Dark Shadows/Elizabeth Collins Stoddard

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
Dark Shadows
Actor	Joan Bennett
First Appearance	Episode 1 (June 27, 1966)
Last Appearance	Episode 1198 (January 27, 1971)
Series Billing

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (born February 28, 1917; died 2003) is the matriarch of the Collins family. She is the daughter of Jamison Collins and Catherine Collins, and the sister of Roger Collins. She is the mother of Carolyn Stoddard and Victoria Winters.

Character History

In 1945, Elizabeth had a short-lived affair with an unnamed man, and became pregnant. Fearful of scandal and shaming the family name, she kept her pregnancy a secret from her family, including Roger. She left Collinsport to have the baby, a daughter, whom she named Victoria, and left at a foundling home. Some time after this, her father died. She later married Paul Stoddard, and had a daughter, Carolyn. In 1949, she caught Paul attempting to steal a large sum of her money in order to leave Collinwood. She hit him over the head with a fire poker and knocked him unconscious. Jason McGuire, a friend of Paul told Elizabeth she had killed him, and pretended to cover up the crime by burying him in the basement. Paul and Jason both leave Collinsport, but not together. Paul would later claim Jason blackmailed him into keeping all the money. Following this, Elizabeth fires all the servants (except for Matthew Morgan) and becomes a recluse. In 1957, Roger testified against Burke Devlin in court, sending him to prison. (Burke would return ten years later seeking revenge) with Roger agreeing to leave Collinsport and Elizabeth sending him money every month in return. Despite promising never to come back, Roger returned to live at Collinwood in 1967 with his son David, whom Elizabeth became very fond of, hiring Victoria Winters as his governess. Also in 1967, Jason McGuire returned to Collinwood and began blackmailing Elizabeth over the murder of Paul Stoddard. Eventually attempting to force her into marriage, Elizabeth attempting suicide over this. Finally, Elizabeth broke down and told the story to everyone, including the police. At this point the truth came out that Elizabeth had never killed Paul. Jason ends up strangled to death by Barnabas.

Relationships

• Paul Stoddard (husband; deceased)

Relatives

• Jamison Collins (father; deceased) Catherine Collins (mother; deceased)
• Roger Collins (brother; deceased)
• Victoria Winters (daughter; deceased)
• Carolyn Stoddard (daughter)
• David Collins (nephew)
• Barnabas Collins (cousin)
• Quentin Collins (II) (great-uncle)
• Lenore Collins (cousin; deceased)
• Tom Jennings (cousin; deceased)
• Chris Jennings (cousin; deceased)
• Amy Jennings (cousin)
• Joe Haskell (cousin; deceased)
• Edward Collins (grandfather; deceased) Laura Collins (grandmother/sister-in-law)
• Nora Collins (aunt)
• Judith Collins (great-aunt; deceased)
• Carl Collins (great-uncle; deceased)
• Gabriel Collins (great-great-grandfather; deceased) Edith Collins (great-great-grandmother; deceased)
• Quentin Collins (I) (great-uncle; deceased)
• Tad Collins (cousin; deceased)
• Flora Collins (cousin; deceased)
• Desmond Collins (cousin; deceased)
• Daniel Collins (great-great-great-grandfather; deceased) Harriet Collins (great-great-great-grandmother; deceased)
• Millicent Collins (great-aunt; deceased)
• Theodore Collins (great-great-great-great-grandfather; deceased)
• Joshua Collins (great-uncle; deceased)
• Naomi Collins (great-aunt; deceased)
• Sarah Collins (cousin, deceased)
• Jeremiah Collins (great-uncle; deceased)
• Abigail Collins (great-aunt, deceased)
• Isaac Collins (possibly grandfather or great-uncle; deceased)
• Annabella Collins (possibly grandmother or great-aunt; deceased)
• Amadeus Collins (possibly grandfather or great-uncle; deceased)
• Abner Collins (unknown; deceased) Caleb Collins (unknown; deceased) William Collins (unknown; deceased) Geoffrey Collins (unknown; deceased) Mortimer Collins (unknown; deceased)