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I tend to approach every story I hear with skepticism so I expect my readers to do the same. But, when I woke up on January 24th, I found it hard to doubt what I heard.

Since 2011, people from all over the world in areas such as Canada, the United States, Central America and Europe have reported hearing eerie sounds coming from the sky which have been described as roars and rumbles. But, as we are now nearly a month in to 2012, the reports of this sound are becoming more common and video recordings of it have been spread all over YouTube. Although there are many hoax videos out there, some of them are real and most of them portray a similar sound: a wave-like echo which is comparable to "breathing" with a loud "exhale" and "inhale" sort of noise, increasing in loudness. Most of the videos reveal this noise in clear sky conditions when there wasn't an unusual amount of wind, so, what could it be?

What I found to be most interesting about these sounds is the consistency. At first, I thought there was no way that all of the people claiming to hear a noise, both overnight and in the day time, could be linked to one strange phenomenon. Rather, I thought that they were all coincidently hearing different noises within their regions and being lead to believe that this is some sort of worldwide occurrence. However, this is not the case. After examining a variety of videos, all from unique people in different circumstances and even different countries, I am able to conclude that the sound that people are hearing in Canada is in fact the same sound being heard in Costa Rica for example. As far as I am concerned, that is not a hoax. I find it really hard to believe that a Canadian called a Costa Rican, maybe emailed him a sound clip, and asked that he starts a phenomenon. Then, I suppose the Costa Rican, called a friend in the Czech Republic and asked that they spread around their video. To most right thinking individuals, this chain of events is very unlikely and such an elaborate hoax would be impossible to coordinate.

So, eliminate the possibility that this is some sort of hoax. Now what? The creepiest part of this "apocalyptic" sound is how similar it sounds to the tripod attack in Steven Spielberg's movie War of the Worlds which depicts "what is to come" in a futuristic apocalypse. When I merged an authentic video of this mysterious sound with a clip from the film, I discovered that they are almost identical in nature. Coincidence? I think not. I am not trying to say that I honestly believe that the tripod character from this movie is coming to take over the world or anything like that, but logically speaking, the sound from the movie and the sound that is being heard are way too similar to go unnoticed.

Residents in Windsor, Ontario, Canada have been dealing with this noise for about a year and a half. They report that the sound often begins in the morning and carries on overnight. Generally, it is heard in areas of Western Windsor but it has been spreading around and affecting more people in Windsor, sometimes even interfering with daily life. Along with the chilling sound, people in this area are experiencing a tremble in the Earth's ground beneath them. Even the City Counsellor, Al Maghnieh, has reported hearing the sounds and has voiced his concern, arguing that something needs to be done to get to the bottom of this.

Between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. in the early morning of January 24th, many citizens of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada were awaken from their sleep as the disturbing sound occurred outside of their homes.

Paige Thompson is a resident of Oshawa who witnessed the horrifying noises the morning that they overcame the sky near her home. Paige says that when she was first awoken by the noises, she thought it was just the wind blowing. It isn't until signing in to her computer that she realized she wasn't the only one hearing the sounds. So, she went outside and thought the sound could be linked back to a snow plow. She waited, but no snow plow came.

"At that point I became scared, I didn't know what was happening, I didn't know if something terrible was about to happen, or anything," Paige admits. "A loud noise like that I think would scare anyone. But then when I began to walk around and realized that this noise didn't seem threatening, I was very calm and felt safe to be walking around listening to these sounds."

Paige describes the noise as "…almost like huge waves crashing up against rocks. It was that consistent. Also at the same time it sounded as if it was very strong winds crashing with the trees, it seemed possible while I was sitting in my house, but when I was outside walking around there was no wind what so ever."

Durham Radio News, a local news cast serving Durham Region which includes Oshawa, posted that "… a number of Durham residents were questioning a strange noise Monday morning. An open relief valve at the recently established Air Products oxygen plant is blamed for creating a loud whirring noise, comparable to the sound of a wind turbine. The issue was resolved shortly after 5:00 a.m. Officials had initially reported the sound was coming from Gerdau in Whitby, but it was revealed later a neighboring facility was the source of the noise."

