Hermes T. Haight

 "You've seen death, right? I read about your life, you sick bastard. Put me to shame, I never got to snuff a woman. But did you really do it? Because we get innocent guys in here, sure, innocent until presumed guilty. It doesn't affect me doing my job though, above all else, I am a professional, I am dedicated to the work. Nothing compares to the deep satisfaction of terminating a human life... but you already know that, don't you?"

- Hermes, to Torque "Most people find jobs so they can live. I lived for my job."

- Hermes bragging his 'dedication' "There is a difference between those that feel safest in the light, and those who feel safest in the dark. Which are you, Torque?"

- Hermes, to Torque Hermes T. Haight is one of the main villains of the 2004 horror videogame ''The Suffering. ''A former executioner at Abbott State Penitentiary on Carnate Island, Hermes was notorious for his long and obsessive reign over the gas chamber, his favourite means of execution. Though he committed suicide several years before the events of the game, he returns in the present as a ghost of toxic gas, determined to once again indulge himself in killing; however, he also regards protagonist Torque with considerable interest, regarding him as a possible rival for the role of Abbott's most prolific murderer - and also a possible successor.

He was voiced by John Patrick Lowrie.

Appearance
No photographic records of Hermes prior to his death can be found at any point in the game, so it remains to be seen just how accurately his ghostly form captures his true appearance. In any event, his ghost is little more than a transparent wraith in the shape of a tall, thin human figure, comprised entirely of sickly green gas; completely bald, sunken-eyed and gaunt-featured, he is dressed only in a pair of uniform pants and shoes - both of which only become noticeable in the event that he manifests a body below his waist. Easily the least human of all the ghosts on the island, he appears cadaverous to the point of almost appearing decayed, an impression only worsened by his transparent form and green coloration.

Though he primarily manifests as a human, he can take the form of billowing clouds of gas long before manifesting his humanoid shape, travelling through gratings and pipes in this fashion; he can even appear as diffused gas in the air. Indeed, this also makes Hermes the stealthiest of all the supernatural threats on the island next to the Nooseman, for he can make himself effectively invisible in certain areas until he chooses to strike: in one guard tower, Torque can end up stumbling into a fatal cloud of Hermes' substance and not even know it until the ghost himself speaks and the gas begins to coalesce.

Hermes speaks in a low-pitched monotone, enunciating slowly, drawing out certain words and rarely speaking at any volume above a languid whisper. In a further nod to his favorite means of execution and his chosen means of suicide, he punctuates his speech with long, slow breaths, as if he is savoring the taste of his own toxic gas.

PERSONALITY
Cold, remorseless, lacking in even the most basic form of empathy, and obsessively dedicated to eliminating human life wherever he finds it, Hermes T Haight is a consummate executioner. Throughout the game, he kills without hesitation, smothering his victims in his gas the moment they arrive within reach; early on, should Torque refuse to kill a guard trapped in the gas chamber, Hermes will simply activate the chamber himself and look on with a smirk as the unfortunate corrections offer suffocates to death. He freely admits that he enjoys killing, and has so ever since he took the post of executioner - initially due to the sense of accomplishment he achieved from being congratulated on a successful execution, but later due to the sheer pleasure of the act.

He also demonstrates a profound sadistic streak, not only in tauntingly encouraging his victims to "breath deep" as they die, but also in his very appearance: as he notes during the boss battle, the gas used for executions was clear and odorless, effectively invisible to the condemned; Hermes, however, felt it would be better if they could actually see their death approaching. So, as a ghost, the gas that composes his spectral body is deep green in colour - all so his targets could experience the fear and desperation of watching the poison inching steadily closer. As he himself remarks, his victims can only hold their breath for so long, and Hermes takes particular delight in watching them try to hang on.

The only individual spared immediate death at his hands is Torque, and then only because he wants to test his mettle as a killer; all the same, he has no interest in actively keeping his rival alive: should Torque stumble into a pocket of Hermes' gas by mistake, the executioner will simply let him succumb to its effects.