The area of the Atlantic Ocean designated The Bermuda Triangle is so named because one of its corner points is the island of Bermuda. The Devil's Triangle, a popular alternative name for the area, has been examined extensively by journalists and filmmakers seeking either an insight into paranormal happenings attributed to the region or in need of a quick story to legitimize tax deduction expenses claimed for vacation trips to the locale. In either event, the stories abound. By the same token, the proliferation of stories means that Bermuda Triangle mysteries represent a small cottage industry wherein fact and fabrication are often inextricably melded. Are there natural explanations for the many ships and planes lost in the Bermuda Triangle, or are paranormal activities in evidence here? This paper will refute the claims to paranormal interference in human affairs by offering a contextual analysis of the region and some of the typical Bermuda Triangle phenomena.
The typical Bermuda Triangle disappearance can be divided into two categories: The complete disappearance of a ship or airplane, and the disappearance of a ship's crew - but not the ship. Of the two phenomena, the former outnumber the latter, to which are attributed, in fact, only two major incidents: the discovery on the high seas of the crewless ship Mary Celeste in 1872 (Mysteries 120-122), and the grounding of the Carroll A. Deering, also emptied of human beings, in 1921 (Baumann 76-81). These limited cases being also the most spectacular of the unexplained events attributed to the Bermuda Triangle, they will be examined first.
In both the Mary Celeste and Carroll A. Deering mysteries, seaworthy, fully stocked vessels were discovered. The Deering was run aground in January off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and floundered there for four days before salvagers could reach her. In common with the Deering, the Mary Celeste also was not actually d...