It is Friday, the day before Halloween. Even though it is the beginning of the day, you are already worn out from a long week! You board the commuter train, choosing a car that is not at all crowded. The last thing you want is a bunch of noisy babbling all around you! You slide into the seat with a weary sigh and lean against the window, mindlessly watching the world go by.
At the next stop, a most unusual woman steps from the platform into your car. You can't help but notice her. She looks rather like the Bride of Frankenstein, or the willing victim of a charming vampire. She is unnaturally pale, and sports a number of what appear to be scars, as well as a few fresh wounds. Blood, now congealed, has dripped a couple of inches from each of two small holes in the side of her neck.
As a ray of weak sunlight streams in the window, you realize you can see her body almost as easily as if she were naked! She is wearing a nightgown, long and white and made of a diaphanous lightweight cotton or linen. The neckline is round and dips quite low, showing some impressive cleavage, especially considering that she clearly is not wearing a bra. What else might or might not be under the gown is suddenly obscured as the train enters a tunnel.
At the next stop, you see that she is still standing just inside the door to the car, staring intently around the car and at the commuters on the platform. As an older woman approaches the door, she hisses at her like a cat or a snake, sending the poor woman scurrying to find a different car. Finally, the doors slide shut and the train begins to move again.
She floats through the train car, carefully examining the handful of other passengers before fixing her gaze on you. You glance up, and your eyes meet hers. You can't look away! She has you pinned down with her penetrating stare, as she glides closer and slips into the seat next to you. You are slightly unnerved. There are numerous unoccupied seats, but she has chosen to sit right next to you. Her presence feels eerie, and she looks even more frightening close up.
A cold chill washes over your body, until a realization dawns on you, and you smile to yourself in embarrassment. It's the day before Halloween! Some people are wearing costumes to their workplaces, and she is obviously one of them. You turn to her smiling and say, "Great costume!"
She says nothing, but again entraps you in her intense stare. It feels as if her eyes are boring into your very soul, but you still can't look away. You discover that her eyes appear to be continually changing color--from grey to blue to green and around again. You study her face and begin to doubt your recent sense of relief. What you had assumed just minutes ago was a "fright wig" now appears quite clearly to be her own hair. It is arranged in the clichéd "finger-in-a-light-socket" style, yet it seems to be completely natural and "un-done." What you assumed was a highly-skilled job of stage makeup also looks amazingly natural and "real." You remember having watched makeup artists apply fake scars and wounds, but again hers show no trace of makeup!