If the house is going to creak, can't it sound like a creaky house?

I grew up in a creaky old house. The wind blows, the house creaks. Hell, you sneeze, the house creaks. I love that creaking, spooky sound.

The noises that our apartment has been making today are nothing like the sounds I grew up with.

It's only happening when the heat's on, but it isn't the furnace, because it's an apartment, and it's unlikely that it's the pipes, because I know what creaky pipes sound like and this ain't it.

And it isn't even a scary noise. Shouldn't mysterious noises in the house when you're home alone be scary?