2001-02-09 - Wheaton, IL - Unknown

strange sound

I am an author/editor, and live in Wheaton, Illinois, about 30 miles west of Chicago. Around 3 this morning. I awoke to a sound unlike any I have heard before in my life--the only way I can describe it is to say, if you can imagine a gigantic, hi-tech helicopter that was the size of a battleship, that might give some idea. There had been a storm earlier in the night, but this certainly was not thunder--it was a steady but pulsing drone that was so loud and extended (and very mechanical sounding, VERY unlike thunder in that respect) I felt as though it must have spanned over a distance of five or ten miles. The entire house was mildly rattling at one point. So the next morning, I wondered whether I had simply hallucinated the entire thing, and asked someone who lives about a mile away if they heard anything last night, anything odd or different from normal. They said, "As a matter of fact, around 3 in the morning, it sounded as though a gigantic helicopter was hovering right over my house. It woke me up." I regret not looking outside the window when it happened--have no idea why. I even wondered this morning if it was an earthquake of some sort, as I've heard there can be unusual sounds associated with those. By the way, I called the local police department last night and they heard nothing about this. I have seen military helicopters flying in formation over a nearby region (there are several airports around here), once during the night--but this really didn't sound quite like that (the "thump-thump-thumps" of your ordinary helicopter tend to be spaced closer together, stacatto-like) --plus, there was quite a fog around here most of the night, and I have a hard time imagining there were many flights in the air as a result--but I can't say for sure. If you happen to know of any sightings or other odd phenomena that were reported last night in the midwest, I sure would appreciate hearing about it/them. Thanks.