English 箭头
Podcast Cover

[The Enigmatic Bennington Triangle: Disappearances, Folklore, and Unexplained Phenomena]-[Episode 206: The Bennington Triangle]

Morbid · B2 · 2021-01-31

True crime
Or study on the web version

📋 Summary

The Bennington Triangle: A Deep Dive into Vermont’s Cursed Wilderness

In this episode of Morbid, hosts Ash and Alayna pivot from their usual intense true crime narratives to explore the unsettling mysteries of the Bennington Triangle in Vermont. Spanning the towns of Bennington, Somerset, and Woodford, with the ghost town of Glastonbury at its epicenter, this region is a hotbed of paranormal activity, unexplained disappearances, and local folklore.

The Ghost Town of Glastonbury

At the heart of the mystery is Glastonbury, an unincorporated town chartered in 1761. Once a bustling logging hub that featured the "steepest railroad ever built in the United States," the town suffered a rapid economic decline following a devastating flood and a smallpox outbreak. Today, it is largely owned by the U.S. National Forest Service, with a population of nearly zero. The area is notoriously difficult to navigate, and visitors have reported encountering threatening handwritten signs from the few remaining locals, adding an eerie, Wrong Turn-esque atmosphere to the landscape.

The Lore of the Cursed Land

Native American tribes in the region long considered the land cursed, avoiding it except to bury their dead. The forest is described as having a suffocating silence where "the four winds met in an eternal struggle." This reputation for being a "cursed" space serves as the foundation for the numerous strange events that have plagued the area for over a century.

The Bennington Monster and Cryptids

Among the most startling accounts is the legend of the "Bennington Monster," a Bigfoot-like creature. The hosts recount an incident involving a 19th-century stagecoach driver who, during a violent rainstorm, discovered massive, widely-spaced footprints in the mud. Shortly after, a creature described as over eight feet tall, covered in dark hair with "big, bugging eyes," slammed into the stagecoach, toppling it over before disappearing back into the woods. Similar sightings, such as the 2003 report by Ray Dufrenzy, continue to fuel the belief that large, unknown creatures roam the mountains.

A History of Murders and Baffling Disappearances

The episode highlights several chilling cases that define the area’s dark history:

  • The Murder of John Harbor (1897): A well-liked hunter who vanished while in the woods. His body was later found propped against a tree, his rifle neatly placed beside him, despite having been shot elsewhere.
  • Carl Herrick (1943): An experienced outdoorsman found dead with no external trauma, though an autopsy revealed he had been "squeezed to death," with ribs broken and lungs punctured—a phenomenon the hosts struggle to attribute to any known animal.
  • Paula Jean Weldon (1946): Perhaps the most infamous case, this 18-year-old Bennington College student vanished while hiking the Long Trail. Her disappearance was so high-profile that it led directly to the founding of the Vermont State Police.
  • James Tedford (1949): In a case defying logic, Tedford vanished from a moving bus while traveling through the triangle. Witnesses saw him in his seat moments before his stop, yet he was gone upon arrival, leaving his luggage behind.
  • Frida Langer (1950): A survivalist who went missing during a short hike. Despite an exhaustive search by the military and locals, her body was found six months later in an area that had been repeatedly combed, lying in the "wide open."

Man-Eating Rocks and Ancient Cairns

Adding to the surreal nature of the Bennington Triangle are the "man-eating rocks"—a footnote in the Vermont Monster Guide suggesting that certain stones may act as portals or living entities that "swallow" those who stand upon them. Additionally, the discovery of massive, moss-covered stone cairns—some weighing over 200 pounds and predating European settlement—suggests that the mountain was a site of ancient ritual or memorial, further cementing the area's reputation as a place where the veil between worlds is remarkably thin.

As the hosts conclude, the Bennington Triangle remains a place of "awesome insanity." Whether the disappearances are the result of a hidden serial killer, a natural vortex, or something more paranormal, the region serves as a stark reminder of the mysteries that still linger in the deep, dense forests of New England.

🎯Key Sentences

1
Murder and sadness go hand in hand.
2
I think I'm so funny tonight.
3
Lost me there.
4
I'd like to advertise to you that I'm indoorsy.
5
Fuck that.
Expand All

📝Key Phrases

1
dive into
2
hand in hand
3
take a piece of me
4
give us a little bit of a breather
5
lean into
Expand All

📖 Transcript

Hey weirdos, it's Ash. Before we dive into today's twisted tale, let me tell you about the spooky perks of Wondery+.
It's like having a skeleton key that unlocks ad-free listening and early access to new episodes.
So don't wait. Try Wondery Plus today. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
You're listening to a Morbid Network podcast.
Listening on Audible helps your imagination soar.
Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds, new possibilities and new ways of thinking.

ListenLeap Brings You Into Real Context Learning

🎨 Interesting Content
🌍 Real Materials
📱 Listen Anytime
Or study on the web version