The Windsor Hum
For nearly a decade, people in a Canadian city heard a low rumble that rattled their windows, coming from across the river.
What was reported
From 2011, people in Windsor, Ontario, across the Detroit River from the United States, began reporting a low, rumbling hum, like a distant engine idling. Some said it shook their windows and kept them awake.
Thousands of residents reported it. The Canadian government paid for a study to find the source.
Explanations offered
Researchers traced the sound to Zug Island on the US side of the river, an industrial area with steel blast furnaces. The US authorities never fully confirmed the source, but in 2020, when the steelworks there was idled, residents said the hum stopped.
- When
- 2011 – 2020
- Where
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Witnesses
- Thousands of residents
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.