Bridgewater Triangle
Encyclopedia
The Bridgewater Triangle refers to an area of about 200 mi2 within southeastern Massachusetts
in the United States
. claimed to be a site of alleged paranormal phenomena, ranging from UFO's to poltergeists and orbs, balls of fire and other spectral phenomena, various "bigfoot
" sightings, giant snakes and "thunderbirds
", as well as the mutilation of cattle
and other livestock.
in his book Mysterious America. and said to encompass the towns of Abington
, Brockton
, Rehoboth
and Freetown
at the points of the triangle, and Bridgewater
, West Bridgewater
, East Bridgewater
, Whitman
, Middleboro, Dighton
, Berkley
, Raynham
, Norton
, Easton
, Lakeville
, Seekonk
, and Taunton
inside the triangle. Similar claims have been made about an area in neighboring Vermont called the Bennington Triangle
.
, which means "the place where spirits dwell".
Dighton Rock - Also found within the boundaries of the Bridgewater Triangle is the Dighton Rock
.
Freetown-Fall River State Forest- The Freetown-Fall River State Forest
has reportedly been the site of various cult activity including animal sacrifice, ritualistic murders committed by admitted Satanists, as well as a number of gangland murders and a number of suicides.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. claimed to be a site of alleged paranormal phenomena, ranging from UFO's to poltergeists and orbs, balls of fire and other spectral phenomena, various "bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
" sightings, giant snakes and "thunderbirds
Thunderbird (cryptozoology)
Thunderbird is a term used in cryptozoology to describe large, bird-like creatures, generally identified with the Thunderbird of Native American tradition. Similar cryptids reported in the Old World are often called Rocs. Thunderbirds are regarded by a small number of researchers as having lizard...
", as well as the mutilation of cattle
Cattle mutilation
Cattle mutilation is the apparent killing and mutilation of cattle under unusual or anomalous circumstances...
and other livestock.
Location
Specific boundaries of the Bridgewater Triangle were first defined by paranormal researcher Loren ColemanLoren Coleman
Loren Coleman is an author of books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology, who was born in 1947 in Norfolk, Virginia and grew up in Decatur, Illinois.-Education:...
in his book Mysterious America. and said to encompass the towns of Abington
Abington, Massachusetts
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,605 people, 5,263 households, and 3,747 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,469.1 people per square mile . There were 5,348 housing units at an average density of 538.0 per square mile...
, Brockton
Brockton
Brockton may refer to:* Brockton, Massachusetts, USA** Brockton * Brockton, Montana, USA* Brockton, Ontario, Canada* Brockton, Shropshire, England - five places* Brockton, Staffordshire, England* Brockton Station, Antarctica...
, Rehoboth
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Rehoboth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.-History:It was incorporated in 1643 making it one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family is among the founding families...
and Freetown
Freetown, Massachusetts
Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,870 at the 2010 census.Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included...
at the points of the triangle, and Bridgewater
Bridgewater, Massachusetts
For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Bridgewater, please see the article Bridgewater , Massachusetts.The Town of Bridgewater is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, 28 miles south of Boston. At the 2000 Census, the population was 25,185...
, West Bridgewater
West Bridgewater, Massachusetts
West Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,634 at the 2000 census.- History :West Bridgewater was first settled in 1651 as a part of Olde Bridgewater...
, East Bridgewater
East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
East Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,974 at the 2000 census.-History:The lands that would become East Bridgewater were first settled by Carlos Mencia in 1630 A.D. as an outgrowth of the Plymouth and Duxbury plantations...
, Whitman
Whitman, Massachusetts
Whitman is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,489 as of the 2010 census. It is notable as being the place where the chocolate chip cookie was invented....
, Middleboro, Dighton
Dighton, Massachusetts
Dighton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,175 at the 2000 census. The town is located on the western shore of the Taunton River in the southeastern part of the state.- History :...
, Berkley
Berkley, Massachusetts
Berkley is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, making it the least populated town in the county.-Geography:...
, Raynham
Raynham, Massachusetts
Raynham is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,739 at the 2000 census. It has one village, Raynham Center.-History:...
, Norton
Norton, Massachusetts
Norton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, and contains the village of Norton Center. The population was 18,036 at the 2000 census...
, Easton
Easton, Massachusetts
Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 23,112 at the 2010 census.Easton is governed by an elected committee of selectmen and a town administrator.- History :...
, Lakeville
Lakeville, Massachusetts
Lakeville is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,821 at the 2000 census.For geographic and demographic information on the village of North Lakeville, please see the article North Lakeville, Massachusetts.-History:...
, Seekonk
Seekonk, Massachusetts
Seekonk is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Massachusetts border. It was incorporated in 1812 from the western half of Rehoboth. The population was 13,722 at the 2010 census. Until 1862, the town of Seekonk also included what is now the City of East Providence, Rhode...
, and Taunton
Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...
inside the triangle. Similar claims have been made about an area in neighboring Vermont called the Bennington Triangle
Bennington Triangle
"Bennington Triangle" is a phrase coined by New England author Joseph A. Citro during a public radio broadcast in 1992 to denote an area of southwestern Vermont within which a number of persons went missing between 1920 and 1950...
.
Historic places and landmarks
Hockomock Swamp - Central to the area is Hockomock SwampHockomock Swamp
The Hockomock Swamp is a vast wetland encompassing much of the northern part of southeastern Massachusetts. This land is considered the second largest wetland in the state...
, which means "the place where spirits dwell".
Dighton Rock - Also found within the boundaries of the Bridgewater Triangle is the Dighton Rock
Dighton Rock
The Dighton Rock is a 40-ton boulder, originally located in the riverbed of the Taunton River at Berkley, Massachusetts . The rock is noted for its petroglyphs, carved designs of ancient and uncertain origin, and the controversy about their creators...
