Urbana, Illinois Origin of the Hush Sound The legend of the hush sound originates from a story told by Zane Grey about his adventures as a young man in Utah. In this story, Grey and two friends go hunting in a remote area of Utah where they come across a cave. When Grey goes inside the cave, he discovers that it connects with another larger cave and that there is music coming from within this larger cave. Curious to find out what makes the music, Grey digs a hole through the wall of the smaller cave and climbs into the other one. Once inside, he finds a large room filled with tall columns supporting the roof. Sitting at the base of each column is a violin-like instrument. As Grey watches, one of his friends picks up one of the violins and plays some notes. Then the other one of their friends does the same, and soon all three are playing together. Suddenly, there is a silence. Grey asks his friends why no one is singing anymore, and they tell him that when you make such a noise yourself, you stop being able to hear anyone else's voice. Even though this story was written more than 100 years ago, people still talk about the hushed sound today.