MyReporter: What are the Seneca Guns? Could they be earthquake rumbles or ghostly echoes?

For decades, residents along the Cape Fear coast have reported hearing mysterious booms. What sounds like loud explosions are typically heard several times a year, which often sets off a flurry of rumors on social media.

The puzzling vibrations, which rattle homes and shake the ground, are referred to as the Seneca Guns.

Where did the name come from?

The name may be misleading, as it doesn’t refer to actual firearms. The term Seneca Guns originated to describe a phenomenon in New York, describing booms near Lake Seneca in the Finger Lakes region, according to the United States Geological Survey. Overtime, this term has transcended its origins and is now commonly used across the Carolinas and Virginia to characterize similar unexplained events.

More: Earthquake or sonic boom? Unconfirmed incident startles Brunswick residents Saturday

What causes the loud booms?

The origin remains a mystery, prompting North Carolina residents to frequently speculate on possible causes.

After an unexplainable boom startled numerous Brunswick residents in 2022, UNCW Enviornmental Sciences Lecturer Robert D. Shew provided some insight into the matter.

“Seneca Guns have been heard mostly near the coast but inland as well and they have been reported for many years,” Shew said. “Unusual sources of the sound have been given as earthquakes, bolide (meteoroid) breakup above ground, and military operations.”

Despite the military consistently refuting the claim, some still attribute the sounds to off-book military testing and training activities happening offshore.

EARTHQUAKE TRACKER: Check out earthquake activity in North Carolina.

More: Did you hear the Seneca Guns last night in Brunswick County?

Could the phenomenon be supernatural?

Some attribute the phenomenon to supernatural claims, proposing that the mysterious sounds could be echoes of cannon fire from the Civil War 158 years ago. Alternative theories propose the events might be linked to the shifting of tectonic plates under the ocean floor or storms brewing in the distance off the coastline.

The enigma surrounding the Seneca Guns persists, and whatever the cause, the mysterious booms will continue to startle and intrigue North Carolina residents.

Do you have a question about the Wilmington area that you'd like a StarNews journalist to try to answer? Send an email to [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: What are the Seneca Guns, the loud booms heard in Wilmington, NC coast