Question: Otho says he was a paranormal researcher until "the bottom dropped out in '72." What does that mean - specifically, what happened in 1972?
Question: Why does Charles insist on referring to Delia as Lydia's mother, not stepmother? Even when he and Lydia are alone. (For example, the moment when he thinks Lydia is wearing one of the bedsheets, pretending to be a ghost.)
Answer: I think Delia actually is Lydia's mother, at least in this movie. They don't get along, so Lydia rebels by pretending that Delia is a stepmother.
Answer: He's probably referring to the 1960s Hippie counter-culture when people were into quasi-trends like the paranormal, séances, mysticism, occultism, ESP, astrology, Eastern philosophy, etc. Those fads faded by the early 70s, diminishing Otho's clientele.
raywest ★