52

Maggie questions her father about what is in the letter he gave her.
== Synopsis ==
:My name is Victoria Winters. I originally came to Collinwood hoping to solve the mystery of my past. But the mystery of the present has overshadowed that for the moment.
Victoria and Carolyn talk about what they saw at Widows' Hill and Victoria's mission to Collinsport. Victoria is resolute in not leaving until she finds out a clue to her identity. Victoria speculates that Bill Malloy might have been the body in the water. Carolyn, who says Bill was like a father to her, is sure it was not his body, no way.
Meanwhile, Maggie is worried about Sam, who worries about Bill and his own uncertain future based on what he did to himself. He asks Maggie about the letter; she says it's in the hotel safe. At Collinwood, Victoria and Carolyn hear noises that frighten Carolyn. They're afraid of asking Elizabeth and Roger about the noises, for fear of being labeled as thing-hearers. The watch was a present from Joe, a birthday present. Victoria was given a birthday by the Foundling Home and has never 'really' had a birthday. Maggie tries to console Sam. Maggie likes Burke, who Sam says is a harsh, unforgiving man. He speculates that what may happen to him may have happened to Bill.
Downstairs, the phone rings. Sam asks for Collins, but hangs up. Victoria finds the Collins Family History book in the middle of the floor. It is the noisemaker but neither lady can think of a logical explanation for its location. The girls leave and the book mysteriously opens to Josette's picture. Maggie asks Sam why he called a Collins and he tries to explain his painter's logic. Maggie catches his lie. The girls want the mystery whisper-caller to have been Malloy. Victoria suspects the call came from a bar, but it was too silent. Carolyn thinks Malloy is a nice man who's a softie under his whiskers. She says Malloy has a crush on Elizabeth. Maggie asks what happened to Malloy and Sam worries. She threatens to read the letter because Sam can't say what's on his mind. Sam wants her to get the letter so he can destroy it; he recants a moment later. Sam gets rough with Maggie about it; he makes her swear on her mother's grave.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Victoria: I'm going to find a live little ghost.
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: Victoria: Poor David. He gets blamed for everything around here.
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:Sam: These aren't normal times. There are forces loose in Collinsport that frighten me to think of.
:Maggie: What forces?
:Sam: Evil forces. You can smell it in the very atmosphere.
:Maggie: Pop, it's supposed to be the purest atmosphere in the country. Why do think all those summer people come up here every year? It's to get away from the air pollution, that's why.
:Sam: This pollution lies in the souls of men, not in the air.
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== Dramatis personae ==
* ← Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard →
* ← David Ford as Sam Evans →
* ← Kathryn Leigh Scott as Maggie Evans →
* ← Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters →
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
=== Story ===
* Carolyn considered Bill Malloy to be like a father to her.
*Carolyn says she believes Billy Malloy had a crush on Elizabeth.
* Bill's nickname was "Old Chin Whiskers."
* Carolyn admits that all the really strange stuff hadn't started until Victoria and Burke came to town.
* Victoria claims she doesn't believe in ghosts.
* Carolyn says that people would drive by to see the haunted mansion or the witch that hasn't left the house in 18 years.
* The picture of Josette Collins in the Collins Family History book states she was born in 1810 and died in 1834.
* GHOSTWATCH: Victoria and Carolyn hear a noise and go to look in the drawing room for the source. It was a book that had dropped to the floor. They put the book on the desk, and after they leave, by itself, the book opens to a picture of Josette.
* TIMELINE: Day 6 begins, and will end in episode 66. It's almost 1am. Victoria has been at Collinwood "a short while".
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* While Maggie and Sam are talking, someone is coughing off-stage.
*Actress Alexandra Moltke flubs, "They already think we're hearing...seeing things" when speaking to Carolyn.
* After Vicki leaves the bedroom Carolyn gets up to close the window and reveals she is wearing two-inch heels.
* As Vicki and Carolyn enter the drawing room after hearing a disturbing noise, the camera swings too far wide to the right, revealing where the drawing room/foyer wall ends to show two crew members moving in the foyer. Also the shadow of a boom microphone is visible on Vicki's back as she starts to open the doors.
*After Vicki places the Collins family history book on the table and as Vicki and Carolyn are talking, a couple of off-stage sounds are heard (a metallic sound and a small clunking sound), possibly stagehands setting up the string mechanism to open the book at the end of the scene.
*The birth and death dates of Josette given in this episode are consistent with the story of the building of Collinwood up to this point, but her date of death will later be changed to 1796.
*When Sam is talking to Maggie about Burke's portrait and Roger Collins, David Ford mispronounces "Collinsport" as "Collinport."
== End credit announcement ==
* Phyllis Diller stars in the zany comedy The Pruitts of Southampton. Advance premiere tonight in color on ABC.
* Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis production.
==External Links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 52 on the IMDb
The Collinsport Historical Society - Dark Shadows Diary - Episode 52
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 52: The very atmosphere
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 52: 9/6/66
Category:Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series
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