What is Seneca Drums ?

Seneca Drums:

“Seneca Drums” refers to the mysterious, unexplained booming sounds that have been reported for centuries from the southern end of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The phenomenon, also known as the “Seneca Guns,” is shrouded in folklore but is also the subject of modern scientific inquiry.

Folkloric explanations:

Historically, the Seneca people and early American settlers developed various legends to explain the booming sounds.

Seneca legends: The Iroquois, including the Seneca tribe, believed the sounds came from the Great Spirit as a message, a curse on a warrior who violated sacred hunting grounds, or from the drums of their ancestors.

American folklore: A different story emerged in post-Revolutionary War folklore, suggesting the booms were the drumbeat of a lost soldier searching for his regiment. Author James Fenimore Cooper described the sounds in his 1850 short story, likening them to the “explosion of a heavy piece of artillery.