Line #4 Main/HellIsThatNoise


1	!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16854135060.68413700 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.
2
3	%%
4	%%
5	%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
6	%%
7	%%
8	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1655088580061180100
9	%% Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.
10	%%
11	[[quoteright:130:[[ComicBook/JourneyIntoMystery https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jim_noise_7.png]]]]
12	[[caption-width-right:130:The [=OwO=] of doom!]]
13	%%
14	%% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion in the Caption Repair thread:
15	%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900
16	%%
17	->''"And--And it was making this noise, this--this sound that bored right into your brain."''
18	-->-- '''Powell''' describing the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVoU30ixHrM Reaper horn,]] ''VideoGame/MassEffect''
19
20	What the hell is that noise? That noise is '''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin hell]]'''.
21
22	A character within the story hears something odd. Unnatural. When they hear the sound once, it may not be that terrifying, but as time passes, they become more and more frightened. The sound gets scarier as it gains more and more relevance. Given time, the sound comes to haunt them, even away from the source. The sound has taken on a
23	nightmarish relevance because of the setting. The sound could come from ''anywhere''.
24
25	The trope isn't limited to a sentence, a catch phrase, or a song. The sound that terrifies the character can be made by the living, such as footsteps, a laugh, the call of [[CuteButCacophonic a loud little animal]]. The sound may be made by the non-living, such as the creak of a chair, a door, a bouncing ball, [[Franchise/SilentHill the crackle of radio static]], or any one of hundreds of other seemingly mundane noises. Often times it signals the coming of a yet-unseen threat, usually one you ''don't'' want to be anywhere near you, and hearing it is [[OhCrap more than enough of a sign]] to tread carefully, brace yourself, or '''{{run\|OrDie}}'''. Better pray it doesn't mean that YouAreAlreadyDead.
26
27	This isn't a BrownNote, a sound or image that causes involuntary action or harm. This trope is about the psychological effect of a repeated noise to the character(s) in the story. See also HearingVoices, which can also be this depending on what kind of voices they are, and NothingIsScarier, which is almost the VisibleSilence version of this. SinisterScrapingSound is an intentional, psych-out type of hellish noise; if a noise foreshadowing a threat is produced by something attached to, or ingested by, that threat, it's TheCrocIsTicking.
28
29	Compare TerribleTicking. Contrast SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound, which people are happy to hear. Compare ''and'' contrast ScareChord, where the audience learns to fear the music.
30
31	[[noreallife]]
32
33	----
34	!Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly:
35	!!Example subpages:
36
37	[[index]]
38	* HellIsThatNoise/AnimeAndManga
39	* HellIsThatNoise/{{Film}}
40	* HellIsThatNoise/{{Literature}}
41	* HellIsThatNoise/LiveActionTV
42	* HellIsThatNoise/VideoGames
43	* HellIsThatNoise/{{Webcomics}}
44	* HellIsThatNoise/WebOriginal
45	* HellIsThatNoise/WesternAnimation
46	[[/index]]
47
48	!!Other examples:
49	[[foldercontrol]]
50
51	[[folder:Comic Books]]
52	* A variation on this happens in one of the ''Creator/ECComics'' stories, wherein a king's daughter falls to her death while he is enjoying himself at a party, and her scream keeps ringing in his ears afterwards in every sound he hears, starting with the local church bells (he has them melted down), the movements of the castle inhabitants (he has them wrap their feet in soft cloth), and even the sounds of people working in town (he has them cease working). Unfortunately his quest for absolute silence reaches a head when his ears become so sensitive that he can hear the people breathing. He orders them to stop breathing, and finally he is beset by an angry (and loud) mob. One of them, a clockmaker, sews a clock inside the king's chest that automatically wound itself up at the slightest movement and took hours to run down. The king is left lying on a bed, hardly daring to move, hardly daring to breathe, so as not to trigger the clock. Then a spider comes down on a silk line, heading for his face...
