Ghostly Sound Plagues Residents In Akureyri

A strange droning tone hangs over various districts in Akureyri.

The mysterious sound has been a topic of discussion in the past for the town. A news article back in 2014 first officially reported on the strange occurance but since then no conclusive results have come to light.

The topic of the ghostly sound resurfaced when Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson, music director of Menningarfélag Akureyri, wrote a Facebook post about it on Sunday and asked his fellow Akureyrians if they knew anything of the matter. The discussion underneath his post was inconclusive, although one comment suspected aliens.

According to a Vísir report on the matter, the hypotheses have become quite numerous, with some suspecting that the sound originates from the Vaðlaheiðar tunnel, others believing it comes from some kind of industrial activity.

Musician Kristján Edelstein tells RÚV that he has heard the sound quite well in recent days.

“It’s really indescribably annoying, that’s really the only word over it. It’s a persistent sound that doesn’t change pitch. The only thing I know is that I have been sleep deprived over this for two nights now and have talked to many people and everyone agrees that it’s always the same tone,” Kristján says.

In a clip Þorvaldur published on Facebook the cryptic sound can be heard. In the post he writes, “This was recorded with a very sensitive microphone on Bjarmastígur last night. It is confirmed that it can be heard on Oddeyrargata, Bjarmastígur, Holtagata, Þingvallarstræti, Helgamagrastræti, by HOF, Þórunnarstræti and other places. The fruit basket is there because I do not know how to post audio reproductions without videos on FB. This sound would probably come from the notorious mold corner if it was in the good basket!”

The addition of the imagery doesn’t serve in making the sound any less ominous.

Being the nationally known musician that he is, Þorvaldur has put a lot of thought into the enigmatic sound, telling Vísir that, “It’s a very ghostly sound, and dull, it bends between G and A and goes up and down a bit. That’s what makes you start listening to it. When you are making ‘scary’ music, you create a sound like that.”

No sources indicated that the legendary deacon of Myrká, which is not far from Akureyri, has been sought out for questioning about the mysterious sound. So far he could not be reached for comment on this plane of existence.

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