Moodus Noises

Moodus noises are underground rumbling sounds and tremors that have occurred for centuries near the Moodus River in Connecticut. In fact, the river’s name comes from Native Americans who inhabited the region and attributed these sounds and tremors to evil gods. They called the area Matchitmoodus, a Wangunk Indian name meaning “Place of Bad Noises.” The noises can be heard most strongly from Cave Hill, located next to Mt. Tom and owned by the Cave Hill Resort. The Puritans who settled in the region during the 1670s also heard the noises, but they attributed the phenomena to the devil. The swarms of tremors at Moodus, which recur periodically and whose cause is unknown, often compared to distant thunder or cannon fire, and the noises have long occurred there. While scientists have offered various theories as to what causes the quakes, no one is sure why they are so noisy and why they occur in that particular place and depth: about a mile deep in an area a few hundred yards wide.


According to local legend, the Wangunk created a religion around the noises, and they believe that the area was the dwelling place of a vengeful god called Hobbamock. They said the god is very angry because the Europeans had come to Connecticut. The Colonial settlers speculate that the noises is the fights between the white magic witches of Moodus and the black magic witches of Haddam. Usually the fights took place in a cavern lighted by a great carbuncle under Mount Tom. When the evil witches tired of the fights, he would blow the white witches out of the cavern, extinguishing light of the carbuncle and creating the great peals of thunder.

In 1760s the Moodus noises had caused so much concern. Even King George III of England sent an alchemist, Dr. Steel, to investigate and to find the source. Local people say that Dr. Steel attempted to solve the problem by removing a giant pearl blocking the mouth of a cave near the river. It is uncertain if Steel actually removed anything at the cave, but interestingly the noises and tremors became reduced and less frequent. However in 1816 and 1817 the tremors turned from little tremors into large quakes.

At that time the scientists and researchers concluded that the noises were caused by underground gases or chemical explosions. While scholars of the 20th century concluded that seismic forces were to blame as the source of the noises. But in 1980s, when scientists declared that the Moodus noises were nothing more than the micro earthquakes, the phenomena were still a matter of controversy.

Sources:
The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena by Patricia D. Netzley;
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/06/nyregion/a-steady-observer-for-trembling-moodus.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moodus,_Connecticut

Pic Source:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Moodus-Connecticut.html#