The Tríbeč Mountains: Slovakia's Bermuda Triangle

[blessmycottonsocks]

The Tríbeč mountains are a crystalline mountain range in western Slovakia and a minor spur of the greater Carpathians.

They are not particularly high or treacherous, with the tallest peak only reaching 829 metres and are accessible to anyone with moderate hiking skills.
Over the years though, a disproportionate number of people have disappeared in the region and other anomalous phenomena have been reported, including compasses and watches misbehaving, reports of a ghostly or demonic presence and various assorted conspiracies.
This has resulted in some referring to the mountains as the Bermuda Triangle of Slovakia.
Ancient ruins dot the landscape, adding to the eerie atmosphere:

I think that's one more place to add to my bucket list!
Any of you Fortean travellers visited Tríbeč?

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22063635... a supernatural,the so-called Tríbeč triangle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribeč

 

[Sharon Hill]

It's hard to keep track of all the "Triangles" appearing everywhere. It's the fashionable term again.

 

[Min Bannister]

including compasses and watches misbehaving,

If people's compasses are misbehaving, perhaps due to iron in the rocks, this could explain why people keep going missing.

 

[Sharon Hill]

If people's compasses are misbehaving, perhaps due to iron in the rocks, this could explain why people keep going missing.

You have to have a significant amount of iron minerals in the rock to account for compass malfunctions. Anyway, I'm not convinced a whole lot of people use compasses to navigate these days. People get lost in mountains and have accidents in treacherous terrain. Supernatural "triangle" or "vortex" areas are a fun story but they don't stand up to any scrutiny.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Supernatural "triangle" or "vortex" areas are a fun story but they don't stand up to any scrutiny.

As you keep reminding us Sharon.
I posted the thread simply because the Fortean claims made about the location caught my eye and I deemed it worth sharing here. I gave no indication of my credulity in any paranormal aspects to the stories and I have no doubt that a quick slice with Occam's razor would reveal plenty of more mundane reasons for people going missing in the remote Balkans.
Incidentally, I did buy a traditional (and rather lovely) prismatic compass a few years ago and do use it, simply for the pleasure. The one time it behaved oddly was when I was hiking the trail around The Devil's Punchbowl in Hindhead. But that's for another thread.

 

[SimonBurchell]

The one time it behaved oddly was when I was hiking the trail around The Devil's Punchbowl in Hindhead. But that's for another thread.

Do tell more... that's on my patch!

Without knowing exactly what paths you were on, there's still plenty of metal detritus buried under the route of the old A3.

 

[Spookdaddy]

It's hard to keep track of all the "Triangles" appearing everywhere. It's the fashionable term again.

There's a village in Yorkshire called Triangle.

I can't help thinking it would be worth inventing some local mysteries just to hear people talking about the Triangle Triangle.

(There's also a Scalene Island in Canada. Oh, come on, please - let's do it.)

 

[maximus otter]

The Tríbeč mountains are a crystalline mountain range in western Slovakia and a minor spur of the greater Carpathians.

They are not particularly high or treacherous, with the tallest peak only reaching 829 metres and are accessible to anyone with moderate hiking skills.
Over the years though, a disproportionate number of people have disappeared in the region and other anomalous phenomena have been reported, including compasses and watches misbehaving, reports of a ghostly or demonic presence and various assorted conspiracies.
This has resulted in some referring to the mountains as the Bermuda Triangle of Slovakia.
Ancient ruins dot the landscape, adding to the eerie atmosphere:

View attachment 73235

I think that's one more place to add to my bucket list!
Any of you Fortean travellers visited Tríbeč?

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22063635/slovak-bermuda-triangle-tribec-mountains.html#:~:text=Locals believe in a supernatural,the so-called Tríbeč triangle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribeč

My guess would be that the region’s relatively non-threatening geography is acting as a perverse incentive to inexperienced hikers. People who go exploring in the Himalayas and Alps understand that the place can bite, and train and equip themselves appropriately. Day-trippers who just fancy a walk somewhere that looks benign, don’t.

