username; DewFromJupiter
name; Calico (after an area of the world’s biggest haunt attraction, Knott's Scary Farm)
gender; Female
prompt;
I’m what they call in the acting industry a haunt actor. We’re paid by haunted house attraction owners and amusement parks to go around in masks and wreak absolute havoc for minimum wage. Only I don’t need a mask. Now, normally most people would chalk that up as just something for rebellious teens, but I’m on the older side. The much older side. I just celebrated my 3,000th birthday last June and don’t look a day over 23! That curse has been holding strong and my appearance is still no less frightening. I was only trying to have some fun, but I should have known better. Ghosts aren’t known for being very forgiving when they’re messed with and, growing up in a culture that respected the deceased, I knew full well the risks I took. I should have known better than to climb up a memorial, but it had looked like fun, egging my friends on as we stood up high to see the ornately decorated graveyard lit with funerary candles. I was beautiful then, but that angry spirit took my glossy fur and traded it for tiger skins and angry red markings. I lost my friends and was forced to be a wanderer as the spirit was, a feared paraiah. Nowadays, I live on the fringe of society, a cryptid who emerges only to try and at least do the one job I can do. I try to make the best of it, but I’m still very isolated. My job makes me feel a little better, but I don’t get a kick out of scaring people like my coworkers do. You wouldn’t, either, if you’d been doing it for thousands of years. At least the horror enthusiasts and teens who work there see me as a local superstar. Eventually, though, they get new jobs and forget about the haunted house they used to work at one month out of the year and I’m left just as lonely as before.
One night, during opening week, a parent brought his young kid through as a “coming-of-age”. I’ve seen this a million times over and I hate it. Scary attractions should always be fun, not traumatizing, and this was way past the point of “fun”. What’s even worse is that these types of parents often ask us actors to scare their kids even more! The poor little girl was bawling and, instead of doing my typical scare routine as with most guests, I dropped down on one knee and waved, smiling. She wiped her eyes, reached out her arms in what I expected to be a high-five. Instead, she surprised me with a hug. I walked ahead of their group through the maze, letting other actors know not to scare her. At the end, she ran up to me for one more hug and told me, “You’re a nice monster. Thanks for not scaring me. I was already too afraid. ”
Now
I was starting to tear up! Someone had seen past my scary appearance and finally saw me the way I had wanted to be seen, as a comforting, guiding friend. Even monsters can have soft hearts. (526/500; will edit)
Note: Based off a true story (other than the curse of course, haha!) If I win, she’s becoming my haunt acting character for next October and I’m commissioning a costume for sure!!! Most people would probably think I’m a werewolf but I’d know better.

She even fits with the theme/color scheme of the haunt that I work at!!!