To stay at my dm house to try and hear this

[Worzilgummidge]

My elderly dm lives on her own and sleeps downstairs on the sofa.
She says it doesn't happen every night but she has been experiencing a sound of 3 knocks like somebody is at the door it's at random times but always during the night.
It's always 3 knocks as well and she is too scared to actually get up and look out of the window.
What could this be I am so tempted to stay there on the odd night to see if I hear anything.

This happened to the elderly mother of an acquaintance. It turned out to be the TV aerial which had been dislodged from the roof and the wind was making it knock against the house.

She was convinced that someone was trying to break in and she was terrified, poor thing

My ds thinks this is down to a form of anxiety and stress. She is on antidepressants already.

Could she be dreaming it?

I had a period of incredibly high stress and I dreamt someone was whispering my name. It really sounded real, and each time I woke up terrified. It stopped when the stress became manageable.

Some medications also cause very lucid dreams.

The central heating pipes is a plausible cause. Ours "knock" in the same way (more than three times though)

Has she heard about the superstition? She may just be imagining it as a result.

Antidepressants are strongly linked with very lucid dreams.

I have taken antidperessants and the dreams were crazy, like watching a movie. I had no idea my mind could create such intricate stories - bizarre

I'd stay over with her if you can, just for a night or two to reassure her if she is under stress.
I've suffered with exploding head syndrome and this is the first time I've ever seen anyone mention it. It's very frightening and disconcerting. I would jerk awake in a panic and not know what had awakened me.

She said she doesn't like sleeping upstairs because you can't see what's happening downstairs
It sounds like it is her mind playing tricks on her.
On old neighbour use to sleep downstairs for the same reason, she eventually changed her body clock to sleep in the day instead, she was to frightened to sleep at night. It is awful people scared in their own home. Is she in HE housing, are there any suitable places nearby with similar age neighbours and security, I know they have them in NI, not sure where you are.
A camera is a good idea for peace of mind.

Can she rent a room to a kind person, if she has space.

My side gate rattles as does my letter box as soon as there is a little bit of wind, but too put your DM mind at rest I would stay for a few nights to eliminate the problem. It could even be a neighbour knocking or something just as innocent.

Hi op,

I suffer from exploding head symdrome, I’ve heard banging which sounds like people banging or knocking on the door a lot, and because you’re not quite awake or asleep you can’t tell if it’s real.

It is much worse when I’m over tired, or when I’m stressed.
I remember once hearing what I though was someone knocking on my door, and sitting bolt up right being absolutely terrified but dp who was awake and in the kitchen had heard nothing. But it’s sounds so real and is such a shock.
Knowing what it is and putting a name to it makes it easier to deal with and it happens less.

My DP elderly GF says he hears his door being knocked, locks and relocks it, DP has been there when he claims its happened and there's definitely nobody there. It is bewildering as he will argue DP is wrong. I have no explanation.

I was regularly hearing knocking coming from just outside the house. Took me a while to realise that it was next-door neighbour's rabbits.

I get this when I'm dropping off too. Sometimes its the door being knocked but I've even heard my doorbell ring. There is never anyone there. Its creepy until you know what it is.

When my stress levels go up I get auditory hallucinations when I’m falling asleep, usually knocks which scare the hell out of me, but lately music has come on my amazon echo then I wake and it’s all silent. Also get sleep paralysis. Now they are horror movie stuff that scare the shirt out of me, and leave me crying, petrified and unable to sleep.

I hear knocking when I'm asleep, usually in the early morning, but there's never anyone at the door. I used to hear the doorbell ring too, but that stopped when I moved and got a bell with a different ring, my subconscious mustn't be able to replicate that noise. It's very strange but I'm mostly used to it. I do jump when it wakes me up though.

I get oral hallucinations when I am half asleep.

What are they? Oral as in mouth/speaking?

It could be something to do with the piping or just her imagination. If you do stay, don't park on her drive as, if it is a prankster, it will put them off and then you won't believe her. I sometimes hear strange noises but I always investigate (armed!!!), but then I'm not an easy to scare person. Sometimes I look at the cat sleeping next to me and, if she doesn't react to what I hear, I think it must be nothing. Would she want a pet?

I've woken up several times and thought I'd heard the doorbell ringing. Have gone down and no one is ever there, plus our dogs go mental when it does actually ring.......

It's so so real though.

Your poor DM, I'd be really worried that she's sleeping on the sofa.

I get aural hallucinations.

Sometimes it sounds like my phone, sometimes my doorbell and sometimes knocking.

I had many times I reacted and got up looking for the source before I did some research, realised this was a 'thing' and was more able to discount it. It still brings me to full consciousness though and, although I know it is not real ... I do hear the sound ... as if it is real. It's really annoying but in some ways I am glad it has started when I am still able to understand and rationalise it rather than later, as an older person, I was convinced it was real.

When drifting off to sleep alone in my room I absolutely heard someone whisper my name in my ear, I even felt my hair move and the breath on my ear.
It was a hallucination but that didn’t stop it being terrifying and completely believable for a few minutes. Tbh it only happened once and seems strange that it is a regular thing with your DM.

I think staying over and a camera are really good ideas.

We have birds making nests in the eaves at the moment, and they seem to do a ‘three-knock’ sound, which often wakes me up at dawn as I think it’s the door.

My tenants’ neighbours complained that my tenants were knocking in the night like this. Tenants were totally bewildered. Turns out it was something to do with the central heating. So yy to staying over to try to get to the bottom of it.

I get the doorbell ringing when I am over-tired or stressed. I woke with it when staying with my sister the night before my wedding - she doesn't have a doorbell...

I also think it's down to stress OP as is the hand holding thing. The mind is a very powerful thing. I hope you can explain things to your DM and she gets some peace.

I went through a phase of hearing doors slamming when dozing and more than once an explosion outside - but it wasn't real. What has been real is birds knocking and scratching on the roof tiles, even very late at night.

It doesn't sound like your DM, but:
One of my neighbours opened the door to the police one evening - his elderly neighbour had called them because she said he was constantly banging on the walls. She could hear it but the police couldn't. It was tinnitus.