Eerie truth behind US town haunted by mysterious hum that 'shouldn't exist'
Only certain people can hear it
Featured Image Credit: Atlantide Phototravel / Getty
While Australia is home to a bizarre aircraft graveyard and Dubai has its abandoned islands, the United States has its own share of strange and unsettling places.
From conspiracy-laden Area 51 to towns hiding secret networks of Cold War nuclear bunkers, America definitely doesn't lack mystery.
But one small town in New Mexico stands out for a pretty bizarre reason.
Taos is known for its small but popular ski resort, celebrity visitors and the historic Taos Pueblo, which is home to ancient Pueblo people for an estimated 1,000 years.
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But what really keeps this town in the spotlight is the infamous 'Taos Hum,' a phenomenon that has sparked countless theories and left scientists stumped.
The Taos Hum is a persistent low-frequency sound that only certain people can hear. Those who experience it typically describe it as a faint, droning noise.
What makes the hum particularly mystifying is that it doesn't seem to come from any particular direction, and it doesn't go away when you cover your ears. For those sensitive to it, the sound feels inescapable. It's always there, humming in the background of daily life.
Interestingly, not everyone in Taos can hear it. In fact, only about 2% of the town's residents report being affected by the mysterious sound, Thrillist reported. Some people hear it constantly, while their neighbours are completely unaware that any strange noise exists at all.
Reports of the hum first gained widespread public attention in the early 1990s, though many locals insist it's been around much longer than that.
Taos residents hear the hum differently. Some liken it to the distant rumble of a truck engine or the low buzz of a refrigerator. Others experience it more as a physical sensation, a vibration or pressure in their ears rather than a traditional sound.
For some, it's merely an annoying background noise they've learned to live with. For others, it becomes a constant source of discomfort and anxiety, causing headaches and sleep disturbances.
Meanwhile, one resident quoted in a 2021 article by the Taos News poetically called it 'the frequency of love—it's just there—like gravity.'
Despite the University of New Mexico conducting several studies to identify the hum's source, they've been unable to ever capture it. The researchers used advanced audio technology and sensitive sound-detection equipment, but came up completely empty.
You can only imagine how this adds to the frustration of the affected residents.
How can something so persistent be completely undetectable?