There have been numerous reports of people actually hearing the aurora. So far, attempts to record any such sounds have failed and most scientists are sceptical.

Among the indigenous peoples of the North there are claims that certain whistling, crackling sounds come from the auroral sky; their explanation is that it is the  spirits of the dead attempting to communicate with the living.

One scientific explanation offered for any likely sounds heard has been that the aurora causes electricity to build up in the atmosphere and that this is responsible for the crackling that might be heard.