Spirit of the Beehive

"Original title Al Azif - azif being the word used by the Arabs to designate that nocturnal sound (made by insects) suppos'd to be the howling of daemons." - HP Lovecraft, from his History of the Necronomicon.


One thing I find both fascinating and instructive is the collation of correspondences between what could be called boundary experiences. I hope to do some analysis of this in a forthcoming post - something of a follow-up to our earlier study of Fatima - but in the meantime, here's a brief data dump of one such correspondence.

Marian apparitions

"We would follow the children and kneel in the middle of the field. Lucia would raise her hands and say, 'You bade me come here, what do you wish of me?' And then could be heard a buzzing that seemed to be that of a bee. I took care to discern whether it was the Lady speaking." - Fatima witness Maria Carreira, quoted in Heavenly Lights.

"I heard a sound, a din, such as a great fly makes inside an empty water pot." - Manuel Marto, Fatima witness and father of Jacinta and Francisco.

"Mr Manuel Marto explained to us that, during the entire duration of the appearance, those present heard an indefinable sound, like that which is heard next to a hive, but altogether more harmonious, even though words were not heard." - Italian priest Humberto Pasquale, investigator of the Fatima event.

"On July 13, I was at Cova da Iria. She [Lucia] knelt.... While Lucia was listening to a response, it seemed there was a buzzing sound like that of a cicada." - Fatima witness Antonio Baptista.

UFOs

Traveling slowly, the object reversed its course and with an undulating motion headed for the small cleared area amongst the trees where the sandpit was situated. The intensity of the noise disturbed David so much that his friends said he placed his hands over his ears and called out for it to stop. However, David does not recall doing this. The UFO began to settle down for a landing and the noise became a buzz, the children claimed. - From Three small boys witness UFO landing - Port Coquitlam, BC

Roland McMahon, a 10-year old boy, saw a silver colored UFO 15 ft in diameter, with a windowed cupola on top, hovering 10 ft over the farm area. "On its bottom there was a green triangular area, with a dark red area inside that they boy said resembled a human shaped profile." It made a buzzing noise like an electric motor. When Mrs. McMahon, who also saw the object, drove into the driveway, it flew away, kicking up dust with a wind. It was in view for about 15 minutes. From Humanoid Sighting Report, August 18, 1975

At about 2230 Dec 30 1972, Ventura Maceiras, an illiterate night watchman, was listening to the radio outside the wooden shack that is his home, when suddenly the transistor radio began to fail. Impact adjustment did not work, so he switched off. He noticed a humming "like angry bees." Looking up, he saw a bright light hovering over a nearby grove of eucalyptus trees. He could see an enormous object in the midst of the light, whose color changed from orange to purple. At the center of the object, he could see a round cabin with windows, and through the windows, two figures. - From Occupant Database

Two fishermen, Charles Hickson, age 45, and Calvin Parker, age 19, were near the banks of the Pascagoula River the evening of October 11, 1973, when they saw an oblong-shaped UFO. It emitted a brilliant blue light and made a sound similar to that of bees. An aperture appeared in the object and three beings exited the craft by floating in the air through the opening. The men were taken into the interior of the UFO by two semi-transparent beings, approximately four and a half feet tall, who emitted a faint buzzing, like that of bees. - From Heavenly Lights

In 1954 Mr. P. Petit and his employee, Mr. Tillier, with shop owner Mr. Pecquet, saw an oval object on the ground in Corrompu, France. When it took off the lights of a tractor went out. It measured about 4.5 meters (15 feet) in length and emitted a bright light similar to a welder's torch. It came back, turned, and flew off toward the southwest. It reportedly made the same noise as a swarm of bees. - Source, Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia.

Valdair Alcântara Maciel, who works as a security guard at the Pesqueiro do Rubinho, a fishing place, claim that he saw yesterday (may 26 1999), at 03:30 AM, a UFO in a area of the Itapeti Mountain, in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo's municipal district. To him the evidences are the marks left on the ground. It is a circle with approximately 2,4 meters diameter, with the marks of 4 "feet" and a smaller circle in the midle.... He say that the object had a red color and made a "buzz" noise. - From UFO lands in Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paolo

Report - Sept. 1950; Korea, Navy planes on mission approached by two large discs, radar jammed, radio transmitter blocked by buzzing noise each time new frequency tried. - From NICAP's EM case list

Fortean entities

One particularly memorable subject, who was up-front about what she had seen, was an older woman who said she had encountered Mothman in her backyard. Her property was close to the boundaries of the TNT area and, hearing a buzzing or humming sound coming from the back of her home, she went out to investigate.... Other witnesses...told of glowing red eyes and a buzzing or humming sound. - From Return to Point Pleasant

Angelica Barrigon Varela and co-worker Remedios Diez were on their way to work at a local factory along the wall that divided the railroad tracks and the street when they heard a loud buzzing sound coming from the area of the tracks. Looking in that direction they beheld a bizarre creature floating and balancing itself above the railroad tracks. It appeared to be wearing a monk-like smock or coat, dark green in color that emitted intermediate flashes of light under the light rain. The humanoid itself was dwarf-like with white pale features and stared at the witnesses fixedly. The face was oval shaped and the eyes were like two deep black holes. It appeared to lack any legs below the knees as the smock hung in mid-air. - From Humanoid Sighting Report, January 16, 1975

DMT trip

20—30 seconds : a buzzing starts in the ears, rising in tone and volume to an incredible intensity. Its like cellophane being ripped apart (or the fabric of the universe being torn asunder). Your body will vibrate in sympathy with this sound, and you will notice a sharp blood pressure rise. 30 seconds—1 minute : You break through into DMT hyperspace. - From Notes on the Visual Stages of a DMT Trip.

A powerful buzz on the same frequency as the light oscillation grew in my head. The more I inhaled the more profound and intense the buzzing became. Each gasp of vapor stoked up the effect until my head was swarming with noise and light. - From DMT: Not like any other experience.

Near Death Experience

"Finally I stopped moving through the tunnel and had a good chance to look at it. The tunnel looked like a large vent pipe used on clothes dryers. The light was not primarily inside the tunnel but from the outside shinning in. During the trip inside the tunnel I heard a loud buzzing sound which hurt my ears. I wondered what supported the tunnel. Now I began walking looking for the ending of this tunnel." - Account of a Near Death Experience.

Astral projection

"I was meditating (i’m so good at it now! I can actually keep a blank mind) and I heard the buzzing noise (bumble bee buzzing). And I was like 'oh my gosh i’m projecting right now??'... I will hear buzzing, my body felt as if it was rising, although I could feel my body on my bed." .... "The buzzing – I will feel electic vibes going across my body. It sounds like a bee, but it narrows to a mosquito buzzing sound. - Accounts of astral projection.