Oneiroi - The Pale One

It's been quite a while since I've drawn an "Oneiroi" picture. I threw this one together rather quickly, though admittedly it doesn't quite do this strange being justice.

This particular dream was in a more quasi-historical setting - in this case, it seemed a bit like the Industrial Era in America. Factories, railroads, conservative fashion, etc. The main character was a young man with dark hair (and I believe he had spectacles), wearing a dark greenish vest over a white shirt, who was traveling via railroad on some sort of business. There were several other people on the train as well, as would be the norm. What could've been a fairly standard cross-country trip took a turn for the strange, however, with the appearance of the Pale One. It's form was ghostly and slightly amorphous, and it had the ability to part the shadows that made up its head to reveal a pure white imitation of a human face, with sharp teeth, and multiple blank eyes. It also had the usual abilities of a spirit-type creature, such as invisibility and phasing.

The trouble started once the sun began to set, and the train was miles away from the nearest stop. It started in the luggage car, and gradually progressed through other cars in a predatory fashion. As fear escalated, with people fleeing and trying to hide in other cars, an older gentleman on the train who was apparently some sort of hobby-occultist believed it was a foreign creature, one he had read about. He speculated it was acting on instinct - this was not its native environment - but there was a chance that some form of communication or at least pacification could be established. The young man, while afraid, volunteered to assist for the seance/ritual the gentleman had planned. 

They confronted the creature, who did pause when they began to speak with it. The gentleman told the young man what to say to it while he performed the other part of the ritual, which he did. Things didn't go quite as expected, however, as it became particularly intent on the young man, and instead of backing down, it proceeded to possess him. Turns out, the gentleman knew a lot more than he let on, and he knew this would happen. It was all part of some plan that involved finding a physical host for the Pale One, for whatever reason. I didn't quite get that part, unfortunately.

So yeah, I just felt like doodling this creature, as its appearance was rather striking when placed within this particular setting.