THE UNKNOWN: Taos Hum

Summary

Podcast Summary: "THE UNKNOWN: Taos Hum" on So Supernatural

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Podcast Information:

• Title: So Supernatural
• Host/Author: audiochuck | Crime House
• Episode: THE UNKNOWN: Taos Hum
• Release Date: March 14, 2025

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Introduction to the Taos Hum

The episode opens with host Ashley Flowers setting the stage for discussing an eerie phenomenon disturbing the peace of Taos, New Mexico. Unlike common disturbances like creaking pipes or distant traffic, the Taos Hum is a persistent, low-frequency rumble that has troubled residents since the early 1990s.

Ashley Flowers [00:32]: "...it is a dull, low frequency hum. One that's been driving hundreds of residents bonkers since at least the 1990s."

Personal Stories: The Saltzman Family

Central to the discussion are Catania and Bob Saltzman, a couple who moved to Taos in the early 1980s seeking tranquility. After a decade of peaceful living, Catania begins hearing the enigmatic hum in May 1991, disrupting their lives significantly.

Ashley Flowers [05:35]: "The constant, inexplicable sound is too distracting and frustrating."

Catania's attempts to find validation lead her to write a letter to the local newspaper, offering a $500 reward for anyone who can identify the source.

Catania Saltzman [09:05]: "I don't know what's going on."

The persistent noise drives the Saltzmans to eventually leave Taos and even the United States in 1993, unable to tolerate the ongoing disturbance.

Scientific Investigations

In response to the complaints, in the spring of 1993, scientists from the University of New Mexico, Philips Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory conduct a week-long study. Their investigation reveals:

• Prevalence: Approximately 2% of Taos residents report hearing the hum.

  Racha Pecorero [17:49]: "They ask 8,000 locals if they can pick it up and 161 of them say yes."

• Potential Explanations Explored:

  • Enhanced Hearing: The "hearers" possess better-than-average hearing.
  • Environmental Factors: Examining electromagnetic fields, water treatment plants, and local generators, though no direct correlation was found.
  • Localized Testing: Microphone installations around the Saltzmans' home detected the hum, yet its origin remained elusive.

Despite these efforts, the scientific community concludes with:

Racha Pecorero [19:49]: "...we are left with a mystery."

Theories Behind the Hum

The podcast delves into various theories attempting to explain the Taos Hum:

1. Natural Sound Propagation:

   • Residents speculate that distant sounds, such as traffic or construction, might be echoing around Taos's mountainous terrain.

   Local Resident [21:19]: "Maybe some construction site that's dozens of miles down the road..."

2. Medical Conditions – Tinnitus:

   • Approximately 14% of the population experiences tinnitus, a condition characterized by persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, potentially explaining subjective descriptions of the hum.

   Yvette Gentile [27:09]: "About 14% of all people suffer from a condition called tinnitus."

3. Military Experiments:

   • Drawing parallels to historical non-consensual government experiments (e.g., Project Bluebird, MK Ultra), the hosts entertain the possibility that the hum is part of a clandestine government project aimed at psychological manipulation.

   Yvette Gentile [34:17]: "If y'all haven't already listened to Ashley's episode on that, we'll have a link for it in the show notes."

   However, skepticism arises due to the longevity and lack of evidence for such an operation:

   Racha Pecorero [36:21]: "It's crazy to think that there could have been a secret, non consensual government experiment running for a third of a century..."

4. Supernatural or Mystical Explanations:

   • Given Taos's reputation for a spiritual and artistic community, some locals propose that the hum is a mystical harmonic energy or a natural vibration connected to the universe.

   Yvette Gentile [37:22]: "...Maybe the people there are unusually open minded and that makes them more attuned to otherworldly vibrations."

The Hum Phenomenon Worldwide

Taos is not alone in experiencing such hums. The podcast highlights similar occurrences globally:

• Bristol, UK: A persistent hum resembling Taos's disappeared and reappeared over decades, baffling residents and scientists alike.

  Yvette Gentile [26:10]: "It's literally all over the world. There are reports of unexplained hums in other countries like Scotland, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and the list goes on."

• Other Locations: Reports from places like Scotland, Germany, and Australia suggest that this phenomenon transcends cultural and geographic boundaries, further complicating attempts to understand its nature.

