Do They Growl At You?

We almost always think of a growl as being something bad when we are in the field. We all get them from time to time. Some are more intense than others. Sometimes other things are happening at the same time. But I don't think that every time we hear them they are a bad thing. I think that sometimes they are just a form of communication. We have had a growl come across as something completely different when going back over the audio. This has been more than a couple of times. I think that sometimes it is their way of letting you know they are there if they can not do any thing else at the time. On the other hand there are those that are with out a doubt intended to scare or warn you. Most of us in our group are pretty stubborn when it comes down to the growling. They usually catch us off guard but our reaction back more of a stand your ground type of reaction just in case it is just communication. I had one experience where Adam and myself were in a small house and we separated. We each took a bedroom. We had multiple devices running. The claims here were nothing more than a boy died in the house and sometimes he lays on the bed. Not too scary. The first thing I heard was a loud growl. Then I smelled what I can only describe as a rotting flesh smell. Then it went away. Nothing else happened. The next morning I was at my computer with my shirt off and my daughter ask me what I had done to my arm. I had a few deep scratches. I never felt them when it happened. Going over the evidence there was nothing captured. What about the growl? What did it mean? Was it a warning? We do not know. We have had them much louder and much more sinister than that one and no one was scratched. We do find it a good time to ask questions. Sometimes they respond.  I am sure we will encounter more and we will approach the situation  the same way. Stand your ground and ask questions. They only hurt you if you let them.