The Hanging Tree by Michael Phillip Cash

From Goodreads.com:  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.

My Take :  This is a ghost story of sorts as there are ghosts but they really don't haunt anyone.  It started back in the days of witch hunts, the first ghost is a woman who was accused of being a witch .  She curses the family of the man (the local pastor) who did the most for getting her hanged.  The rest of the ghosts are the descendants of the pastor who one by one have been hanged on that tree.  Fast forward to present day when Arielle is dating Chad who only wants one thing from her.  As the ghosts watch they also comment on what is going on.  A nice little twist at the end. 

I received a review copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.