The Mysterious Hockomock Swamp
A photo of the beautiful lush scenery of Hockomock Swamp. Photo: Roadtrippers
Hockomock Swamp has been the centre of a number of paranormal sightings over the last hundred years including the likes of Bigfoot, UFOs and wandering spirits.
Where is Hockomock Swamp?
A map of the Hockomock Swamp - Google Maps
The Hockomock Swamp spans across several towns including Bridgewater, Easton, Norton, Raynham, Taunton, and West Bridgewater.
It is considered to be a part of the famed Bridgewater Triangle, an area paranormal enthusiasts claim is a hotbed of paranormal activity in southeastern Massachusetts.
It is a vast expanse of 6,000 acres containing black rivers, marshes, ponds, cedar and maple thickets, brush beds, twisting vines, sinkholes, and quicksand, with parts of it being miles away from human settlements. It is a habitat rich in diversity, with a varied collection of animals, plants, and geological features.
The swamp serves as a sponge and release valve for rainwater and melting snow, protecting the surrounding areas from flooding. The swamp, along with the larger 17,000-acre "Area of Critical Environmental Concern," was granted this designation by the state in 1990. The Hockomock Swamp is the largest freshwater vegetated wetland system in Massachusetts.
Some human artifacts discovered in the swamp date back to 9,000 years ago.
Paranormal Phenomena at Hockomock Swamp
Local artwork advertising Bigfoot at the Hockomock Swamp
According to Ted Williams, a local wildlife and conservation journalist, the Native Americans who lived in the area from about 300 AD to Colonial times relied on the swamp as a plentiful source of game and even worshipped it. The term "Hockomock" referred to both the malevolent spirits that frightened the colonists and the benevolent spirits that guided the Native Americans to hunt moose and deer.
Over time, the Hockomock has become known for its association with spirits, mysterious creatures, and other supernatural occurrences.
Stories abound about vicious dogs with red eyes attacking ponies, a flying creature reminiscent of the prehistoric pterodactyl, Native American ghosts paddling canoes, glowing objects hovering over the trees, and a shaggy humanoid creature wandering through the woods.
Some paranormal enthusiasts believe that the negative and disruptive energy created by the persecution of Native Americans in the region still circulates in the Hockomock, and that cult and satanic rituals have taken place there. Others think that the Hockomock Swamp is under a curse.
Bigfoot Sightings at Hockomock Swamp
In 1978, Joe DeAndrade, who was 24 years old at the time, had a strange experience while standing on the shore of Clay Banks, a pond in Bridgewater near the swamp.
While facing away from the water, he suddenly had a feeling that made him turn around. To his surprise, he saw a creature that he could not identify, approximately 200 yards away to his right. The creature was brown and hairy, resembling a large apish man, and was making its way towards the woods.
DeAndrade did not stick around to observe where it was going and instead ran for the street. Despite organizing several expeditions in search of the creature, DeAndrade was never able to identify what he saw.
About five years after DeAndrade's sighting, another local resident, John Baker, who was a veteran fur trapper, reported seeing something similar while on a canoe in a river in the swamp.
He saw a large hairy beast pass within a few yards of him, which smelled like a skunk. Baker had trapped in the swamp for over 30 years and had never seen anything like this creature before.
UFO Sightings at Hockomock Swamp
Since the early 1900s, there have been numerous accounts of UFO sightings in the Hockomock Swamp region.
In 1908, on Halloween night, two undertakers traveling from West Bridgewater to Bridgewater reported observing a giant lantern-like object in the sky that remained suspended for almost 40 minutes.
Over the years there have been several reports of swirling lights above the swamp in the vicinity of the Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park.
According to a local resident, Courtney Cullen, she witnessed what she believes to be a UFO during a summer cookout in 1999 near Lake Nippenicket, a part of Hockomock Swamp.
Cullen describes hearing a loud noise and then witnessing bright lights descending rapidly towards the house behind the cookout. Just as it appeared that the lights would collide with the house, they abruptly moved sideways at an incredible speed and vanished.
Several helicopters appeared in the area of the lights shortly after they were seen.
What is Causing the Paranormal Phenomena at Hockomock Swamp?
Chris Pittman, a paranormal enthusiast who has been studying the Hockomock for many years, believes that the swamp's geological history may have contributed to a gravitational anomaly that allows for the occurrence of inexplicable phenomena.
According to Pittman, the evolution of the swamp, from glacial activity to the accumulation of alluvium deposits to the decomposition of plants that created the swamp's dense peat bedding, might have resulted in this unusual gravitational situation.
He explains that there are areas worldwide where vortexes or windows exist, in which the laws of gravity appear to function differently from what is commonly understood in the natural world.
Although not all of these locations are associated with paranormal activity, Pittman is fairly confident that any place where paranormal phenomena is prevalent, a vortex exists where gravity and energy do not behave typically.
While Pittman admits that he has never experienced anything supernatural during his trips into the swamp, he is entirely convinced that others have.
Christopher Balzano, a local paranormal researcher, believes he may have a theory about the strange occurrences in the Hockomock Swamp.
Balzano believes that much of the brutal and bloody conflict between the English settlers and the indigenous people of the region, known as King Philip's War (1675-1676), took place in the vicinity of the swamp.
Both sides committed atrocities against women and children, and the swamp witnessed some of the most horrific massacres ever to occur in America. Even after the war, betrayal and killings persisted, and the Wampanoag lost their land while most of their tribe was killed. Their traditional enemies had joined forces with the settlers and had gained power over them.
According to Balzano, the spirits of the wounded and traumatized Wampanoag may be responsible for the paranormal activity in the swamp, but he believes that the vortex described by Pittman was present before the settlers and the Native Americans. He argues that this vortex contributed to the cruelty and savagery of the war between the Wampanoag and the English and continues to propagate pain and malevolence in the area to this day.
Further Reading:
Hockomock: The Place Where Spirits Dwell by Peter Tower. (Affiliate link. We may earn a commission.)
Have you ever had any strange experiences while visiting Hockomock Swamp? Tell us about it in the comments.
If you enjoyed learning about strange encounters at Hockomock Swamp you might also be interested in the Primehook Swamp Creature or the Loveland Frog.
