Nightmare #164“Hollow Cast” by Sarah Grey
“A Magic Kingdom” by Bruce McAllister
Reviewed by David Wesley Hill
`Nightmare has been pretty hit or miss as of late, with one issue being uniformly excellent and the next … not so much. Thankfully, the magazine returns to form this month with two strong stories, the first of which, “Hollow Cast” by Sarah Grey, takes us to a vast landfill, where discarded dolls eke out hardscrabble afterlives among the trash in a corner of the junkyard they call “Sunnyhaven” while dreaming nostalgically of their lost homes and families. Then the “New Girl” arrives. Unlike the others, who are made of molded plastic and are more or less anatomically correct, she’s a rag doll, sewn together of fabric, with a huge round porcelain head, which cracks open after an accident … allowing the others to learn the sad truth about her previous existence. Eerie, sad, and … recommended.
I’ve read different accounts over the years of what it’s like working for Disney. Some people loved it. Others hated the experience. “A Magic Kingdom” by Bruce McAllister falls into the latter category, surgically paring away the mystery and the magic and exposing the mundane details behind the scenes … with, of course, a dark twist. I can’t say more without giving away the game, but really, how animatronic are those animatronic figures? A creepy tale and also recommended!