The Montauk Project

Emma Marti, Editor-in-Chief

Many people are familiar with the hit Netflix show, “Stranger Things,” but not many are familiar with the conspiracy theories that the show references.

“Stranger Things” came out in 2016, with four seasons being released so far. The show follows a group of teenagers, fighting for their lives and the lives of those around them. One of the main characters Eleven, portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown, is a government experiment who escapes from the lab in November 1983.

Throughout the series, the audience learns more and more about Eleven’s capabilities and her past in the lab. We also learn about Eleven’s mother, who was tested on while pregnant with Eleven, giving Eleven some of her powers. The tests performed on Eleven’s mother reference MKUltra, which was the CIA’s way of getting the upper hand against the Soviet Union in the Cold War through mind control experiments.

Many people are led to wonder how a show like “Stranger Things” could be rooted in some truth. The truth, or conspiracy theories, behind “Stranger Things,” lead back to the early 1980s.

Obviously, there is some truth when it comes to the MKUltra projects. What other connections can be made, though? The Duffer Brothers, writers behind “Stranger Things,” have cited inspiration coming from one of the lesser-known conspiracy theories, the Montauk Project.

The Montauk Project is claimed to be a secret set of experiments illegally performed by the United States government in order to advance mind control technology. In addition to mind control experiments, the Montauk Project also supposedly studied time travel and interdimensional travel, among other things.

Camp Hero in Montauk, New York, was originally used to defend the East Coast during World War II. After the war ended, the United States recruited former Nazi scientists who helped with various projects developing weapons and technology. People who claimed to have worked for the Montauk Project have stated that those scientists were performing the experiments as well.

The main idea behind this project was human experimenting. While many people will immediately write off this conspiracy as just a theory, this theory is not too far from fact. Because the truth is out about project MKUltra, society cannot immediately write off the possibility of the Montauk Project being legitimate.

Fans of “Stranger Things,” more than likely will notice many similarities between the Montauk Project and the show. The Duffer Brothers almost named their show “Montauk” in reference to the theory.

Whether or not there is truth behind this theory, one thing is for certain. The cultural impact the Montauk Project has had on society is almost unbeatable.