You hear

This is a list of messages in NetHack that begin with "You hear". If the acoustics option is set to FALSE, many of these messages with will not be displayed.

As of NetHack 3.6.0, being deaf will also cause these message not to display; this can make it difficult to guess the passtune.

You

You hear the howling of the CwnAnnwn...

You have less than ¹⁄₁₀ of your maximum hit points left. (The Cŵn Annwn are the hounds of Annwn, the underworld from Welsh mythology, whose howls are seen as a death omen.)

You hear the wailing of the Banshee...

You have only 1 hit point left. (The Banshee is a spirit from Irish mythology whose wails can be heard when someone is on the verge of death.)

Monsters

You hear some noises <in the distance>.

An unseen monster (typically your pet, or possibly one affected by conflict) attacked another one.

You hear a <nearby/distant> zap.

An unseen monster zapped a wand.

You hear a chugging sound.

An unseen monster drank a potion.

You hear a monster behind the boulder. Perhaps that's why you cannot move it.

You attempted to push a boulder onto a space already occupied by a monster.

Pets

You hear the rumble of distant thunder...

You killed your pet. You get a −15 penalty to your alignment record and −1 to Luck.

You hear the studio audience applaud!

As above, while hallucinating.

Werecreatures

You hear a <jackal/wolf> howling at the moon.

There is a werejackal or werewolf somewhere on the level.

Other monsters

You hear a slurping sound.
You hear several slurping sounds.

A gelatinous cube somewhere on the level ate one or more items.

You hear a crunching sound.

A metallivore somewhere on the level ate a metallic object.

You hear crashing rock.

A dwarf or a tunneling monster somewhere on the level dug through a wall.

You hear something crash through the ground.

An unseen monster went through a hole in the ground.

You hear a door open.

A monster opened an unseen door.

You hear a door crash open.

A monster bashed through an unseen door.

You hear a door unlock and open.

A monster opened an unseen door that was locked. Shopkeepers and the Riders might unlock doors, as might a monster carrying a skeleton key (usually a nymph who has stolen one).

You hear a blast.

An unseen gas spore exploded.

You hear a crashing sound.

An unseen door, secret door, or trap door was destroyed.

You hear a rushing noise nearby.

An unseen vortex or air elemental attempted to engulf you but attacked the wrong spot.

You hear a splat nearby.

An unseen ochre jelly or Juiblex attempted to engulf you but attacked the wrong spot.

You hear a thud.

An unseen monster shrank out of its body armor as it transformed (through a polymorph trap or lycanthropy).

You hear a clank.

An unseen monster dropped its shield or helm as it transformed and became headless, horned, or handless.

You hear a cracking sound.

An unseen monster broke out of its body armor as it transformed and became too large or the wrong shape to wear it.

You hear a ripping sound.

An unseen monster tore out of its shirt or cloak as it transformed and became too large or the wrong shape to wear it.

You hear chewing.

An unseen monster ate a lizard corpse or acidic corpse to survive stoning.

You hear a cough.

An unseen canceled monster attempted to use its breath, and there was no effect.

You hear an awful gobbling noise.

An unseen ghoul ate an old corpse.

You hear a faint sloshing sound.

Two globs merged on the floor, but you could not see the resulting glob.

Dungeon features

You hear a slow drip.

You hear a gurgling noise.

There is a sink on the level.

You hear dishes being washed!

There is a sink on the level, and you are hallucinating.

You hear water falling on coins.

You hear the splashing of a naiad.

You hear bubbling water.

There is a fountain on the level. (A naiad is a type of nymph in Greek mythology, associated with fountains and other sources of fresh water.)

You hear a soda fountain!

There is a fountain on the level, and you are hallucinating.

You hear <number> tumbler(s) click.

You played a sequence of notes on a musical instrument near the castle's drawbridge. The number is how many notes matched the pitch of notes in the passtune, but did not match the position of those notes within the sequence.

You hear <number> gear(s) turn.

As above, but the number is how many notes matched the pitch and position of notes in the passtune.

Traps

You hear rumbling in the distance.

An unseen monster set off a rolling boulder trap.

You hear someone bowling.

An unseen monster set off a rolling boulder trap, and you are hallucinating.

You hear a rumbling stop abruptly.

An unseen boulder rolled onto a teleportation trap.

You hear a loud crash!

An unseen rolling boulder hit another boulder.

You hear a distant explosion.

A monster opened an unseen trapped door.

Kaablamm! You hear an explosion in the distance.

An unseen monster stepped on a land mine.

You hear a distant squeaking sound.

An unseen monster stepped on a squeaky board.

You hear the roaring of a confused bear!

An unseen bugbear or owlbear got stuck in a web.

You hear the roaring of an angry bear!

An unseen bugbear or owlbear got stuck in a bear trap.

You hear a deafening roar!

A magic trap you activated summoned monsters in your vicinity. This deafens you.

You hear distant howling.

You stepped on a magic trap. No effect.

You hear the moon howling at you.

You stepped on a magic trap while hallucinating. No effect.

You hear a loud click!

An arrow trap you stepped on was destroyed instead of activating.

You hear a soft click!

A dart trap you stepped on was destroyed instead of activating.

