by Scott Harper
In the 1970s, renowned cryptozoologist Loren Coleman gave the name "Bridgewater Triangle" to an area in southeastern Massachusetts that is roughly 200 square miles. The Bridgewater Triangle, located about 30 miles south of Boston, has been home to a huge variety of strange phenomena over the years. Reports of everything from UFOs, to unexplained orbs of light, to ghosts, to Thunderbirds, to ancient Native American curses, to Sasquatch come out of the area on a regular basis. The Hockomock Swamp area is where most of the Sasquatch reports filter in from. However, not all sightings of these beings within the state are recent.
One of the earliest encounters with a Sasquatch in the state of Massachusetts took place in July of 1765. Settlers were exploring part of the area which is now Great Barrington. They spotted a large, hair-covered creature in the swamps. Keeping back, they followed the creature, and watched it bed down to sleep. The settlers captured the Sasquatch, and took it to Cambridge to be studied. There is no record of just what took place, but the creature was released from captivity, and escaped back into the wild.
In 1826, a Haverhill man named Andrew Fink became very ill. Part of his illness was a fever. As days passed, Mr. Fink grew worse, and worse. He slid into delirium. One day, when his family wasn't paying close attention, Andrew Fink got out of bed, and slipped out of the house, disappearing. A few days later, reports began circulating of a "wild man" in the nearby woods. Mr. Fink's family investigated, hoping that what was being reported would turn out to be Mr. Fink. Instead, while looking for Mr. Fink in the woods, they encountered a Sasquatch. No report was made of what the family did with the creature upon discovering it. Sadly, Andrew Fink's body turned up several weeks later, in a stream. He had died while wandering the forest in his delirium.
An article appeared in a newspaper—the North Adams Transcript—on August 23, 1895 reporting an account in which a Massachusetts selectman spotted a Sasquatch. The selectman was on a stage coach, travelling to Connecticut, when he had his sighting. The creature was simply walking along the tree line when seen. The article also mentioned plans to attempt to capture the Sasquatch, but no details were forthcoming as to what those plans entailed, or if such a capture was ever attempted.
During July of 1909, police combed the woodlands near Haverhill after a series of reports of a large, hairy creature had been filed in the area. There doesn't seem to be record as to whether or not they found anything.
Oddly, after the 1909 report, I couldn't find a thing until the early 1970's. Why? Did people stop reporting Sasquatch sightings for a few decades? Did the Sasquatch in the area migrate out to other locations for a while? Did the Sasquatch simply stop allowing themselves to be seen for several years? If so, why do so before, and after? Did something happen during those intervening years to drive them away?
On June 9th, 1959 the infamous Worcester tornado hit. It's classified as the 21st most deadly tornado in US history. It killed 94 people, and left 10,000 others homeless during the 90 minutes that it stayed on the ground. During that time, it traveled 48 miles. How did this storm affect the Sasquatch in the state of Massachusetts? Could it, and other bad weather, have forced the local Sasquatch out of the area for a time?
We may never know what caused the lack of sightings in Massachusetts between 1909 until the 1970's. Whether the Sasquatch were being seen, and not reported, or had left the area, the reason may always remain a mystery.
About the Author
Scott Harper is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 30 published short stories, and several novels. Harper grew up in Ohio, and graduated from Marysville High School in 1993, and began screenwriting in 2007, after the publication of several short stories and novels. He has worked on projects for James Tucker Productions, and 11th Dimension Films. He is currently involved with several projects, covering literature, film, and comic books. He was also a contributing writer for "Nuclear Winter Entertainment" for several months before that site shut down. Scott is very happily married to bestselling paranormal author Desirée Lee. Together, they have a wonderful little girl, and are working jointly on several projects. Those projects include multiple books, as well as the hit webcomic "MoonWraith."
More information about his work can be found on his website: www.scottharper.net
Blog Post by Dan Lindholm
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