Do we take notice of the sounds that engulf us everyday? The rush of footsteps, infectious laughter, the slow drip of water, muted roar of traffic, rain on the windowpane, a sharp sigh. And then there are sounds which we can neither explain nor understand. Perhaps, the sound of something lurking between the walls of a house?
For 13 years, Jerry and Sylvia Lynn are haunted by an odd sound inside their house in Pensylvania. Neither of them can understand what it is or where it is coming from. The eerie fact is that it begins every night at the same time. And then one day, when the bizarre vibrations of the sound escalated, Jerry decided to seek help and find the source behind the alien sound. Little did they know, they are in for a massive surprise.
On a crisp winter morning in Ross Township, Pensylvania, Jerry and Sylvia Lynn were seated in their back yard having their morning tea. For the first time in weeks, the sun was out shining brightly. Sylvia poured herself another cup of tea, while Jerry was reading the paper basking in the sunlight.
A comfortable silence was nestled between the two, after being married to each other for decades they sometimes run out of things to talk about. Jerry met Sylvia when they were just a couple of teenagers. Sylvia went to a school across the road and Jerry found himself admiring the new girl in town.
A hesitant question for coffee gave Jerry an excuse to meet her outside school. The one-time thing became a frequent event. And 40 years later, they were here having their cup of tea together. Sylvia came to know that Jerry is a man of few words and she respected that. Sometimes, love doesn't need a lot of words.
Ever since Jerry retired from his job at the bank, he and Sylvia have had the chance to spend more time together. They even went traveling, covered all those trips he might have canceled before. It was his way of apologizing for putting work before her. The hardest part was that Sylvia never complained, which somehow made him more guilty.
The couple decided to have a lazy day, which was spent doing nothing in particular. Sylvia spent some time gardening, while Jerry finished his book. They both had different hobbies and enjoyed them individually. But there was one thing they enjoyed doing together, it was cooking. Every night, ever since his retirement, Jerry made dinner with Sylvia.
Jerry was done setting the table as Sylvia bought out the prepared meal. Tonight it was grilled BBQ chicken with some stir-fried veggies. The couple was halfway through dinner when an odd sound went off in the room. Sylvia felt her heart jump. Even after all this time, she still got spooked out by this unbearable sound.
Years. That's right. For years, Jerry and Sylvia have lived with this sound that they couldn't even describe. It started more than a decade ago, and it hasn't stopped since. It always comes out at night, echoing in the house, beneath the walls or the roof or the floor, nobody could tell.
Almost a minute later, the house was silent again. That is how the events of each night would go. It would start at the same time, every single night. And then around somewhere slightly less than a minute later, it would stop. Jerry sighed and got up to put away the dishes, Sylvia's heart was back to its normal rhythm. It was time to go to bed.
Sylvia was lying awake in her bed. Sleep was not coming to her tonight. Her mind kept wandering back to when they first heard the sound and couldn't tell what it was. They searched every nook and cranny of the house to find some explanation. But they found nothing.
Jerry even called a plumber, to check for the source of the sound. But their geyser was fine and the pipelines were not clogged. He called a carpenter, to check the flooring and ceiling of the house, oil every fixture, doors, and windows but that didn't do anything either.
Sylvia slowly became paranoid. Her mind went everywhere, trying to find some information. She assumed it will pass eventually but years later, the sound was still there. Even though nothing bad has ever happened in the house, Sylvia was waiting for the day when the truth comes out, no matter how bad it is.
Even though Sylvia and Jerry were not a fan of this sound, it did act as a great conversation starter for the guests who would visit them. But much to their dismay, the guests would somehow make it worse. Each person will have their own theory behind it. And some of them would be as bizarre as suggesting a haunting.
Sylvia was not happy about the theories which suggested that their house was haunted. Even though that's what most of the people believed, especially those who might have heard the sound, for them it was undoubtedly a haunting.
For it to be a haunting, all the factors added up. It was a sound that could not be explained but echoed throughout their house. It comes out at the same time every night and lasts for roughly a minute. All these constituents gave the same conclusion.
If Sylvia was spooked out and paranoid then Jerry was the entire opposite of it. He did not believe in any of these paranormal theories. He knew there has to be some rational explanation even if they haven't found it yet. He tried so hard for many years but eventually, he just made his peace with it. It became something they just lived with.
But Jerry knew Sylvia has not been at peace with it. Especially lately, after hearing these haunted story theories. He knew she has been restless and facing difficulty falling asleep. He had to do something to help her. But he didn't know what to do. Over the years he has called in a plumber, a carpenter, a cleaner but none of them seemed to know what to do.
He will try again, one last time, for Sylvia. Jerry pulled out his directory and started his search for a contractor who can come and take a look. After doing some digging he came across a local company and called them requesting their best workers. It was decided they will come first thing tomorrow morning.
The next morning, Jerry was up earlier than usual. He wanted everything to be ready, even though the company assured him that the contractors will come with the necessary pieces of equipment. He was not sure what they are going to check but he moved around a few things just to give them space to work and put aside a few fragile things.
Jerry asked them to come around the time when the sound comes so that it is easier for them to understand what they are dealing with. The company sent two contractors, Dawn and Kieth. They both had the most experience and practical knowledge. The contractors didn't have to wait too long for it since the sound went off in a few minutes right on schedule.
