Chilling Doorbell Footage Reveals the World’s Most Terrifying Sound
When you’re out late at night in the dark, the last thing you want to hear is a terrifying scream that makes you rush back inside.
As a certain Game of Thrones character once pointed out, the night is dark and filled with fears, and this is true even on the supposed safety of a cruise ship, as a TikTok user discovered in a frightening video.
The human body can produce some frightening noises, with the so-called death rattle indicating that a person has about a day left to live, yet this is nothing compared to the horrifying sound made by the Aztec death whistle.
What is the Aztec death whistle?
Originating from around 1250 to 1521 AD, the Aztec death whistle, also known as the skull whistle, is a terrifying-looking musical device that has been discovered in ancient Aztec burial sites.
Initially, it left researchers puzzled, but one of them decided to play it and likely regretted it, as it emitted a piercing scream that resembles a human scream.
The death whistle resembles something from Indiana Jones (Tanner Pearson/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Contemporary researchers have successfully recreated the death whistle using 3D printing technology and invited a group of daring volunteers to participate in a study to assess the sound’s effect on their brains.
Professor Sascha Frühholz, the study’s lead author, told the MailOnline, “The sound is harsh and high-pitched, and as listeners, you typically do not enjoy such noises.”
He further stated, “As the Aztec skull whistle is similar to a human scream, we aimed to explore if humans have the same negative and aversive reaction to the sounds of the Aztec death whistle.”
Where and why was the Aztec death whistle used?
Experts believe that the whistles might have been used in the past during battles or to terrify victims during human sacrifices, making the horrifying sound the last thing a person heard before their death.
While archaeologists are not certain, the study by Frühholz revealed that volunteers’ brains were left shocked and bewildered, leading to a consensus that it might have been used in the ritual sacrifices of the Aztec civilization, which flourished in central Mexico for nearly 200 years from the 14th to the 16th century.
Chilling footage
It is now evident that this sound is not something you would want to hear while going about your daily activities.
For those who are not daring enough to hear this disturbing footage, you can rest easy as I have listened for you, and to me, it resembles a human scream mixed with the sound of a kettle or a steam train.
If you are inclined to listen, you might want to lower the volume if you’re on public transport, unless you want to be accused of ‘bare beating.’
The footage, captured by a doorbell camera, shows a dog owner and his pet standing by a pool when a sound, believed to be from an Aztec death whistle, can be heard in the background, prompting them to rush back inside at high speed.
It’s understandable, as the last thing you want is to be sacrificed.