"There's a lot of things we deserve but never get. And there's things we get but don't deserve." - Willie Loomis
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| Willie Loomis | |
|---|---|
| Production Information | |
| Portrayed by | |
| First appearance | |
| Last appearance | |
| Episode count |
115 |
| Audio appearances |
Return to Collinwood
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| Biographical Information | |
| Name |
William Hollingshead Loomis |
| Also known as |
Willie |
| Profession |
Con Man/ Thrall/ Servant |
| Family members |
Alfred Loomis (anchestor) |
| We have 5 images of Dark Shadows Willie Loomis | |
William Hollingshead Loomis (aka Willie) was a young, unscrupulous con artist that arrived in Collinsport in 1967 with his friend, Jason McGuire. Life changed drastically for Willie, however, after coming into contact with the vampire known as Barnabas Collins.
(In parallel time, he was known as William Loomis.)
Childhood
Little is known about Willie Loomis' childhood, other than that he had a volatile relationship with his mother and, according to Jason, carried his security blanket till he was 19 years old (207). His middle was Hollingshead, a name which he likes to keep a secret (972).
Pre-Barnabas
Accompanying Jason McGuire, they traveled the world getting up to various (and illegal) shenanigans. During their time together, they ran scams in every port they landed in, including Singapore and Jamaica. During his time there, he fell in love with one of the locals, until Jason McGuire bribed her to leave him. After Jamaica things went bad, and scam after scam failed (Echoes of Insanity).
Arriving in Collinsport in 1967, Willie stayed in the Collinsport Inn, although he got kicked out because he couldn't pay the rent and kept pushing his landlord around (203).
Wille frequently got himself into trouble because of his belligerent nature and affinity for harassment. Joe Haskell, Burke Devlin and Maggie Evans were particularly subject to his behavior (203, 204, 207). He was involved with Jason's scheme to blackmail reclusive matriarch of Collinwood, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, though he didn't know exactly what Jason held over her.
Jason eventually convinced Elizabeth to let Willie stay at Collinwood. Liz wanted nothing to do with the violent young man, but Jason forced her to consent (203). Almost immediately, Willie began harassing Elizabeth’s daughter, Carolyn, and the governess, Vicki. Carolyn was even forced to threaten Willie with a gun in order to protect herself (204). Burke Devlin volunteered to usher Willie out of town, but Willie had no intention of leaving. The two finally came to blows at the Blue Whale, and Burke slapped him down to the floor (205, 207).
During his stay at Collinwood, Willie took notice of a portrait of a Collins ancestor named Barnabas Collins (205). The image of Barnabas showed him wearing fine jewellery, and Willie began to wonder what may have become of the antique gems. The Collins family housekeeper, Sarah Johnson, told Willie a legend about an ancestor named Naomi Collins, who was allegedly buried in the Collins family mausoleum with all of her jewellery (211). This sparked Willie’s interest greatly, and he enacted a scheme to acquire the Collins family jewels for himself without alerting his "good friend", Jason McGuire (209).
Working for Barnabas
In 1967, Willie broke into the Collins family mausoleum. In an effort to disinter the remains of Naomi Collins, he inadvertently discovered a secret room in the rear of the crypt. Inside was a single coffin wrapped in large, heavy chains. Willie removed the chains and opened the coffin. Rather than a cache of jewellery, however, Willie found the vampire Barnabas Collins (210). Barnabas attacked Willie and made him his unwilling servant. Willie eventually made his way to the Blue Whale, gravely ill. Jason dragged him back to Collinwood, where his condition worsened as a result of having large quantities of blood drained from his body (215-216).
After a falling out with Jason, Willie then moved into the Old House with Barnabas. Barnabas then began to force Willie to bring him a person or animal for him to feed on. (220, 224)
Barnabas began to obsess over Maggie Evans (221). He eventually kidnapped her and made her believe she was his long-lost love, Josette (235). She soon remembered who she was and attempted to stab Barnabas in his coffin, but Willie, under the influence of Barnabas, stopped her (250). While in the basement alone by Barnabas' coffin, she again tried to stake him, but he awakened and stopped her, locking her in a cell (250). Willie eventually discovered that Barnabas planned to do away with Maggie, and in an attempt to free her from her doom, he put poison in a glass of milk and told her she could choose it as a less violent death (260).
When Maggie escaped from Barnabas and was sent to Windcliff Sanitarium, Willie (along with the rest of Collinsport), believed her to be dead and he felt responsible (264).
With the help of Sarah Collins' ghost, Maggie escaped from Windcliff and returned to Collinsport (294). Barnabas became afraid that she might remember what happened to her, despite Julia Hoffman's assurances (296, 322). When Maggie and her father, Sam Evans, decided to pretend that Maggie's memory was returning in order to trap the kidnapper, Barnabas became desperate and told Willie of his plans to kill Maggie (321). Not wanting Maggie to die, he went to her house to warn her about Barnabas. In trying to get into her bedroom, he inadvertently sprung the trap meant for the kidnapper, was shot five times in the back, and fell into a coma (322).
When Willie awoke, he had gone insane and was sent to Windcliff (329). He later returned from Windcliff, but as a result of the trauma, he remained unhinged (483). Willie also developed a hatred for Joe Haskell, because Joe was Maggie's boyfriend (497, 514).
Despite his trauma, he eventually proved himself invaluable to Barnabas—going to great lengths to protect his secret. Willie eventually formed a solid friendship with both Barnabas and Julia Hoffman.
Relationships
Little is known of his relationship with Jason before coming to Collinsport.
Due to mental and physical abuse by Barnabas at the Old House, Willie's personality changed and he became a much more sensitive person. Eventually they came to respect each other despite their torturous past.
After his release from Windcliff, Willie met and fell in love with a girl named Roxanne. Very little is known about her. Although they were engaged to be married, the relationship ended shortly after his return to Collinwood.
In later years, according to the Big Finish Audio Dramas, he marries Jessica Griffin.
Trivia
- Willie had a fondness for foreign cigarettes (216).
- Although he kept it a secret, his middle name was Hollingshead (972).
- His first name was originally scripted as Chris.
- Bruises easily...clearly. (230)
- His ancestor from the 18th century is supposedly Alfred Loomis, since they have the same name (Bloodline Episode Twelve).
Appearances
199, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 215, 216, 217, 219, 220, 221, 222, 224, 230, 232, 234, 237, 238, 239, 243, 245, 247, 248, 250, 251, 253, 254, 255, 256, 258, 260, 264, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 282, 286, 287, 289, 291, 293, 300, 301, 304, 305, 310, 311, 312, 314, 316, 319, 320, 321, 322, 328, 329, 483, 484, 485, 493, 494, 497, 498, 500, 502, 503, 506, 514, 515, 516, 522, 531, 536, 537, 540, 552, 560, 561, 562, 564, 566, 570, 574, 582, 583, 584, 587, 588, 589, 590, 593, 598, 599, 616, 621, 666, 667, 696, 956, 957, 970, 971, 972, 1099, 1100, 1105, 1106