The Bermuda Triangle: Whatever became of the myth

A reward poster at a marina for the yacht Saba Bank, which went missing in the Bermuda Triangle on March 10, 1974
Gaddis’s article contained much speculation, little evidence and precious few facts. But his timing was perfect: “The Deadly Bermuda Triangle” was published shortly after the two US Air Force Stratotankers were lost.
“The mysterious menace that haunts the Atlantic off our south-eastern coastline has claimed two more victims,” wrote Gaddis. “Before this article reaches print, it may strike again, swallowing a plane or ship, or leaving behind a derelict [vessel], with no life aboard.”
Here in the Bermuda Triangle was a phenomenon that tantalisingly seemed to defy explanation.
The article was a masterpiece of conspiratorial fantasy, suggesting that dark forces were at work. This was the era of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, when people were more than willing to believe in conspiracy theories. It was also a time when Nasa – and science – was increasingly providing answers to unsolved questions. Yet here in the Bermuda Triangle was a phenomenon that tantalisingly seemed to defy explanation.
“The Bermuda Triangle underlines the fact that despite swift wings and the voice of radio, we still have a world large enough so that men and their machines and ships can disappear without trace.”
Others were quick to cash in on Bermuda Triangle fever. Scores of books were published – many became international bestsellers – with the most popular of all being Charles Berlitz’s The Bermuda Triangle, published in 1974. It sold 20 million copies in more than 30 languages – an extraordinary feat for a work that blamed the losses on aliens and survivors from Atlantis.