An unfit family in shorts, cotton T-shirts and flip-flops don’t know that the temperature drops 2⁰F for every 1,000 feet one climbs. It’s lovely and warm in the car park, but after they’ve sweated up the hill, it’s colder and their damp clothes are wicking heat from their bodies. Having failed to check the weather forecast, they don’t realise that rain and fog are on the way. One path looks like another; they lose phone reception; someone twists an ankle…

…kkkkk…

maximus otter

 

[Tunn11]

Some years ago my compass and also an early Sat Nav went berserk driving down the A82 by Loch Ness. Obviously near Boleskine house and due to the influence of Crowley and nothing to do with the surrounding mountains.

 

[SimonBurchell]

Some years ago my compass and also an early Sat Nav went berserk driving down the A82 by Loch Ness. Obviously near Boleskine house and due to the influence of Crowley and nothing to do with the surrounding mountains.

And not a submerged Zygon spaceship?

 

[Sharon Hill]

As you keep reminding us Sharon.
I posted the thread simply because the Fortean claims made about the location caught my eye and I deemed it worth sharing here. I gave no indication of my credulity in any paranormal aspects to the stories and I have no doubt that a quick slice with Occam's razor would reveal plenty of more mundane reasons for people going missing in the remote Balkans.

Just keeping it "real", that's my jam.
I know you didn't write the article linked. I was observing that these "triangles" (why not parallelograms?) are coming back into paranormal fashion.

 

[Benzie]

You may listen to many many podcasts, but occasionally you hear one that really stays with you.

This one occurred in Slovakia to an Irish Chap attending a wedding there. It happened in broad daylight, was extraordinary and had a long aftermath.

https://www.podbean.com/site/EpisodeDownload/DIR16FBB919D3UNW

Even if you have no interest in cryptids, do try this truly cracking human story.

 

[Krepostnoi]

There's a village in Yorkshire called Triangle.

I can't help thinking it would be worth inventing some local mysteries just to hear people talking about the Triangle Triangle.

(There's also a Scalene Island in Canada. Oh, come on, please - let's do it.)

Speaking of Yorkshire, how could you omit the infamous Rhubarb Triangle? A place which is crying out for a fabricated Fortean fable. We could call it the Rothwell Incident.

 

[maximus otter]

Speaking of Yorkshire, how could you omit the infamous Rhubarb Triangle? A place which is crying out for a fabricated Fortean fable. We could call it the Rothwell Incident.

Tall, pale organisms in ceramic armour, their systems full of acid; strange creaking noises in the darkness…

maximus otter

 

[Spookdaddy]

Just keeping it "real", that's my jam.

I know you didn't write the article linked. I was observing that these "triangles" (why not parallelograms?) are coming back into paranormal fashion.

I suppose the obvious answer is that the most famous one having covered a geographical area roughly described as a triangle (with Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Florida at its vertices) – the idea just stuck as a kind of proprietary eponym - like 'google' and 'hoover'.

That said - now I come to think of it, I don’t actually know, but am only assuming, that the Bermuda Triangle was the first such ‘triangle’ - rather than just the most famous. And, like a lot of obvious questions, I’ve never thought about it much - but now I am thinking about it, it’s actually quite interesting.

In order for something to be considered a ‘cluster’ it obviously has to give the impression of being contained within a circumscribed area. The larger that area is in relation to the number of points in question, the less circumscribed it will appear, and the less easy it will be to pass off as an apparent cluster.

A triangle allows you to link three separate points while at the same time minimising the area contained within the edges – that is, in comparison to any circle, square or rectangle which is positioned in a way to cover all of those same points.

So, in simple terms, data within a true triangle can be made to appear to have spatial significance that wouldn’t be so striking in another shape.

