The Whisperer - by Valerie Tan

In the eerie, forgotten town of Black Hollow, an abandoned mansion known as "The Wither House" casts a haunting shadow over a lonely dirt road. With shattered windows and walls stained by time, the house is said to harbor a dark secret from over a century ago. Dr. Elias Wither, a once-beloved doctor, lived there with his wife, Margaret, and daughter, Clara. When a plague swept through Black Hollow, claiming his family along with many others, Elias's grief turned into madness. Desperate to reverse death, he descended into grotesque experiments, vanishing soon after under mysterious circumstances. Rumors claim he succeeded in reviving his loved ones, though in a form so twisted that the house itself seemed cursed.

Through the decades, those who dared to enter The Wither House-thrill-seekers, paranormal hunters, the curious-were never seen again. But on a stormy autumn night, four college students, Sarah, Jake, Emma, and Mark, decide to prove the legends false. Armed with flashlights, cameras, and a mix of bravado and terror, they step into the decaying mansion. As they navigate the darkened halls, the chilling story of Elias Wither begins to unravel around them, revealing that the past may be far from dead in Black Hollow.