what are those strange noises at night?

every night my girlfriend and I hear these strange noises in the house and I think it is a typical phenomina. I just want some rational ideas as to what it could be. It usually happens immediatly when we go to bed and lasts for about 10 minutes. We almost always hear loud banging, creaking, popping, and tapping, and get the feeling of a presence in the room. The items usually making the tapping and banging noise are the walls of the room. The popping noise is usually anything that is electrical, like a tv, lamp, or really anything with a tube that held electricity. It doesnt matter if it is plugged in or not. Those items tend to make a snapping or popping noise, very loud. Does this happen to everyone else? Normal household settling noises? My house is about 5 years old and i live in cold wisconsin. I know houses expand contract in regards to the heat/cold interaction. The noises are just as noticable in the summer as the winter. It really does get kinda annoying and freaky at night, and seems to make noticably less noise if we leave the lights on all night. I know there must be a rational explination for all of this (OTHER THAN HOUSE SETTELING), especially in regards to electricity.

Tv's OFF (and even unplugged) seem to make the most noise.

I can't understand the full extent of the noise, but are you sure these things are 'that' loud? Obviously when you go to bed you are more aware of noises around you.

hmmm it really is loud. I just always assumed this is what everyone hears before they go to bed or late at night in their own homes but ignores them. Sometimes i even hear a ticking noise in the walls, that eventually stops. No waterpipes in that wall. I'm not saying its a ghost or anything, but i couldnt find anything on the internet that gives me assurance of what the hell all these noises are. They only seem to happen late at night btw, and get their their noisest point right before going to sleep.

Man, you have so much paranormal stuff in your life, red orbs following you, lil furry guys running around, noises at night... wtf! Just wear a camera on ur head and sell some dvds of your paranormal life.

Ur from wisconsin and you drove all the way to vegas?

Sorry if others are confused im referring to the OPs other threads

I think your close to an explanation with your weather assumption.

You said it yourself, you live in COLD wisconson. Creeking and tapping in walls could be the wood warping and moving around the framming nails.

Is your house well insulated? do you know if your house has a good vapour barrier on the outside? (between brick/siding) What about inside? (3-6mil poly)

if not, moisture might explain the sounds from electronics. Dont forget, most electronics have capacitors that store vast ammounts of energy.

creeking could also come from poor floor sheathing. too few floor screws may cause the floor to sink (while walking on them) where your walls are, and after the pressure has been releaved, they may pop back to their supposed set place.

I think its more likely shoddy workmamship when your house was being built rather than an entity.

You said te house was 5 years old? was your house built in a huge development project? IE other houses built almost identical to yours?

Is your house well insulated? do you know if your house has a good vapour barrier on the outside? (between brick/siding) What about inside? (3-6mil poly)

if not, moisture might explain the sounds from electronics. Dont forget, most electronics have capacitors that store vast ammounts of energy.

creeking could also come from poor floor sheathing. too few floor screws may cause the floor to sink (while walking on them) where your walls are, and after the pressure has been releaved, they may pop back to their supposed set place.

I think its more likely shoddy workmamship when your house was being built rather than an entity.

that is EXACTLY the type of answer i'm looking for, i am NOT trying to put an paranormal label on every very normal event in my life. However it is really scary at night listening to this .."living" house.

You said te house was 5 years old? was your house built in a huge development project? IE other houses built almost identical to yours?

I actually live in a pretty expensive house, and to my knowledge it was a custom build (i buy high income foreclosures, remodel them, then move on). I live outside of the city in the wilderness. Yes it is definatly cold out here, and warm in the house. about 5-10 degress outside and 69 inside at night.

Can you tell me more about the electrical capacitors? Haha even this very moment i am hearing the TV "popping" and clicking noises. Would it help if i record these noises tongiht? We can definatly do that. Also i have a EMF meter and IR motion dectector which i will setup tonight.

[edit on 31-1-2007 by hiii_98]

When I turn my TV in my room off at night, after maybe 20 mins it gives a loud CLICK or bang, it usually startels me, not expecting it but it is just (as you say) the electricity.

So all the noises you hear are probably just house noises, I often hear floor boards and loud clicks/bangs from outside my room, but I know what they are because of the TV inside my room...