Clearly, ‘triangles’ of weirdness are generally no such thing, and may contain more than three points of (alleged) oddness, and any attempt to impose any form of triangle over more than three points (unless the remainder are perfectly within the lines drawn from three outlying vertices, or the points are all perfectly aligned along the three edges – which really would be weird) will involve the same sort of increase in area covered as might be the case of e.g. a square or a circle.

I don’t suppose for one minute that the majority of people are consciously thinking in such Euclidian terms - however, I wonder if, almost unconsciously, the idea of a triangle suggests to us a space more significantly circumscribed than the alternatives, and there is therefore a tendency to apply it in contexts where we believe, wish to believe, or wish to imply some sort of statistical significance.

Also, there’s the apparent human attraction to the number 3. Maybe 3 is the first number that when applied to a set implies some sort of group significance to us. And a triangle is the most stable of shapes –I wonder, even if people aren’t aware that they are aware of this, they somehow instinctively apply it to contexts where they wish to imply the strength of an argument.

Or – more likely:

M

ayb

Iamju

stoverth

inkingthis!​

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Then there's the Winnersh Triangle Triangle...

 

[Sharon Hill]

I suppose the obvious answer is that the most famous one having covered a geographical area roughly described as a triangle (with Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Florida at its vertices) – the idea just stuck as a kind of proprietary eponym - like 'google' and 'hoover'.

That said - now I come to think of it, I don’t actually know, but am only assuming, that the Bermuda Triangle was the first such ‘triangle’ - rather than just the most famous. And, like a lot of obvious questions, I’ve never thought about it much - but now I am thinking about it, it’s actually quite interesting.

In order for something to be considered a ‘cluster’ it obviously has to give the impression of being contained within a circumscribed area. The larger that area is in relation to the number of points in question, the less circumscribed it will appear, and the less easy it will be to pass off as an apparent cluster.

A triangle allows you to link three separate points while at the same time minimising the area contained within the edges – that is, in comparison to any circle, square or rectangle which is positioned in a way to cover all of those same points.

So, in simple terms, data within a true triangle can be made to appear to have spatial significance that wouldn’t be so striking in another shape.

Clearly, ‘triangles’ of weirdness are generally no such thing, and may contain more than three points of (alleged) oddness, and any attempt to impose any form of triangle over more than three points (unless the remainder are perfectly within the lines drawn from three outlying vertices, or the points are all perfectly aligned along the three edges – which really would be weird) will involve the same sort of increase in area covered as might be the case of e.g. a square or a circle.

I don’t suppose for one minute that the majority of people are consciously thinking in such Euclidian terms - however, I wonder if, almost unconsciously, the idea of a triangle suggests to us a space more significantly circumscribed than the alternatives, and there is therefore a tendency to apply it in contexts where we believe, wish to believe, or wish to imply some sort of statistical significance.

Also, there’s the apparent human attraction to the number 3. Maybe 3 is the first number that when applied to a set implies some sort of group significance to us. And a triangle is the most stable of shapes –I wonder, even if people aren’t aware that they are aware of this, they somehow instinctively apply it to contexts where they wish to imply the strength of an argument.

Or – more likely:

M

ayb

Iamju

stoverth

inkingthis!​

That's an interesting idea! You can create a mystery area with the minimum number of points and it sounds appealing.

Originally the "vile vortex" areas were more gridded boxy spaces or oval areas. I'm not sure if the Devil's sea triangle in Japan was prior to the Bermuda one or not. But Bermuda seems forced to be triangular because there is no other point nearby in the ocean.

 

[Spookdaddy]

Speaking of Yorkshire, how could you omit the infamous Rhubarb Triangle? A place which is crying out for a fabricated Fortean fable. We could call it the Rothwell Incident.

