Ezra Simpson was a murderer and traitor who lived during the American Revolution. After becoming a hero in the war, Simpson committed several acts of murder in his hometown of Collinsport, Maine. When Joshua Collins learned of Ezra's acts of murder, he also learned that he had been a traitor during the war. Ezra was sentenced to be hanged.
In 1968, when the ghost of Reverend Trask held a mock trial of Barnabas Collins, he summoned Ezra to be the judge. Trask said, "Who better to judge a condemned man than another condemned man?!" After Barnabas was sealed behind a brick wall, the ghost of Ezra went back to its grave.