East Hampton, Connecticut, has a mystery. It looks like an ordinary town, until you hear . . . the noises!

(Imagine dramatic music here.)

Donna Lindstrom was lying in bed Wednesday morning when she heard it. A loud bang! rattled her house. Soon, her neighbors were discussing the strange sound on social media.

“It was like a sonic boom,” says Ms. Lindstrom. “It was a real short jolt and loud. It felt deep, deep, deep.”

But the clamor didn’t come as a surprise. These rumblings have happened on and off for as long as anyone can remember. They occur in the area around East Hampton and the village of Moodus in south central Connecticut. Locals call them the “Moodus Noises.” And science has some of the answers.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, these noises come from tiny earthquakes. Experts say there’s no danger of a big quake.

Robert Thorson is an earth sciences professor at the University of Connecticut. He says the rattles and booms have been happening for centuries. In fact, the name “Moodus” is short for “Machimoodus” or “Mackimoodus.” That means “place of bad noises” in the Algonquian language. (That is the language of a Native American people group from that area.)

In the 1980s, U.S. officials decided to study these “Moodus Noises.”  They were concerned about the rumbling’s effect on a nearby nuclear power plant.

Earthquakes happen when massive pieces of the Earth’s crust called tectonic plates grind together underground. The greater the grind, the bigger the quake. Researchers in East Hampton discovered just a little bit of activity. But those teensy tremors were unusually close to the surface. That made the quakes sound louder. The shape of the land also boosts the sound, but scientists aren’t sure how.

“There is something about Moodus . . . that is creating these noises there,” says Dr. Thorson.

The land around East Hampton seems to be a loudspeaker for tiny earthquakes!

Locals have learned to live with the racket. An area high school even calls its sports teams “the Noises.”

“It’s just something we all have to live with,” says Ms. Lindstrom. “I’m just glad I don’t live in California.”

Therefore we will not fear though the Earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. — Psalm 46:2