Impact on the Community

The persistent hum has profound effects on those who hear it:

• Physical and Mental Health: Symptoms include nausea, headaches, exhaustion, difficulty breathing, and vertigo.

  Racha Pecorero [14:12]: "For some people in Taos, though, it's more than just an annoyance. It's actually a serious problem."

• Social and Economic Effects: The hum has polarized the community, with only a small percentage acknowledging its existence. Paradoxically, it has also become a tourist attraction, leading to local businesses capitalizing on the phenomenon (e.g., a hot sauce named "Taos Hum. Make it stop").

Conclusion: The Mystery Persists

Despite extensive investigations and numerous theories, the Taos Hum remains an unsolved mystery. The episode underscores the complexity of subjective experiences and highlights how individual perceptions can vary dramatically.

Racha Pecorero [42:35]: "The Taos hum is just one of those mysteries that can never be fully answered. Because the answer doesn't lie in how, what, where or when, but instead in our unique individual perceptions about the world around us."

The enduring mystery of the Taos Hum serves as a testament to the unexplained phenomena that continue to intrigue and perplex both residents and researchers alike.

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Notable Quotes:

• Ashley Flowers [00:32]: "...it is a dull, low frequency hum. One that's been driving hundreds of residents bonkers since at least the 1990s."
• Yvette Gentile [27:09]: "...About 14% of all people suffer from a condition called tinnitus."
• Racha Pecorero [36:21]: "It's crazy to think that there could have been a secret, non consensual government experiment running for a third of a century..."
• Racha Pecorero [42:35]: "The Taos hum is just one of those mysteries that can never be fully answered..."

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This episode of So Supernatural provides a comprehensive exploration of the Taos Hum, blending personal narratives with scientific inquiry and speculative theories. It emphasizes the elusive nature of unexplained phenomena and the profound impact they can have on individuals and communities.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

We all go through those phases in life where sleep just doesn't come easy, right? Maybe it's tomorrow's massive to do list racing through your mind. Or that true crime doc you watched just right before bed. Or the creaking of old pipes that somehow always manages to convince you that maybe, just maybe, your house might be haunted after all. But for the people of Taos, New Mexico, there's one eerie thing that keeps them lying awake at night.

[Racha Pecorero]

Night.

[Ashley Flowers]

And it's not something you'd ever expect. It doesn't have a face or a name. It doesn't even have a point of origin. From what we can tell, it is a dull, low frequency hum. One that's been driving hundreds of residents bonkers since at least the 1990s. And when it was put to the test by some of the nation's biggest laboratories, even they couldn't get to the bottom of left many residents wondering. Is this a psychological phenomenon? A top secret government project? Or is there something more supernatural going on? And the creepiest part is it's not just in New Mexico. Hums like this are being reported all over the world.

[Yvette Gentile]

Ashley.

[Ashley Flowers]

I'm Ashley Flowers and we're back again for another episode of so Supernatural.

[Racha Pecorero]

Welcome back to Sew Supernatural. I'm Racha Pecorero.

[Yvette Gentile]

And I'm Yvette Gentile.

[Racha Pecorero]

And today we're discussing the Taos Hum. It's a persistent rumbling sound or maybe a physical vibration that can be heard around Taos, New Mexico. Nobody knows where the sound comes from, what's causing it, or how to stop it.

[Yvette Gentile]

And it's possible that may be by design because some believe the Taos Hum is part of a top secret military experiment and everyday citizens are the guinea pigs. Aloha.

[Racha Pecorero]

So Supernatural listeners, some of you might.

[Yvette Gentile]

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[Racha Pecorero]

And there's a very haunting case from Hawaii that recently received a big update that we know you will not want to miss.

[Yvette Gentile]

It's the case of Dana Ireland's abduction and murder on the Big Island. And in the newest season of the podcast three, you will not only dive into the details of Dana's case, but but you'll also explore the human cost that can occur when the justice system gets it wrong.

[Racha Pecorero]

This crime didn't just shake the vacationland community. It had a life changing impact on three families. And under pressure to solve the case, investigators named not one, not two, but three men.

[Yvette Gentile]

They were all convicted of Dana's murder. But the thing is none of them committed the crime.

