2016-09-05 - Greenbelt, MD - Unknown

Intense, pulsating, humming sound heard in Greenbelt Park around 3AM, Labor Day morning.

While camping in Loop D of Greenbelt Park, I was awakened by what was the sound of animals walking in the woods surrounding our campsite. At the time, there were no generators on nearby, no traffic sounds coming from the nearby roadways, and no airplane or helicopter sounds--just the sounds of insects and the continuing sounds of what were probably just animals moving in the woods.

While laying awake, though, unable to fall back asleep, an unnatural, pulsating, humming sound grew from among the natural sounds I was hearing. The sound grew louder and louder, sounding like it was approaching the area in which we were. It reached such an immensely loud volume that I couldn't believe my wife hadn't awoken. The overwhelming sound continued at this discomforting volume for what I believe was several minutes.

Honestly, I was scared. I continued laying there in our tent, only looking out the tent's mesh portions we left uncovered for the night breezes and not leaving the tent to actually take a look up or around. I didn't see anything from inside the tent, but the sound was haunting. Thankfully, as I thought at the time, the sound receded back into the the more natural sounds of the night, sounding like it had traveled away from the area, and finally leaving me in peace, but unable to fall back asleep for some time.

During the entire experience, I had attempted to wake my wife up without being too loud because I didn't want to sound ridiculous. The following morning, though, she told me she had heard me, but just went back to sleep. She assured me, however, that she had heard some sort of sound like what I described to her, but in her sleepy state just figured it was a natural, insect-like sort of buzzing. I've since assured her that it was not. It was nothing I've heard before, nothing natural, nothing heard any other night during our stay at Greenbelt Park.

I reached out to Greenbelt Park via email after returning home from our long drive, as well as to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Twitter. Greenbelt Park has since replied, but had no answers for me, assuring me they would contact me if any information become known to them. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has yet to respond to my message. I contacted them, specifically, because of their close, roughly two-mile distance from Greenbelt Park.