The Bristol Hum
In the 1970s, hundreds of people in Bristol complained of a low, droning hum that kept them awake, which most of their neighbours couldn't hear.
What was reported
In the late 1970s, people in and around Bristol began reporting a low-frequency hum, often described as like a distant engine idling, mostly heard indoors at night. When a national newspaper wrote about it, hundreds of readers wrote in to say they heard it too.
Some sufferers said it caused headaches and sleeplessness, and many spent years trying to find its source.
Explanations offered
No single source was found. Suggestions included factories, traffic, pipelines and power lines, as well as a form of tinnitus or a sensitivity to low sounds that only some people have. Similar hums have since been reported around the world, including in Taos, New Mexico.
- When
- Reported from the 1970s
- Where
- Bristol, England
- Witnesses
- Hundreds of residents
- Status
- Unexplained
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