Rachel Collins

Rachel in The Evil Inside

**Rachel Collins** is a paranormal investigative journalist. She is a cousin of James Blackthorne, on whom she calls for help when her investigations are more than she can handle. Like James, she has some natural talent for interacting with ghosts, though she lacks his particular expertise in things like ritual magic.

Rachel is first seen in *Haunted Hotel: The Evil Inside*. She and her colleagues, a television crew known as the Ghost Seekers, have made their way to the Alexander Valentine Hotel to investigate the many stories of hauntings and disappearances. They barely set foot on the premises when they are all taken captive by the angry spirit of Alexander Valentine, who was murdered along with his wife many years earlier. Luckily for Rachel, her cousin James was already on his way to join them for the investigation, and he's able to make his way through the dilapidated mansion and rescue her. Sadly, by the time he arrives, all of her colleagues have died, but Rachel is alive. The ghost of Alexander Valentine has mistaken her for his beloved wife Bella, whom Rachel resembles strongly. James summons the ghost of the real Bella in order to reunite her with her husband, and he and Rachel are able to leave.

In the bonus chapter, Rachel suffers from repeated nightmares about her experiences at the hotel. She realizes that her only hope of peace is to return to the ruined building and pay tribute to her departed friends, and ensure that their spirits are able to move on to the afterlife. She calls James, who agrees to accompany her, and they head back to the smoldering ruins. This time it's James who vanishes into the house, leaving Rachel (the player character) to make her way through the crumbling rooms. She finds the souls of all four of her dead friends and returns precious items to them, which gives her the chance to say goodbye before they depart the earth. Afterward, she reunites with James, and they work out that the only way to completely put the place to rest is to open the nearby dam, flooding the entire area. They do so, escaping in a rowboat while the ruins of the house are submerged.

Rachel returns in *Haunted Hotel: A Past Redeemed*, having been invited to stand as maid of honor in James's wedding to Jessica. The proceedings are once again interrupted by the ghost of Alexander Valentine, though there's no interaction shown between him and Rachel, nor anything to suggest that they ever met previously.

## Trivia

* Rachel and James appear to be very close, almost more like brother and sister than cousins. This is suggested by the fact that in the bonus chapter of *Evil Inside*, Rachel has a framed photo on her nightstand of herself and James hugging. The fact that she was invited to be Jessica's maid of honor indicates that she is also close to Jessica; it's possible that Rachel is the one who introduced the two of them.
* Exactly how James and Rachel are related is not stated. Her surname is Collins rather than Blackthorne, so it can be surmised that they are cousins through one or both of their mothers, but this is never confirmed.
* Maya Tuttle, who voices Rachel in *The Evil Inside*, also provides the voice acting for Stacy Gray in the *Grim Tales* games, Jane Stuart in *Haunted Hotel: Lost Dreams*, and young Stephen Blake in *Haunted Hotel: Personal Nightmare.*
* Minji Chang, who voices Rachel in *A Past Redeemed*, is also the voice of James's wife Jessica.