The Phantom Lover and Other Thrilling Tales of Thailand by Jim Algie. Most of the stories in this book are good. Probably the one I enjoyed the most is the story of See Ouey who was a convicted multiple murderer in the past century. Ouey had immigrated from China to Thailand after having fought in WW2. He experienced a good deal of barbaric times and the Author gives detailed descriptions of the sort of carnage that seems to be common back then when often troops had to fight the enemy with their bare hands and disembowelment used to be a quite common order from Ouey’s commanders. Ouey certainly saw something during the war, and apparently he developed a deep Posttraumatic stress disorder.
Upon arrival Ouey was not only mentally disturbed but hopelessly poor as well. He very well fulfilled the expression “’traveling with a pot and a mat’”, to describe a trip with very little means. So, he worked as a laborer for some time and quite soon the demons in his mind started to drive him into killing people and eating his victims afterwards. He had a particular thing for their liver.
Ouey killed and ate about eight people and finally he was arrested and spent time in prison where another hell was waiting for him. Eventually he was executed and since then his body is on display in a Museum in Bangkok, as a reminder of how life and bad luck can turn a normal human being into a savage killer.