Laura Collins

Laura Collins was a character featured in the 1960s gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. Played by actress Diana Millay, she was introduced in episode 124 as the estranged wife of Roger Collins (a central figure in the series). Over the course of the 1966-67 season, Laura was revealed to be a mythological creature known as a Phoenix - an immortal being that dies and is resurrected from their own ashes once every one-hundred years. Laura became a primary antagonist during the Phoenix storyline, committed to taking her son David away from Roger and away from Collinwood.

17th-18th centuries
Laura Collins was born Laura Murdoch in the year 1635. She experienced her first fiery death in the year 1667 at the age of thirty-two. This is the earliest known evidence of Laura resurrecting herself from the dead. Laura Murdoch died again in the year 1735 at the age of sixty-eight. She was reborn under the name Laura Murdoch Stockbridge. Living in Collinsport, Laura met and married an enterprising young man named Jeremiah Collins. Laura died in the year 1785.

Return to Collinsport
After having lived (and presumably perished) in Phoenix, Arizona for some period of time, Laura returned to the town of Collinsport. She met two men who would both become major influences in her life: Roger Collins and Burke Devlin. The three grew close together and Laura became romantically tied to Burke, though it is believed that she was also carrying on an affair with Roger at the same time. In 1956, the three of them were involved in a car accident which resulted in the death of a man. Although Roger was driving the car, Burke was blamed for the man's death and went to prison on a charge of manslaughter. Immediately following Burke's incarceration, Laura and Roger were married. Eight months later, Laura gave birth to her son David. There was a great deal of speculation about David's true parentage with implications suggesting that David was actually Burke's son, not Roger's. It has become generally accepted however, that David was actually Roger's son.

The birth of David did little to improve Laura and Roger's marriage. Suspecting that David was not truly his son, Roger grew to hate the child and this animosity drove a permanent wedge between Laura and he. In 1961, Laura suffered a psychotic break accompanied with a severe bout of alcoholism. Roger had her committed and David grew up with very little memory of his mother.

In 1966, Laura returned to Collinsport and attempted to insinuate herself back into the lives of the Collins family. She wanted to reunite with David and take him away from Roger and from Collinwood.

As things grew to a head, everyone began to realize that David was in tremendous danger. Laura attempted to manipulate them into thinking that she was going to leave Collinsport, never to return, and though she managed to convince Roger and Burke of her intentions, Vicki was certain that she intended to harm David. She made a secret arrangement with David to meet with her at a fishing shack on the estate. On the night marking the one-hundredth anniversary of her last death, she summoned David to her, hypnotizing him and having him set fire to the fishing shack. It was her intention to have David perish with her in the flames. Victoria Winters arrived at the shack as it began to burn. She managed to break the spell over David long enough to get him away from his mother. With a terrible shriek, Laura Collins went up in a column of flame. No body was ever found.

Notes & Trivia

 * Laura Collins (under various names) appeared in a total of sixty-three episodes of Dark Shadows.


 * A version of Laura Collins made a brief appearance in the 1971 film Night of Dark Shadows.