Barnabas had fallen in love with a young lady named Josette – much to the chagrin of a woman named Angelique. Angelique was a witch, who had grown obsessed with Barnabas Collins and wanted him all to herself. In order to destroy the love he shared with Josette, Angelique placed a curse upon him, transforming Barnabas into a vampire. Josette, horrified at the fate that had befallen her beloved, took her own life by leaping off of the cliff's edge at Widow's Hill onto the rocks below.