Advent Ghost #11: The Ghostly Wagon

 When I was a kid my parents had these books. The names escapes me, but they had all kinds of weird stuff in them like rains of frogs and fish, ghost trains, spontaneous human combustion accounts, and on and on. I loved pouring over them and getting too freaked out to sleep. I really enjoyed the weird ghostly trains and boats stories so this is kind of an homage. 

Ghostly Wagon

Everybody in these parts knows about the Ghost Wagon. First you see the swaying of the lanterns, then you hear the creaking of the wagon and the clomping of the horses. Then you see it and wish you had not witnessed the passing of the Ghost Wagon.

What is the Ghost Wagon and What How Does It Manifest

1. Wagon carrying dead soldiers back from a war/Ghostly soldiers ride in sitting on their torn bodies.
2. Funeral wagon hauling a fancy casket/The Gaunt Undertaker drives an elaborate black coach.
3. Death collecting souls/The Grim Reaper drives a coach drawn by skeletal horses.
4. A coach of orphans going to the orphanage/Glowing children with pitch black eyes stare out from broken glass windows.
5. Newlyweds gone over a cliff on their nuptials/Battered carriage with a pale, young couple looking sadly from their seat. 
6. The Butcher's cart/Dripping blood and entrails with human corpses hanging from the sides. 

What Should You Never Do?

1. Make eye contact with the Driver
2. Make eye contact with the passengers
3. Take any breath until it passes
4. Look away
5. Talk to anyone on the coach
6. Have a light shining as the coach passes

What Should You Always Do?

1. Make a holy sign to protect your party
2. Say a prayer for the souls on the wagon
3. Make an offering (1d4x100gp) to a religious institution or shrine when next near one
4. Whistle or sing a song

What Does the Wagon Do?

1. Save vs spells or lose 1d6 hp due to the cold surrounding the wagon
2. Save vs death or lose 1 point of a random attribute score permanently
3. Save vs paralysis or be unable to move for 1d6 hours
4. Save vs wands or not be able to sleep that night and not healing or gaining spells the next day