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Beware The Bridgewater Triangle.

Writer's picture: Whitney StohrWhitney Stohr

Never had I heard about The Bridgewater Triangle.


And really, I sort of stumbled upon it this last week when I first read mention of the area in a few Google reviews of parks near where my family is staying at a campground in Massachusetts.


Am I completely out of the urban legend loop? (Apparently, there was a 2013 "documentary" about the strange happenings and mysterious occurrences of paranormal activity in this triangle.)


Or is this something that is so fringe that few know about the (possibly) infamous Bridgewater Triangle?

 

For those behind on their regional lore: The Bridgewater Triangle is a 200-square-mile area in southeastern Massachusetts that roughly connects the cities of Abington, at the northernmost point, with the more southerly Rehoboth and Freetown. The city of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, lies with the confines of this zone of paranormality.


The term and specific boundaries of the triangle were first described by Loren Coleman in the 1970s. Coleman is a cryptozoologist and author of multiple books, including the book Mysterious America, which is where this whole triangle revelation developed. (Thanks for the deets, Wikipedia!)


Reports have it that The Bridgewater Triangle has a history of churning out a higher-than-usual rate of "mysterious" incident reports. Apparently, these reports run the full spectrum of the abnormal, from UFO and Bigfoot sightings to cult rituals and ghostly hauntings. It is also "home" to a species called a pukwudgie, which I definitely had to Google.


Historic sites and places of interest within the triangle include:

  • Bridgewater State University -- the supposed site of several hauntings

  • Taunton State Hospital -- apparently, more hauntings, as well as a history of (human) ritualistic activities....?

  • Profile Rock -- an actual rock, i.e. geological formation, that lies at the center of a story about some historic colonist-native conflict over a lost belt

  • Hornbine School -- an old schoolhouse, built circa 1840, haunted by a classroom of creepy kids

  • Freetown-Fall River State Forest -- the location of various cult activities, animal sacrifices, and gangland murders

  • Hockamock Swamp -- a protected wetland and home to all sorts of swamp creatures and poltergeists


Are you a believer?

 

It was the Hockamock Swamp that led us to The Bridgewater Triangle.


While scouring Google maps for a nearby area that offered hiking trails and natural areas suitable for our band of explorers, i.e. myself, my smooth-riding six-year-old in his stroller, and my go-with-the-flow 11-month-old, I scrolled over a large region of greenery. (I always get excited when I see so much green on a map! It means parks, pathways, and a whole lot of area in which to venture.)


"Hockamock Swamp"


I am always down for strolling through swampland!


But as I entered the destination address into the Maps app, one of the site reviews caught my eye.


My girlfriend and I spent about 2 hours in the swamp having a picnic and hoping to experience a UAP [unidentified anomalous phenomena] or some other phenomenon. However, my girlfriend was receiving nothing but negative energy and got frightened, so we left. (Local Guide Bob Borton)


Okay...


The reviews continued:


My cousin and I took a walk there near west Bridgewater and [it] wasn't [a] pleasant experience[. W]hile we were there we felt a Energy that didn't want us there and I never felt so uncomfortable. I've learned that some things are better to be left alone. (Djimas Fontes)


I'm a permanent resident who lives inside the Bridgewater Triangle, so my friends, kids, and I have a HUGE collection of experiences! We didn't have to go searching for them either, they came to us, lol. We've had so many experiences collectively, that I decided to create an official Paranormal Investigation Team. I'm collecting all of our personal experiences now and placing dots on a Bridgewater Triangle map, to find the best couple of spots to begin. We're more into cryptids like thunderbirds and paranormal entities than UFOs or Bigfoot sightings. Not because we don't believe in those 2 topics, but because we're more fascinated by the other stuff.... [You] need to be careful near Hockomok Swamp and other hotspots though. Don't let your guard down, The Bridgewater Triangle can be fascinating, but there are definitely things there that can and will hurt you. (Renee Carlson)


On and on they went....

 

I am a "must see it to believe it" type of person.


If I don't personally experience the paranormal, you will not find me donning any type of tin foil hat for any reason beyond topping off a homemade Halloween costume.


To re-state, things that do not worry me:

  • The existence of an actual Bigfoot-like species (other than a real-life human in a gorilla suit) trekking around a managed wetland in Massachusetts

  • An accidental run-in with thunderbirds, fantasy snakes or other mythological creatures

  • The possibility of being abducted and probed by aliens

  • Being haunted by a ghost or falling prey to the tricks of a poltergeist

  • Witches, in general. (Modern witches tend to like me. I feel pretty confident in my safety among the witchy crowd.)


That said, I do claim to be somewhat of an intelligent explorer of new places, especially when I have my kids in tow. And I am not so close-minded to the fact that some reports of claimed "paranormal experiences" could very well in fact arise from sketchy, though extremely human, origins.


Things that deserve awareness when hiking in places with funky reports:

  • The possibility of wild animals having ventured outside of their typical home range

  • The presence of large, not-at-all-friendly dogs

  • Snakes -- very much in their native range -- that you would still prefer keep their venom to themselves

  • Large, and quite possibly hairy, human men with weird intentions


Call me a skeptic, but I remain of the opinion that the greatest threat to my wellbeing in the outside world exists in the form of muggles of my own species.

 

I spent a full afternoon exploring the parks, forests, fields, and wetlands within The Bridgewater Triangle.


While the triangle is certainly home to some beautiful natural areas, I can attest to not having experienced a single episode of the paranormal.


Not even a blip.


(Unfortunately. I would like to see a ghost, or a Bigfoot, but alas....)





Now, I must admit, there was an incident, as I was packing up to leave, when our rig refused to turn-over. It simply would not start.


Was it the result of keeping my key in the car, unmoved, for a long period of time as the message on the dashboard informed me?


.... Or was it an electrical glitch in my vehicle caused by the dubious intentions of a wayward poltergeist straining his ghostly abilities to manufacture a way of luring me back into the swamplands of devilish Massachusetts?


You decide.


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