“The Hum” is one of those worldwide phenomena that you just don’t know what to make of. Sometimes it’s a very low-level, barely detectable thing; sometimes it apparently seems to dominate the world. Most people don’t hear it, even in places where it’s supposedly common. The likeliest explanation – when it’s heard by multiple people – is that it is a real sound originating from a considerable distance away, being allowed to be heard due to unusual geological and/or atmospheric phenomena.

And then of course there are the hoaxes. Lots and lots of hoaxes. Like the Kiev video I linked to early last year, which was apparently made by simply blaring modified sound effects from “War of the Worlds.” Audio hoaxes are of course a hell of a lot easier than video hoaxes, and video hoaxes are pretty damn easy these days. Just whip up some creepy sound, blare it real loud from a boombox, and record. Easy.

Still, sometimes there are some vids that are compelling, such as this recent one from Canada:

[youtube FHi6LjKuNl4]

This one isn’t so much a “hum” as a “horrifying metallic screech.” This one has managed to score some press, such as:

Mystery hum?

and

Strange Sounds Heard All Over Terrace This Morning

This sound was apparently heard by many people, and many theories are put forward. However, there’s this:

Strange sounds in Terrace, B.C., spark stranger theories

On Friday afternoon city spokesperson Alisa Thompson said she had a simpler explanation — it was a city worker grinding down the blade on a grader.

“The grader blade needed to be straightened. Kind of gets ground down, and it makes a very strange noise. It’s as simple as that,” said Thompson.

“The video, the YouTube video, is actually right around the corner from the arena, and that’s where our employee was doing the straightening.”

Sometimes the creepy bizarre phenomena is actually real, just really, really boring. Still, like Halloween and politics, sometimes it’s fun to just pretend. And it *is* a creepy sound; I suspect more than one good sci-fi story could be formed from this nucleus.