[Racha Pecorero]

Get all of the details of this case, the fallout that spanned decades, and the recent update that changed everything on the latest season of the podcast three.

[Yvette Gentile]

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[Ashley Flowers]

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[Racha Pecorero]

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[Yvette Gentile]

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[Racha Pecorero]

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[Racha Pecorero]

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[Yvette Gentile]

The point here is there's sound all around us all the time. I mean, even if you were in a completely quiet room, you still wouldn't be in total silence. You'd be able to hear your own breathing Maybe even the blood pumping through your veins. Generally speaking, it's impossible to be in a place that's totally free of any ambient noise.

[Racha Pecorero]

Still, that doesn't mean we can't strive for at least a little peace and quiet, which was all the Saltzman family wanted back in the early 1980s. They were looking for a home that was far away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Somewhere to unwind, get in touch with nature and live a peaceful life. They decided to move to Taos, New Mexico, a remote town that's pretty far off the beaten path. At the time, it had a population of about 24,000 people.

[Yvette Gentile]

Now, a lot of us picture the desert when we hear the words New Mexico, right? But Taos is in a very mountainous part of the state, and its main claim to fame is a ski resort and beautiful landscape. Plus, it's home to Taos Pueblo, a collection of ancient adobe homes where the indigenous Pueblo people used to live. I've never been there, but I have heard that it's absolutely beautiful. And it's become a vacation destination for a lot of celebrities who want to get out of the limelight and tourists who just want to relax.

[Racha Pecorero]

And for hippies who want to get off the grid. There's a thriving community of New Agey artists, too, people who like the idea of communing with nature and pushing boundaries. Which is exactly why Taos was really appealing to Catania Saltzman and her husband, Bob. See, Catania was a dancer and Bob was a photographer, so they blended right in with the creative crowd in Taos. When they moved there in the early 1980s, they designed their own home, perched on the side of a mountain, where it was snowy, peaceful, and secluded in the blink of an eye. Ten years have passed, and by all accounts, it's been a beautiful life filled with beautiful memories. But then, after roughly a decade of peace and quiet, Catania starts hearing something in and around her property. She first notices it in May of 1991. It's this persistent, ongoing rumble, almost like a big truck idling in the street. And it's loud. Loud enough to keep her up when she's trying to sleep. And, like, so loud, it's hard for her to tune out when she's trying to read a book or watch tv. The worst part is it's constant, to the point where pretty soon, Catania realizes the noise isn't just happening when she's at home. She can hear it wherever she goes. At the grocery store, at the post office, when she wants to go For a walk, to clear her mind. She can't, because the hum is still there. Which means it's not an issue with one of the appliances in her house or, say, construction work around the block. It's everywhere. And not just in the city limits of Taos, but in the surrounding areas, too. It isn't until Catania and Bob leave town for vacation that Catania finally gets some relief. But once she's back home, the sound starts right back up again.

[Yvette Gentile]

And this isn't some minor annoyance we're talking about. It's gotten to the point where Catania feels like she can't even live her life anymore. The constant, inexplicable sound is too distracting and frustrating. At one point, she asks Bob if he can figure out where the sound is coming from. But Bob has no idea what she's talking about. He's like, what sound? I didn't hear anything. Now, granted, if I was in that situation, I'd be wondering if the problem is with me, right? Like, am I imagining the noise? Or is this some symptom of a medical problem? I don't know if Catania is wondering the same thing, but at least she wants to know if she's alone in this. So her next move is to write to the local paper. She's looking for validation for someone else in Taos to reassure her that she's not just hearing things and that the drone really is as intense as it is for her. That it's not just all in her head. So on March 19, 1992, her letter to the editor runs in the Taos News. In it, Catania not only asks if anyone else can hear this thing, she also writes that if anyone can figure out where the noise is coming from, she'll happily pay them $500 as a reward.

