The Haunting of Tram Car 015

Abstract

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 is set in Clark’s Dead Djinn universe and is centered around a case being investigated by agents Hamed Nasr and Onsi Youssef of the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities. Set in an alternate Cairo in 1912, the story involves a world of djinns, angels, ghuls, and other supernatural beings who brought a technological edge to the city, like the haunted tram car that is at the center of the narrative. With machineries like aerial trams, gliders, and gas lights, Cairo seems to be at the forefront of scientific development as well as social changes, with women demanding the right to vote. However, these beings and new technologies also bring the unfamiliar, and agents Youssef and Nasr must deal with the possibility that the tram car in question is a thinking machine. In the end, it turns out that there was a spirit haunting the tram, which was being used by the Superintendent of Tram Safety & Maintenance as a smuggling vehicle.