The episode begins with Bill Malloy at the front desk of the Collinsport Inn, using the telephone to call Burke Devlin’s room. Burke hangs up on him. It ends with Carolyn Stoddard standing on the same spot, making the same call. Burke invites her up. Marc Masse has a nice discussion on his blog of what this pair of scenes means within the formal structure of the show at this point.
Carolyn tells Vicki about Josette and the two governesses who fell to their deaths from Widow’s Hill, and about the legend that a third governess will follow. Liz declares “There are no ghosts here,” but uses the word “Poltergeist” in a little speech about ghosts, a sufficiently sophisticated term in 1966 to suggest that someone using it has done serious reading about the supernatural. Coupling these lines with Burke’s statement in episode 7 that there are literal ghosts at Collinwood and other remarks that Roger and Carolyn have made in other episodes, the show is going out of way to keep the possibility open that there will be literal ghost stories.
Dark Shadows Commentary 
Liz could just be a Pogo fan. The story in Pogo appeared long before this, where the sweet little too-young-to-talk Pup-Dog finally speaks, and his first words are “Poltergeists form the principal type of spontaneous material manifestation.” Then that’s all he ever says after that. Certainly **I** knew what a poltergeist was in 1966. Of course it would be an unexpected choice of reading matter for Elizabeth Collins Stoddard…
Thanks to Danny for alerting me to this blog by one I admire from the Superheroes Every Day site, and for you for writing these fine comments AND for alerting me that I can now get back into “Dark Shadows: From the Beginning” again! I’ve been frustrated for the past three years at being shut out of it when I was enjoying it! I saw the reason for the impulse to take it private, but do you know how I could get invited in? Though if Mark Masse has stopped writing it…
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Glad you’re here!
I sent Marc Masse a message asking for an invitation, but he never responded. So I hope he doesn’t take it private again.
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