[Racha Pecorero]

Well, Catania's letter gets a response. As it turns out, it's not just her. There's a handful of people around Taos that have been hearing that very same hum. They've just been waiting for someone else to speak up about it first. One woman says she's gotten pretty good at tuning it out. During the day, she's busy enough living her life to ignore it. But at night, when she's trying to sleep, the drone is impossible to shut out. She hasn't had a restful night's sleep in who knows how long. In her letter, she also says she's gone out every night, Hiking in the hills, exploring abandoned factories and wandering around town. She's hopeful that she can find the source of the Buzz and claim that $500 reward. But she never comes up with a good explanation for the sound. She has theories, sure. Her letter to the editor mentions everything from UFOs to distant traffic, but she doesn't have any evidence to support either of these possibilities. Another Taos local says something similar. That just like everyone else, the buzz is keeping her up at night, and that she's also been exploring the area, looking for the source. Her theory is that some electrical generators are making a quiet rumble, but the sound waves are bouncing and echoing around the town's mountain peaks, getting louder as they go. She says she runs a fan at night to drown out the noise, and that works well for her. But before she thought to start using the fan, the sound was driving her wild. And I imagine a lot of those residents felt the same way.

[Yvette Gentile]

So, to summarize, there's a good amount of people who've heard the noise, but nobody knows what it is. And they also can't seem to agree on what it actually sounds like. Different people describe it in different ways. Some say it's like a car idling nearby, a dull, distant rumble. Others say it's more like a hiss or the buzzing sound you'd hear from a swarm of bees. One local says it sounds exactly like someone playing or singing E flat continually without stopping. Sort of like this. And another person says, and this is a direct quote, it's the frequency of love. It's just there, like gravity. I gotta say, I kind of like that one a lot.

[Racha Pecorero]

So do I. But the point is, there's a lot of disagreement about what the hum actually sounds like. And from what I can tell, it's not a consistent noise. It seems to be louder in some parts of town than others. Some people say the noise starts and stops. Others say it moves around. First they'll hear it in their right ear, then it'll drift to the left and back to the right. But there's one detail that they basically all agree on. The sound, which becomes known as the Taos hum, hasn't always been audible. The people who can hear it have only been noticing it for about a year or so, starting around 1991. And it doesn't affect everyone. Like how Catania's husband, Bob, said he couldn't hear it, at least not at first. Eventually, Bob admits that he's been picking it up, too. It's been a few weeks or months since Catania started hearing the hum, but now they're both in the same boat.

[Yvette Gentile]

And, like, how are you supposed to do your job? Go to sleep or get anything done with this mysterious noise in your ears all day, I would literally be out of my mind trying to stay sane, especially because there's no way to make it stop. There's nowhere in town that they can go to get away from it.

[Racha Pecorero]

Yeah, there's no escape. Even the people who try covering their ears or putting on headphones, they can still hear it clear as day. For some people in Taos, though, it's more than just an annoyance. It's actually a serious problem. The hum isn't just keeping them up at night. It's making them physically ill, with symptoms like nausea, headaches, and relentless exhaustion. But for others, it's even worse. They can't even breathe properly. And some have balance issues like vertigo.

[Yvette Gentile]

And this is serious stuff, which is probably why the government eventually gets involved. In 1993, a group of scientists from the University of New Mexico teams up with an Air Force research group called Philips Laboratory. And they're joined by Sandia National Laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which we've discussed on this show before. Los Alamos is basically the leader when it comes to new technologies and unexplained scientific phenomena. And according to some rumors, they also investigate alien technology. So let's just say they know their way around the mysterious and the unexplained.

[Racha Pecorero]

Except once these groups team up and start collecting evidence, even the brightest minds realize there's a lot more questions than answers. And even scarier, this phenomenon isn't just happening in Taos. Is your child struggling with a specific subject or need help with homework? IXL Learning is an online learning program for kids. It covers math, language arts, science and social studies. If your child is struggling, this is the smartest investment you can make. A single hour of tutoring costs more than a month of IXL. IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the United States. My daughter has used IXL to help her study for exams, and she is excelling in school. My wife and I are so proud of her for all of the work she's been doing. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now. And so Supernatural listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com supernatural Visit ixl.com supernatural to get the most effective learning program out there at the best, best price. Who can resist the good things in life? While luxury is enjoyable, it's not always affordable. That's where Quint comes in. Quint offers a range of high quality items at prices within reach like 100% Mongolian cashmere sweaters from $50 washable silk tops and dresses, organic cotton sweaters and 14 karat gold jewelry. The best part? All Quint's Items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. I just recently had surgery and I've been living in my Quince super soft cotton V neck tees. They are so comfortable, so luxurious and so affordable. Give yourself the luxury you deserve with quince. Go to quince.com supernatural for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com supernatural to get free shipping and 365 day returns.

