As weeks go by, Maddie grows more and more confused by her death; she feels so alive though she’s dead. Unable to leave school, all she can collect are whispers from school-goers and break room chats; Maddie does not know how she died, and investigates the school for clues or even answers.
School Spirits portrays Maddie Nears as a ghost stuck at Split River High School where she died, but does not know how. She travels around the school trying to solve her death and potential murder with only listening in on conversations and not being able to leave the school. Maddie acquires the help of other ghosts of students that have died at the high school, and soon she uncovers enough secrets and lies that lead her to the unsuspecting truth.
School Spirits, though the focus is on ghosts, is akin to mystery or even a thriller. It slowly reveals to you the truth in a way you would never realize until the last episode. The show also handles teen struggles alike other series similar to the genre such as 13 Reasons Why or Freaks and Geeks. School Spirits is very realistic in terms of teen struggle and mental health from the point of view of Maddie’s friends and from a ghost who never lost touch with her human emotions.
Created by Megan Trinrud and Nate Trinrud, they brilliantly imagined a world where spirits lurk the halls of their former school as a form of being trapped. Maddie Nears does not know how she died, and cannot pass over; she urgently fights for answers with all she can do and finds herself tangled in the truth in which she does not know the angle to unravel when she learns more and more about the events that led up to her death. It is a short, captivating series with a great cliffhanger that will most likely earn a second season late 2024. You learn about the other ghosts and how they die, and become involved in their stories as well as Maddie who brings so much emotion that you would think she’s alive.
School Spirits has been streaming on Paramount+ and Netflix since 2023 and contains 8 40 minute episodes.
