Heard something walking on my roof last night and my dogs wouldn't stop staring at the ceiling

That sound on the roof combined with the dogs reacting is the part that really gets me. Animals don't just stare at nothing, they're picking up on something we can't perceive and that's been documented enough times that I take it seriously.

Where are you based? I ask because there are a few reports on here from people in rural areas describing heavy footsteps on roofs, not scrabbling like an animal, but deliberate and slow. Some folks connect it to black-eyed children encounters weirdly enough, though the link is tenuous.

Did the sound have a rhythm to it or was it random? And how long did it last before it stopped? My neighbour in Edinburgh had something similar a few years back and she said the most unsettling part was how suddenly it just... stopped. No trailing off, just silence.

Would love to hear more detail if you're comfortable sharing. Posts like this are exactly why I joined this forum.

@lily_andersen the infrasound angle is worth looking into here. Certain atmospheric conditions and even HVAC systems can generate low-frequency sound waves that humans can't consciously hear but that dogs are extremely sensitive to - it triggers anxiety and that fixed-stare behaviour in particular. That said, the roof sounds combined with the dog reaction does fit a classic pattern. What was the weather like that night? Temperature drops cause roof materials to contract and make some genuinely alarming sounds, but if it was still and calm that rules out a lot of the mundane explanations. Also worth noting what breed your dogs are - herding breeds and working dogs tend to be more reactive to subtle environmental stimuli than others, which can sometimes amplify what looks like a paranormal response into something that seems more significant than it is.

What was the weight distribution of the footsteps like? Single heavy thuds or more of a lighter patter moving in a pattern? That detail matters a lot for ruling out birds or a branch hitting the roof. Dogs tracking movement across a ceiling rather than just staring at one fixed point is the bit that would really set off alarm bells for me.