[Yvette Gentile]

Quints.com supernatural in the spring of 1993, the researchers at Los Alamos began their week long study into the Taos hum. They start by trying to figure out just how many people can actually hear the sound. They ask 8,000 locals if they can pick it up and 161 of them say yes. That's a little under 2% of the population and these folks are dubbed hearers.

[Racha Pecorero]

Then they look for a simple, more straightforward explanation for the sound. One early theory is that maybe this group of people, the 2%, are just really, really good at hearing. Maybe they're hearing some quiet rumbles that other people aren't picking up on. Or perhaps they can even pick up frequencies that are usually inaudible. So the doctors give this group ear exams and sure enough, the vast majority of them have better than average hearing.

[Yvette Gentile]

The next step is to get some hearers together and walk around like all over town. And each time they get to a new area, the researchers ask them to speak up. Whenever the hum gets a little louder or clearer, they measure a whole bunch of things. Does the sound get more noticeable around equipment with electromagnetic fields? Are people maybe hearing the vibrations from small distant earthquakes? Is there traffic or anything else that can make a very quiet, almost imperceptible noise? They even look at local factories. Taos isn't exactly a manufacturing hub, but they have a few small businesses where they make food products. And like any small town, there are water treatment plants, electrical generators and construction projects. But they can't find any correlation between the hum and earthquakes, factories or anything making a detectable sound.

[Racha Pecorero]

They do notice one thing. The electromagnetic fields in Taos are stronger and more powerful than in other places. The problem is it's not clear how that would create this particular sound. So they pivot, and one team of researchers targets catania and Bob's house in particular. They figure since Catania reported the hum first, the noise could be coming from her home. They set up microphones, recording equipment and sensors all around the Saltzman's house. And this is wild, but the scientists do pick up the hum on their instruments at the house. They get a bunch of recordings of a persistent rumble on the property. One of the researchers can even hear it with his own ears. No equipment necessary, but they still can't figure out what's causing it. So after this week long study, these scientists are still at a complete loss. They have no idea what's behind the Taos hum. They literally end their report with the words, quote, we are left with a mystery. But that answer's not good enough for the people of Taos.

[Yvette Gentile]

I mean, have you ever sat under a fluorescent light that won't stop buzzing? Or you had to deal with a smoke alarm that's chirping every few minutes because the battery is getting low? A mosquito that's non stop buzzing in your ear. You might be able to tune out the noise for a little while, but eventually it's going to drive you bonkers.

[Racha Pecorero]

And if someone tells you there's nothing to be done, of course you'll want a second opinion. So after the researchers from Los Alamos say they can't solve the mystery, lots of locals go back to the drawing board and they come up with their own theories about what the hum could be. Some people think the hearers are actually picking up on sounds from very far away. Maybe a construction site that's dozens of miles down the road, or the ringing from far off thunder.

[Yvette Gentile]

Now, there's no hard rule about how far sound can travel and still be audible. I mean, it depends on a lot of things, like how loud the original sound was, if there were other noises drowning it out, and if there's anything between the hearer and the thing they're hearing. For example, I might be able to hear birds chirping on the other side of an empty field better than I can hear a friend talking on the other side of a closed do. Especially if the friend is whispering or if there's also a TV playing in the background.

[Racha Pecorero]

And naturally, that has a lot of people wondering, what if Taos is so remote and so naturally quiet that otherwise soft sounds can carry long distances. The fact is, the hum is a lot more audible on the outskirts of Taos than it is downtown, which makes sense. The further you get away from other people, businesses, cars and everything else, the more you might be able to Pick up.

[Yvette Gentile]

If that's true, there's still the question of what's making the noise. One theory, which is a bit out there, but fun to entertain, is that it could be a part of the fabric of the universe itself. I know that might sound a little New Agey, but there's actually some science behind it. See, outer space has a lot of potential to be noisy. It's not because it's a vacuum and sound can't carry if there's no air. But there are countless black holes colliding with one another at any given moment, and this sends out gravitational waves. Think of them as vibrations that ripple outward, like when you drop a rock in a pond. And maybe here on Earth, some people might be able to hear those vibrations in our atmosphere. So perhaps for a small sliver of the population that 2% of people or so, these black holes are audible when they get somewhere that's still absolutely quiet, like Taos, New Mexico.

