(Written by Geoffrey Hamell, first published in "The Eagle Hill Sentinel", Issue 2, October, 1985.)
In 1810, Angelique was the wife of Gabriel Collins - but wasn't the weak and spiteful Gabriel she loved. His brother Charles, wild and passionate, excited her far more - and shared her capacity for greater evil. The two became lovers, flaunting their adultery before Gabriel and Charles' wife Laura, who Angelique begged him to murder as a gift to her.
But Angelique's recklessness extended to her use of witchcraft - the whole town of Collinsport suspected her, and when the witch-hunting Reverend Strack sought her out, Gabriel and Laura gave him a free hand. Dragged from the house by Strack's men, Angelique was hung from a tree outside - but not before she vowed to return from the grave. Comforting little Sarah Castle, the housekeeper's daughter - the one person innocent enough to believe in her - she promised "Your love will keep me alive."
And perhaps it did - for her spirit appeared from the night mists to embrace Charles once again. But their reunion was to end in his death as well. Knowing she had returned, Gabriel ended the affair once and for all, as he thought - by bricking Charles up in a cellar room, where Angelique's coffin had secretly been brought to await him.
It was the arrival of new housekeeper Carlotta Drake in late 1970 or early 1971, that reawakened Angelique's slumbering spirit after so many years - for Carlotta was the reincarnation of Sarah Castle. Remembering her previous life, Carlotta fell totally under the beautiful witch's spell; and after the death of Elizabeth Stoddard - from undisclosed causes - they had the house completely at their disposal. The only other tenant, Carlotta's nephew Gerard Styles, was delighted to do Angelique's dirty work when needed. (And to satisfy her need for male "companionship".)
Then the new heir, Quentin Collins, arrived with his bride Tracy, and everything changed. Quentin was the reincarnation of Charles, and Angelique at once began to exert her influence on his mind, seeking through dreams and visions to make her lover live again in him. Unsure what was happening to him, Quentin was easily caught up in in her surreal world, the twisted personality of Charles becoming more dominant every day. Alex Jenkins, knowing Angelique's history, suspected what was happening and thus became her enemy; she lured him into the estate's half-ruined greenhouse and caused its remaining panes of glass to shatter, nearly killing him.
In time Quentin's possession became almost complete, to the point where he was willing to let the distraught Tracy leave him without a second thought. But when he realized Angelique planned to kill her and the Jenkinses, the shock brought Quentin back to reality, and he angrily rejected his ghostly seducer. Undeterred, Angelique appeared at the Jenkins' cottage, enveloping the sleeping Alex in a cloud of ectoplasm until his wife Clair's sudden entrance intervened.
Quentin, Tracy, Alex and Clair began exploring Collinwood's cellar, searching for the room where Quentin had dreamed that Charles was imprisoned. Discovering it, Tracy was trapped inside with the murderous Angelique, but the specter vanished when Quentin forced his way in. Finding the skeletons of Charles and Angelique, the four friends gave them the burial their vengeful family had denied them. Then, holding a seance, they implored Angelique to rest, united with Charles in death.
Anguished at the thought of losing her, Carlotta disrupted the seance, then fled to the turret in panic. On the lawn below, Angelique spread her arms wide, inviting her to jump - and Carlotta leapt into her deadly embrace. With her death, the figure vanished.
But it was only a ruse; it was now Quentin, not Carlotta, who kept Angelique's spirit alive. Returning to the house alone, he became totally transformed into Charles - and Tracy found him in the company of a very solid-looking Angelique, apparently truly alive. Alex and Clair were killed the same day, when their car mysteriously filled with blinding mist, causing it to crash. From all indications, Tracy too is dead, and Angelique is mistress of Collinwood once again.