I gazed in disbelieving horror at the ancient abominations surrounding me, barely visible though they were in the foetid luminescence of the chamber - a host of stalk-like proboscides, hideously pink, and furnished with tongues of a vile green colour, tipped upwards as if the prostrate surfaces were offering themselves to the unholy benediction of the atrociously ancient light of dying stars hidden beyond the feeble walls of the mouldering edifice that I found myself cowering within. My senses were so shattered that I did not know if the fathomlessly ancient incantation that seared itself upon my mind came from without, or bubbled up from the very bottom of my soul:

rhu’barbrhu’barbrhu’barbrhu’barbrhu’barbrhu’barbrhu’barbrhu’barbrhu’barbrhu’barb

Then - the creak of ancient hinges, a crack of light from atop the rotten stairs and I spied the shambling figure of my dry and bewhiskered landlady, hunched like a monstrously ancient cat poised to pounce upon it’s shivering prey. The she-devil's hideously cracked voice rasped at me through the greasy darkness:

Oi! Mr Lovecraft, is that you? I’ve told you before about wandering around down there in the dark.

We all remember what happened last time, I’m sure. And I might remind you that I am only obliged to do your laundry once a week.

Oh, and by the way - we'll be having crumble tonight.

There is no hope - my horror is unassailable!

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Whilst the triangular epithet is often misused, in terms of the geographical region of Tríbeč, it is reasonably descriptive:

Some interesting, albeit brief, accounts of disappearances in this blog:

https://edwardotoole.com/writing-art/stories/disappearances/

The Walter Fischer incident is particularly odd as, unlike most such cases, he did eventually reappear, albeit dreadfully changed.
Fischer was a labourer at the Bata shoe factory and, on one of his days off in the winter of 1939, decided to hike up to the "Black Castle" ruins (see photo in original post). He didn't return and his wife and the authorities eventually gave up any hope of finding him. The onset of war obviously complicated matters. He was discovered though three months later by some villagers in the woods surrounding Zlate Moravce. He was barely alive and his body was covered in burns. He had apparently lost the ability to communicate and was utterly unable to explain what had happened to him. He ended his days in a mental institution.

Tríbeč is also home to a remarkable cave, discovered by a speleologist in 2014 and further explored and mapped in 2018.
It's not open to the general public though, as its 400 metres or so features many vertical drops and has been declared "extremely dangerous". I can see the cave spawning its own legends before long!

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22036536/unique-discovery-the-longest-cave-in-the-tribec-mountains.html

 

[maximus otter]

Whilst the triangular epithet is often misused, in terms of the geographical region of Tríbeč, it is reasonably descriptive:

View attachment 73666

Some interesting, albeit brief, accounts of disappearances in this blog:

https://edwardotoole.com/writing-art/stories/disappearances/

The Walter Fischer incident is particularly odd as, unlike most such cases, he did eventually reappear, albeit dreadfully changed.
Fischer was a labourer at the Bata shoe factory and, one one of his days off in the winter of 1939, decided to hike up to the "Black Castle" ruins (see photo in original post). He didn't return and his wife and the authorities eventually gave up any hope of finding him. The onset of war obviously complicated matters. He was discovered though three months later by some villagers in the woods surrounding Zlate Moravce. He was barely alive and his body was covered in burns. He had apparently lost the ability to communicate and was utterly unable to explain what had happened to him. He ended his days in a mental institution.

Tríbeč is also home to a remarkable cave, discovered by a speleologist in 2014 and further explored and mapped in 2018.
It's not open to the general public though, as its 400 metres or so features many vertical drops and has been declared "extremely dangerous". I can see the cave spawning its own legends before long!

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22036536/unique-discovery-the-longest-cave-in-the-tribec-mountains.html

A Slovakian investigates (can be auto-translated by teh Interclown):

https://bezmapy.com/cierny-hrad-na-tribeci-trhlina/

(I can't copy & paste from the site to give FTMB a taster.)

maximus otter

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

A Slovakian investigates (can be auto-translated by teh Interclown):

https://bezmapy.com/cierny-hrad-na-tribeci-trhlina/

(I can't copy & paste from the site to give FTMB a taster.)

maximus otter

An interesting read. The blogger makes the point that all of the disappearances occurred between November and March, which suggests strongly that the winter climate may have been a factor. When I visit, I'll make sure it's a summer hike!