[Racha Pecorero]

Okay, but here's my issue with that. Like, why are no other sensitive listening devices picking this up? And if some distant noise was audible because of how muted everything was, you'd think if you turned on the radio or the tv, the hum would fade away. Only that's not the case, because residents like Catania did everything they could to try and get rid of the sound, and nothing worked. During that big research study on the hum, scientists asked the hearers if they could block the noise out by covering their ears, and they gave it a try. But it made no real difference. Although it does seem that some people can control the hum, almost turn it off and on, if you will, by tilting their head a certain way. But this just doesn't fit with anything I've ever learned about how sound travels. Plus, there are other towns with hums of their own, and some of these places are a lot noisier than Taos. Take Bristol in the UK for example. It's one of the 10 largest cities in England and Wales, with a population of roughly 483,000 people. It's a pretty dense and loud urban area, very different from the quiet, peaceful vibe you get in Taos. And yet, Beginning in the 1970s, locals began picking up an annoying, persistent hum in Bristol. And from the accounts I read, it was a lot like the hum in Taos. This low pitched rumble, almost like the sound of distant traffic. I'm not sure when exactly the sound started, but. But by 1977, people were writing letters to newspapers, hoping to get answers about it. And just when everyone was at their breaking point, the Sound vanished, gone, just like that. Totally went away on its own. Nobody knew what had been making the noise or how they got rid of it. But the people of Bristol breathed a sigh of relief. That is, until a few years later when it came back. And then it just stopped again. In the decades that followed, this was life in Bristol. The hum would start and stop every couple of years. In 2016, someone even recorded the buzz and posted the video online, which is.

[Yvette Gentile]

So bizarre to me because only 4% of the people can hear the Bristol hum in person. So I don't know how this guy managed to make a recording that everyone could hear. And as if there weren't enough mysteries at play here, this phenomenon isn't only happening in Bristol and Taos. It's literally all over the world. There are reports of unexplained hums in other countries like Scotland, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and the list goes on. And even when some of the hearers moved, they still said the noise was present and impossible to ignore.

[Racha Pecorero]

Some even report picking up the hum no matter where they go. Like, the sound isn't tied to a specific city or location, but instead, it almost follows them around. And that's why another big theory is that hearers are actually picking up on the sounds of their own bodies.

[Yvette Gentile]

Earlier, we mentioned it's possible to hear your own blood flowing if you're in a quiet room. Well, about 14% of all people suffer from a condition called tinnitus. And actually, my husband Gino is one of those people who has this. And we know that some causes of tinnitus include damage to the ear, high blood pressure, anemia and hyperthyroidism, and that's just to name a few. And sometimes people develop tinnitus for no identifiable reason at all, but the results are often the same. It sounds like a constant ringing or buzzing in your ear. This could explain why so many people describe the hum so differently, as a buzz, a drone, or E flat, or even a hissing sound. If everyone is hearing something different, something that only exists in their own ears and their own bodies, of course, reports wouldn't be consistent.

[Racha Pecorero]

But what about the guy in Bristol who managed to record the hum? Because obviously, that wasn't tinnitus. And there's another big problem with that theory. To borrow a phrase from real estate, it's all about location, location, location. Like we mentioned before, some hearers can pick up on the hum everywhere. But that's not true of all hearers. For some, once they get away from town, the humming stops. It's something they only hear in Taos or Bristol, which wouldn't be true if this was tinnitus or any other sound coming from their own bodies. In fact, when people go on trips and then fly home to Taos after about two or three days, they start picking up on the hum again. Almost like the hearers have to get re acclimated before they can spot it, which really doesn't feel consistent consistent with any of the grounded natural explanations.

[Yvette Gentile]

Well, if the hum doesn't have a natural cause, that leaves one other possibility that it's not natural at all. In fact, one really popular theory is that the hum is some kind of military experiment and maybe ordinary citizens like you and me are the test subjects.

[Ashley Flowers]

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[Unknown]

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[Yvette Gentile]

In an ideal world, the US government would not conduct secret experiments on its own citizens. But reality is far from ideal, isn't it? And American officials do have a long history of running non consensual psychological experiments on their own people.

