The Barnabas Collins Saga (part 2) (thank goodness for Willie Loomis)In 1967, Willie Loomis (John Karlen) was foraging in the Collins family crypt in Eagle's Hill Cemetery for the family's "lost jewels". He stumbled upon the chained coffin in which Barnabas slept. Believing the coffin to contain the lost riches of the Collins family, Willie accidentally released the vampire. Barnabas attacked Willie and turned him into his unwilling servant.
Barnabas introduced himself to the modern Collins family as a cousin from England - a hard working businessman never seen during the day. The family accepted this story, even though they've never heard of him before, because of his 'uncanny resemblance' to a portrait of the ancestral Barnabas (actually one & the same). Thirsty for new blood, Barnabas made victims of several Collinsport residents. He was particularly taken with waitress Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott), who resembled his lost-love Josette (whose spirit he was told still haunted the Collinswood estate). He kidnapped her, hypnotized her into believing she really was Josette, and planned to make her his vampire bride. Maggie escaped, but not unscathed. The emotional distress of being kidnapped (by a member of the undead, no less) caused Maggie to regress to a child-like mentality, and to forget all that happened to her. Barnabas next targeted Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke), the governess at Collinwood, as his potential vampire consort. He opted to use alternate methods though, first trying to seduce her away from her fiancée Burke Devlin (Anthony George) before biting her. While this was happening, the ghost of Sarah appeared in & around Collinwood, tormenting Barnabas (who felt responsible for her untimely death) and warning him not to do evil deeds. Meanwhile, Maggie was sent to Wyncliffe sanitarium, where Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) tried to make her remember what happened, as well as to identify her kidnapper. Dr. Hoffman soon found out that the answer lay somewhere at Collinwood. She discovered who and what Barnabas was. Julia fell in love with him however, and attempted to cure him. Barnabas initially distrusted Julia, and when her medical cure failed, he viewed her as a risk - she would be able to expose his true nature. He attempted to kill her, or drive her mad so that no one would believe accusations of vampirism from her. Ultimately though, Barnabas realized he needed an ally and eventually became rehabilitated to the point that they became friends. Even though the romantic relationship Julia desired never happened, she became Barnabas's chief confidante and helped him many times, even risking time travel to aid her afflicted friend over the next several years.
