Residents of West Forest Grove, Oregon, are being haunted by a loud, high-pitched, screeching-type sound of unknown origin.
One local resident, Colleen Ahrens, told local ABC News affiliate KATU2 that she’s been woken up 3 or 4 times by the sound, while another resident, Paula Lynch, said she’s heard the unsettling noise about 5 times so far, at all hours of the day and night, starting a few weeks ago.
“My first instinct was that it was a gas line issue and there might be an explosion,” Lynch said.
Lynch also managed to record the sound using her cell phone’s video function. Have a listen:
Mystery sound frustrates people in a west Forest Grove neighborhood. Where it could be coming from? #LiveOnK2 @ 11pm pic.twitter.com/p0inj5TBr2
— Chris Liedle (@chrisliedle) February 16, 2016
According to another local news source, KGW, city officials such as the police and fire departments have been notified about the sound, which seems to last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, but have so far been unable to locate or identify the cause. “It sounds to me like some kind of release valve or some kind of pipe that’s under pressure,” said Forest Grove Police Captain Mike Herbs.
The natural gas company, public works department and forestry department have all stated that the sound is unrelated to their divisions.
Local townspeople have taken up their own theories on the eerie noise’s origin, with ideas ranging from squealing train brakes to something… less terrestrial in nature.
“We’ve had different suggestions from folks that it’s an alien mother ship or a warning sign of something to come,” stated Herbs. But added, “We feel there’s a logical explanation for it.”
Meanwhile, resident Chester Epperson, who listened to the noise via KATU anchorman Chris Liedle’s cell phone, quipped, “Welcome to The X-Files back on tv.”
According to the Huffington Post, this is not the first time residents of West Forest Grove have been plagued by mysterious sounds. They claim that former residents reported hearing similar unexplained sounds several decades ago, and that the cause then was never determined.
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