[Racha Pecorero]

According to the book Brainwashed by Dominic Stratfield, this Kind of thing dates as far back as the 1940s. At that time, researchers with the American government were trying to identify secret communists. One strategy was to slip cigarettes laced with a truth serum to their suspects. When people smoked it, they suddenly felt an undeniable urge to blurt out whatever was on their minds. They'd talk about crimes they'd committed. They'd admitted to their taboo political leanings. They were also very susceptible to suggestions. One guy even announced that he'd be willing to do anything if the researchers found it helpful, even commit murder.

[Yvette Gentile]

Those studies were the bread and butter for a program called Project Bluebird, which was renamed Project artichoke. And from 1949 to 1953, scientists from different intelligent agencies tried to improve their interrogation techniques. In particular, they wanted to know if they could use drugs, hypnotism and psychological torture to trigger certain results. Like forcing people to tell the truth.

[Racha Pecorero]

Or the opposite. Make their own agents more resistant to questioning.

[Yvette Gentile]

They did this by drugging and hypnotizing people without their consent, before ultimately trying to brainwash them. Some of these test subjects were their own agents, but others were everyday citizens or people who were targeted because the scientists thought they deserved it. Like those suspected communists we mentioned earlier.

[Racha Pecorero]

And here's where it gets really icky. Many participants in these studies never consented to being a part of it. They didn't even realize what was happening to them when government operatives began toying with their minds. For example, in the summer and fall of 1950, Project Artichoke scientists drugged prisoners who'd been captured during the Korean War. After figuring out the right mix of medicines and prompting questions, they convinced these prisoners that they were having normal conversations with their friends and family members. Then they could ask them for whatever information they wanted to know.

[Yvette Gentile]

Bluebird and Artichoke were precursors to MK Ultra, which we've talked about on the show before. And if y'all haven't already listened to Ashley's episode on that, we'll have a link for it in the show notes. It's a wild one, but the point is, these were all government sanctioned studies. And in these studies, researchers drugged or hypnotized foreigners and US citizens alike.

[Racha Pecorero]

Alright, so you might be wondering, what does that have to do with the hum? Well, there's evidence that American officials didn't stop there. They went even further, testing the effects of of different sounds on prisoners, again in a completely non consensual way.

[Yvette Gentile]

During the Iraq War, private military contractors reportedly tortured prisoners by handcuffing them to the wall while they were standing. They refused to uncuff them so they could sit or lie down, even overnight. This went on throughout the early 2000s. Most of the general public learned about the practice in 2004, kicking off a big public debate on whether it was ethical. But there was more to the story, because they weren't just handcuffing them to keep them awake. They were also blasting music into their cells. In some cases, they also played something called infrasound for the inmates. Infrasound is any noise that's vibrating right on the edge of the audible range for humans. Technically, you can hear it, but it's pretty hard to make out. And more importantly, it's said some people feel intense fear and anxiety when they're exposed to infrasound, meaning it's anything but pleasant. And while the Taos hum isn't quite low frequency enough to count as infrasound, it's in the same general range. So we know, thanks to programs like Artichoke, Bluebird and MK Ultra, the government was willing to experiment on its own citizens. And those Iraq war reports show that they're interested in seeing how sound can impact people. Put it all together, and to me, it seems like the Taos hum could be a part of some government operation. Maybe officials are blasting a low frequency buzz at the small community just to see how people will react.

[Racha Pecorero]

Normally, I would totally agree with you, but there is one thing that makes me hesitate. The fact that this has been going on for so long. People say they first heard the hum about a year before Catania wrote that letter to the editor. So we're talking about the spring of 1991. Roughly, for context, this was about a decade before the government started using infrasound on prisoners in Iraq. 34 years later, so early 2025, the Taos Hum is still audible. Nobody has come forward to take credit for the buzz, and nobody has shut down the experiment, if that's what this is. It's crazy to think that there could have been a secret, non consensual government experiment running for a third of a century and that nothing has leaked about it during that time. And what would the point of it all be? What sort of information could they possibly be collecting? Not to mention it's happening in lots of countries besides the United States.

