A Haunted Well

"This is something that happened to my mother around 45 - 50 years ago..."

During her childhood, my mother used to spend her summer holidays in a small village called Naginenipally, at her eldest sister-in-law's house. Like most children of her age, she was playful, curious, and a little adventurous.

In that village, there was an old well that everyone whispered about. The elders often warned children to stay away from it, saying it was haunted. Naturally, this only fueled the curiosity of the kids.

One day, when all the elders were busy with work, my mother and her close friend slipped away to see the well for themselves. They played around it for some time. Neither of them knew how to swim, so they never dared to get too close. But then something terrifying happened.

Out of nowhere, a woman draped in a black saree appeared. She was carrying burning coal wrapped in her saree, yet the cloth did not catch fire. With a swift motion, she threw the burning coal in front of the children. Shocked and terrified, the two girls ran back to the house, trembling with fear.

Days later, despite the incident, their curiosity got the better of them. They returned to the well. But this time, what they experienced was even more chilling.

From deep inside the well, they began to hear a voice calling out the name of my mother's friend. At first faint, it grew louder and louder, echoing through the air until it felt unbearably close.

The girls fled in horror. That very night, my mother's friend developed a high fever. Even as she lay in her home, she claimed to hear the same voice calling her name again and again.

Though her fever eventually subsided, she never recovered from the fear. Within a few days... She passed away.