Monday , March 18 2024
Shades of Souls Passed is a fascinating collection of nine true ghost stories from Madison County, New York.

Book Review: Shades of Souls Passed by Teresa Andrews

People today have a tremendous taste for tales of the unknown and unexplained, especially true stories. Some books on the subject are sensational, while others attempt a scientific approach. But the best simply tell their tales as plainly and in as clear a fashion as possible and leave the reaction to the reader.

Teresa Andrews has taken this approach in her very short book, Shades of Souls Passed. Andrews is an excellent storyteller, and here she presents nine stories from nine different people about encounters with ghosts in Madison County, New York.

The ghosts in these stories range from happy young children to sad old men, from mischievous to menacing, from interactive to seemingly unaware of the person who observed them. But the thing every story has in common is that the person was originally not a believer, and his or her life is turned upside down with a viewpoint forever changed by what was experienced.

Andrews tells these stories in the third person and sets them in situations where the person whose story it is may be telling it to someone else, or in some cases Andrews narrates the story as though she was watching it unfold. This may be a somewhat artificial way to stage the stories, but it draws the reader in and keeps him or her fascinated from the first words.

These are ordinary people, living mundane, everyday lives, when they come upon extraordinary and completely unexpected evidence that something exists beyond death. They are not necessarily threatened but they are all profoundly disturbed. That these people were not ghost hunters, paranormal investigators, or fans of the paranormal makes their stories even more compelling and convincing.

Get this book and prepare for an entertaining and possibly chilling reading experience. Since the book is less than a hundred pages long, you may find yourself devouring it at one sitting, but you will not be dissatisfied.

About Rhetta Akamatsu

I am an author of non-fiction books and an online journalist. My books include Haunted Marietta, The Irish Slaves, T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do: Blues Women Past and Present, Southern Crossroads: Georgia Bluesand Sex Sells: Women in Photography and Film.

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