Rutgers Rarities and Unexplained Phenomena

First Dismal Swamp Account
Second Dismal Swamp Account

Dismal Swamp Road and surroundings - the second time around.

Not-So-Dismal Swamp - Orbs, Green Rabbits, and Sick Investigators...Oh My!

It was time for me to conquer my fear of the Dismal Swamp in South Plainfield. My last experience on the Dismal Swamp Road, which is a long gravelly road running through an industrial wasteland between South Plainfield, Edison & Metuchen, was a terrifying one as during the investigation last fall I heard an unidentified rhythmic chanting and bolted out of the place with a rather greenish Co-Investigator Ray asking me "what the heck is going on here?". After a certain amount of speculation and debate, Ray and I decided to re-visit this area again and at least get a recording of any strange noises and try to obtain some pics of the desolate area.

Now many people have written in to the RR site and have informed us that yes, the Dismal Swamp Road does actually lead somewhere and that somewhere is the Triple C Ranch which is actually a very nice wetlands preserve sort of place whose only odd claim to fame is the presence of chemically altered green rabbits (their fur is green due to the pollution of the area). Sure enough, once we were on the Infamous Dismal Swamp Road, which has been recently paved and while still bumpy, is at least now negotiable in a car, we soon came into an area of actual swampland where the Triple C Ranch exists. I heard no strange sounds and because it was winter I could now see my surroundings so much clearer than the last time, when Ray and I felt like we were literally driving through an overgrown marsh. Feeling brave and reckless, Ray and I began to take pics of the swampy area only to soon have our new-found courage dampened by the appearance of many orbs in each first shot of an area. Let me explain this clearly- every time we would stop the car at an interesting spot in the swamp and take a picture, we would get these round glowing orbs inexplicably placed in the image. Naturally we would then take another shot, hoping to catch either more orbs or some indication of what was causing these glowing spots on the pics. Every single time there would be no orbs, spots or odd glows in the second, third, fourth or even fifth shots. It seemed like if we caught something odd in the pic once- that's all we could get. Ray and I were baffled by this phenomena and tried many different settings and techniques all to no avail.

Another interesting occurrence was Ray's immediate illness after leaving the area. Last time we were there, as posted in my account, Ray became inexplicably ill after we left, to the point where he needed to get out of the car and sit on the ground. Once again, after we left the swamp Ray became sick and claimed yet again that his head hurt and that he simply felt motion-sick. Ray and I have been on about 24 investigations since the project to document the strange at Rutgers began and he has only gotten sick twice. The first time at Dismal Swamp and now again. I'm beginning to suspect that Ray and those green bunnies share a certain sensitivity to the strange swamp area- they both apparently turn green when they are in the area.

Beginning of the regular/orb pairs of pictures - the most minor out of the lot with a large bright spot off to the right.

Large orb over the road in first picture taken and nothing noticeable in second picture.

The swamp itself, just along the side of the road with the first picture taken displaying a large orb and the second nothing.

Multiple orbs in the first shot taken of the woods along Dismal Swamp Road and...you guessed it - nothing in the next shot.

A final pair of pics with orbs in the first shot and nothing in the second.

Midnight Whispers at Dismal Swamp

By Jessica Teal

Literally serving as the border of South Plainfield, Metuchen, Edison and Piscataway is Dismal Swamp Road (also called Tyler Road and Metuchen Road at different points) which also seems to serve as a border between the spirit and the human world. I can honestly say that in all of our Rutgers Rarities investigations, I never experienced such dread as the one late Thursday night when Ray and I decided to check out this rarely used road around midnight.

The road is surrounded by industrial warehouses and facilities, which explains the desolate look by night. The road also abruptly turns to gravel when you head East towards the swamp and farmlands for which the area is nicknamed. Towering marshy weeds and swampy foliage abound on either side of the gravel road and an old inoperable Conrail Line runs parallel to it for a good couple miles or so. As Ray and I drove down the road we noticed how still and quiet it became as we went further into the swampland. I have to admit that I have been down this road a few times in the past and I always have a bad feeling when driving on it. A lot of people in the area also claim to experience a bad vibe on the road that is difficult to describe- "just an empty, eerie feeling" as one friend put it. Anyway, as Ray and I slowly proceeded through the rough gravel terrain, I began to hear a very low murmur or whisper that seemed to come from directly behind me. At first I just assumed Ray was talking or mumbling to himself (it should also be mentioned that we had the windows up and I was paying a lot of attention to the road as I was wary of deer and the loose gravel which would spray up under the car). Then as the sound grew more & more repetitive I thought it sounded almost like low-pitched singing or a chant, but it sounded so whispered or badly mumbled and I could not make out any discernible words. I looked over at Ray and immediately slammed on my brakes when I saw that he had his mouth closed and was just quietly looking out the window. I practically screamed at him "Are you whispering or humming or something??", "No, I swear, I'm not doing anything -why?" he asked. At this point, I had enough and frantically wheeled around, almost driving into a ditch in the process. I was shaking with fear by now because I knew I heard that strange, rhythmic whispering and I could tell by the startled look in Ray's eyes that he was shocked that I heard something and that he definitely wasn't the source of any noise.

As I sped back up the road, Ray was genuinely shocked by my violent reaction and admitted that something "didn't seem right" while driving. I know that this description is very vague and unspecific, but believe me, every instinct told me to get the hell away from there, and in retrospect I still feel very strange about the whole occurrence. Oddly enough, about 30 minutes after leaving the road, Ray began to look a little green and became sick during the remainder of our investigations for the night. I can't say that there was a connection, but somehow I knew we wouldn't leave that place unscathed. At this point in our Rutgers Rarities Investigations I have decided that I will not revisit this road at night and I am very reluctant to even go there during the daytime - although I feel I must confront this strange, severe fear of such a placid-seeming place. Why is this area so unsettling and why did I hear such strange noises? This is an investigation that must be continued, though I fear the consequences......