Sea of Thieves players of a certain vintage may well recall Wanda.
Wanda was a weaponsmith on Golden Sands outpost back in year one, as unremarkable a background character as any of Sea of Thieves' NPC shopkeepers. One day, though, something strange occurred. Word began to spread among players that Wanda was behaving shiftily; she forgot her name, lost her voice, and started hiding her arm behind her back whenever anyone was in range. More inquisitive sorts thought to catch her unawares, scaling atop her shack to peer through a window unseen. And that's when the truth was revealed; Wanda was undergoing a horrific transformation, slowly turning skeletal as the weeks progressed. Things only got stranger from there; pungent plumes of smoke could be seen rising from her chimney, a mysterious companion was spotted lurking at the back of her store, and then she was gone.