The Hum

The Sound That Makes You Sick — Vlog 1: Ridgepoint (uploaded April 26th, 2026)

Video transcript:

Can you hear it? “Jordan, what am I supposed to hear?” you ask. I’m not talking about the wind or the noise from the road behind me. I’m talking about this mysterious, low, rumbling sound. Many call it “the hum.” But even if you don’t hear it, you still feel it, because below our hearing range lies a whole other layer of noise: infrasound.

Studies show it can have significant effects on your health and even cause harm, from unease and dizziness to seizures. Have you ever entered a building and instantly felt that something was wrong? Well, maybe it wasn’t something supernatural or just your imagination. I’m a little dizzy and nauseous myself at the moment, though maybe it was the gas-station sushi. We’ll see.

I’ve been interested in this phenomenon since college — it’s actually a funny story; maybe I’ll tell it someday — and over the years, I’ve done a lot of travelling to research it. Today I’m in a town called Ridgepoint, Maine, near a new data center that opened a couple of months ago.

We’ve all heard what such facilities can do to water supplies and the local ecology, but what about noise pollution? The first measurement I took here already shows significant levels of low-frequency noise. I hope the locals can still remember how they felt before it opened and are willing to talk about any new symptoms. Over the next few days, I’m going to interview people and measure noise levels in different locations.

TSTMYS — Vlog 2: The Empty Town (uploaded April 27th, 2026)

Video transcript:

Today I’ve been roaming around Ridgepoint. It’s a quaint New England town. Everything looks perfectly normal, except for one thing: the streets are empty. I barely saw anyone. But many porches are decorated with fresh white and yellow flowers and ribbons, and there are green branches in some windows too. Not sure what that’s all about. Probably some local tradition.

I saw a girl, maybe 19 or 20 years old, walking down the street. She had a yellow flower in her hair. I tried to ask her what all the flowers meant, but she just smiled. She pulled the flower from her hair, tucked it behind my ear, and walked away. I don’t know what to make of it.

Man, it’s so silent! Well, almost. There’s always the hum. And I don’t know if it’s the silence or the infrasound that’s giving me the creeps. I feel like someone is watching me. I’ve always doubted this feeling was real, but here I am. And, of course, when I turn — there’s nobody there.

I set up my equipment in a park about a mile from the data center and took another sample. On the spectrogram, you can see how the lower frequencies carry across the distance. This rumble has an amplitude high enough to shake your house. You know, people have abandoned their homes to escape the hum, and some were so troubled by it that they took their own lives.

I also noticed some kind of throbbing sound. See these spikes? These thumps are pretty far apart, but there’s definitely a pattern… I’m not sure yet what could produce this kind of noise. Maybe a pump? Let me know what you think!

I’m still looking for people to talk to about the symptoms they’ve experienced, but the only other person I saw today just ignored me and walked past. Hopefully, someone else will be more willing to cooperate.

TSTMYS — Vlog 3: Dorothy (uploaded April 28th, 2026)

Video transcript:

I’m in luck! I finally found someone who agreed to talk to me. I met Dorothy in a diner. She owns a farm about half a mile from the data center, and she was kind enough to let me film our conversation.

“Hi, Dorothy. Thank you so much for talking to me. Ridgepoint is a lovely town, but people aren’t that chatty, if you don’t mind me saying. By the way, I like your brooch. Are those real flowers?”

“Why, thank you, Jordan. Glad you noticed.”

“There seem to be a lot of flowers around town. What’s that about?”

“Well, I guess you could say it’s a small local tradition to celebrate the coming of spring.”

“Spring, right. So, how long have you lived in Ridgepoint?”

“Oh, all my life. I haven’t really been away. It’s peaceful here.”

“It is. I haven’t noticed that many people around town. Has anyone left recently?”

“Some. People move on. But there are a bunch of us old-timers who aren’t going anywhere.”

“Why do you think people leave?”

“Work, mostly, I suppose. Bigger cities, more opportunities. There isn’t much of that here anymore.”

“Could it be related to health issues? Headaches, dizziness? I’ve been feeling it myself these past couple of days. Have you noticed anything like that?”

“At my age, if nothing hurts when you wake up, you’re probably dead.”

“So, nothing unusual? No new symptoms?”

“Hmm, now that I think of it, I’ve been a little nauseous. And there’s this ringing in my ears… Elaine next door said she was lightheaded the other day, too.”

“You don’t think it has anything to do with the new data center up the road?”

“That place? No, I don’t see how.”

