175

Dr. Guthrie questions Laura about the missing body.
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: My name is Victoria Winters. Collinwood becomes more and more tangled in a web of mysteries, and woven into the web are not only confusion and doubt but terror and fear. And the struggle to understand only seems to make the web more tangled, the confusion greater, the fear more terrifying, and the mystery deeper.
Dr. Guthrie has relayed the news to Victoria, who is stumped on how the body could have gone missing from the morgue in Phoenix.
Act I
Victoria doesn't understand why the vanishing dead woman should frighten her; she's also not sure what an unidentified woman has to do with the Collins family. Victoria points out the fire connection after Guthrie states the Laura links. Guthrie pushes for another séance; Victoria is frightened and he backs off, promising to try everything else he can to get answers. Guthrie is eager to deliver the news to Laura and see her reaction. Burke, at Laura's Cottage, has learned that Guthrie's a parapsychologist and demands answers from Laura. Laura is unable to discuss the subject or Guthrie seriously. Laura works Burke again because they supposedly have mutual interests.
Act II
Guthrie and Victoria continue to talk; Victoria doubts Laura will have an explanation as she always acts with annoyance and indifference whenever the fire or the unidentified woman are mentioned. Guthrie gets her to promise she won't mention the body disappearing from the morgue to Laura. Burke wants to see Victoria and gives Guthrie his reluctant apologies for suspecting he was a cop. Burke asks Victoria about Guthrie because of Guthrie's special interest in Laura. Victoria feigns ignorance. Burke tells Victoria he's defending Laura because he HAS to trust her, and asks if she trusts Laura. Victoria's silence speaks volumes, so he asks why Victoria suspects Laura of hurting Elizabeth. Victoria tells Burke about the two other women named Laura Murdoch who died by fire and of Josette's leading her to clues. Burke continues to be pig-headed. Victoria admits she is afraid of Laura and relays the news of the body missing from the morgue in Phoenix.
Act III
Guthrie disturbs Laura, and says he has important news from Phoenix. Laura insists that that means it has nothing to do with her; Guthrie forces her to listen. Laura is shocked and upset for a moment after learning of the disappearance, but she transforms it quickly into a cool contempt for the incompetence of the Phoenix police. Laura refuses to admit that the body's vanishing is strange nor that it means anything to her. Laura and Guthrie drop the polite act; she wants him to leave and he wants her to 'fess up'. Laura warns him twice that he should drop his accusations and leave her alone, or else. Guthrie calls her out and asks what she's going to do to him. He accepts her warnings and asks her, "Now what?"
Act IV
Laura suggests Guthrie return to Collinwood. Burke pops in and forces Guthrie out. Laura tries to get Burke to defend her and Guthrie admits he won't stay away from her. This plays into Laura's victimization plot to garner Burke's sympathies. Burke questions her about being the last to see Elizabeth. She evades; he departs. Alone, Laura stares into her fire. At Collinwood, Guthrie is alone and begins to feel faint. He calls out to Victoria before collapsing.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Burke: (to Laura) Why does it upset you to explain a few simple facts?
== Dramatis personae ==
* ← Mitchell Ryan as Burke Devlin →
* ← John Lasell as Peter Guthrie →
* ← Diana Millay as Laura Collins →
* ← Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters →
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
=== Story ===
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* In Act I while talking to Vicki, Dr. Guthrie pronounces "Collinwood" as "Collingwood." This is the fourth time he has done so.
*When Burke is talking toLaura in Act I he says that Dr. Guthrie is a "parapsychologist" who deals with the occult (and Laura doesn't seem surprised). Burke did ask his lawyer a few episodes ago to check out who Dr. Guthrie really is, but there has been no indication before this that Burke has heard back from him (and the revelation to Burke that Guthrie is a parapsychologist should be a significant plot point). Yet even later in this episode Burke asks Vicki, "Who is that guy?" in reference to Guthrie, as if he still has no clue about his true profession.
== End credits announcement ==
* Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.
==External Links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 175 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 175: A few simple facts
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 175: 2/24/67
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