Everybody's heard of the Bermuda Triangle. But you don't need a boat and a plane ticket to get spooked, because Massachusetts has its own. The Bridgewater Triangle is a stretch of about 200 square miles in southeastern Massachusetts where, for decades, people have reported Bigfoot, giant birds, UFOs, ghost lights, phantom hitchhikers, and little troll-like creatures in the woods. And the wildest part? Hundreds of thousands of regular folks live right inside it and still go to the Market Basket every Sunday like it's no big deal.
Where Is the Bridgewater Triangle?
Draw a triangle on a map with Abington at the top, Rehoboth in the southwest corner, and Freetown in the southeast. Everything inside is the Triangle. That covers Taunton, Brockton, Raynham, Easton, Norton, Mansfield, Dighton, Berkley, and of course the Bridgewaters. If you grew up on the South Shore or down by Route 24, there's a decent chance you grew up in the Triangle and didn't even know it.
Who Named It?
The name comes from cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, who was collecting strange stories from the area in the 1970s. He noticed the reports clustered around the Bridgewaters, borrowed a little buzz from the Bermuda Triangle craze, and called it the Bridgewater Triangle. He wrote about it in the early '80s, including in his 1983 book Mysterious America, and the name stuck. Coleman went on to found the International Cryptozoology Museum up in Portland, Maine, so the man knows a thing or two about monsters.
Ground Zero: The Hockomock Swamp
At the heart of the Triangle sits the Hockomock Swamp, the biggest freshwater swamp in Massachusetts, spread out around Easton, West Bridgewater, and Raynham. The name is commonly translated from the Algonquian as "place where spirits dwell," which is not exactly what you want to hear when your canoe gets stuck in there at dusk.
The swamp has real history too. During King Philip's War in the 1670s, Metacomet (King Philip) and his forces reportedly used it as a base. Centuries of stories grew out of it: glowing "spook lights" floating over the water, big hairy figures crossing the roads, and a general feeling that you're being watched. Some legends blame the Triangle's unrest on a sacred Wampanoag wampum belt said to have been lost during the war.
The Greatest Hits of the Bridgewater Triangle
The Giant Bird of Bird Hill
This is the classic. In the summer of 1971, Norton Police Sergeant Thomas Downy was driving home to Easton after a late shift. Near Bird Hill, at the edge of the Hockomock Swamp, he said a massive winged creature, about six feet tall with a wingspan of 10 to 12 feet, dropped down in front of his car, then took off over the trees and disappeared into the swamp. He reported it to Easton police. Officers searched and found nothing. The ribbing he took down at the station was probably worse than the bird.
Bigfoot in the Swamp
Swamp ape reports have been popping up in the Hockomock area since the 1970s. In one well-known 1980 account from Brockton's Enterprise newspaper, two guys paddling on Lake Nippenicket in Bridgewater said they saw a hairy, upright creature near the water. Is Bigfoot living in the woods between Route 24 and Route 138? Nobody's proven it. Nobody's disproven it either. If you believe, rock the Massquatch T-Shirt and help us keep an eye out.
Pukwudgies in Freetown State Forest
According to Wampanoag folklore, Pukwudgies are small, gray-skinned, knee-high tricksters who can appear and disappear at will. They're definitely not the friendly kind of little guy. Freetown-Fall River State Forest is their most famous stomping ground, and hikers still swap stories about strange little figures near the trails. The forest has a dark real-life reputation too, with reports over the years of cult activity and animal mutilations that got local police involved.
Ghostly Fires at Anawan Rock
In Rehoboth, Anawan Rock marks the spot where the Wampanoag leader Anawan was captured in 1676 near the end of King Philip's War. Visitors report phantom campfires, the smell of smoke, and voices chanting in the woods at night. It's a real historic site, so if you go, be respectful.
The Red-Haired Hitchhiker of Route 44
Drivers on Route 44 near Rehoboth tell a story about a man with red hair, a beard, and a flannel shirt thumbing for a ride. Some say he vanishes right in front of them. Others say he gets in the car and then just... isn't there anymore. Nobody has ever traced the story to a real person, which somehow makes it creepier.
UFOs Over the Bridgewaters
People have been reporting strange lights over this corner of Massachusetts for more than a hundred years, including an object spotted over Bridgewater on Halloween night in 1908. In 1979, according to Coleman, two Boston radio reporters said they saw a home-plate-shaped craft with red lights over West Bridgewater. Home plate. Of course the UFOs around here are Sox fans.
The Mystery of Dighton Rock
Not every Triangle legend is spooky. Dighton Rock, a big boulder from the Taunton River in Berkley, is covered in carvings, and people have been arguing about who made them for centuries. Native Americans? Portuguese explorers? Vikings? Everyone's got a theory. The rock now sits in its own museum at Dighton Rock State Park, so you can go look for yourself.
So Is the Bridgewater Triangle Real?
Here's the honest townie answer: it's a real place, and the stories are real stories told by real people, including a police sergeant. Whether there's anything supernatural going on out there is up to you. Skeptics will tell you a big swamp, a lot of dark back roads, and 350 years of history make the perfect recipe for ghost stories. Believers will tell you to lock your car doors on Route 44 anyway.
Either way, if you live inside the lines, wear it proud with the Beware Of The Bridgewater Triangle T-Shirt. It's the only official warning label the Triangle's got.
Hungry for more New England monsters? Read up on the Dover Demon and the Devil Monkey of Danville, New Hampshire. Sleep tight.
Born in New England. Fueled by iced coffee. Wicked proud of it since 2004.