However, days later, Durham Radio News removed that post and replaced it with "…a number of Durham residents were questioning a strange noise Monday morning. People reported hearing a wave or wind turbine kind of sound that was very loud. Although several possible explanations have been explored, nothing has been presented that's able to point to an official cause for the noise. The noise was heard sometime around 4:00 am and was recorded by several people."

Why the sudden change? And, if this news group felt it necessary to change the information which they already released to the public, don't you think that they should at least make a public announcement that they have previously released inaccurate information?

"I think these strange noises should be receiving more media coverage because there are so many people thinking the worst of the situation. If people are believing this is an apocalyptic sign, then that must be devastating to them and I feel like someone has the answers and just aren'

“I feel like someone has the answers and just aren't sharing it with the world. -Paige Thompson

;t sharing it with the world. But then at the same time it's scary to know that someone may have the answer, and it may just be too much for us to handle." Paige argues.

Within the past couple of months, many people have been sharing their theories about what this noise could be. In times of fear, many people tend to turn towards religion to attain peace of mind, specifically the Holy Bible. One theory of this sound suggests that its God's way of warning the world of an approaching apocalypse as stated in the book of Revelations. The story of the Seven Trumpets, Revelations 8:6-7 reads, "Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up." The moral of this biblical story is that angels are supposed to be sent to Earth, sounding their trumpets to warn of an apocalypse.

"The religious aspect of this to me isn't possible. I don't feel like this is angels being sent to Earth to warn us of upcoming catastrophes. Like you said, people turn to a religious answer for peace of mind. At this moment there are no answers to this, and by turning to the Bible or whatever religion they have turned to it has given them the easiest possible answer and that way they don't have to question it. But, if you looked at it through the perspective of science, there are tons of possibilities which I think scares people." Paige, a witness from Oshawa, says.

Looking at a more scientific angle of this phenomenon, many people including conspiracy theorists are blaming this mysterious noise on the United States government's High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program or HAARP. Basically, HAARP is an exclusive government agency funded by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the University of Alaska and DARPA, another government group. Their alleged purpose is to study the ionosphere, the upper most part of the atmosphere by using a variety of technological tools, such as the Ionospheric Research Instrument or the IRI. The IRI is the instrument which many theorists are choosing to blame for this mysterious sound as it is uses a high power radio frequency transmitter to excite an area of the ionosphere for analysis. However, this tool was invented in 2007 and has been used for a long time prior to the uprising of these "apocalyptic" sounds. There is no way to explain that suddenly, almost 5 years later, this transmitter made up of 180 antennas is beginning to make horrible deathly sounds when it didn't before. And, if this was the case, the United States government would simply announce that their project is the culprit and relieve the stress of every one who has heard the sound personally.

Many simpler theories have been suggested, such as thunder, but based on the number of people who have heard it from a variety of diverse countries worldwide it is very unlikely that these creepy noises are simply some thunder, affecting us all at different times but in the exact same way.

"I would like to say to all the people who think these noises are a hoax, first off how do you pull something off worldwide? Second, those things I heard didn't sound man made at all to me. And last, until you've heard something like that go on for an hour, until you saw the color change in the sky, you know just as much as I do." Paige says.

When people stop turning towards the easy way out, and believing that this is simply a hoax blown way out of proportion, I believe the answer to this seemingly unexplainable phenomenon will reveal itself. It is going to take a lot of open minded individuals to get to the bottom of a situation of this nature. I usually stop my investigations when I get to the end of the story, but this story seems to have no end in sight. It is safe to say I will spend many more countless hours on the phone, browsing YouTube and emailing authorities to try to find an answer but at this point, that is easier said than done.

If you have any theories you would like to suggest, questions or comments regarding the strange noises tweet me @brittanyfenech. I would love to hear from you.