53	* In ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' storyline ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'', Dr. Light and Gangbust are examining what appears to be a Kryptonian rocket ship when they hear a strange noise in the darkness. Alarmed, the duo become alert right before being ambushed by Bizarrogirl.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Fan Works]]
57	* ''Fanfic/AlwaysVisible'': When Galbraith arrives in London, he notes that after Portland, the streets of the capital of England are so noisy from cars that he gets the impression that turbines are buried under the asphalt.
58	* ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'': In the prologue, two scientists and a team of spelunkers are exploring a network of caverns when they hear several faint, faraway screams. They freak out right away:
59	-->[There are faint screams in the distance]\
60	Home Base (Speaker unidentified): What the hell was THAT?
61	* ''Fanfic/FromHarvestToTheArk'': [[spoiler:The skittering of [[TheVirus the Flood]] becomes this for Alley. It creeps him the hell out when he first hears it on Alpha Halo and when he hears it ''again'' in Voi, knowing [[BodyHorror exactly]] [[ParasiteZombie what]] [[OutsideContextProblem it represents]], he '''[[FreakOut FLIPS OUT]]''' to the extent that his behaviour is enough to convince his commander to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere retreat immediately]].]]
62	* ''Fanfic/ItsAlwaysSpookyMonth'': Skid can apparently make a [[SensoryAbuse high pitched shriek]], and Pump can make what sounds like lawnmower noises. The narration [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it.
63	-->The Monster wasn't exactly sure how he was able to make those sounds, but he wasn't one to question.
64	* ''Fanfic/LessonsFromTheMountain'' has [[GodOfEvil Morgoth]]'s laughter. Over five hundred years battling monsters, and Maedhros still considers his laughter to be the most frightful sound he has ever heard.
65	-->'''Maedhros:''' I proudly told him that he may kill me or torture me, but that would never be. He laughed. I think that was the most awful sound I have ever heard, and I have heard many things that no one should hear.
66	* ''Fanfic/{{Quicken}}'': When [[AntiHero Emma]] goes nuts, she screams. Her scream sounds so scary and inhuman than her assailants step back.
67	-->A switch was suddenly flipped inside me. Something primal and inarticulate tore its way out of my throat, a sound I could have never imagined that I could make.
68	* [[VideoGame/{{SCP Containment Breach}} SCP-682's]] [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1rggjRp-QV4 roar]].
69	* ''Fanfic/ThisBites'': The foghorn button in the transceiver. Whoever triggers it will claim to love it, while everyone else screams at them.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Music]]
73	* In the song "Spooky Scary Skeletons" by Music/AndrewGold,[[note]]the remix by Music/TheLivingTombstone is a MemeticMutation[[/note]] the titular skeletons, despite being "shy" and "silly", are still considered scary because they "speak with such a screech", "shriek", and "shout startling shrilly screams".
74	%%* Anything involving HarshNoise and [[{{Industrial}} Power Electronics]] automatically qualifies as this. Music/{{Whitehouse}} and Music/{{Merzbow}} are the worst offenders.
75	* Music/AnaalNathrakh invokes this in their music ''frequently'', even by the standards of extreme metal. Have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS3xmhxhKS8&ab_channel=ThatWeirdGuy a]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCTXqi7NObQ&ab_channel=Papirkurven listen]].
76	%%* Music/{{Crystal Castles\|Band}}. Dear ''lord'' do they fit this trope to a T.
77	* Every Music/{{Khanate}} "song" is completely demoralizing, especially on their first album. The worst examples of these would be the looping riff at the beginning of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIDP3-lPA_M&ab_channel=BeauJoshuaAmorDavidson Under Rotting Sky]] and the entirety of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo45E11AwsE&ab_channel=FreedomGrindFighter No Joy]]. This is as close to Hell as a human being will ever come to. It should come as no surprise that Khanate features Steven O'Malley of Music/SunnO fame.
78	*** [[CarefulWithThatAxe PLEASE PLEASE]] [[MadnessMantra NO MORE BREATHE]]
79	* Prepare for the most spine chilling 7 minutes you will ever experience. Prepare yourself for Battle of Mice. The vocals are psychotic and distressing, but the final two minutes of this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1CkdF7uoKk&ab_channel=DarthYoda song]] is the horrifying cherry on top of this terrifying cake(You will be paranoid afterwards, guaranteed.)
80	* Music/BlindGuardian will make you fear both the song and the mere phrase [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfQPr6GChC8&ab_channel=BlindGuardian "Mr. Sandman."]] In addition, the eerie jingle accompanying the "bung bung bung bung" will no doubt instill some fear into your dreams.
81	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t92UkJkfb6g&ab_channel=nevermindip 22 Going On 23]] by the Music/ButtholeSurfers. The song is a sloshy bass and high-pitched electric guitar broken up by a woman describing her trauma since being sexually assaulted, which may hit hard for anyone who has survived rape or any form of sexual violence.
82	* Anything by Music/BlutAusNord will automatically qualify, specifically their later output
83	* Krzysztof Penderecki has a freakish, atonal string piece originally called "8'37". After he heard the piece performed, however, he decided to retitle it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp3BlFZWJNA&ab_channel=PatricioApaez Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima]]. Why he did that isn't surprising once one actually hears the piece: by accident, Penderecki managed to evoke air raid and emergency sirens, bomber noises, and even screams of the burning bomb victims. The opening note alone is one extended, unidentifiable piercing screech.
84	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv5asInJKkc&ab_channel=KrzysztofPenderecki-Topic "Canticum Canticorum Salomonis"]] by the same composer sounds like souls crying out of the depths of hell, and Satan's wretches dragging them down again. Thrilling and terrifying.
85	* Music/PinkFloyd's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpWJv7alqQE&ab_channel=PinkFloyd-Topic Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict.]] The whole song is unsettling despite the innocuous name, but toward the middle they do this whispering/heavy breathing sound and cap off the song with a long-winded and completely incomprehensible speech in a dramatic tone of voice with a thick Scottish accent that may indeed by from Hell itself. Waters revived the Pict's vocal stylings for the schoolteacher from ''Music/TheWall'' ten years later, and that guy sounds ''even more'' deranged and hellish.
86	*** The song is orders of magnitude worse played in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD4r1KIrnu8&ab_channel=MooMoo reverse]]. Almost everything is eerier, but the long, shrill animal howl in the background sounds far more like a reedy, human voice in intense distress or pain, rising in pitch and volume instead of fading off.
87	** Speaking of ''The Wall'', the noises at the start of Empty Spaces, and the bridge in Hey You (with buzzing, dental-drill like noises) deserve an honourable mention, as does the absolutely batshit-insane megaphone speech at the end of "Waiting for the Worms." It's like a dramatic reading of WebOriginal/TimeCube that deteriorates into incoherent garble.
88	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb-SgwOJjcM&ab_channel=PinkFloyd-Topic "Careful with That Axe, Eugene..."]] There's a good reason why [[CarefulWithThatAxe a certain trope]] is named after this song.
89	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oWOConfUV8&ab_channel=PinkFloyd-Topic "A Saucerful Of Secrets"]] is full of this, especially the beginning of the second movement, which sounds like you're being chased through a dark castle by the legions of Hell.
90	%%** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW-lXjOyUWo&ab_channel=PinkFloyd-Topic "Speak to Me."]] Seriously, it will go out of its way to make your hairs stand on end.
91	* Most of metal-bashing avant-garde group Music/EinsturzendeNeubauten's early output is like this. The worst offender, however, is "Negativ Nein", which opens to a creepy beat played on PVC pipes over what sounds like a badly plugged toilet being plunged, topped by Blixa Bargeld's broken-steam-whistle scream and heavily overdubbed and echoing chanting. In German.
92	** Speaking of Einstürzende Neubauten...never listen to "Halber Mensch" if you still want to sleep at night. It's probably one of the scariest songs ever.
93	* Music/{{Converge}}, considered a founding father of the Metalcore genre, released their 2001 album ''Jane Doe'' to critical acclaim. The album was based off of songwriter & lead singer Jacob Bannon's [[CreatorBreakdown horrible, draining, and broken relationship with an ex-girlfriend.]] The tenth song, "Phoenix in Flames", is 42 seconds of Bannon [[CarefulWithThatAxe screaming his lungs out]] over mad drumming. It has to be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNHudI42RQ0 heard]] to be believed.
94	* Music/AphexTwin: "Come to Daddy" was written, in Richard D. James' own words, as "a crappy little death metal jingle" [[StylisticSuck meant to spoof metal music]]. But for a "crappy" parody, James put quite a lot of work into making it sound scary.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWDAtMPoBHA IIIII WANNNNT YOUR SOULLLLL! I WILL EAT YOUR SOULLLLL!]]
95	* [[Music/OzzyOsbourne Ozzy Osbourne's]] voice on the first two Music/BlackSabbath albums, especially on the self-titled album's title track. Before he became a caricature of himself, Ozzy sounded like the lost soul he actually was at the time. This is especially notable on the pre-album demo track of "War Pigs" featured on the ''Ozzman Cometh'' collection, which is far creepier than anything Sabbath actually released.
96	** Just the first two? Ozzy's vocals on the third album, ''Master of Reality'', are just as creepy, especially on "Lord of This World".
97	** First 30 or so seconds of Iron Man can qualify.
98	** "ALL ABOOOAAAAAAAAAARD, [[EvilLaugh HAHAHAHA!]]"
99	* [[Music/TheBeatles Number nine...number nine...number nine...]] and everything thereafter
100	** The chaotic orchestral buildup that's played twice in "A Day In The Life" from The Beatles Sgt. Pepper" album. You get used to it eventually, but the first time you heard it's frightening. Especially through headphones.
101	** On the subject of "A Day in the Life", that 15khz tone near the end of the track.
102	* Music/{{Tool}} ''loves'' using this, and quite a few tracks on any of their albums are comprised of dissonant noise and sound effects. Special mention would have to go to "Disgustipated" and "Faaip de Oaid" though. [[LastNoteNightmare Both are the closing tracks from their respective albums, and both manage to be]] ''[[LastNoteNightmare completely fucking terrifying.]]''
103	** [[MadnessMantra THIS. IS. NECESSARY. THIS. IS. NECESSARY. LIFE, FEEDS ON LIFE, FEEDS ON LIFE, FEEDS ON LIFE, FEEDS ON, THIS. IS. NECESSARY...]]
104	** Arguably even creepier than "Faaip de Oaid" is "Viginti Tres", the final track on 10,000 Days. Sure, it sounds kind of cool when synced with "Wings For Marie, Pt 1", but on its own, it is extremely creepy. Barely even a song, it is 5 minutes of unnerving synth noises and terrifying ethereal sounds.
105	%%* Anything by Music/NurseWithWound will automatically qualify.
106	* [[https://youtu.be/lBXDiVqS1no "I'll Let You Live"]] by [[Music/TakingBackSunday Taking Back Sunday]] has a scream at around the 3:30 mark [[CarefulWithThatAxe that needs to be heard to be believed.]] According to singer Adam Lazzara, he screamed so hard his eyes [[BodyHorror started bleeding]] and [[HeroicBSOD he didn't talk to anyone for a few days after.]]
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
110	* The UrExample may very well come from Myth/ClassicalMythology: the god Pan loved to scare the shit out of lonely travelers by hiding nearby and letting out a bloodcurdling scream. Ever wonder where we get the word "panic?" Now you know.
