Review: "Fingerprints and Phantoms" By Paul Rimmasch AND Your Stories!
Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Welcome back! I recently was asked to read a book called Fingerprints and Phantoms: True Tales of Law Enforcement Encounters with the Paranormal and the Strange by Paul Rimmasch, so here is the long-awaited review! I didn't do a Halfway Through because I felt like the book didn't need one, so all of my thoughts are here. I am also going to include the stories written and sent to me from the Spooky Story Challenge, so this is a double whammy! Enjoy!
Fingerprints and Phantoms: True Tales of Law Enforcement Encounters with the Paranormal and the Strange by Paul Rimmasch is a book of short stories about cops' and CSIs' encounters with ghosts and paranormal activity. It features over 26 stories of the unexplainable and mysterious that he has collected over the years, and they were SO EXCELLENT! I am a skeptic of ghosts, but his talented writing and perspective on each story *maybe* made me believe just a little bit... okay, maybe a lot! Instead of exaggerating the accounts of paranormal interactions, he factually told the stories in a passive way. This came to his advantage because it made it more believable. He didn't take a "side" and used reasoning to come up with alternate explanations for the skeptics. He kept his mind open and left much up to the reader when it came to deciding what was real and what wasn't, while still providing mounds of incredible details. His writing style was really fun to read, and he also included some common misconceptions or interesting facts & opinions about his job at the beginning of each chapter, which I definitely looked forward to! This read combined two of my favorite topics, and considering I read the book in 4 days, I think that's proof it was really great! I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this book to anyone looking for a short page-turner, but especially to all of the skeptics who think they can't change their perspectives!
Final Thoughts:
Rating: 10/10 - I wish it hadn't ended!
Age Range: 11+ - The ghost stuff might spook some younger readers (but please remember this is just a suggestion from my own experience).
Would I see the movie? I don't know how this would become a movie, but it would be an awesome TV show!
Overall, would I recommend this? Heck yeah!
Here is where you can find more information:
DRUM ROLL PLEASE!
Here are the Spooky Story Challenge short stories that you all have been waiting for!
Only two were submitted (don't worry, I totally get it - it's a busy time of year!), but they were so awesome that I still wanted to post them! Here we go folks!
Name: TheBookButterfly
As the Halloween night crept up, I was thinking about what was to come later on, on Halloween night. I was preparing for terrifying creatures to come out with their terrifying masks on. It was time to go outside. I was nervous, like never before, when I was finally outside. I saw them. I got ready and took my placement as they started to approach me. As they stepped forward and they jumped up in fright, I remembered that when you are the the thing that is going to scare the trick or treater’s, you don’t feel so scared anymore.
Name: Justin
I could taste the blood in my mouth as the creature’s cold slimy hand squeezed my throat. Just as I drew my last breath I noticed the clock on the wall said 3:56. I woke up when my phone rang.
I gasped and took a deep breath when I realized it was just a dream and then I answered the phone. “Get out now., it’s still inside!!”, the voice shrieked. I dropped the phone and looked at the clock.
It was 3:55 when I heard the closet door open.
Wow, these stories are AMAZING! Thanks for writing great stories!
Well, that was a long post! I love when I have this many exciting things to share with you all! Thanks so much for reading this week, and happy holidays!
-TheBookWorm
