The Old House cellar was where Barnabas Collins maintained his primary coffin. He occasionally made use of a coffin located in the secret room in the Collins family mausoleum, but he preferred accommodations in closer proximity to where he lived. He occasionally moved his coffin to a secret room behind the parlour bookcase, but that secret door could not be locked as the cellar was.

This was not the first instance of the cellar being used for nefarious purposes. In 1796, Barnabas came into conflict with a puritanical zealot named Reverend Trask, who had falsely accused a time-lost Victoria Winters of witchcraft. After forcing a confession of Victoria’s innocence from Trask, Barnabas had him sealed up alive inside one of the walls of the cellar (442).

More than once Barnabas awoke in his cellar coffin to find someone waiting for him. Among them were his father, Joshua Collins (456)/(661), his Aunt Abigail (432), Maggie Evans, and the Sheriff of Collinsport (in 1995) (1069).

The Old House cellar was also often used as a secret dungeon where Barnabas would imprison people such as Maggie Evans and Adam.