One day 54-year-old Kellie Collins could be Lucinda Jinx, a “flirty crazy old hag” with gray mangled hair, monochromatic eyes and bad teeth who likes to eat children, and the next she could be the Mad Hatter, Ursula the Seawitch or a swashbuckling pirate.

Originally from Lakewood, the Littleton-area resident describes herself as a “happy quirky cosplayer” and a good friend who has enjoyed dressing up in unique costumes and embodying dark and goofy personas for most of her life.  

“I’ve always loved costumes and Halloween and everything like that,” Collins said.  

Since she was 15 years old, Collins has attended the Colorado Renaissance Festival. She said she eventually got a job working in a booth before auditioning for the cast and becoming Lucinda Jinx the child-eating witch. Collins has portrayed Lucinda every summer for the last eight years.  

“I can relate to (Lucinda) as the crazy fun weirdo and by being Lucinda in that outfit and in that environment, I can completely engulf it and it’s entertaining for people,” she said.  

Collins said she created Lucinda, who is based off a witch from Ukrainian folklore that lives in a house on rooster legs and eats children.  

“Me being half Ukrainian I wanted to do a Baba Yaga and I wanted to go witchy because there is so much court and I’ve never really been a fancy one,” Collins said.  

As Lucinda Jinx, Collins has long tangled gray hair, a dark black eye and a bright milky eye, gnarled black teeth and she carries a walking stick covered in an assortment of children's shoes and clothing.

“I just wanted to be comfortable and haggish because that’s just more my personality,” Collins said.  

Collins has lived in the Littleton area for about 30 years and when she’s not dressing up in costumes, she works as an event planner for Dish Network. 

Though she is portraying a character, Collins said she feels she can wholeheartedly be herself when she acts as Lucinda and other characters.  

“I am in corporate American, and I am still quirky and weird there too, but you have to be professional,” Collins said. “I can walk up the hills as Lucinda and start up a conversation with myself and it amuses me. You can just be full on crazy.”  

The mother of two said Lucinda inspired so much in her life including her spirituality, her house décor and even her license plate which says “LJINX.”  

“I just love this character so much. At home my whole house is decorated with skulls and witchy stuff, which sparked from when I got this job,” Collins said.  

Additionally, Collins said she is honored and surprised by how much other people love Lucinda.  

“I am so humbled and appreciative of that and it’s validation that this character I created truly is enjoyable for other people,” she said. “It just makes me so excited and that’s what has kept me going.”  

Along with Lucinda, Collins enjoys portraying other characters at different events throughout the year and was initially inspired by pirate costumes. She said the love of pirate costumes set the tone for her characters.  

“It was never really the princess or the fairy it was always the rougher kind of character,” Collins said.  

Throughout the year Collins said she cosplays at different events including a pirate festival in September, Halloween parties in October, as Mrs. Claus in December and she hosts a large masquerade ball in January.  

In high school, Collins said she learned how to sew and now she makes her own costumes. 

“My sister got a sewing machine 45 years ago and I still have that same sewing machine, so I learned how to sew, and I’ll do a lot of my cosplay stuff,” she said. “I am very much a creative person. Costuming is my outlet for sure.” 

Collins said she is grateful for the friends she has made and the community she has become a part of through cosplaying and in her everyday life.  

“I am incredibly fortunate to have amazing friends in my life and wonderful people,” Collins said.  

Going forward, Collins said she hopes she can continue to portray her characters and dress up.