The apparition looked like a horse ridden by a gaunt human with glowing red eyes and hair of flame. The rider wore a robe that blazed white-hot in my thermographic goggles—a robe that seemed to be melting and sliding from his body in long, steaming drips. I felt a splash of hot liquid on my arm, raised it to my nose, and sniffed. Blood. More drops fell upon my hair and shoulders. Then the spectral horse threw back its head and whinnied—a sound that shivered through my soul like ice.