What Is Causing the Taos Hum?

By | June 1, 2019

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Taos Pueblo. Source: (Wikimedia Commons)

The small town of Taos, New Mexico, isn’t famous for celebrities like Julia Roberts and Dennis Hopper who have called it home. That spotlight has been stolen by a mysterious sound, known as the “Taos Hum” which seems to defy explanation. While there have been a number of theories, including UFOs and government experiments, investigations have failed to positively identify the source of the hum.

First detected in the early 1990s, the hum is only heard by a small percentage of the population of Taos. However, it seems to be consistent as hearers report it occurring on a weekly basis. It also seems to be widespread as it is reportedly heard throughout the town. The sound of the hum has been compared to that of an idling diesel truck or high-powered bass audio. Due to the frequent complaints, the New Mexico delegation stepped in 1993 and an investigation was initiated.

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University of New Mexico. Source: (Wikimedia Commons)

A professor of engineering at the University of New Mexico named Joe Mullins conducted the investigation. Mullins began the investigation by setting up specialized equipment and asking ten of the alleged hearers to generate a sound which matched the hum. Eight of them were able to create a sound which matched what they were hearing. However, the carrier frequencies of the sounds generated ranged from 32 Hz to 80Hz. Test results suggested that the hearers were not all hearing the same sound.