The most popular shape in the paranormal scene these days is a “triangle”. Triangles are hip, not square. Every state wants their own “Triangle”. Creating a triangle is just a little bit harder than drawing a line, which is two points. Adding one more point and two more lines then, BAM! You have your own supernatural portal/window area.
I’ve done the time explaining the origin and history of paranormal vortex areas, which are often triangular. Of course, the most famous triangle is the one with the points of Miami, Puerto Rico and Bermuda. You know the one! Been there, done that.
Triangles are great because they are so easy to draw and, suddenly, you have defined an area with a catchy name and instant spooky cred. A few months ago, I started to create a list of the so-called Triangle areas around the world that people have defined based on the seemingly localized association with strange activity. Loren Coleman’s Mysterious America book carried on Ivan Sanderson’s idea of vile vortices by promoting triangular(ish) areas where any and all claims were logged related to UFOs, disappearances, strange creatures, and high incidents of crime, accidents or violence, and tied to the pointy formation.
The aim of paranormalists is to suggest that a geographical area, with what they see as a higher than usual number of strange events, may mean that the earth or land there is a “gateway” or a “window” area – to what is not clear. Creatures crawling through portals or emanations of evil energy, I guess. It’s also not clear how that land inside the boundaries is different from areas outside of it, or what could explain the alleged geographical anomaly.
Arguments for Paranormal Triangle areas are all extremely weak. There are no statistical studies that show that verified incidents are occurring in these areas are due to an unknown cause. They are not compared to other similarly populated areas as an experimental control. But, simpler than that, linking unrelated events into a given narrative is contrived and a form of pattern-seeking. It only takes the suggestion of a “Triangle” or haunted/cursed region for plenty more people to offer their stories and claims, which reinforces the narrative, and so on. In the case of certain Triangle areas, such as the Bridgewater Triangle in Massachusetts, the local lore became so popular, and “Triangle” as a paranormal buzz word was so successful, that it shaped public perception of the area. Paranormal seekers went looking for unusual things, and so they found them – like x-shaped tree branches or stacks of rocks, mundane things were given special meaning if they occurred within the “Triangle”. Well, it didn’t even have to be “within”. Just being proximate to the Triangle area is enough to up the strangeness quotient. I recently watched the Dogman Triangle promotional programming and was reminded that “Triangle” is such a handy branding term. Everyone knows triangles on a map are spooky; you can play fast and loose with actual locations.
So, far, I’ve started peering into the claims of 13 such Triangles, though there are many lesser known or quasi-“Triangle” areas with more appearing every year. Out of the 13, notably, 5 of those also begin with a ‘B’ like Bermuda. Coincidence? I think not.
When media is created to amplify these Triangle stories, not only do unrelated accounts get grouped together, but exaggeration intensifies as the re-tellers add new drama and make up details. These new bits then get copy-pasted to other paranormal themed media and spread. It’s impossible to shut down that process with facts and reason.
I do hope the trends peter out because giving such places a manufactured horror aura (houra/horra?) ultimately hurts the local scene. Most of these stories are not verified, some clearly did not occur at all. And, they are too often spookified and promoted at the expense of a real victim of a non-supernatural crime or accident. The location ends up drawing in some no-goodniks who attempt to live out the ostensible experience.
I aim to write more about these areas, so stayed tuned. (How about subscribing?) But for now, if you see the Triangle trope, feel free to roll your eyes. It’s apt.
See all related posts at paranormal vortex collection.
one should indeed roll one’s eyes as you said. The Bermuda Triangle simply doesn’t exist. Statistical analysis of the locations of shipwrecks and aircraft crashes world wide proved that there are no more disasters in that area than there is in any other area of the world that is as heavily traveled. People seem to have this built in need to believe in things like this despite evidence to the contrary.
I agree. I wrote a book forty years ago (The Evidence for the Bermuda Triangle) that showed that, out of 211 disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, fewer than half a dozen could truly be classified as mysterious.
PS: When I see a reference to my book, I can tell who’s read it and who hasn’t by whether they call it a pro- or anti-BT book.