“You know, I’ve been researching facilities like this. They generate a kind of low-frequency noise that can make people sick.”

“Is that so?”

“You can actually help me study it, Dorothy. Would you mind if I left a recording device at your place? Just to monitor the noise levels for a bit longer.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. These things usually take care of themselves.”

“I’m sorry, what do you mean, ‘take care of themselves’?”

“Oh, it’s nothing… Well, there used to be a plant here years ago. Didn’t last.”

“There was? What happened?”

“I don’t quite remember. Something about the land, they said… I don’t know. Anyway, I should get going. It was nice meeting you.”

After that, she left in a hurry, and I sat there staring at two cups of coffee and getting suspicious glances from the other patrons. To be honest, I’m a bit surprised Dorothy wasn’t more concerned about the data center. Or maybe she just didn’t want me poking around. I’m curious about the plant she mentioned. And that thing about the land… So far, I haven’t been able to find much about it online. I’m guessing that was decades ago. I’m going to check the local library tomorrow and see what I can dig up there.

TSTMYS — Vlog 4: The Plant (uploaded April 29th, 2026)

Video transcript:

Alright, I’ve spent an ungodly amount of time staring at this microfilm reader. I think the librarian is about to throw me out. My head hurts, and my eyes can barely focus, but I finally have something to show for it! Just like I thought, it happened decades ago. Here’s an article from a local newspaper published on May 5th, 1963. It says a chemical plant near Ridgepoint “will be closed due to severe damage from a recent earthquake.” Who would have thought — an earthquake in Maine. People around here really dodged a bullet ’cause this plant was supposed to produce those forever chemicals.

Also, something kinda weird happened. Remember the girl who gave me her flower? She was in the library too. She was sitting there by the window, reading a book. I wanted to say hi, but she just shushed me and pointed at the “Silence” sign. Then she headed out but left her book behind, as if she wanted me to notice it. I flipped through it — something about local history and culture, like spring festivals and maypoles. These folks are really into their seasonal rituals. Maybe I’ll take a closer look later.

Anyway, while I was scrolling through the old-school newsfeed, my trusty microphone was doing its job. The recording shows that the hum is still present all the way over here — and the library is on the other side of town! The thumping noise is here too. It seems the frequency of the spikes has increased. I want to monitor it at night in the field near the data center, just to make sure it’s coming from the complex and not from some other local infrastructure. I thought it would be fun to do a livestream. What do you think? You guys wanna keep me company?

TSTMYS — Livestream (started 9:01 pm April 30th, 2026)

Video transcript:

OK, here we go! Welcome to the livestream! I’m just outside the Ridgepoint data center perimeter. It’s a nice night to spend out in the field: full moon, pretty warm, and, luckily, no rain. I set up my equipment about 30 feet away, connected to a monitor right here. Hopefully, you can see the spectrogram on your screens too. As you’d expect, the infrasound levels here are the highest yet.

But look! The thumping is louder too. Though I’m still not convinced it’s coming from the site. I might have to try triangulating it… Interestingly, it’s sped up even more since yesterday. Let’s monitor it, and while we do, I’ll tell you how I got interested in infrasound.

When I was in college, my roommate came across an article saying that listening to certain low frequencies could improve your mood or boost your performance, something along those lines. As audio engineering students, we definitely wanted to test it. And what better target than a prof who’s not so fond of you? One day, we smuggled an extra subwoofer into a classroom where we had to present our recordings for an exam. And we added some frequencies from the article to our tracks. We hoped they’d improve the prof’s mood, and he’d give us better grades. But the results weren’t quite what we expected, to say the least. After just about two minutes of listening to my roommate’s mix, half of the class... Wait, can you guys hear that? The thumping just got a lot louder.

Oh, shit, the lights just —

Connection Lost.

SVN News Report, May 1st, 2026

An earthquake hit Maine last night. According to the USGS, it measured 5.3 in magnitude and originated near Ridgepoint. At this time, there are no reports of casualties. The nearby data center has gone offline, disrupting several web services.

SVN News Report, May 2nd, 2026

More reports are coming in from Ridgepoint, Maine, where an earthquake struck on the night of May 1st. Authorities state that while none of the town’s buildings were damaged, the nearby data center was nearly destroyed. Fortunately, nobody working there was injured. The online community is concerned that well-known YouTuber and researcher Jordan Bane, who has been vlogging from the town in recent days, has not checked in since the earthquake. An anonymous source told us that some audio and video equipment was found near the collapse site.

