School Spirits Season 1 Recap in depth: Everything you need to remember for Season 2

Paramount+’s School Spirits is known for its fresh take on the supernatural genre and teen dramas. The show, which premiered in March 2023, follows a high school student, Maddie Nears, played by Peyton List, who suddenly finds out that she has turned into a ghost.

As she roams around the hallways of Split River High School, she comes across other ghosts who have resided in the building for decades. While the authorities investigate Maddie’s disappearance, she starts her own investigation into her supposed death.

However, the first season ends with a surprising twist that changes the whole course of the story. Now that the show is returning with its second season, audiences would want to refresh their memory about all the events that happened in the first installment. So here is the complete School Spirits season 1 recap.

---

School Spirits season 1 recap: What happened to Maddie?

School Spirits season 1 begins with a high school senior named Maddie Nears finding herself stuck as a ghost. She haunts Split River High School but does not remember how she died. The last thing anyone knows about her is that she was seen in the school basement, where traces of her blood were later found.

As a spirit, Maddie encounters other ghosts at school. However, she is different from others as her best friend, Simon, can still see and talk to her. As she tries to figure out what happened, she remembers she had a fight with her alcoholic mom, Sandra, just before she disappeared.

Sandra had spent Maddie’s college fund on a cabin, which led to an argument between them. As Maddie continues to investigate, she begins to learn shocking truths about her loved ones.

Her boyfriend, Xavier, was cheating on her with her former friend, Claire. Meanwhile, Mr. Anderson, a teacher at the school, is caught embezzling money, which makes him a suspect in the murder case.

---

School Spirits season 1 recap: What is the mystery at the school?

The ghosts of past students remain trapped at Split River High School. In her afterlife, Maddie meets other spirits who are not able to move on from the school. She befriends Charley, a kindhearted teen from the ‘90s who died of an allergic reaction, and Wally, a fun-loving football player who died in a game.

She also comes across Rhonda, a rebellious girl murdered by her guidance counselor, and Dawn, a girl from the ‘70s. They are all led by Mr. Martin, a chemistry teacher who died in a fire in 1958 and acts as their mentor.

Meanwhile, Maddie’s real-world schoolmates, Xavier, Nicole, and Claire, find out that someone has been using an abandoned house near the school for unknown reasons. When they investigate the house, they find a girl who looks exactly like Maddie.

---

School Spirits season 1 recap: Is Maddie actually Dead?

The final episode of School Spirits season 1 reveals the surprising truth that Maddie is not actually dead. Unlike the other spirits trapped at the school, her body is still alive. She starts existing as a ghost because her body has been possessed by Janet, a student from 1958, who was believed to have crossed over.

When Maddie entered the basement room, Janet and Mr. Martin were already there. Janet took over Maddie’s body, which displaced her spirit and made her unable to interact with the living world. Hence, Maddie has not been murdered or kidnapped. Instead, her body has been stolen by a spirit.

Meanwhile, Mr. Martin is not the helpful mentor he is pretending to be. His past and his connection to Janet are still a mystery and might be explored in School Spirits season 2. On the other hand, Simon starts doubting Maddie and their friendship when he finds out her body is still alive.

Hence, Maddie is left alone as her real-world friends have stopped trusting her, and her afterlife friends do not understand her. Now, the only way she can fix things is to take her body back from Janet, which seems to be a difficult task.

School Spirits season 2 premiered on Paramount+ on January 30, 2025.