![Paula Jean Welden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Paula_Jean_Welden.jpg)
"Bennington Triangle" is a phrase coined by American author
Joseph A. Citro to denote an area of southwestern
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
within which a number of people went
missing
Missing or The Missing may refer to:
Film
* ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young
* ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras
* ''Missing'' (2007 film) (''Vermist''), a Bel ...
between 1945 and 1950. This was further popularized in two books, including ''
Shadow Child
Simon Neale (born 20 January 1977 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England), known by his stage names Shadow Child and Dave Spoon, is an English radio DJ and dance music producer. He's also part of the duo Avec alongside Doorly. He was part of the lin ...
'', in which Citro devoted chapters to discussion of these disappearances and various items of
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
surrounding the area. According to Citro, the area shares characteristics with the
Bridgewater Triangle
The Bridgewater Triangle is an area of about within southeastern Massachusetts in the United States, claimed to be a site of alleged paranormal phenomena, ranging from UFOs to poltergeists, orbs, balls of fire and other spectral phenomena, vario ...
in
Southeastern Massachusetts
Southeastern Massachusetts consists of those portions of Massachusetts located along Buzzards Bay, including the cities of New Bedford and Fall River and their respective suburbs. Despite the location of Cape Cod and the islands to its south, ...
.
Precisely what area is encompassed in this hypothetical "mystery triangle" is not clear, but it is purportedly centered on
Glastenbury Mountain
Glastenbury Mountain is a mountain located in Bennington County, Vermont, in the Green Mountain National Forest.
The mountain is part of the Green Mountains.
The northeast side of Glastenbury Mountain drains into Deer Lick Brook, thence into t ...
and would include some or most of the area of the towns immediately surrounding it, especially
Bennington
Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous to ...
,
Woodford Woodford may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Woodford, New South Wales
*Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region
*Woodford, Victoria
Canada
* Woodford, Ontario
England
*Woodford, Cornwall
* Woodford, Gloucestershire
*Woodford, Greate ...
,
Shaftsbury, and
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
.
Glastenbury and its neighboring township Somerset were both once moderately thriving
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
and
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
towns, but began declining toward the late 19th century and are now essentially
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
s,
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
by an act of the
Vermont General Assembly
The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...
in 1937.
According to Citro's books, stories of strange happenings had been told about Glastonbury and the surrounding area for many years, the best-known of which is probably that of the disappearance of
Paula Jean Welden
Paula Jean Welden (born October 19, 1928; disappeared December 1, 1946) was an American college student who disappeared while walking on Vermont's Long Trail hiking route. Local sheriffs were criticized for errors made in the investigation, which ...
.
Reported disappearances
Middie Rivers (1945)
Between 1945 and 1950, five people disappeared in the area surrounding
Bennington, Vermont
Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 ...
. The first disappearance occurred on November 12, 1945, when 74-year-old Middie Rivers disappeared while out hunting, in the vicinity of
Long Trail
The Long Trail is a hiking trail located in Vermont, running the length of the state. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, constructed between 1910 and 1930 by the Green Mountain Club. The club remains the primary organiza ...
Road and
Vermont Route 9
Vermont Route 9 (VT 9) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The highway runs from the New York state line in Bennington, where it continues west as New York State Route 7 (NY 7), to the New Hampshire state line at the Connecticut ...
. Rivers was on a weekend hunting trip with four other hunters up the mountains. The morning of November 12, 1945, Rivers and his son-in-law, Joe Lauzon, were walking together before reaching a fork. Rivers and Lauzon would separate here with Rivers telling Lauzon he'd "only be going a short distance" before he would join them at camp for lunch. As 3pm had come and gone, the rest of the hunting party would begin searching before getting authorities. An extensive search was conducted, but the only evidence discovered was a single rifle
cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
that was found in a stream. The speculation was that Rivers had leaned over and the cartridge had dropped out of his pocket into the water. Rivers was an experienced outdoorsman who was familiar with the local area.
Paula Welden (1946)
Paula Jean Welden
Paula Jean Welden (born October 19, 1928; disappeared December 1, 1946) was an American college student who disappeared while walking on Vermont's Long Trail hiking route. Local sheriffs were criticized for errors made in the investigation, which ...
, aged 18, disappeared on December 1, 1946. Welden, a sophomore at
Bennington College
Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...
, had set out for a hike on the Long Trail. Many saw her depart, including Ernest Whitman, a ''
Bennington Banner
''The Bennington Banner'' is a daily newspaper published in Bennington, Vermont. The paper covers local, national, and world news. It is distributed throughout Southwestern Vermont and eastern New York (Rensselaer and Washington Counties). The pa ...
'' employee who gave her directions. She was not wearing a jacket during her journey; it was 50 °F outside, later dropping to 9 °F. Welden was alleged to have been seen on the trail itself by an elderly couple who were about behind her. According to them, she turned a corner in the trail, and when they reached the same corner she had disappeared. An extensive search was conducted, which included the posting of a $5,000
reward
Reward may refer to:
Places
* Reward (Shelltown, Maryland), a historic home in Shelltown Maryland
* Reward, California (disambiguation)
* Reward-Tilden's Farm, a historic home in Chestertown Maryland
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Rewa ...
and help from the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, but no evidence of her was ever found. Welden's disappearance was the inspiration for the 1951 novel ''Hangsaman'' by
Shirley Jackson
Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...
.
