Creak

One loose board squealing as weight shifts onto it, the creak that gives away someone hiding in a quiet house, a hallway or an attic.

A heavy iron gate swinging on a rusted hinge, for an abandoned house, a graveyard path or a farm left to rot.

Deep timber groans as a wooden hull rolls and settles, the bed under any scene below decks on an old sailing ship.

Thick leather stretching as someone shifts their weight, for a tense interview, an office scene or a villain leaning back.

Old metal springs squeaking as someone turns over, for a restless sleeper, a cheap motel or a noise in the next room.

A steel hull bending under pressure with a low metallic strain, for submarines, deep water and ships in heavy seas.