The House That Whispers

Twelve-year-old Lenora “Leni” Grayson’s world crumbles with her mother’s sudden death.  Orphaned and alone, she's sent to Blackwood Manor, a gothic monstrosity perched on the windswept cliffs of Port Blossom, Maine.  This isn't a refuge, it's a prison—her grandmother, the chillingly composed Imogene Blackwood, its warden.  The whispers start subtly, a rustling in the walls, disembodied voices weaving fragments of conversations, chilling pronouncements, and mournful cries. They speak of a dark inheritance, a sensitivity to the echoes of Blackwood’s traumatic past.  Leni’s not the first Grayson woman to hear them.
Her mother's crimson diary reveals a chilling parallel, chronicling Eleanor's descent into fear within Blackwood's walls, haunted by the same whispers. The diary points to a hidden room, a place locked for generations, the source of the whispers, the heart of the Grayson family curse. Imogene forbids Leni from exploring the manor's forbidden west wing, her motivations shrouded in an unsettling serenity.
In her isolation, Leni finds solace in the taciturn groundskeeper, Edward Meyers, a man tethered to Blackwood by unspoken history. His cryptic warnings suggest the whispers aren’t just echoes, but sentient entities feeding on vulnerability. He hints at a pivotal tragedy, a night of violence and betrayal staining Blackwood’s very soul, binding the house to the tormented spirits of the Grayson women.
Guided by the diary’s cryptic entries and Edward’s fragmented revelations, Leni embarks on a dangerous quest.  She uncovers hidden passages, deciphers symbols etched into the walls, and finds antique photographs hinting at madness and despair within the Grayson family. One photograph, a group portrait of Grayson women clutching crimson diaries, captures her attention. Their eyes are hollow, their expressions haunted.
As Leni delves deeper, the whispers intensify, mimicking the voices of her dead parents, preying on her deepest fears. Imogene's behavior grows erratic, and Leni struggles to discern reality from illusion. Edward’s role expands; he becomes an active participant, revealing the tragic event that birthed the whispers — a tale of forbidden love, jealous rivalry, and brutal violence perpetrated within the hidden room itself.