TSTMYS — Vlog 5: You Won’t Believe Me (uploaded May 3rd, 2026)

Video transcript:

Hello there. Sorry for disappearing for a bit. I just wanted to put as many miles between myself and that place as possible and make sure I was thinking straight.

You’ve probably been wondering why the livestream cut off. What I’m going to tell you is… I guess “insane” is the right word, ‘cause you’re definitely going to think I’m off my rocker when you hear what happened.

It was already twilight when I started the livestream, and the data center was lit up like a Christmas tree. Guess they weren’t worried about their electricity bills.

Then it all went dark.

Even the moon got swallowed by the clouds. I was in complete darkness. My equipment was running on batteries, but it all shut off too. The hum died with the light, but that pulsing, thumping sound was still there.

A speck of light in the distance caught my eye, so I headed toward it. As I got closer, I could see it was a bonfire on a hill. The thudding grew louder, and a hum merged with it. But it wasn’t the low industrial hum. It was human.

I reached the hilltop. Around the bonfire, people swayed and chanted. Many wore flowers or wreaths in their hair. Some played frame drums in sync with the throbbing. The frequency of the thuds rose; it matched the tone of the drums now.

I wish I could’ve recorded it, at least on my phone, but it was dead. I even checked my pockets, hoping I had another recorder on me, but no luck. Then something brushed my fingers in my chest pocket. It was the flower the girl had given me. I must’ve stuffed it there after she’d tucked it behind my ear, and forgot about it. And here it was — bright and fresh, even though it should’ve wilted days ago.

The fire beckoned me, and I stepped closer. The crowd parted without breaking the drone, and I heard my voice blend with the hum as I became part of the circle. Somebody placed a crown of flowers on my head. The smoke smelled of pine and applewood, but there was a sweet scent I didn’t recognize. It stung my eyes, and I couldn’t see well for a moment. I think I saw Dorothy in the circle, but I’m not sure. Then they all started to sing, and I joined in. I tried to resist, but couldn’t. Somehow, I knew the words, even though I’d never heard this song before; they just rose from my throat as if from memory.

Then somebody took my hand and pulled me away from the fire. It was the girl. She led me to a pole decorated with leaves and flowers, just like in the book she had left. Young men and women were dancing around it. Each held a ribbon tied to the top of the maypole, and as they danced, the ribbons wove together, bringing them closer to the center. She put a ribbon in my hand and drew me into the dance. I wanted to stop, but my feet kept moving to the rhythm of the drums.

The clouds cleared, and the moon cast shadows that swayed with the ones from the bonfire. The thumping came from beneath my feet. Each pulse rippled through the ground, like a stone dropped into water. They resonated through my body, forcing air in and out of my lungs. The rhythm grew faster and faster until it beat in time with my heart. Or my heart beat in time with it.

We danced around the pole, and after a few circles, my head was spinning. The ribbons braided themselves along the pole, and soon we all stood tied to it. The girl clung to me and kissed me, pinning me to the pole. I heard soft sighs and groans coming from around me, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw other couples making out.

Suddenly, a wave went through the earth and up the pole. The wind rose, and I choked on smoke. Something crept up my arm and rustled behind my back. The ribbon I still held turned into a green vine and slithered up the pole. I tried to ask what was happening, but the girl silenced me with another kiss and pulled me down until we lay on the ground.

She started to take off her clothes, and I followed. As I pulled my shirt over my head, I caught a glimpse of… something. A giant figure covered in leaves emerging from the pole. Its chest rose and fell, the sweet scent filling the air. Then the girl leaned closer again, and I was lost in her touches and kisses. The outside world only existed for me through the sounds. The song, the rustling of the leaves, the moans, and the heartbeat of the earth.

Through the veil of the girl’s hair, I saw the giant move toward the valley. His steps vibrated through me, each one a deafening earthquake. Our bodies moved with the pulse. The earth shook. My vision darkened. I was sure I was going to die, but I lay there, hypnotized by the rhythm of the earth and the breathing of the girl.

I woke at sunrise. Nobody was there. All that remained of the bonfire was a mound of ash. It was absolutely silent. No hum, no thumping.

I got up and saw that the data center had turned into a pile of rubble. Dorothy was right, after all.

I don’t know what really happened that night. Was it real? Did the ritual destroy the data center and the plant before it? Or was there something in the smoke, and the earthquake was just a coincidence?

I’ve never believed in the supernatural, and I know that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I don’t really have any. Except that Ridgepoint and its people are still there, and the data center is not.

And sometimes, at night, my heart beats to the rhythm of that song.