Lovelorn

A particularly macabre form of undead, these spiderlike creatures resemble still-beating hearts with rib bones for legs and tendrils of gore dangling beneath. Their twisted forms hint at their ghastly origin, as these undead form from those who die tragic deaths in service to toxic love: star-crossed lovers who die rather than accept a life apart from one another, rejected suitors whose unrequited affections warp into malice, and other victims of tragic relationships both romantic and otherwise. Any of these might spawn a lovelorn in death, their anguish and fixation on their broken heart causing the organ to animate.

A freshly spawned lovelorn often seeks out those it knew in life, stalking and tormenting them or, in some cases, those around them. In undeath, they gain an understanding of emotions and how to manipulate them, cultivating the misery, anger, and cruelty they thrive upon. Typically, these undead long to enact vengeance upon those they feel drove them to their tragic fates, although in rare cases they may instead act as dark guardians, fixating on a particular loved one and "protecting" them by visiting misery upon anyone who slights them.