Patricia Bossano and Kelsey Gerard’s Seven Ghostly Spins is an amazing collection of paranormal stories, some based on true events. Each of Bossano’s stories takes on a life of its own and features vivid characters engrossed in intricate story lines with the perfect blend of suspense and mystique. Featuring varying story lengths, Seven Ghostly Spins contains seven stories ranging from the story of a little girl who dies tragically in a theater during its construction phase to the more lengthy tale of a young man torn between helping a friend beat a drug induced mania and the fear of further enraging him. Each with its own unique set of characters, Bossano’s stories never fail to engross readers and transport them directly into the setting.

Perhaps the most touching tale in Bossano’s collection is that of “Alison.” Bossano tenderly relates the story of Alison’s fall from the scaffolding where her father is working to build the Egyptian Movie Palace in 1924. The first-person account is moving while at the same time beautifully tragic. Alison sees her own death, and readers are offered a look at the events leading up to her final moments through the little girl’s eyes. Bossano’s conclusion to the short story is especially lovely considering the present-day accounts of sightings of the little girl’s by theater patrons.

The short story entitled “Abiku” is the longest in Bossano’s collection of ghostly tales and is woven from an entirely different fabric than the others. Featuring more of a paranormal vibe, the status of main character seems to fluctuate between Matthew and Sophie. Matthew is a tragic figure who is not strong enough to stand up to the friend who is slowly but surely losing control of his morals. Sophie, the ultimate heroine in the tale, is burdened by the gift of visions. Bossano succeeds in making both Matthew and Sophie highly relatable characters despite their unique situations.

Gerard’s “She Caught a Ride,” is frightening in many aspects. The idea of initiating freshmen members of a volleyball team by forcing them into facing the ghost of a fifteen-year-old girl is one that chills readers to the bone. The fear of each one of the girls is palpable as each is eliminated from the task and a single girl is left standing to face the grave in the headlights. Gerard taps into that overwhelming sense of terror and manages artfully to grab the reader by hand and jerk them headlong into that dark and ominous graveyard scene.

Patricia Bossano has done it again. Her writing always takes hold of the reader and forces them into realms from the first paragraph. Gerard, an author previously unknown to me, has definitely captured my attention. The team of Bossano and Gerard cannot be beaten; their works tap into the dark side of one’s imagination and leave the reader hungry for more. I highly recommend Seven Ghostly Spins to any fan of the paranormal and, especially, readers looking for tidbits of ghostly truths.

Pages: 175 | ASIN: B07GGRNMT7