytime soap opera, Dark Shadows.
- Charles Collins had a small scar that ran down the left side of his cheek.
- Charles Collins walked with a limp. The nature of his injury has never been revealed.
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