[Yvette Gentile]

So if the hum isn't part of an experiment, y'all, maybe it's supernatural or maybe it's something magical. Now, you might be wondering what's so mystical about Taos or Bristol or any of these other places. The Hum is heard around the world. Well, we can't speak for those other cities, but as far as Taos goes, there might be an answer in the way the locals live day to day. I know that we talked earlier about how this is a town full of spiritualists and artists, but saying that might actually be an understatement. Taos is a place where it's not unusual for the local paper to publish articles that casually reference things like out of body experiences and witchcraft. There's a real anything goes kind of culture in Taos, so maybe the people there are unusually open minded and that makes them more attuned to otherworldly vibrations. As one person told the Taos News, the hum could be a mystical harmonic energy. I wish I could tell you what that person actually meant. But their explanation involved Mayan glyphs, mystical harmonies, and something called, and this is a quote, flux elements in an unusual but stable convergence. And y'all, I can't exactly make heads or tails of this quote, but maybe it signifies the vibration of the universe, much like the sacred om sound. And I just have to say that our beautiful mother, like she used to chant, nam myo reng kye kyo because she believed there was a connection between the sounds of the universe and spiritual practice. So maybe Taos itself is something very special. Again, I've never been, but it sounds like it is, right, Raj?

[Racha Pecorero]

It does. It sounds beautiful. And I remember mom doing all that chanting.

[Yvette Gentile]

But getting back to it, decades before anyone officially noticed the hum, one resident wrote a letter to her son where she said, suddenly, passing Taos Mountain, I felt I was part of the earth. So I felt the sun on my surface and rain. I felt the stars and the growth of the moon. Under me, rivers ran. I don't know if that sensation had anything to do with the humor, but it sounds like something about this town makes people feel different. Maybe it does have some kind of magical vibration.

[Racha Pecorero]

All that to say there are a lot of potential explanations for the hum in Taos, but nobody knows for sure what it is or how to stop it. This is a problem for a lot of Taos residents. They can't live with the constant background noise. And the more time goes on, the. The more impossible it is to ignore. That was the case for Catania and her husband Bob. Let's just say they were not happy with the end of that investigation into the hum. The Saltzmans thought the officials could have figured out what the sound was if they'd wanted to. They just weren't taking the situation Seriously. Either that or they were creating the sound themselves. So yeah, Catania was on board with the secret government experiment theory. Eventually she and Bob got so sick of the hum that they couldn't stay in Taos anymore. They couldn't even stay in the United States. One day in the fall of 1993, after calling Taos home for over a decade, they packed up their bags and just left. They were willing to uproot their whole lives just to get away from this noise. And they're not alone. To this day, the hum is still audible to about 2% of the Taos population, give or take. That includes locals and the so called sound tourists. People who travel just to experience the drone for themselves.

[Yvette Gentile]

The hum has been a major source of controversy around Taos and many of the locals, the non hearers think it doesn't exist. That the Saltzmans and other people who claim to hear it or I don't know, like they're exaggerating for attention. It's hard to imagine abandoning your home and leaving the country just for attention. But the point is, for the 98% of people who can't hear the hum, it has to be hard to empathize with those people who are really, truly bothered by it. But one thing's for certain, the hum has brought a lot of business to the small New Mexico town. It even inspired a local company to make its own hot sauce. The name? Get this Taos hum. Make it stop. And let's not forget about those tourists. Maybe some visitors come to Taos and hear a musical hum in the key of E flat. Or maybe others hear an obnoxious drone that makes them want to stay away forever.

[Racha Pecorero]

I think what's really interesting about this story is that it proves each and every one of us experiences things differently. Whether it's the way we interpret communication, sound, or how we perceive the world around us, no two of us are exactly the same. And what one of us considers reality might be entirely different for someone else. So perhaps the Taos hum is just one of those mysteries that can never be fully answered. Because the answer doesn't lie in how, what, where or when, but instead in our unique individual perceptions about the world around us.

[Yvette Gentile]

This is so supernatural. An audiochuck original produced by Crime House. You can connect with us on Instagram at so supernatural pod and visit our [e-mail] join rash and me next Friday for an all new episode. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve? I'm Cyndi Lauper. My psoriasis was all over, even on my scalp, which may mean four times the the risk for psoriatic arthritis. But Cosentyx works on both.

[Unknown]

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[Yvette Gentile]

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[Unknown]

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[Yvette Gentile]

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