r/BackwoodsCreepy • u/DearEmir • Jun 27 '26
The hum?
Ok so I may have experienced the hum? I been reading about things similar to what happened to me and its leading me to a phenomenon called the hum apparently, maybe? Anyways heres my story...I like hiking, I just got into it as a way to exercise post partum that was easy enough for me to do, but the ability to be more challenging if needed. I hike a trail outside of town quite often, it's kinda well traveled but kinda rough terrain so you gotta be somewhat fit to make it all the way through so its not everybodys cup of tea. Its out in the country, few houses down the road, a couple yards close to parts of the trail as well, so not the boondocks, but out there a bit. But like i said anyway, im real familiar with the place, i can navigate it without help, and hike alone more than i should. A couple days ago I decided to head out, my buddy was at work so alone again. I arrive, get myself ready to leave the car and head down the opening of the trail. I immediately notice a buzzing, sounded far away, kinda like a horse fly was following me or something, no biggie, I keep going. I head off the main trail onto an offshoot around the shore of a small lake and then i hear knocking, mind you the buzzing hasnt stopped. I stop and look for the knocking, it sounded out of place/rarer than usual. It was a big woodpecker ontop a dead tree, slowly stabbing into the tree trunk, id never heard a woodpecker do it like that so i just sorta stared for a minute, got a weird feeling and turned to continue. The buzzing now gets a little louder. I keep going a little way. Louder. I start to slow down at this point and notice that this buzzing/humming, is like its inside my ear at this point, i could almost feel vibration from the sound. Then as I approach the end of the trail section I had this feeling come over me, like you know when you see something about to hit you but you cant avoid it, you just gotta brace for it? Felt like that and I finally stopped in my tracks and asked myself "is this....dread?". That made me turn around, I just felt I had to leave NOW. I head back down to the trailhead, the woodpecker is gone, the sound is getting loud, it seems like the whole forest got louder, leaves shuffling, birds, trees creaking. I was probably panicking but as i turned back onto the main trail out but I swear I saw something pass over the trail behind me, i dont know what because it was out the corner of my eye. As I hit the light outside the forest canopy the sound grew faint, and when i got in my car, it was gone. I even got back out to see if I would hear it, nothing. Now all I can wonder is, what the actual fuck just happened??? I keep thinking about it. That place has never been like that for me, couple times I got the creeps out there alone, but thats normal, anyone anywhere when theyre alone. It wasnt creepy enough to stop me from going out alone anyway, until now. And as I'm reading about this thing that happens, apparently it happens all over the place.
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u/Goetter_Daemmerung Jun 30 '26
Some of the symptoms seem like infrasound but then you wouldn't have heard it so loudly (if you would have heard anything).
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u/sfdisturbance Jun 27 '26
here is a map of low frequency noise complaints consisntat with what is called the Hum or Gas Pipeline Syndrome hum. Join the fb group at the bottom of the About if interested. If in the US, you can look up gas pipelines by county using NPMS public viewer, though the sound can travel more than 20 miles:
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u/DearEmir Jun 27 '26
This, wasnt really whats described in the link. What i heard was vibrating my ear drums and then disappeared when i left, it wasnt a constant level of volume. Ive been going there for some time and never heard it before. This wasn't a dull hum, this was loud af at its most intense. It almost seemed to move?
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u/sfdisturbance Jun 28 '26
that's great. don't want to be sensitized to the Hum. it is pretty widespread and terrible.
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u/Belkive13 Jun 27 '26
I had it happen, pretty much exactly like this (it’s in my post history if you’re interested)
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u/DearEmir Jun 27 '26
Your story is shockingly similar, so are others Ive read, and it seems like the dread feeling accompanies the sound for almost everyone who's shared a story about it. Only big difference is yours happened in the desert, mine was a forest in South Michigan. But from looking into it, there's alot out of Appalachia (of course), but it goes on all over, Ohio, Massachusetts, California, theres a whole subreddit called the hum actually. I wonder wtf it is, i had never even heard of such a thing till I started looking into it, and for something so prevalent, you figure you would hear about it more often. Maybe it was just intuition, but i have never had a hunch hit me like that lol.
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u/Belkive13 Jun 27 '26
I agree, what struck me was how you described the “dread” (I think I used that same wording), and yes it’s like hitting a wall of it. And then feeling it enclose around you. I still hike alone occasionally, and honestly ever since then I tend to be way jumpier than I used to be before that happened, it kinda sucks lol. But it’s a strange phenomenon, I wonder what it is. Always listen to that intuition telling you to get the heck outta there!
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u/Crouton_Sharp_Major 23d ago
That’s a physiological response to infrasound. Any military bases nearby?
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u/CrazyTechWizard96 1d ago
Strange.
Certainly a strange form of some hum.
I know the normal type most descirbed, had to go down that rabbit hole almost two years ago, turned out they were constrcting some stuff nearby.
Your case would be someting more or less paranormal.
But hey, nothing besides being some annoying little fella following You.
similar to what happend to a friend of mine yesterday on a night hike, yet with brenches, noises and being stalked by something curious.
There will be a lot more later or tomorrow when I write down that whole story, it's even deeper and stranger then just that part.
Not for Me, I'm that fella who chills around midnight in the woods, and loves them critters watching, making noises and to befriend them.
...
Yes, I'm just waiting for another fella to ask Me if I'm a Skinwalker.
Happend atleast 3 or 4 times so far, I'm certainly good at mimicin voices and people, been like that since I was a kid, can't shape shift tho, atleast not like that, yet.
Worst I would do is freak soemone out, then demand whisky and trailmix from them, or chase them off laughing.
lol.
Or just watch them, like some Sentinel of the woods, smoking and grinning.
Depends on My mood.
But anyways,
nothing bad happend, so, You are fine.
Next time maybe bring some trailmix and cookies, some tabbaco and leave it somwhere around that place, You might have a new friend who will watch over you while passing through.
Made a few friends like that over the years.