In the desolate town of Shadow Creek, there was a legend about the abandoned Northgrove Manor. Locals whispered of an eerie echo heard only at midnight.

Aadhavan, a skeptic, recently moved into town. Intrigued and bored, he decided to uncover the mystery surrounding the Manor. Armed with a flashlight and his bravado, he ventured into the Manor on a chilling night.

The Manor shrouded in darkness, loomed menacingly. The decrepit wooden door creaked open, revealing a maze of dust-coated rooms and cobweb-draped chandeliers. He felt a chill creep down his spine, but he attributed it to the cold night air.

As midnight approached, Aadhavan positioned himself in the grand, dilapidated hall. An ominous silence filled the air. Then it started: a soft, almost imperceptible echo. It grew louder, transforming into a symphony of haunting whispers. Paralyzed with fear, Aadhavan shone his flashlight around, but the source remained elusive.

Suddenly, he felt a chilling breath on his neck. Spinning around, he found himself face-to-face with a spectral figure: a lady in a tattered gown, her face twisted in eternal despair. The echo, he realized, was her eternal wail of anguish.

She moved closer, her wails growing louder, filling the room, reverberating off the decaying walls. Aadhavan stumbled back, his heart pounding. The whispers grew deafening, the apparition’s face inching closer to his. He could see the depths of her hollow eyes, the abyss of her sorrow.

Just as he thought he’d be consumed by the wails, he found his voice. “Be free,” he whispered. To his surprise, the wailing faded. The spectral figure gazed at him, a flicker of hope replacing despair in her hollow eyes. In an ethereal whisper, she echoed, “free.”

As the first light of dawn filtered into the Manor, the spectral lady dissolved into a peaceful light, her echo finally silenced. Aadhavan left the Manor, carrying the eerie echo of his encounter, a chilling reminder of the horror lurking in the darkness.