As horror enthusiasts, we often stray into more sci-fi and paranormal realms like that of cryptids, ancient secrets, other dimensions, and haunted places. In the mountains of Vermont is an area called the Bennington Triangle, a place where decades-worth of disappearances and supernatural sightings have occurred, making the forested area one of local legend. This documentary from Small Town Monsters highlights those strange coincidences and Vermont’s Glastenbury Mountain’s troubled past through interviews with local historians and citizens of the surrounding area.
Deep in the forests of Vermont, the Bennington Triangle has become a hotspot for the unexplainable-UFO sightings, Bigfoot encounters, eerie light anomalies, and a string of mysterious disappearances that defy logic.
From the Beyond: High Strangeness in the Bennington Triangle, IMDB
From the Beyond, in true documentary form, gives us a light overview of what we are to see in the film. Monsters, the supernatural, aliens, portals to other dimensions — all are thought to give Glastenbury Mountain an ominous aura that has been that way for many years. With disappearances of local folk dating back to the 30s and 40s, multiple sightings of Bigfoot-like creatures, and rumors of the mountain being sentient itself, it’s no wonder the area was given the moniker “the Bennington Triangle.” From the Beyond interviews local experts and asks them about these strange stories, where they are thought to have come from, and what they really think is going on. All sources lead to the area being not of this world — a gathering place for psychic, paranormal, and possibly evil phenomena.
Broken up into sections focused on one probable cause each, From the Beyond lays out the case for cryptid sightings, alien activity, folklore, or just plain getting lost in the woods. From its inception as a logging-turned-resort area of the country, there are plenty of reasonable accounts of the strange happenings that go on in the forest. While man-eating rocks that swallow men whole when stepped on is a hard pill to swallow, that rumor has been around for ages. Random cairns that couldn’t be attributed the local indigenous groups may be more than trail markers, denoting places where portals to other dimensions are. Bears are a known threat in those forests, but what if something bigger was out there too? It had to be the case for one man found crushed to death during a hunting expedition. While not leaning the viewer towards one reason or another, From the Beyond gives ample background to every possibility imaginable, punctuated by colorful stories from guests who were actually there, doing the research. And to add to the stories, digitally animated sequences add an eerie light to the disturbances.
Being a documentary, it’s important to make the film entertaining, but keep true to the facts as to not make the viewer think the stories are embellished. All of the interviewees have been involved in these cases somehow, from researching to actually seeing phenomena themselves. From the Beyond is slower-paced and doesn’t jack up the action; it keeps a mystical haze for the entirety of the film duration (just over an hour), yet engages you with eyewitness accounts and real news clippings. I would liken From the Beyond to a documentary that would accompany an exhibit in a museum, rather than a salacious retelling brought to you by a big streaming service. It’s meant to entertain, but more so to encourage thought, curiosity, and maybe even a little fear.
What stuck with me most is an interview with author/researcher Paul Bartholemew, where he related all of these crazy things as similar to the different states of water. Something may be attributed to Bigfoot, another a cut-and-dry homicide, and another an alien encounter. But what may actually be happening is that all of these things are “manifestations of the same source phenomena,” how water can be fog, ice, or liquid. At the end of the day, it’s all still water.
From the Beyond did not leave us with a definitive answer as to what made the forest on and around Vermont’s Glastenbury Mountain so strange; it allowed viewers to ponder for themselves and wonder if there is a thinned veil in other places as it is here, and just how many other Bennington Triangles could be out there. Though the mystery remains unsolved, it is cemented in Vermont’s history for both lovers of nonfiction anomalies, as well as those with a penchant for the paranormal.
From the Beyond: High Strangeness in the Bennington Triangle is now available to stream on VOD from Small Town Monsters.