When I turn my TV in my room off at night, after maybe 20 mins it gives a loud CLICK or bang, it usually startels me, not expecting it but it is just (as you say) the electricity

whats interesting is my flatscreen tv does not make such noises (i think), i realy notice it however from the normal (tube?) older sytle TV. What exactly causes this and can I read about it somewhere? What about leaving the tv unplugged? Is it static electricity? Is it the capacitors? Is it the tubes? The windows also make the most noise of all. Do windows expand and contract with the weather?

About a week ago my g/f was trying to sleep (i was awake working) and she heard a very loud tapping noise on the window, and ran in to tell me. Well living in the country i grabbed the old pistola, turned all the house lights off, and even called the police (I saw several state troopers on the highway arresting someone and thought it might be related to a man trying to escape them). Well the cops came out , saw no footprints in the snow and wrote us off as loonies i'm sure

If i was to put it in order of strange and loud noises it would be as follows

Window bangs
Tv pops and clicks
Wall Cracking noise
Wall ticking noise that suddenly fades away
Strange toilet or sink noise (water bubbling or something)

I should also mention we do live close to a major highway, and there is train tracks that is about 5 miles away
(maybe the weight or semi's or the train somehow shakes the house?)

and does anyone else notice all these weird noises at night? I was glad to hear about the previous poster who experienced the TV popping noise (now i know i'm more paranoid than insane )

[edit on 31-1-2007 by hiii_98]

Originally posted by hiii_98

whats interesting is my flatscreen tv does not make such noises (i think), i realy notice it however from the normal (tube?) older sytle TV. What exactly causes this and can I read about it somewhere? What about leaving the tv unplugged? Is it static electricity? Is it the capacitors? Is it the tubes? The windows also make the most noise of all. Do windows expand and contract with the weather?

Capacitors in tvs and monitors hold a hell of a charge for weeksafter being unplugged. Your tube tv will pop and crackle the older it gets. CTR tvs have a "gun" inside them that shoots electrons (ithink) at the screen casuing a phosphorecent screen to make the colours. the older the tv, the more wear and tear the hole unit gets and the more freaky noises youll get.
UNfortunately my knowledge goes more for contruction than CTR tvs. Unplugging the thing wont do much if the problem is comming form a combination of electrical charge, wear and tear on the tv, and weather conditions. for reasons i said above.

your window issue could be because of improper installation. take the board around the window off (CAREFULLY! youll have to cut the caulking first!) and check if theres foam (should be yellow/orange in colour) around the window. if there isnt, that is a major problem and could be contributing to the moisture and poping sounds of parts of your house. Windows will shift due to weather problems without the foam. Glass will also pop and make noses when weather patterns shift. especially if the inside payne is heated and the outside is getting batters by wind.

I should also mention we do live close to a major highway, and there is train tracks that is about 5 miles away
(maybe the weight or semi's or the train somehow shakes the house?)

Its possible but doubtful taht it would be attributed to the noises, outside of shaking your foundation a little...


oh and ya, my house makes a hell of a lotta noises at night, sometime it freaks me out too and ive lived there for 19 years.

check if theres foam (should be yellow/orange in colour) around the window. if there isnt, that is a major problem and could be contributing to the moisture and poping sounds of parts of your house. Windows will shift due to weather problems without the foam.

wow maybe you figured it out right there! the wood on the bottom of the windows looks water stained for some reason. The house is very new and in excellent condition however i did notice that the board on the bottom of several windows seems alittle water stained for no apparent reason. INTERESTING conclusions! Super answers. Anyway of testing the popping noise theory with the TV? From the sounds of it leavng the TV off will not prevent the electrons from immediately discharging, as they may be stored for some time if i understand you correctly. Also glad to hear i'm not the only one who hears all these strange noises... and of course they likely have rational explinations to them. Honestly guys, if you were to spend a night, it would sound like a small war is being waged in the walls of my home

Hello Fellow Wisconsinite,

No weird sounds, and yes it is getting a little colder but not that cold
I am wondering why you are posting this in Paranormal Studies, when you apparently wish to completely disclose paranormal activity.
Sounds like you are a little curious with out wanting to admit it?

