The Taos hum is a strange, low-pitched humming sound that some people claim to hear at various locations around the world. The name of the phenomenon comes from the fact that an unusually large number of instances of this strange humming have been reported in and around Taos, New Mexico. As with many paranormal phenomena, scientists investigating claims of Taos hum have been unable to detect it using microphones or other audio equipment.

Consequently, some have suggested that the sound is in fact coming from within the person hearing it, due to some undiagnosed problem with the ear or the nervous system. Other scientists have theorized that the sound might be a by-product of a subtle geological event, such as shifts in the earth’s crust, that only certain people are able to detect. Still others think that the sound comes from ordinary sources, such as distant airplanes and cars, that have become a barely detectable hum due to atmospheric conditions.

Believers in Earth energy, however, say that the hum is due to powerful energies, beneficial to human health, that emanate from deep beneath the Earth’s surface, while believers in conspiracy theories claim that the Taos hum—and perhaps similar hums heard elsewhere as well—is due to a secret government research facility hidden somewhere in or beneath the city.

SEE ALSO:

• Earth energy;
• government coverups and conspiracy theories

SOURCE:

The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning