Something running across the roof

I spoke with my buddy again. Maybe there's something he's not saying, but this incident seems to have really shook him, even filled him with dread.

It wasn't just an animal.

nm

Can you clear up whether there are trees next to the house please? That makes a huge difference whether it could be a cougar or bear - both plausible suspects from almost any size tree. Bears can get out on some of the most impossibly small looking limbs, and cougars can jump 20+ feet with ease. If no trees, then possibly something else, but it needs to be cleared up if anyone is going to try and speculate.

a reply to: Halfswede

There are no trees adjacent to the house. There's no way it was a bear.
There's a remote possibility it was a cougar, but that's highly unlikely.
It would have had to scale the side of the house, digging it's claws into steel siding. That would be extremely weird behavior for a cougar! There are definitely cougars in the area. A neighbor saw four in one day. People have seen them on their decks.

As I explained earlier, my friend said it was like a person ran across the roof. He described it as loud stomping. He was outside in a matter of 10-12 seconds. (His estimation) Whatever had been on the roof was gone.

My friend and two others looked all around the house this morning. There's no tracks in the snow other than squirrel tracks.

a reply to: ColeYounger

Well, those facts up the creepy factor considerably.

a reply to: ColeYounger

So is this a sheet metal building then? Can I assume the roof is also sheet metal as I have never seen a sheet metal building that isn't (strange house construction though) aside from commercial. Can you describe the house better? -- one/two story everywhere, any decks, deck railings, steep roof, shallow roof, roofing material, how close is the closest tree and how tall ( don't care if it's 100' away, it's relevant), is the house on a hill or slope, what is the general surrounding area like (ponderosa pine, mountains, suburbs, barren, etc).?

Thanks

a reply to: Halfswede

No, it's not a sheet metal building. It's a house with steel siding. Lots of houses there have steel siding.
The "wood look" steel siding is popular there in Colorado.
The roof material is not the standard asphalt shingles, but some synthetic stuff.
Poly?? It's great for the extreme weather there.

The house is a two story with a steep roof. I've been there a few times, but I don't have all the details you asked for. Sorry.

The area is near Conifer and Pine, CO. The entire region is mountainous and forested. Pine trees abound.

a reply to: ColeYounger

Thanks. That helps a lot. What I am saying is a possibility is that something/somebody tossed something large up there like a small (5lb) boulder (think sack of sugar weight). On synthetic or comp shingles you would get a good thump thump thump on a steeper roof. Stuff sounds way heavier landing on a roof than you think (just think of little kids running around upstairs). I'm not saying this is the case, nor implying what or who threw it up there or dropped it out of their airplane or eagle dropping a kill then picking it back up and continuing on, etc. just saying it is a possible explanation. There are lots of people who think there are rock throwers out there and has been reported as common behavior.

As of now, you are basically left with the options that:

1. something large flew down and ran across the roof - very few options even in the crypto-world
2. something jumped onto the roof from the ground- not likely given 2 story
3. something big (inanimate) landed on the roof and bounced down

a reply to: ColeYounger


Is there a wood stove, and was it being used?

My sister and I used to rent this awesome house in Bartlett NH every January for a few days. It had wrap around decks, lofted bedroom, hot tub, 3 bedrooms, right next to a mountain. Anyways, we were up one night very late watching a movie; we had the wood stove going. All of a sudden we heard a loud bang, like something landed on the roof. We were freaked out. Turned all the lights on, had weapons ready; heard it again, but noticed it sounded like sliding as well.

We figure it was chunks of ice melting off the roof.

I’m loving the squirrel stories as well. A few days ago I was returning home with my son and his g/f and we were sitting in the car chatting. Suddenly we heard a loud bang, and running. A squirrel had landed on my car, ran full on up to the windshield and stopped as soon as he realized there were people screaming in the car lol. He/she had a chocolate cupcake in his mouth. Absolutely adorable, but he/she was loud. The squirrels in my neighborhood are a trip.

I don’t believe yours was a squirrel though. Hoping it was ice melting.

I had an apartment once on the top floor of an old house that had been converted. Heard a huge thump on the roof and then terrible clawing noises in the middle of the night. Then it happened again the next night THUMP wump screech and THUD!

A few nights later it happens a third time but I get brave crawl out a side window to take a peak....

Big cat dropped from a near by tree chasing a tree rat (squirrel) and after shooing them off went back to bed.

a reply to: ColeYounger

What type of roof? Tiles or tin will be louder than shingles.

Squirrels are pretty loud in my experience. They jump from the tree to my roof and they make a bang.
But their running is a scurrying sound not like running footsteps.

I don't know why people are suggesting it might have been a squirrel. I'll go over this again.

My friend has lived there for over 20 years. I've been there numerous times. My friend that had the recent experience has been there numerous times.

We know what it sounds like when squirrels run on the roof. Although squirrels can get on the roof by crawling up downspouts, they avoid the roof, probably because it leaves them too exposed.

As I've explained several times, my friend described it as sounding like a person running across the roof.

His first thought was that someone climbed a ladder and got on the roof.

a reply to: ColeYounger
I have not been to this site in ages, since it became a political forum. But I happened to check in and see this post, and had to share.
The same thing you describe happened to a friend of mine who lives in a subdivision in the Tampa, Florida area. In fact, it happened 3 times. Her home has no overhanging trees and the nearest house is about 10' away. There are no cougars or bears in the area. There's no way this was a squirrel or other small creature.

The first time it happened was the last week of Oct., 2019, just after midnight. She was getting ready for bed when something huge hit the roof. It sounded heavier than a human. It was not a skittering across the roof, but a loud stomp, like a huge man in boots. It landed hard, then went from the low edge of the roof above the bedroom, up over the peak and down the other side in 4 steps. No human could achieve this feat. This woke her husband, who then went outside to look, but found nothing unusual. He went back out in the daylight - still nothing.

The next time it happened was about a week later. It hit above the living room ceiling, and again went up to the peak of the rooftop and back down the other side in just a few stomps.

Just a few days later it returned, only this time it sounded as if it rolled up the roof, to the right, then off the edge.

Her husband went outside to survey the area, both after it happened and again the following day, all three times. This was very unsettling to them each time it happened.

These people have experienced a variety of paranormal type incidents over the years at various locations they have lived, but never anything like this, if it even qualifies as paranormal.

My friend is not a member here so if you have further questions, I will relay them. This just goes to show that no matter how strange the encounter is, it's good to get the story out. It likely happened to someone else.

a reply to: 321equinox

Thanks for posting that comment. I appreciate it. It seems that this has happened to others.

I understand that most people cannot believe there isn't a logical explanation. I totally get that.

I spoke with my friend again, and he said that it's really unnerving to think that there's
"something flying out there". In broad daylight no less!

We're done speculating on what it mght be!

Were there any traces of marinara at the scene?
If so you could be dealing a flying spaghetti monster.

a reply to: ColeYounger
I have learned over the last 3 decades that there are plenty of things that have no logical explanation.

I had hoped that by posting a nearly identical experience from the Florida coast, it would rule out some of the possibilities suggested in this thread. Cougars and bears are not possible. No overhanging trees, so branches and falling cats or squirrels are out too. No small critter can cross that distance in 4 bounding steps or leaps, with the force described. Meteorites - can they bound up a slope and back down the other side, and roll upward, or return 3 times within 2 weeks to the same house? Parkour seems unlikely with the 10 foot jump from next door. Seems like the superhuman jump would drain the energy required to span the entire distance of the roof in 4 steps, which was not really possible anyway.

There really seems to be no logical explanation here. I didn't really expect one. But with it being so similar to your friend's experience, I thought you would want this added to the discussion. But I will be following this, just in case further stories come along, or someone offers an explanation that fits for both Colorado and Florida.

a reply to: ColeYounger

Sorry if I missed it, but do you know when this happened with your friend? Curious if the timing is similar. Florida was late Oct.

a reply to: ColeYounger
Sometimes the things that go bump in the night in the light of the moon, once in a while go bump at day in the light of the sun.

I would not worry, probably just local wildlife or bigfoot and others scampering around. You people do put your leggo houses everywhere, its likely just more convenient to go over it, then it is to go around it.

a reply to: 321equinox

It happened last Saturday, Jan. 4th. It was around 4 PM.

Thanks again for relating your friends experience. This is some truly weird stuff!

Mmmhmm, I get that noise several times a week. I liked to scare my kids into staying in bed at night with it ("The ghost is coming to eat you if you get out of bed again...") but they're getting to old to buy it now.

Since we're surrounded by trees, and have ample wildlife around us, I chalk it up to tree branches rolling off it, even if I don't see the stupid branch right away. i usually find them a good clip away downhill eventually.

Or, equally logically, animals. As my husband said once, "It's the great f#g wildlife safari around here", all we need is the bears to come through and a deer or two prancing through the yard and I've hit MI wildlife bingo in my own back yard in the middle of town. The deer have been spotted just a few streets over at the park, so it's just a matter of time, lol. There's plenty that roam through at night and manage to sound like big-ass humans trampling around the back deck already -- possums, racoons, weasels of some variety (Martens, I think, the noisy, messy little s#s) The kids swear they've seen flying squirrels at dusk (yes, MI has healthy populations of them) so who knows, some of the thumps on the roof could have been them, too.

Also, wild turkeys can fly, and make a nice, loud thud on roofs if they want up there. BTDT last year, hubs lamented the no-hunting-in-town rule, lol.

Tell your buddy to wise up and not be so quick to brush off the animals, the reverb through the roof & the void under it can make something small sound a hell of a lot bigger than it really is. Again, BTDT.