The first thing the contractors noticed was that even though the voice echoed in the whole house, it must have one source. There is only one thing which is present all around the house through which sound can travel easily, the air vent. So that is where they decided to commence their investigation.
The contractors began their inspection of the vent. The sound is the loudest in their living room, as much as they could tell. So the duo removed the opening to the air vent in the living room and managed to look inside. From the looks of it, there was nothing unusual about the vent. But that is when they noticed another opening of the vent which was connected with the garage.
The contractors decided to look through the opening of the air vent in the garage. Once they had unscrewed the frame, they realized that the area is not visible clearly from here either. So they decided to take another measure to reach the source.
The contractors decided to cut out some drywall in the garage and pinpoint the exact position. Once the drywall was cut out big enough to see inside, one of them took a flashlight and pointed it inside the wall. That is when he saw something which left him absolutely puzzled.
The beam of the flashlight landed on a tiny object, "I see a clock with vibrant numbers stuck on a wire". Sylvia and both the contractors were confused, and so was Jerry for just about a second before his eyes went wide. Sylvia looked at him, eyes full of confusion. But he paid no attention to her expressions as he was already down the memory lane.
It was the year 2004, and Jerry had decided to connect his new TV in the living room on his own. The whole setup was done but there was just one thing left. It was to connect the main wire for cable connection. Jerry wanted to drill a hole in the wall and pass the wire through it. But he had yet to figure out where to drill the hole.
In order to get the connection to line up perfectly, Jerry came up with a plan. Jerry decided to lower an object into the wall cavity tied on the end of a string. Now it was obvious he can't see the object inside the wall cavity so he needed something which didn't need to be seen but worked the same. That is when he decided to tie an alarm clock to the string.
He decided to set an alarm for ten minutes later and lowered the object slowly inside the wall cavity. So that when the alarm goes off he will be able to hear it and drill the hole precisely for the TV cable. Except, the plan which sounded doable in theory, did not execute properly.
Jerry set the alarm for ten minutes, giving himself enough time to lower the object from the upstairs air vent on the second floor and reaching the living room to get into position, ready with his drill. Jerry tied the clock on a string and lowered it into position. Then he went downstairs and waited for the alarm to go off.
As soon as Jerry heard the sound of the alarm, he put his drill machine into position and began drilling a hole in the wall. Things were going great until Jerry heard a sound which made him pause in his track. The alarm clock had fallen off the string and went down with a loud thud.
Jerry realized, at that moment, that his plan may not have executed well. The alarm clock had detached itself and fallen hitting the floor. So that could only mean two things, it is either broken from the fall or even if it is not broken, there is no way to retrieve it now.
The plan was not all bad because Jerry did manage to get the cable wire positioned correctly. So it did work, even if it cost him one alarm clock. But that evening, when Jerry heard the clock go off he realized what nuisance this is going to be. There is no way to retrieve it or turn it off. But he figured the battery will die eventually and it will stop working.
While the battery did give up eventually, Jerry did not know that the alien sound is the same noise of the alarm clock. Turns out the fall did damage the clock. And as a result, when the battery died, the alarm still went off but in a distinct and unnatural sound. Which is why Jerry could never guess that it could be the alarm clock.
Right after the battery died, there was silence in that house for weeks. But then one day out of the blue, the eerie sound started echoing and kept coming each night. And now Jerry knows that it was the sound of the broken clock trying to ring the alarm. Jerry could never have guessed it is the same sound because it didn't sound like an alarm or a clock.
13 years later, Jerry could not believe this is happening. He can't even remember what the clock looked like. He guessed it might be a digital travel clock but he couldn't remember the style or the color. His mind has erased the memory of it by now. The contractor reached in and untangled the alarm clock. It was time for the reveal.
Jerry held the alarm clock slowly examining its appearance. To his surprise, there was no noticeable damage to the exterior of the clock. It was digital and tiny, just like Jerry remembered. The color was black and the display showed huge numbers on it. He guessed the damage was in the motor, once that is fixed, it won't make those eerie sounds anymore.
Sylvia was relieved to see that the source has been located finally and taken care of. She was tired of feeling restless and unsafe in her house. She couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of this situation. All this while she assumed the worst only to realize it is nothing but an old alarm clock which somehow after all these years, still works.
Jerry and Sylvia's mystery sound was the talk of the town. People who believed their house is haunted were happy to hear it was nothing. Many local news channels even covered their story. And the KDKA news channel filmed the whole retrieving operation for their channel.
The company that manufactured this clock probably received a ton of publicity. A clock which went through... a trauma... if we can put it that way for context, still worked after 13 years. Minus the broken alarm sound. It still worked and showed the correct time.
The irony is, the clock which was stuck in a wall cavity for 13 years, took less than 13 minutes to be taken out. If only Jerry would have contacted someone before, he could have saved him and Sylvia from a lot of sleepless nights.
The residence of Jerry and Sylvia Lynn now exists in peaceful silence. It does not echo any eerie sounds anymore. Sylvia found her sleep and is no more paranoid. The retrieved alarm clock now has a prominent space in their home. And Jerry learned it the hard way to not tie it to any strings or put it through any walls.