Have you ever heard a mysterious noise that caused concern or downright fear?
Did you find out what it was?
If so, were your worries justified or not?
My true story tells of a phenomenon that some of my neighbors and I have been experiencing. Is it an ominous sign? You decide!
The Bizarre Clanging
Months ago, some of my neighbors began describing a bizarre noise they were hearing at random hours. Initially, it was so loud and disruptive—to the point of upsetting their dogs—that one family believed the source was within their home. I joked that they had raucous ghosts!
They later determined it was coming from outside. Whatever the cause, the clanging could last for hours before stopping.
Other neighbors who lived across the street from the most affected family occasionally heard it too. Why hadn’t we?
From our backyard, we can see the side of our tormented neighbors’ home, but another property with trees separates us. However, even with the buffer, they insisted that my husband and I should be within earshot.
“Maybe we’re disregarding it,” I suggested, “like white noise.”
They countered that the disturbance was too loud and obnoxious to ignore. Therefore, my husband and I listened for it, such as when walking our dog on their street. Nothing … until I finally heard it.
I was working on my deck one day when my neighbor texted, “Do you hear it now?”
Aha—yes! Since then, I’ve noticed it numerous times.
Always keeping a persistent, steady beat, when slower, the sound reminds me of a blacksmith’s hammer striking an anvil. When the rhythm is faster, I imagine an old-fashioned swing caught in a gusty wind, forcing the chain links and metal frame to clang, clang, clang against one another.
Becoming a firsthand witness to the peculiarity ignited my curiosity.
I called our city manager to see if he could tie it to anything in the infrastructure. Although the noise was above ground, could it be reverberating from the sewer? Was some mechanical device at work?
He found no plausible answer above or below the surface.
Could it be the pump to the pool on the property I mentioned that’s between us? No. In fact, that neighbor thought it was coming from the original neighbors’ house.
Complicating matters, people twenty miles away were hearing it and commenting on social media that the culprit could be an animal found to make a similar sound. No way! Besides lasting too long, the clangs hit at intervals that were too perfectly timed. A human playing drums or cymbals with a metronome to help keep the beat would be challenged to maintain that degree of uninterrupted precision.
What then?
It Must Mean Trouble
The wandering mind could conceive all kinds of possibilities:
- Alien communications
- Deep underground tunneling for covert government operations
- High-tech intelligence gathering by unfriendly nations
- Demonic chimes
The list goes on!
Banging (Not Clanging) in New Jersey
For about a week in 2017, residents who lived along a section of the Passaic River reported hearing mysterious banging at night.
After conjectures ran wild, the local police investigated and reported that a private company had used loudspeakers to scare off wild geese and prevent them from messing up a park. Nevertheless, despite learning the reason, some people remained unconvinced, saying such phenomena were happening all over the world.
My goodness! I guess they enjoyed looking for trouble.
An Unsolved Mystery
As of this writing, we still don’t know the source of the weird chimes. Yes, we’ll continue to probe, but we’re not living under a cloud of doom and gloom. Frankly, we can’t do anything about it without more information.
I sincerely believe, in the end, we will exclaim, “Is that all it was!”
Earplugs or All Ears
While wearing earplugs to block out serious warnings is unwise, absorbing every alarming message as if the world were to end tomorrow can’t be a viable strategy either.
Before leaping to conclusions and expecting the scariest outcome, most of us could benefit from pausing a little longer to listen, gather facts, and let common sense guide how we respond.
So, what will it be for you today?
Will you wear your earplugs, be all ears, or engage with people who enrich your life?
Sallie W. Boyles, a.k.a. Write Lady
Thoughts or questions? Please contact Sallie Boyles, owner of Write Lady Inc., to exchange ideas about effective communications and gain from professional writing and editing services. Receive monthly tips and insights by subscribing at https://WriteLady.com.
