Nightmare #156, September 2025

“Autogas Ferryman” by Champ Wongsatayanont

“Finishing Touches” by Adam-Troy Castro

“Safe Face” by Ash Huang

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

The main character in “Autogas Ferryman” by Champ Wongsatayanont is a taxi driver in Thailand who can see ghosts. He delivers them to places where they can resolve their afterlife problems and be reincarnated. The ghost of a policeman killed in a hit-and-run accident by the son of a politician haunts him until he agrees to act as a witness in the case. He also faces the challenge of confronting the ghost of his mother.

The supernatural premise is treated in a convincing, realistic manner. The plot deals with political corruption in a way that makes it more frightening than any ghost. The protagonist is an ordinary man, despite his ability to perceive ghosts, who has to summon up all his courage to deal with two very difficult situations.

The narrator of “Finishing Touches” by Adam-Troy Castro is an extremely wealthy man who marries a much younger woman. His dream is to build a luxurious home that contains all the traditional elements of an archetypal haunted mansion, leading to a grim climax.

Well under eight hundred words, this brief tale seems designed to appeal to fans of old-fashioned Gothic horror stories, with its spooky house full of cobwebs and secret passages. Astute readers may be able to predict the ending, which provides the sort of darkly ironic twist as might be found in an episode of Tales from the Crypt.

“Safe Face” by Ash Huang features a woman who removes her face and keeps it in a safe. Her ancestors have done the same thing. The plot deals with her rebellious daughter, who exposes her family’s dark secrets. Their conflict ends with an ambiguous reconciliation.

The surreal premise seems intended as an allegory, but its meaning is not entirely clear. Much is made of the woman’s great success in the business world, accumulation of wealth, and interest in jewelry and high fashion. Perhaps her facelessness is meant to suggest superficiality, but this remains ambiguous.

Victoria Silverwolf is currently reading Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl.