3 A.M.

[catseye]

It definitely wasn't that for a variety of reasons, including - but not limited to - time of day and azimuth of source.

maximus otter

The (usually unoccupied holiday) house next door to mine has a heating/hot water system that is on an automatic timer, which makes a noise very much like you describe. The vent is on the outside of the house, in close proximity to my bedroom window. If I leave my window open during the winter, I'm often disturbed by the said 'whoooshing' noise as thermostat and temperature conspire to fire up the heating system at stupd o clock.

Any chance that any nearby residences have a similar set up, only internally, so THEY may have had their windows open, enabling you to hear their boiler?

 

[maximus otter]

The (usually unoccupied holiday) house next door to mine has a heating/hot water system that is on an automatic timer, which makes a noise very much like you describe. The vent is on the outside of the house, in close proximity to my bedroom window. If I leave my window open during the winter, I'm often disturbed by the said 'whoooshing' noise as thermostat and temperature conspire to fire up the heating system at stupd o clock.

Any chance that any nearby residences have a similar set up, only internally, so THEY may have had their windows open, enabling you to hear their boiler?

I live in a detached house, and neither neighbour is close. If it was what you describe, it would be the first time ever in twelve years of living here that l’d heard it.

l’d say it was so vanishingly unlikely as to be impossible.

maximus otter

 

[catseye]

My house is also detached, and the holiday house in question is a fair way away. Doesn't stop me hearing their heating vent though!

Just an idea.

 

[Shady]

Road works, sound carries from a long way

 

[maximus otter]

Road works, sound carries from a long way

We can barely get roads repaired here between nine and five, much less at five to three in the morning!

maximus otter

 

[Shady]

Got a motorway nearby?

 

[maximus otter]

Got a motorway nearby?

No major roads that make noises like propane burners for a few seconds at 3 a.m.

maximus otter

 

[GNC]

Maybe it was gas - intestinal gas? You were off to the loo, after all.

 

[hunck]

Case solved! - Next!

 

[Scribbles]

Just have to say, as some of you will know I recently moved house. This last week I joined the Street Watch team and have been allowed into the hallowed ground of their WhatsApp group.

Good God I had NO idea of the level of interest some people take in their neighbourhood! So many of them have cameras on their properties, for security reasons of course, and know exactly who is doing what, where and with who. They're straight onto the local PCSO with registrations of cars they know aren't from the estate, and they frequently report people they think are "dodgy" (like a bloke walking through the estate with his hood pulled tight over his face - erm, was it raining?)

In some ways it's quite comforting. I could hear a funny noise at 3am, WhatsApp about it, and have an answer to what it is by daylight.

On the other hand.... surveillance *worried face*

 

[ramonmercado]

On the other hand.... surveillance *worried face*

At least you're on the inside with this group. Just don't fall out with them!

 

[Scribbles]

At least you're on the inside with this group. Just don't fall out with them!

Good advice!

 

[Tunn11]

Just wondering whether daylight saving has any effect on this.

Midnight should be half way between dawn and dusk and outside of the equator it will vary through the year. In the same way 3.00 a.m or 4.00 a.m will be a set time after midnight and any of these times could occur in daylight. All of this will have an effect on the human metabolism but if "spirits" have a preference for a set time will that affect when they are seen?

In other words if ghosts etc. are usually seen between 3.00 a.m. and 4.00 a.m irrespective of lattitude, time of year, time zone, etc. does it have more to do with expectation than reality?

 

[Floyd1]

Coincidentally, at 0254 today l was awoken by my bladder. l had closed the bedroom window because birds in the tree outside wake at 0400, and they don’t see why anyone else should have a lie-in.

As soon as the window was open, l heard a noise exactly like the one l remember from telly programmes featuring hot air balloons: that rushing, roaring noise of burning propane as the pilot increases altitude. The sound was indistinguishable from my memories of the TV shows, both in pitch and duration.

l looked out of the window: nothing visible in the sky.

A minute later (literally: 0255) the sound was repeated. Another look: still nothing.

As l used the loo, l believe l heard the sound again.

l closed the window, and slept until about 0630.

Sunrise today was at 0438, so l find the idea of a romantic dawn balloon ride implausible.

l have never ridden in a hot air balloon, nor do l recall ever being able to hear the noise of the gas burner from one so distinctly.

maximus otter

Those balloon enthusiasts do get out and about early, although 02.54 is too early even for them. They're certainly about early though and I've heard that noise very clearly.
Three years on, did you ever hear it again?

 

[charliebrown]

I have always slept with a night light, and will not sleep in a dark room.

Actually at my age this is good since I am always running to the bathroom.

Twilight creeps me out as forms and shadows are hard to distinguish.

Twilight is depressing for me.

 

[maximus otter]

Those balloon enthusiasts do get out and about early, although 02.54 is too early even for them. They're certainly about early though and I've heard that noise very clearly.
Three years on, did you ever hear it again?

Not yet.

maximus otter

 

[IbisNibs]

I read Floyd1's original post, but somehow when quoted by Maximus Otter the phrase "Those balloon enthusiasts do get out and about early" got into my brain as "Those baboon enthusiasts . . . ".

It's not 3 am yet, but my brain is unmoored.

 

[Reverend D]

I remember reading a book by self-proclaimed 'demonologists' and bullshit artistes extraordinaire Ed and Lorraine Warren (at least I think it was by them) in which they claimed that most ghostly encountered happened between 3 and 4 AM, in mockery of the holy trinity.

I remember reading, although i don't remember where, that paranormally stuff happens at 3am, because it's the 'opposite' of 3pm, which apparently is the the time Jesus was crucified.

 

[Lb8535]

All those demons rushing like mad to get to the next time zone.

 

[Erinaceus]

3.00am is a dangerous time for ghoulies and demons to be abroad if they don't keep an eye on the time. If they are of a type that is harmed by sunlight they are liable to come undone in the summer months.

 

[Ascalon]

I'm pretty sure I've read that 3-4 am is when the body's circadian rhythm resets for the next day.

People who work nights often take a break around then because you can get silly/giggly and are not effective until the effect has passed.

It could well be that much 3am weirdness derives from the body going through the switchover awake rather than asleep.

EDIT TO ADD:
This is based partly on personal experience.
I used to do 12 hour nights for long periods when I was an aircraft mechanic.

We actually had very high productivity, as we tended to get stuck in and work without distraction on a specific set of tasks for which we would have prepared resources the previous shift.
However, the experienced guys would tell you to take a break around 03:00 or 04:00, as you tended to get giggly.
Some people had a sit down, some a small kip, and my preference was a few rags rolled up with duct tape to make a wee ball and which a few of us would kick around the apron for 20 minutes, with much laughter and comedy misses.
The point was, when you needed to be accurate, focused and attentive to detail, trying to push through the 'bonk' as it was often referred to, was pointless. I remember distinctly, one experience where I was absolutely baffled by the direction switch on a ratchet spanner. I spent minutes being unable to set it correctly before putting on a bolt head that was out of eye line. I just couldn't visualise the direction of turning and required action on the bolt. I then became frustrated and then laughed until a colleague called me a gobshite and pointed out the time.
Management were fully au fait with the practice and endorsed it as a safety enhancing.

I could easily imagine that the discombobulation of the circadian switchover, combined with a sleep transition, would result in much confusion and misinterpretation, resulting in the odd experiences reported for this time.

 

[Ger]

Looking at these messages, can't help but think we are all missing something obvious here...Cats, Ask the CATS, they are experts on what should and shouldn't happen at 3am !

 

[IbisNibs]

I remember distinctly, one experience where I was absolutely baffled by the direction switch on a ratchet spanner. I spent minutes being unable to set it correctly before putting on a bolt head that was out of eye line.

This sounds like me about 2:30 in the afternoon. I wonder if there's a similar "re-setting" during the day.

And yes, cats know everything about how to do everything.

 

[Herr Cloaca]

Between three and four AM is the depression hour. It's a long way from the previous day, and also a long way from the Sun rising; more so in winter.

It is the time when the things that are circling around your mind build up and you can't think of a solution.

"Too late to sleep
Too soon to rise"
The Pet Shop Boys

 

[Paul_Exeter]

I remember reading, although i don't remember where, that paranormally stuff happens at 3am, because it's the 'opposite' of 3pm, which apparently is the the time Jesus was crucified.

Amazing how the Christian church has scooped up everything pagan and paranormal and put their own interpretation on it, especially as we know of ghosts and spirits in non-Christian cultures before and after the (alleged) crucifixion

 

[Floyd1]

"Too late to sleep
Too soon to rise"
The Pet Shop Boys

A bit like 3pm. Too late to do anything useful and too early to do anything as well.

 

[Coal]

I'm pretty sure I've read that 3-4 am is when the body's circadian rhythm resets for the next day.

People who work nights often take a break around then because you can get silly/giggly and are not effective until the effect has passed.

It could well be that much 3am weirdness derives from the body going through the switchover awake rather than asleep.

EDIT TO ADD:
This is based partly on personal experience.
I used to do 12 hour nights for long periods when I was an aircraft mechanic.

We actually had very high productivity, as we tended to get stuck in and work without distraction on a specific set of tasks for which we would have prepared resources the previous shift.
However, the experienced guys would tell you to take a break around 03:00 or 04:00, as you tended to get giggly.
Some people had a sit down, some a small kip, and my preference was a few rags rolled up with duct tape to make a wee ball and which a few of us would kick around the apron for 20 minutes, with much laughter and comedy misses.
The point was, when you needed to be accurate, focused and attentive to detail, trying to push through the 'bonk' as it was often referred to, was pointless. I remember distinctly, one experience where I was absolutely baffled by the direction switch on a ratchet spanner. I spent minutes being unable to set it correctly before putting on a bolt head that was out of eye line. I just couldn't visualise the direction of turning and required action on the bolt. I then became frustrated and then laughed until a colleague called me a gobshite and pointed out the time.
Management were fully au fait with the practice and endorsed it as a safety enhancing.

I could easily imagine that the discombobulation of the circadian switchover, combined with a sleep transition, would result in much confusion and misinterpretation, resulting in the odd experiences reported for this time.

Fascinating, thank you.

 

[Bad Bungle]

Article here suggests 3 am is when you're most likely to wake to have a bit of a worry.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-do-we-wake-around-3am-and-dwell-on-our-fears-and-shortcomings

 

[madmath]

The one I heard (heaven knows if this is true) is when you get up for a bathroom visit, usually between 3am and 4am, you can put a strain on your heart by sharply moving from sleeping state to waking state, and if you're already in dodgy health that'll tip you over the edge. Or even if you're not in dodgy health, but just getting on a bit. Any doctors here to confirm or deny that one?

I can tell you my personal experience over the last years is there's no risk to getting up to wee at that hour. Over and over and over again, lots and lots of evidence.

 

[Coal]

It's anecdotal, but Mrs coal (who worked as an elderly care nurse back in the day) told me it was common knowledge that 3-4am and 3-4pm were when patients were most likely to die/deteriorate.