111	* Similar to Pan is the skinwalker of [[Myth/NativeAmericanMythology Navajo folklore]]. It initially freaks out its victim with two loud whistling noises that can be heard for miles. Its "speech" sounds like a distorted voice or animal call.
112	* Myth/JapaneseMythology: A number of {{youkai}} are know to torment travelers by making sudden and terrifying noises, like the ''kerakera onna'' (a giant, ghostly woman who haunts brothel patrons with an EvilLaugh only her victim can hear), or ''Hachishaku-sama'' (Ms. Eight-Foot-Tall), who stalks young children and can imitate the voices of their loved ones but can only make a terrifying "po-po-po" sound otherwise.
113	* La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) from Latin American folklore is very well known for her piercing, otherworldly screams of "¡Ay mis hijos!" ("Oh, my sons!"). To this day, many people are still very terrified of her and believe her laments are an omen for dreadful times.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Podcasts]]
117	* ''Podcast/KakosIndustries'': Episode 6 sees the Kakos Industries shareholders receiving Corin's announcements through an echo trapped in a box. The box is made of wood from Kakos Industries' GMO Echo Tree, which contains vibrations indefinitely. Corin goes on to explain, however, that the Echo Tree project is now in permanent beta after a project staff member murdered everyone else and burned all the notes. The reason he did this? He stubbed his toe walking through the Echo Tree Forest, which echoed his scream of pain for so long the sound of it it drove him mad. Between that and the sounds of being mercilessly axe murdered being added to the Forest's sounds, cleanup was handled by Kakos Industries sending in their best body-collectors-who-happen-to-be-deaf, who complained after the fact of a cold vibration inside of their bones.
118	* ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'':
119	** The whistled tune that the narrator of "First Hunt" hears as he and his friend hunt portends something very bad. The tune is "A-hunting we shall go".
120	** In "Boatswain's Call" the mate on a modern ship carries the eponymous old-fashioned whistle. As the narrator finds herself in the midst of a disturbing trip in the (also strangely old-fashioned) lifeboat with the crew, the mate blows it, making a sound that is unnaturally and disturbingly shrill and piercing, yet somehow also sounds far away. Of course, this signals that things are about to go FromBadToWorse.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
124	* ''Series/FraggleRock'': In the episode "Wembley's Wonderful Whoopee Water'', Wembley discovers that he can hear liquid inside rocks. He uses this ability to dig through one and find fizzy water that tastes like strawberries, boosts energy, and makes sleep unnecessary. The other Fraggles declare him a hero, but then Wembley hears a disturbing new sound in the rock the water is being pumped from. When he listens to the rock a while later, the noise has gotten louder and scarier than before. On top of that, the rock now has a crack in it. In the morning, the crack has gotten bigger, and the noise is even worse. A few minutes later, the rock opens a BottomlessPit, which Gobo falls down. Wembley rescues Gobo and declares the well has to be shut down.
125	* A subverted example occurs in an early episode of ''Series/SesameStreet''. Mr. Hooper has to go to the post office first thing in the morning and asks Big Bird to open the store for him. Big Bird is already nervous about how dark the store is, and when he unlocks the door and hears a strange noise, he freaks and runs out of the store, not even bothering to turn on the lights. Fortunately for him, Mr. Hooper has just gotten back. He turns on the lights and shows Big Bird where the sound was coming from: the pay phone was off the hook.
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
129	* ''VisualNovel/TheFruitOfGrisaia'': The clicking sound of Yumiko's boxcutter is something you learn to fear in Mihama Academy, as it indicates that it's wielder is royally pissed.
130	* ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganronpaAnother2'': Chapter 5 ends with a successful FrameUp and a TotalPartyKill. The sound of the "wrong verdict" alarm sums up the entire horror of the situation perfectly.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	%%
134	%%MOD NOTICE: This trope does not allow real life examples.
135	%%Do not re-add the Real Life folder.
136	%%

Context Main / HellIsThatNoise