Bridgewater Triangle and Hockomock Swamp

The Bridgewater Triangle is an area of about 200 square miles in the greater Bridgewater area, claimed to be a site of alleged paranormal phenomena, ranging from UFOs to poltergeist, various bigfoot-like sightings, giant snakes, and thunderbirds. The term was coined by New England based cryptozoologist Loren Coleman.

The Hockomock Swamp, a 16,950 acre wetland considered the largest freshwater swamp in the state, is associated with many stories and legends related to the Bridgewater Triangle. 

The Bridgewater Public Library has maintained a collection of articles related to the Bridgewater Triangle and Hockomock Swamp. There are many articles available online and where possible, links have been provided. Many of the pieces maintained in this collection were gifted to the library by a member of the local paranormal community, Joseph DeAndrade. Writings and contributions from Mr. DeAndrade can be found on the Resources from DeAndrade page. 

Photographs from the Bridgewater Photographs Collection in the Bridgewater Public Library Archives and Special Collections. Circa 1960s-1970s.

Learn More

Bridgewater Triangle on Wikipedia
Bridgewater Triangle on Paranormal Encyclopedia
Hockomock Swamp on Wikipedia
Hockomock Swamp on Mass.gov

Books to Check Out from the Library

• Balzano, Christopher. Ghosts of the Bridgewater Triangle.
• Coleman, Loren. Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation's Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures
• Murray, Jack. Tales from the Hockomock Swamp: A Comprehensive Guide to Navigating & Surviving the Bridgewater Triangle.
• Russell, Lizzie. Touring the Bridgewater Triangle.
• Russo, Bill. The Creature from the Bridgewater Triangle and Other Odd Tales From New England.

Articles

• Hayward, Ed. “Bay State’s Bermuda Triangle?” unknown paper, unknown date.
• Rodman, Peter and Loren Coleman. “The Bridgewater Triangle.” Boston Magazine, Apr 1980.
• Daley, Beth. “Hockomock Swamp: Largest swamp in region seen as vital resource.” Boston Globe, 11 Sept 1994. [abstract on Proquest]
• White, Diane. “He Takes the Para Out of Paranormal.” Boston Globe, 29 Apr 1996.
• Hayward, Ed. “The Bigfoot of Bridgewater: Is it a man-beast or Hockomock crock? Legend grows to monster proportions.” Boston Herald, 6 Apr 1998.
• Moscato, Ross A. "Tales from the Swamp: From Ape-Like Creatures to Glowing Lights, Hockomock Has Kept its Secrets for Centuries." Boston Globe, 30 Oct 2005.
• Grace, Tim. “The Bridgewater Triangle.” Enterprise, 30 Oct 2005.
• Ciliberti, Dino. “Life in the Bridgewater Triangle.” Taunton Gazette, 14 May 2006.
• Porazzo, Jean. “Swamp monsters: Strange sightings in the Bridgewater Triangle.” Enterprise, 25 Oct 2006.
• MacQuarrie, Brian. "The Old Haunting Grounds: Some Say Bridgewater Triangle is a Paranormal Hotspot." Boston Globe, 30 Oct 2006.
• Cyr, Kami. "Paranormal Center First of its Kind in Mass." Taunton Gazette, 1 Nov 2008.
• Coleman, Loren. "Monsters of New England: A Mini-Menagerie of Unexplained Creatures of Legend and Lore." Boston Globe, 26 Oct 2013.
• Hartnett, Kevin. "The Mysterious Bridgewater Triangle." Boston Globe, 27 Oct 2013.
• Plumb, Taryn. "Litany of Mysteries with Local Twist: Strange Events Abound in 'Triangle'." Boston Globe, 4 May 2014.
• Fleming, Colin. "5 Haunted Hikes in New England: Do You Dare?: These paths in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire will get your heart racing...one way or another." Boston Globe, 14 September 2014.
• Daley, Lauren. "It's Goosebump Season in Mass." Boston Globe, 19 Oct 2014.
• Plumb, Taryn. "Are these Boston spots haunted?" Boston Globe, 27 Oct 2016.
• Annear, Steve. "FX creating series on paranormal activity based on legends of 'Bridgewater Triangle'" Boston Globe, 1 September 2019.
• Bair, Diane. "5 authentically spooky spots to visit this Halloween." Boston Globe, 8 Oct 2020.
• Bair, Diane. "Ghost ships, swamp beasts, and all the creepy things that happen in Room 303: Massachusetts is home to some authentically spooky spots." Boston Globe, 11 Oct 2020.
• Sudborough, Susannah. “What is the Bridgewater Triangle Anyway? A look at the dark and paranormal tales of this 'window area of unexplained occurrences'." Taunton Gazette, 11 Oct 2020.
• “Haunted places: hot spots of the Bridgewater Triangle." Taunton Gazette, 13 Oct 2020.
• Sudborough, Susannah. "Exploring the Bridgewater Triangle: Our reporter heads out when the lights go down and the legends come out." 27 Oct 2020.
• "Enter the Bridgewater Triangle if you dare." Patriot Ledger, 31 Oct 2020.
• Sudborough, Susannah. “13 Bridgewater Triangle 'hotspots' that will take you into the unknown this Halloween." The Enterprise, 19 Oct 2021.
• Juul, Matt. "'Morbid' hosts talk 'Cinema Macabre,' true crime, and Massachusetts' 'spooky horror' history." Boston Globe, 14 January 2022.

Watch

Tales of the Bridgewater Triangle
West Bridgewater Community Access Media (WB-CAM), 15 Oct 2019
Host Nathan Mayer speaks with guests on the myths and legends surrounding the "Bridgewater Triangle"

The Bridgewater Triangle documentary
The first-ever feature-length documentary on the subject (released in 2013), this documentary explores the history of this fascinating region. It is also available on DVD to borrow from the library. Learn more about the documentary on the official website.

Mysterious America

Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation's Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures is a guidebook to America's most popular local legends by Loren Coleman, first published in 2001. There is a mention of the Hockomock Swamp, which can be viewed here. 

Hockomock Wonder Wetland

Hockomock Wonder Wetland is a history of the Hockomock Swamp's ecology and natural resources. A date of publication has not been determined but it is assumed to have been published between 1969 and 1979. The book is available to view in some libraries and a digitized version can be viewed here. 

Resources from Joseph DeAndrade

Materials in Resources from DeAndrade include writings and contributions from Joseph DeAndrade, a member of the local paranormal community, who founded the Bridgewater Triangle Expedition Team (BTET) in 1985 and later the Paranormal Investigation Organization (PIO) in 1992 in Bridgewater. Also included in the collection are articles by or about DeAndrade, his organizations, and the Bridgewater Triangle. 

The Bridgewater Public Library does not endorse any of the claims made in the resources listed on this page.