.
Freetown-Fall River State Forest- The Freetown-Fall River State Forest
Freetown-Fall River State Forest
The Freetown-Fall River State Forest is a large tract of forest land located in Freetown and Fall River, Massachusetts. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and operated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation...
has reportedly been the site of various cult activity including animal sacrifice, ritualistic murders committed by admitted Satanists, as well as a number of gangland murders and a number of suicides.
Paranormal claims
Common to most of these areas is a mix of reported phenomena that includes reports of UFOs, mysterious animals and hominids, ghosts and poltergeists, animal mutilations.- UFO sightings: During the 1970s a number of UFO reports originated from the area of the Triangle, including an account by multiple witnesses at Joseph's Restaurant in Rehoboth in 1973, reports from two Boston radio reporters (channel WHDH) on March 23, 1979, and reported in the Sunday EnterpriseThe Enterprise (Brockton)The Enterprise is an afternoon daily newspaper published in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper is considered a newspaper of record for Brockton and several suburban communities of northern Bristol and Plymouth counties, and southern Norfolk County, Massachusetts...
. - Bigfoot sightings: There have been several reported sightings of a bigfoot-like creature in the triangle, usually near the Hockomock swamp. Joseph DeAndrade claimed to see a half man and half ape creature entering the woods near the swamp in 1978. Local resident John Baker also reported seeing a large hairy beast in a river in the swamp while canoeing.
- Thunderbird sightings: Giant birds or pterodactyl-like flying creature with wingspans 8–12 feet are claimed to have been seen in Hockomock Swamp and neighboring Taunton, including a report by Norton Police Sergeant Thomas Downy.
- Mysterious lights: One of the most common phenomena observed in the area is "spooklights" or the will-o'-the-wispWill-o'-the-wispA will-o'-the-wisp or ignis fatuus , also called a "will-o'-wisp", "jack-o'-lantern" , "hinkypunk", "corpse candle", "ghost-light", "spook-light", "fairy light", "friar's lantern", "hobby lantern", "ghost orb", or simply "wisp", is a ghostly light or lights sometimes seen at night or twilight over...
, sometimes known as ghost lights, a phenomenon typically seen in boggy or swampy areas. Mysterious lights also appear along train tracks every January, and foxfireFoxfire (bioluminescence)Foxfire, also sometimes referred to as "fairy fire", is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. The bluish green glow is attributed to luciferase, an oxidizing agent, which emits light as it reacts with luciferin...
has often been observed within the swamp. - Animal mutilations: Various incidents of animal mutilation have been reported, particularly in Freetown and Fall River, where local police were called to investigate mutilated animals believed to be the work of a cult. Two specific incidents in 1998 were reported: one in which a single adult cow was found butchered in the woods; the other in which a group of calves were discovered in a clearing, grotesquely mutilated as if part of a ritual sacrifice.
- Murders: Among the recorded homicides are over a dozen confirmed murders in the forest over 1978 to 1988.
- Mysterious tombs: When archaeologists excavated a burial ground located on Grassy Island in the Hockomock Swamp and opened the graves, the red ochre within the tombs mysteriously bubbled and dissolved. Photographs of the site would not develop. (source: A Prehistoric Skeleton from Grassy Island, Edmund Burke Delabarre, American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Jul. – Sep., 1928), pp. 476–480)
- Satanic Rituals: The Freetown-Fall River State ForestFreetown-Fall River State ForestThe Freetown-Fall River State Forest is a large tract of forest land located in Freetown and Fall River, Massachusetts. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and operated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation...
(within the Triangle) has been the site of several gruesome murders linked to admitted Satanists or otherwise consistent with Satanic Rituals. - Indian curses: According to one tale, the Native Americans had cursed the swamp centuries ago because of the poor treatment they received from the Colonial settlers.
- Ghosts: There are reports of people seeing various ghosts.
External links
- "Historical Tidbits", Bridgewater Public Library website
- "Tales from the Swamp", by Ross A. Muscato, The Boston Globe
- "The Old Haunting Grounds" Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe, October 30, 2006
- "Swamp monsters: Strange sightings are routine in the Bridgewater Triangle", Jean Porrazzo, Brockton Enterprise
- Can't See the Forest Through the Trees", Mary Jo Curtis, South Coast Today
- "Enigma of the Dighton Rock", American Heritage Magazine
See also
- Dighton RockDighton RockThe Dighton Rock is a 40-ton boulder, originally located in the riverbed of the Taunton River at Berkley, Massachusetts . The rock is noted for its petroglyphs, carved designs of ancient and uncertain origin, and the controversy about their creators...
- Will-o'-the-wispWill-o'-the-wispA will-o'-the-wisp or ignis fatuus , also called a "will-o'-wisp", "jack-o'-lantern" , "hinkypunk", "corpse candle", "ghost-light", "spook-light", "fairy light", "friar's lantern", "hobby lantern", "ghost orb", or simply "wisp", is a ghostly light or lights sometimes seen at night or twilight over...
or Ghost Lights - FoxfireFoxfire (bioluminescence)Foxfire, also sometimes referred to as "fairy fire", is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. The bluish green glow is attributed to luciferase, an oxidizing agent, which emits light as it reacts with luciferin...
- Freetown-Fall River State ForestFreetown-Fall River State ForestThe Freetown-Fall River State Forest is a large tract of forest land located in Freetown and Fall River, Massachusetts. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and operated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation...
- Taunton, MassachusettsTaunton, MassachusettsTaunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...
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