Of further interest is how differently the same stories are told. Of interest is the fact that it was published in 1974, the same year as Berlitz's Bermuda Triangle and just three years before Gourley's work. Sudden storms, rapidly changing conditions, hidden obstructions-all these have claimed their share of craft.īoyer's book is entertaining and while it's not a scholarly work, it contains no mention of triangles, vile vortices, ley lines, or anything else paranormal. For those who may not realize, these lakes truly are "great." They can be properly referred to as inland seas, and though their water is fresh, they have the same hazards as the ocean. This book is your standard sea stories book, chronicling some of the harrowing tales of life on the Great Lakes. One of the books Gourley references is Strange Adventures of the Great Lakes by Dwight Boyer. But until Gourley, they were just stories of things that happen in open water. A ship completely disappeared, a plane's compass or radio stopped working, a rogue wave was reported-and of course, these things have happened. He went through the newly computerized lists of incidents, and pulled out dozens that had some element of mystery. Gourley's work is basically a compilation of air and sea accidents that have been somehow mysterious. The Great Lakes Rectangle just doesn't have the same ring, especially when one is trying to sell a book just a few years after Berlitz's effort hit the bestseller's list. It seems he's using the word "triangle" to mean a paranormal area, rather than just a shape. I was surprised to learn that Gourley did not include a map of the region, at least in the first printing of the paperback. …principally between longitudes 76° west and 92° west and between latitudes 41° north and 49° northin which several hundred peculiar events have been recorded.The cartographers amongst you probably recognize those coordinates as describing a rectangular shape, rather than a triangle. The introduction to Gourley's book describes an area. There is simply more activity here, and much of it is private aviation. Gourley's region includes a large amount of land, including a number of major cities such as Toronto and Chicago. As busy as the region described by the Bermuda Triangle is, it's mostly water. Released in 1977, it advertised that this triangle was "Deadlier Than The Bermuda Triangle." In the first chapter, Gourley reveals that the number of incidents recorded in this region is greater than in the Bermuda Triangle, according to a Rear Admiral of the US Coast Guard. The earliest reference I can find to a Great Lakes Triangle is the book The Great Lakes Triangle by pilot Jay Gourley.
The late Leonard Nimoy narrated the episode entitled "The Great Lakes Triangle" which aired on November 2, 1978. The Lake Michigan Triangle is not nearly as well known, but it has been featured in many articles, books, and in the official register of the paranormal, the In Search Of… television program. There are many other triangles, some on land, some on sea, and all as dubious as the one Berlitz made. They do charge more for ships sailing near Somalia, where pirate attacks account for most missing ships.ĭespite all the evidence to the contrary, the Bermuda Triangle remains one of the most recognized paranormal regions in the world. Lloyd's of London provides pretty strong evidence that this heavily travelled sea corridor is no different than many others, because they don't charge any insurance surcharge for the ships plying those waters. As has been reported in detail on Skeptoid before, the Bermuda Triangle was the creation of Charles Berlitz, and it has been established beyond a doubt that there is nothing statistically anomalous about the region. Yes, let's dispense with the Bermuda Triangle right away. Could there be another region like the Bermuda Triangle in America's heartland? Some have suggested that a "triangle" exists here, causing strange things to happen to ships and planes alike. The Great Lakes Region has had many planes, ships, and people go missing.