A mysterious man named Jason McGuire (Dennis Patrick) arrived in Collinsport and immediately convinced Elizabeth to let him stay at Collinwood. Victoria and the family were shocked (especially Carolyn) and put on the defensive when McGuire's off-putting drifter friend Willie Loomis (played originally by James Hall for five episodes before John Karlen assumed, and became more well-known, in the role) joined him. Willie (a former small-time crook) soon proved too much even for Jason to put up with, and he told Willie to get out of town. Before leaving, Willie heard from David that the Collins family ancestors were buried with their personal jewels and decided to help himself to the jewels by breaking into the Collins family mausoleum. In an effort to abscond with the jewels 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 finding a cache of jewelry, however, Willie unwittingly freed Naomi’s son, Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), who had been turned into a vampire 170 years before and was later chained in his coffin by his friend Ben Stokes on the request of Barnabas’ father, Joshua Collins.