You hear a twang followed by a thud.

An unseen trap door was locked.

Special rooms

You hear a sound reminiscent of a seal barking.

You hear a sound reminiscent of an elephant stepping on a peanut.

There is a zoo on the level.

You hear Doctor Doolittle!

There is a zoo on the level, and you are hallucinating. (Doctor Dolittle is a fictional doctor who works with animals.)

You hear the footsteps of a guard on patrol.

There is a vault on the level.

You hear someone counting money.

There is a vault on the level with gold inside.

You hear someone searching.

There is an empty vault on the level.

You hear Ebenezer Scrooge!

There is a vault on the level, and you are hallucinating. (Ebenezer Scrooge is the miserly protagonist of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.)

You hear the quarterback calling the play.

There is a vault on the level with gold inside, and you are hallucinating. (A quarterback is a position in American football. When calling a play, a quarterback characteristically lists a series of numbers.)

You hear snoring snakes.
You hear a strange wind.
You hear convulsive ravings.

The Oracle is present on her level.

You hear someone say "No more woodchucks!"
You hear a loud ZOT!

As above while you are hallucinating. (These sounds are a reference to the Internet Oracle.)

You hear the tones of courtly conversation.
You hear a sceptre pounded in judgment.
Someone shouts "Off with <his/her> head!"

There is a throne room on the level. The pronoun matches the player's gender. ("Off with his head!" is famously shouted by the Queen of Hearts in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.)

You hear Queen Beruthiel's cats!

There is a throne room on the level, and you are hallucinating. (Queen Berúthiel of Tolkien's works was notorious for her cats.)

You hear someone praising <deity>.
You hear someone beseeching <deity>.

There is a temple to the deity on the level, attended by a coaligned priest (who is able to speak).

You hear an animal carcass being offered in sacrifice.

There is a temple on the level attended by a coaligned priest, and you can't see the priest or altar.

You hear a strident plea for donations.

There is a temple on the level with a coaligned priest who can speak, and you are hallucinating.

You hear a low buzzing.
You hear an angry drone.

There is a beehive on the level.

You hear bees in your bonnet!

As above, while you are hallucinating and wearing a helm.

You hear bees in your (nonexistent) bonnet!

As above, while hallucinating and not wearing a helm.

You suddenly realize it is unnaturally quiet.
The <hair> on the back of your <neck> stands up.

There is a graveyard on the level.

The <hair> on your <head> seems to stand up.

There is a graveyard on the level, and you are hallucinating.

You hear blades being honed.
You hear loud snoring.
You hear dice being thrown.

There is a barracks on the level.

You hear General MacArthur!

There is a barracks on the level, and you are hallucinating. (General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was a famous United States Army general and field marshal of the Philippine Army.)

You hear mosquitoes!
You smell marsh gas!

There is a swamp on the level.

You hear Donald Duck!

There is a swamp on the level, and you are hallucinating. (Donald Duck is a Walt Disney cartoon and comic-book character.)

You hear someone cursing shoplifters.
You hear the chime of a cash register.

There is a shop on the level, attended by a shopkeeper.

You hear Neiman and Marcus arguing!

There is a shop on the level attended by a shopkeeper, and you are hallucinating. (Neiman Marcus is an upscale department store in the United States.)

Items

You hear something shatter!

An unseen fragile item was destroyed.

You hear a crumbling sound.

An unseen boulder or statue was destroyed.

Scroll

You hear maniacal laughter close by.

You read a scroll of scare monster, and at least one non-tame monster was scared.

You hear maniacal laughter in the distance.

As above, but no non-tame monsters were affected.

You hear sad wailing close by.

You read a scroll of scare monster while confused, or the scroll was cursed, and at least one non-tame monster was awoken, un-paralyzed, or un-scared.

You hear sad wailing in the distance.

As above, but no non-tame monsters were affected.

Container

You hear a muffled shatter.

You kicked a container and destroyed a fragile item inside.

You hear a muffled cracking.

You kicked a container and broke an egg inside.

Stethoscope

You barely hear faint splashing.

You applied a stethoscope up or down while underwater.

You hear the crackling of hellfire.

You applied a stethoscope to the floor of the castle, beneath which lies the Valley of the Dead.

You hear your heart beat.

You applied a cursed stethoscope; this has a 50% chance of replacing the normal message.

You hear a faint typing noise.

You applied a stethoscope to the edge of the map.

You hear a hollow sound. This must be a secret <door/passage>!

You applied a stethoscope to a wall concealing a secret door or secret passage.

You hear a voice say, "It's dead, Jim."

You applied a stethoscope to a corpse while hallucinating. (This is a reference to a phrase often uttered by Dr. McCoy in Star Trek upon examining or discovering the body of a recently deceased.)

Bugle

You hear a bugle playing reveille!

A sergeant, lieutenant, or captain on the level used a bugle.

You hear the rattle of battle gear being readied.

A soldier on the level is awakened.

Dungeon environment

You hear hissing gas.

An unseen moat was boiled away by fire.

You hear a soft crackling.

An unseen moat was frozen by a bolt of cold.

You hear a crackling sound.

An unseen square of water on the Plane of Water was frozen by a bolt of cold.

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