Quentin Collins (MGM)

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. During his time at his family home, Quentin would discover a dark secret about his ancestors, Angelique and Charles Collins.
== Night of Dark Shadows ==
=== 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, explaining 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. Similarly to how Carlotta was the reincarnation of Sarah Castle, Quentin was in fact the reincarnation of Charles Collins. In the year 1810, Charles Collins had been the head of the Collinwood household. His younger brother Gabriel was married to Angelique, who was secretly a powerful witch. Unhappy with her marriage to Gabriel, Angelique used her magic to bewitch Charles into falling in love with her, despite Charles himself being married to Laura Collins. Despite the influence of witchcraft, Angelique truly did love Charles, and he would use her as a model for his art, which facilitated their affair. 
One evening, Gabriel had discovered them in each other’s arms, and the two brothers came to blows. Gabriel informed a local clergyman, Reverend Strack, that his wife was a witch. With the collusion of Laura and Gabriel, 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. Charles's wife, Laura, was also found dead, having been drowned on the estate; it is heavily implied that Charles had killed her as well due to her involvement in Angelique's death. In retaliation, Gabriel sealed Charles up alive in Angelique's tomb. 
In spite of her execution, the spirit of Angelique was still strong in Collinwood, and through the use of her familiar, Carlotta, Angelique tried to invigorate the soul of Charles inside the body of Quentin, as well as to orchestrate the death of Tracy. 
=== The Possession ===
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. 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 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 to kill her. That evening ,when Quentin returned, he suffered one of his most violent episodes to date. The spirit of Charles Collins was overtaking him, and he attempted to rape Tracy in the middle of the night, though this thankfully did not follow through.
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 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. Just prior to death, Gerard inflicted a wound on Quentin's cheek, identical to a scar that Charles himself bore while alive. 
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 these harrowing events, Quentin and Tracy sold Collinwood and left to depart with Alex and Claire. However, Quentin insisted on briefly stopping in to collect some of his remaining art supplies, claiming it would only take a few minutes. When Tracy followed after some time had passed, she was horrified to discover that the spirit of Charles Collins had completely and permanently consumed Quentin. Whether or not the possessed Quentin managed to kill his wife, Tracy, is unknown.
== Personality ==
Despite being the reincarnation of Charles Collins, Quentin has a markedly different personality in many respects. He is quite amiable, curious, sensible and a loyal friend. Despite his attraction to Angelique, Quentin genuinely loves his wife Tracy, with the two sharing many affectionate moments and being supportive of one another. Quentin is also quick to pick up when something is amiss, and unlike Carlotta he is not content simply to let Angelique have her will with him, especially when it jeopardizes Tracy's life. 
At the same time, similarly to Charles, Quentin is capable of great anger and coldness when provoked. Quentin appears to have gotten his artistic skill from Charles as well, with Quentin being able to perfectly complete Charles's painting of Angelique (though this could be attributed to the possession). 
Quentin's personality is so diametrically opposed to Charles's that it is not difficult to perceive when Charles has control over their shared body, especially as the possession becomes stronger and Quentin begins to take on the physical quirks of his former life, such as Charles's limping stride. Additionally, while possessed by Charles, Quentin has no memory of his actions and will vehemently deny any wrongdoing unless presented with proof. 
Category:Night of Dark Shadows Characters