James Tedford (1949)
James E. Tedford, a veteran, allegedly went missing on December 1, 1949, three years to the day after Welden was last seen. Tedford, a resident of the Bennington Soldiers' Home, had been in
St. Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...
visiting relatives and was accompanied to a local bus station, which was the last location where he was seen. According to witnesses, Tedford got on the bus and was still aboard at the last stop before arriving in Bennington. Somewhere between the last stop and Bennington, he vanished. His belongings were still in the luggage rack and an open bus timetable was on his vacant seat. Tony Jinks discusses this claim, saying that "The popular conception is that he vanished into thin air while on the bus, but like many missing person stories there's a gap between when he was last seen and when he was reported missing a week or so later. Regarding Tedford's disappearance, there's enough evidence to suggest he didn’t "dematerialize,” even though no trace of him was ever found."
Paul Jepson (1950)
On October 12, 1950, Paul Jepson, aged 8, had accompanied his mother in a truck. She left her son unattended for about an hour while she fed some pigs. When she returned, her son was nowhere in sight. Search parties were formed to look for the child. Nothing was ever found, though Jepson was wearing a bright red jacket that should have made him more visible. According to one story, bloodhounds tracked the boy to a local highway where, according to local legend, Welden had disappeared four years earlier.
Frieda Langer (1950)
On October 28, 1950, sixteen days after Jepson had vanished, Frieda Langer, aged 53, and her cousin, Herbert Elsner, left their family campsite near the Somerset Reservoir to go on a hike. During the journey, Langer slipped and fell into a stream. She told Elsner if he would wait, she would go back to the campsite, change clothes and catch up to him. When she did not return, Elsner made his way back to the campsite and discovered that Langer had not returned, and that nobody had seen her since they had left. Over the next two weeks, five searches were conducted, involving aircraft, helicopters, and up to 300 searchers. No trace of Langer was found during the search.
On May 12, 1951, Langer's body was found three and a half miles from the campsite in the eastern branch of the
Deerfield River
Deerfield River is a river that runs for from southern Vermont through northwestern Massachusetts to the Connecticut River. The Deerfield River was historically influential in the settlement of western Franklin County, Massachusetts, and its n ...
, an area that had been only lightly searched seven months previously.
[Dooling, Michael C. Clueless in New England: The Unsolved Disappearances of Paula Welden, Connie Smith and Katherine Hull. The Carrollton Press, 2010.] No cause of death could be determined because of the condition of her remains. No direct connections have been identified that tie these cases together, other than the general geographic area and time period.
In popular culture
The Bennington Triangle was discussed in Season 3, Episode 8 of the television program
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
's ''
Weird or What?'' The episode, entitled "Mysterious Vanishings," first aired on July 23, 2012.
The events of 1945 to 1950 are told in episode 67 of
''Lore'', titled "The Red Coats".
The Bennington Triangle was featured as one of the haunted locations in the
paranormal TV
Paranormal television is a genre of reality television that purports to document factual investigations of the paranormal rather than fictional representations seen in traditional narrative films and tv. Over the years, the genre has grown to be ...
series ''
Most Terrifying Places in America
''Most Terrifying Places in America'' was an American paranormal documentary television series that premiered on October 9, 2009 on the Travel Channel as a stand-alone special. The special was subsequently broken down into an episodic series. Ea ...
'' which aired on the
Travel Channel
Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...
in 2018. The episode, title "Unnatural World" told the stories about the reportedly missing persons in a five-year span, and local lore of the "Bennington Monster", a
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...
-like creature that supposedly roams these wooded areas.
References
External links
* Adams, Mary Gavel "The Bennington Monster." Green Mountain Whittlin's, 1950
* Stock, R.D.; Zeller, J. "The Strange Disappearances at Mt. Glastenbury." FATE, July 1957
*
* Halkias, Terry. New book explores ghost town Glastenbury, Vermont,
Advocate Weekly (May 14, 2008), available a
accessed 2009-09-03 ("The town is well-known outside Vermont; it is part of a growing legend of unexplained occurrences and disappearances in what has become known as "the Bennington Triangle.")
*
* Citro, Joseph A. Green Mountain Ghosts, Ghouls, and Unsolved Mysteries. University of New England/ Vermont Life, 1994
* Citro, Joseph A. Passing Strange: True Tales of New England Hauntings and Horrors, 1996
* Citro, Joseph A. and Sceurman, Mark. Weird New England, 2005, p. 74-75
* Waller, John D., Lost in Glastenbury, Bennington Banner (VT) (Oct 4, 2008)
accessed 13 March 2017
* The Bennington Triangle, The Cracker Barrel (Wilmington, VT) (Fall 2004), available a
vitualvermonter.com accessed 2009-09-03
Glastenbury? You won't find it on the map Rutland Herald
The ''Rutland Herald'' is the second largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont (after ''The Burlington Free Press''). It is published in Rutland. With a daily circulation of about 12,000, it is the main source of news geared towards t ...
(Nov 2, 2007), accessed 2009-09-03
* Glastenbury tales: Town offers no clues to mysteries hanging over it,
Rutland Herald
The ''Rutland Herald'' is the second largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Vermont (after ''The Burlington Free Press''). It is published in Rutland. With a daily circulation of about 12,000, it is the main source of news geared towards t ...
(Nov. 8, 1999)
{{refend
Bennington, Vermont
Geography of Vermont
Glastenbury, Vermont
History of Vermont
Paranormal places in the United States
Paranormal triangles
Shaftsbury, Vermont
Somerset, Vermont
Unexplained disappearances
Woodford, Vermont