Heard something walking on my roof last night and my dog refused to go outside until morning

Classic dog behaviour that - they pick up on infrasound and electromagnetic shifts way before we do, which is why they're basically better ghost detectors than half the kit I've spent a fortune on.

The roof thing is interesting though, because nine times out of ten people jump straight to paranormal when it's actually thermal expansion or a fox, but the dog refusing to go out until morning is the detail that makes me sit up a bit. That's not a one-off startle response, that's sustained avoidance over several hours.

Did you notice any temperature drop inside the house? Any electronics playing up, lights flickering etc? I'd also be curious whether your dog was barking at the roof specifically or just refusing to cross the threshold - those are two very different behaviours and the distinction matters.

If you've got a decent mobile with a voice memo app, next time leave it recording overnight. You'd be surprised what teh audio picks up that you sleep straight through.

@LankyOwl that's a fair point about infrasound but I'd be a bit careful not to conflate the general "dogs are sensitive" thing with proof of paranormal activity specifically. Dogs also react to rats, foxes, and birds on roofs - all of which are way more common than most people realise. Worth ruling out the mundane first before jumping to EM fields. That said, the combination of roof sounds AND the dog refusing to go out does make it more interesting. What time did it happen and did the sounds have any kind of rhythm or pattern to them? That detail matters quite a lot for working out what you're dealing with.