The Hanging Tree by Michael Phillip Cash

TREE
The Hanging Tree by Michael Phillip Cash
Publisher: Red Feather Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal
Length: Short Story (75 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Thistledown

Enter a world where spirits roam the earth in Michael Phillip Cash’s haunting new novella, The Hanging Tree. Set amid the eerie backdrop of Long Island, an area famously steeped in old legend, two young would-be lovers contemplate their future while visits from those who have come before them reveal the lure of fate…and the power of free will. At seventeen years old, Arielle’s relationship with her parents is slowly deteriorating. Angry and defiant, she is at a loss on how to cope with the tumultuous situation in which she finds herself. Arielle’s only comfort is Chad, an eighteen-year-old young man who seems to truly understand her struggles. Arielle and Chad meet beneath the low-hanging branches of what the local community has nick-named the “Hanging Tree”. An ancient and majestic landmark, it has long been rumored that the tree is haunted by ghosts. These ghosts span various centuries and vary wildly in age, but each one of them has one thing in common: their deaths are all somehow connected to the tree itself. As Arielle and Chad commiserate over their current situation and their precarious nature of their future, the spectral inhabitants of the Hanging Tree witness their conversation. One by one,the ghosts begin reminiscing about their own lives-and deaths- as they examine the inner demons with which their human forms long struggled. An eerie meditation on the oft-overlooked power of choice, Cash’s The Hanging Tree will stay with readers long after they turn out the light.

What happens when you test your boundaries under the infamous Hanging Tree?

Kamagra with all of these form works for the sole purpose of treating order viagra uk the erectile dysfunction problem in men. These foods replenish the order uk viagra skeletal needs of the body. Just a click can help to receive the medicine at their doorsteps. discount levitra cute-n-tiny.com Over stress will not give you the desired erection and poor penile erection will in turn increase your stress as you are not able to perform sexually. cheapest professional viagra Seventeen year old Arielle is rebelling against her father’s will. She is dating a boy her father doesn’t approve of. She decides, against his wishes, to go with the boy on a date under the infamous Hanging Tree. When things start to happen, will she make the right choice and get away or will her fate be tied to the tree?

Five spirits are tied to the tree. All of which have a historical connection to the spot because of their deaths. The characters are a witch and her granddaughter, a cat, two young male lovers and a woman called the Gibson girl who died after being brutally raped. Each story is brought to life by the author and we as readers get a glimpse into the past of Goody the witch and her granddaughter Claire and the horrors that led to their demise as Goody was put to death for witchery after her granddaughter commits suicide. As she died, Goody cursed her murderer and his family.

The two young lovers’ tale is equally tragic and we glimpse a time when it was nearly a death sentence to admit that you were gay and in love. The only ghost that really is never talked much about is the Gibson girl and the horrible rape that led to her death.

Arielle sits against the tree fending off the amorous boy whose attention she craved. Should she give in and allow him access to the body he wants or keep herself pure for someone worth having? Each of the ghosts in the tree interacts with her and the boyfriend, driving him away with spooky sounds and moving tree limbs.  When the ghost cat finds itself in a perilous situation, will Arielle make the right choice for her and for the cat? Some decisions we make linger long after the grave. Can Arielle save herself before she becomes another victim of the tree?

I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. Page after page I had to know what happened to Goody and her granddaughter Claire. The two young lovers were also tragic and I loved their story just as much. Arielle is a girl like so many teenagers. Angry and trying to find her way, she considers giving away her body, one of the only things she has control of. As the night develops she learns to listen to the wind and hear the whispers between the branches.

Great story and I look forward to more spooky tales from Michael Phillip Cash.

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