The Bridgewater Triangle: An Introduction
While it would be almost impossible to fit all the events, stories, and sightings from the Bridgewater Triangle into one blog post, I think this post could be a great jumping-off point for those unaware of this strange stretch of land. Located in southeastern, Massachusetts, and ranging about 200 square miles the Bridgewater Triangle appears to be one of the hottest spots for paranormal encounters.
The Bridgewater Triangle as we know it today was actually mapped out by the wonderful cryptozoologist Loren Coleman. He also created the name, ‘Bridgewater Triangle’ and included it in his well-known book, ‘Mysterious America.’ The three major points of the triangle are Rehoboth in the southwest,Abington in the north, and Freetown in the southeast. After Loren’s christening of this, people began to realize just how many sightings were taking place in the Bridgewater Triangle.
Chris Balzano,a folklorist and author, sums up the Bridgewater Triangle very nicely: “Anything that you want to be in the Triangle is in the Triangle. It’s a Pandora’s Box. So you’re into zombies? There’s stories about zombies. If you’re into Bigfoot, he’s there. If you’re into pukwudgies, that’s kind of pukwudgie central. If you’re into ghosts, you’ve got it. UFOs, black helicopter — it’s there.”
Some people believe the area may be cursed because, you guessed it, a Native American curse. The story goes that a tribe put a curse on this area, especially the swamp, due to the horrific treatment they suffered at the hands of Colonial-era settlers. In order to retaliate and punish all those who settle, they summoned dark spirits to forever roam the land.
One of my favorite stories is that of the red-headed hitchhiker of Route 44. Not unlike AL’s own favorite, Resurrection Mary, the red-headed hitchhiker is a ghostly apparition often appearing to motorists late at night. Unlike Resurrection Mary, a red-headed hitchhiker is a man. He typically appears as a large man with a ginger beard, jeans, and a plaid flannel shirt. He is most spotted between Rehoboth and Seekonk. Although he isn’t as conversational as our Mary, it is said as soon as some kind soul pulls over for him and he gets into a car...he disappears. I think one of the things that draw me to this story is the fact that it seems to upend certain paranormal conventions - a hitchhiker is a man, doesn’t appear forlorn, and seems to want, well, nothing. I also like to imagine he is crisscrossing the Bridgewater Triangle, checking in on his other spooky friends in the area.
But it isn’t just ghosts haunting these three points - there have been countless sightings of strange, impossible creatures. Several of the creatures seem to make a home in Hockomock Swamp. One of them was filed by Norton Police Sergeant, Thomas Downy. He claimed the fact that he witnessed an impossibly large bird - like a Thunderbird or pterodactyl. The Police Sergeant, who had likely seen a lot in his day, felt strongly enough to even file a report about this sighting, despite the ridicule he would receive.
Another creature sighting was that of Bill Russo, who, as a young man was walking his dog in Raynham after finishing up a midnight shift at Raynham Ironworks...when they bumped into a strange figure. Bill’s dog, Samantha, began shaking violently. As Bill continued to walk, trying to comfort his dog, he heard a strange string of words (words so burned into his memory he remembers them 30-years later). The voice said, “Keer, keer. Ee Wan Chu.” Or, at least, that’s what he remembers.
Bill approached a street lamp, and, because of that light, he saw the creature responsible for the strange words. It was a mere three or four feet tall, Bill compared it to a teddy bear. It was roughly a hundred pounds and had a pronounced potbelly with saucer-like eyes. Then, surprisingly, the creature appeared to beckon Bill to approach it. Unsure of what he was seeing, Bill at first thought perhaps it was just a kid in a Halloween costume. He tried to talk to the creature at a distance, but it continued to only babble in its strange language.
After returning home and mulling over the experience, he believes the strange words were an attempt at English. Bill believes that it was saying, “Come here, we want you.” Bill told the Bridgewater West Website: “I am not a paranormal guy. I don’t look up in the sky. I don’t watch UFO shows. I had no connection to them. Nor do I now, to the paranormal. I was just the guy out walking with my dog who saw something that stretches credibility.”
Since we more or less began with Balzano’s words, I’ll end with them, too: “It’s a thing. It’s not a location. It’s not a random place on a map. It’s a living, breathing thing that has a hunger and has a dark side to it.”
Thank you to Michael H. for this Blogstonishing suggestion!
The blog image comes Wikimedia Commons and is licensed under Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL) v1.0.
