14. The deliberate creation of the Bermuda Triangle was good for book and magazine sales
By the mid-1970s the Bermuda Triangle had generated a substantial number of believers in the mysterious body of water which claimed so many lives. It had also generated skeptics, who scoffed not only at the hints of supernatural or extraterrestrial activities, but at the number of disappearances attributed to the triangle. The supporters of the triangle added events and expanded the triangle, including its shape, in order to include other mysterious losses at sea or in the air. Several writers omitted facts, or added false information, to support their reports of the strange events at sea. Richard Winer, author of a documentary made for television called Devil’s Triangle, was a strong proponent of the supernatural nature of the area. Winer’s books reported events by omitting pertinent facts, such as weather conditions, or altering them from stormy seas to calm weather.
His documentary presented the triangle as an eerie, inexplicable region, in which people, boats, ships, and airplanes vanished without a trace. To lend the story an even more sinister air, he had the documentary narrated by Vincent Price, then known for his horror films. The film was aired in 1974, the same year as his first book on the triangle, The Devil’s Triangle. In both, he presented tales which were clearly refuted by contemporary Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force officials, as well as other government agencies official reports. When confronted with the inconsistencies by skeptics, the well-known hiding place of government coverup reared its head. The smell of conspiracy to keep the public from knowing the truth about the Bermuda Triangle was good for book sales. Book and magazine sales created the Bermuda Triangle, despite the Coast Guard loudly proclaiming such an area did not exist.