Well good luck
WIS

I have the same problem in my apartment it is a brand new one and was built 2 years ago.

lately at night it has been making strange noises and creekings.
It mostly started when i got more into study of demons and religion and paranormal study s, and a presence around me when i am reading trying to frighten me when i read like i have a tv about 30cms away from my monitor and in the reflection sometimes in the corner of my eye i catch a figer and then i look it vanishes.

have you been studying occult latly perhaps that is our problem?
because we both have new dwellings and unexplained noises and feelings of dread.

Originally posted by hiii_98


wow maybe you figured it out right there! the wood on the bottom of the windows looks water stained for some reason. The house is very new and in excellent condition however i did notice that the board on the bottom of several windows seems alittle water stained for no apparent reason.

Well if you want to check for proper insulation, i suggest doing so under the guidance of a trained professional. Taking window framming off improperly can result in the tearing of the drywall paper and result in a really crappy finish for a wall. *as you will remove the paint* Maybe you know some contractors as friends that can give you a hand? otherwise i could probably walk you through it but would hate it if anything bad happened, and without being there, i cant be much help...

Originally posted by hiii_98
INTERESTING conclusions! Super answers. Anyway of testing the popping noise theory with the TV? From the sounds of it leavng the TV off will not prevent the electrons from immediately discharging, as they may be stored for some time if i understand you correctly.

Yes, but all are potentially hazardous and require some technical knowledge.

www.eio.com...

thats a decent look at what youd have to do.


However. an alternative method might be to simply unplug the TV, push buttons ON THE TV UNIT, let the TV sit for a few days and randomly push buttons (hopefully causing the caps. to drain) and see if you still get that popping sound over the course of time its unplugged.

Hope that made sense, its a little late.

Again i have to stress extream caution when servicing both the tv and the window. the charge in the tv could potentially be lethal or at the very least painfull. and removing the window boarder could just really ruin a nice wall if done improperly.

Really thanks for the advice on that, i used up all my ATS points or i would have given you some for the extremely insightful reply.

to the other post

have you been studying occult latly perhaps that is our problem?

All day and especially all night, whenever i have a free moment i'm reading about some new creepy crawly. Is this opening me up for paranormal experiences, or am i simply becoming more paranoid of normal everyday noises and events and attaching a supernatural label on them? I have no idea, but it really seems loud and out of control some nights, however i've never seen any ghosts, and not phsyically afraid of the noises. I do get that "somebody's watching you feeling" , but again that could be just me reading these occult books late at night in the dark and psyching myself out

also for the hell of it, i'm going to leave the tape recorder running tonight before going to bed. if anything significant i'll post the audio files on tommorow.

[edit on 1-2-2007 by hiii_98]

It's hard to tell since I don't get to hear the noises personally, but houses can crack and pop on their own.

Getting an audio of the noise seems like a great idea.

Troy

don't worry about it man those noises are completely normal and happens to everyone who lives in a house.

I hear all those noises and then some.

Originally posted by hiii_98

also for the hell of it, i'm going to leave the tape recorder running tonight before going to bed. if anything significant i'll post the audio files on tommorow.

[edit on 1-2-2007 by hiii_98]

If you come up with some ghost recording it's gonna seem suspecious that this whole thread was a set up for it hehe :0


kidding.

Well, it's been cold out lately where I live (what happened to GW?), earlier it was -18C (-0.4F), it dropped from -10C to -13C in about less than an hour when I first got to work.

So Here I am, reading the paper and having a coffee at work, when my boss comes in and tells me there is an emergency and that my girlfriend is outside in the car.
Long story short, she was on the phone (like she always is, and there's dirty dishes in the sink! ) and she thought someone else was in the house, she was all freaked out when she picked me up and we went home, I searched the whole house with a machete in my hand, it was all clear, and my computer is still here as well! The house, I assume is about 60 years old (the walls are the plaster and wood slats type found on older homes) and it makes a fair amount off groans, creaks, pops and snaps, and some bangs, I am still waiting for the ghost!
It could even have been ice falling off the roof?

TV's and electronics get warm when they are on, and cool off when they are off, so the parts, the covers, the screws, and the other parts all shrink and rub together, I suppose some of it could be attributed to static discharge as well, but mostly expanding and contracting parts IMO.

I'm sorry if somebody already said this, but...


um, farts?