# Terrifying sounds, not designed to be terrifying **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 16, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429 "2008-12-16T18:22:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/41 "2008-12-17T19:23:32Z")
Low-flying planes give me the willies. ---
**Author:** ![Akaadji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Akaadji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaadji)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/42 "2008-12-17T19:36:38Z")
The pinnacle of this, for me, is the sound of retching/vomiting. It has driven me all the way to a panic attack before. And I don’t mean that in the “Oh, I was worried, really!” way, but in the hysterical, can barely breathe, crying and shaking way. I don’t think it could do that to me anymore, since I’m more stable now, but it still terrifies me. That, and any droning insect. Doesn’t matter if it’s not a three-foot long wasp looking to lay its eggs in my head, even a mosquito will ellict a squeak of terror and a twitchy **get it away** dance. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Black\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/43 "2008-12-17T21:05:54Z")
I set my hair dryer down wrong, and gravity made it switch itself back on. I nearly came out of my skin. I jumped from the bathroom into the bed with my husband, and under the covers in one motion. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/44 "2008-12-17T21:12:36Z")
> [@fuffle](#): > > I recently had an MRI for the first time. They told me the scan is “a little noisy.” > > I thought it sounded very much like my heart exploding and my brain imploding simultaneously, but I admit it was hard to hear over the demonic klaxoning of death, doom, and despair. Heh. Over the years and through three knee operations, torn achilles tendons and a bad back, I’ve probably had a dozen or more of these. I always fall asleep. ETA: Cell phone on vibrate, sitting on the desk, I’m deep into drafting. Holy crap–I think I hit my knee on the underside of the desk. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/45 "2008-12-17T21:14:17Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > I find the Microsoft Windows startup sound to be scary. > > No, seriously. > > Since I have scheduled events at night (backups, maintenance, etc.), I almost never shut down my computers. When I hear that sound, it means that one of the systems has crashed or rebooted, which means I probably have trouble to deal with. Agreed! And the single internal-speaker “BEEP” PCs make when you turn them on. Scary. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/46 "2008-12-17T21:20:56Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > Sometimes the sound of the house settling. Sounds exactly like footsteps and freaks me out if I know my husband, son and I are all in bed. That is indeed creepy. I frequently heard the creaking of “footsteps” upstairs at my house, when no one was up there. One thing I finally noticed is often you’d hear them about 10 minutes after someone had been up there. Probably the joints in the wood floors repositioning themselves after being walked on. ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/47 "2008-12-17T21:43:10Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > The automatic ice maker dropping ice into an empty bin in the middle of the night. Sounds just like the clatter of the wooden blinds on my back door hitting against the glass when the door is opened. On our fridge, it’s the sound of the water filling up the ice maker again. It’s a very quiet sound, so I only hear it when the house is still. And I always forget what it is. Creepy. ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/48 "2008-12-17T22:09:32Z")
Someone setting up a theramin at a concert last week nearly made me pee my pants in fear. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/49 "2008-12-18T00:29:35Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Heh. Over the years and through three knee operations, torn achilles tendons and a bad back, I’ve probably had a dozen or more of these. > > I always fall asleep. > ETA: Cell phone on vibrate, sitting on the desk, I’m deep into drafting. Holy crap–I think I hit my knee on the underside of the desk. So… your cell phone set to vibrate necessitated a few of those MRIs, eh? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/50 "2008-12-18T02:33:21Z")
Just happened tonight. Sheriff’s deputy called me at home. “I’m calling because I have a subpoena for you, in the matter of Soandso, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.” Holy shit, what did I do? I was part of the ambulance crew that took the victim to the hospital, and I’m wanted as a State’s witness. It happened 6 months ago, and I forgot all about it. ---
**Author:** ![Jaglavak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jaglavak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaglavak)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/51 "2008-12-18T04:21:32Z")
> [@Litoris](#): > > “I love you” Yikes! Hey now, if you’re going to fight dirty… ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/52 "2008-12-19T21:39:08Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > ETA: Cell phone on vibrate, sitting on the desk, I’m deep into drafting. Holy crap–I think I hit my knee on the underside of the desk. Last night I heard/felt a new one. I’d been outside in the cold (it’s ten below zero F here), so my cellphone was on its loudest setting with vibrate turned on–that way I’d know it was ringing through 375 layers of clothing. I came inside and forgot to change the ringer. I was talking on the phone, and didn’t realize we’d been disconnected. My daughter called right back, and the phone rang and vibrated _against my ear_. I about jumped out of my skin. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/53 "2008-12-19T22:33:22Z")
Every once in a while I hear a random sound that sounds a little like my mother calling my name. I’m about to answer, then remember that she died over three years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/54 "2008-12-19T23:10:11Z")
I usually have the a window/tab open to the LIVE STREAMING PUPPIES. Sometimes I forget to mute it. I’ll be working on something else, or even be in another room, when all of the sudden I hear this unholy noise and I can’t imagine what it would be. It’s just the puppies raising hell with each other or one of their owners. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/55 "2008-12-19T23:31:08Z")
The sound of a Harley (or probably any motorcycle) on a dyno. We were at a Harley dealer during an event where they were doing dyno tests on some of the bikes, and it was so loud it just freaked me out. I don’t like loud noises in the first place (except music), but this was awful. I had to leave the event because I couldn’t stand to listen to it. ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/56 "2008-12-19T23:45:07Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > …the phone rang and vibrated _against my ear_. I about jumped out of my skin. Next time try setting your phone to vibrate and then leaving it on a pile of loose change. Or don’t. It rattles the nerves. On a completely different note, I can’t stand low-to-medium-pitched, fuzzy noise, like what you would get from a badly-tuned radio with too much bass and no treble. Makes me feel like my ears are filling up with a fog of evil. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429/57 "2008-12-20T00:52:12Z")
The other day, I was leaving work and had to run back in to tell the guys on the next shift something. When I was talking to them, the squadron commander walks past behind me on his way out the door and says, loudly enough for everyone in the office to hear, to the very back corner behind the shelves, “Good night, everybody!” I actually did the arms-flailing hop. Just wasn’t expecting to hear anything that loud right behind me, let alone the squadron commander.😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrifying-sounds-not-designed-to-be-terrifying/477429.md?page=2)