The Montauk Project is a string of conspiracy theories that were created during the Cold War era and became huge during the 1980s. It is not as big as it used to be, but it did inspire the popular Netflix series Stranger Things. The Duffer brothers (creators of Stranger Things) have said in several interviews that the Montauk theory directly inspired the show. They also shared that “it was originally supposed to be set in Montauk, New York, and instead of Stranger Things, it was going to be called Montauk” (Discovery Education). The events behind the so-called Montauk Project spread from miniscule coincidences to full-on scientific experiments.
The Montauk Project is supposedly a series of illegal paranormal experiments performed by government scientists. The main reason for it was “to increase military might” (The Dark Files 0:01). The experiments began in 1951 when Camp Hero first became an Air Force facility for the military. Some people think that Camp Hero’s radar tower was hiding “sadistic experiments and secret laboratories were connected by a series of tunnels” (Roadtrippers). Christopher Garetano, who visited Montauk in the summer as a kid, told History how he was walking on the beach with his dad and uncle when they saw giant spikes along the beach. They learned that it was to guard Camp Hero, but Camp Hero was supposed to be a “decommissioned base.” However, it still had heavy military personnel that “secures [the] perimeter” around the camp (The Dark Files 3:11).
Even though the initial idea was that these tests would enhance the military, they were done on children who “were allegedly taken from the streets, kept below ground, and abused” (Roadtrippers). They were the main subjects of the government’s desire to create and harness psychic abilities for warfare and were named the “Montauk Boys.” In addition, the scientists are claimed to have “tapped into the consciousness” of the kids and were able to “control the minds of the impressionable children” (Roadtrippers). The use of the word “impressionable” (meaning easily influenced) also adds to the conspiracy because if these kids were taken off of the street, they would have been extremely trusting of the people who claimed to have picked them up and protected them. The CIA also “does not deny that experiments took place” (The Dark Files).
A piece of evidence that can add to the existence of the Montauk Project is a scientist named Dr. Nichols. He was an actual scientist who worked in Camp Hero and contends how “he had worked with a boy named Duncan Cameron” who developed the ability to “manifest objects with his mind” (Apollo Imperium). Nichols also claims that our government was “using electromagnetic radiation” to send thoughts and ideas directly into a person’s brain (Roadtrippers). Besides Nichols, several other members involved in the project supposedly worked on a chair that “amplified psychic energy and a psychic association” by utilizing electromagnets, which would make sense of how the children being experimented on were always abused.
A similar project was done by the CIA. Project MK-ULTRA was another form of illegal government testing that involved attempting mind control. This project used mind-altering drugs and drug experimentation to create an environment where they could test on people. MK-ULTRA first began in 1953, 2 years after the Montauk Project would have taken place, and ended up becoming a “yearslong expanse of 149 sub projects relating to behavioral modification and drug experiments” (Princeton University Library). This project is also called an “umbrella term,” which means that it is one large project that serves as a container for smaller similar projects.
The main reason for this project being so similar to the objective of the Montauk Project is because MK-ULTRA was planned to be used in the military against interrogees. The CIA assumed this project could be a “procedure or drug that [would] free a person’s mind of rational inhibitions” (Princeton University Library). Since the two projects are so similar, and MK-ULTRA is an umbrella term, the Montauk Project does have a chance of actually existing. MK-ULTRA could also be the real name of the Montauk Project, given that there are supposedly several like it, such as “MKNAOMI, MKDELTA, and MKSEARCH” (Iowa Law Library).
In 1982, Camp Hero was finally shut down. Whether or not the Montauk theories were true still is not known; however, the National Park Association had been concerned about the environment and animal life surrounding the area. In the summer of 2008, three kids said “they found the animal at Ditch Plains Beach, which is located just four miles west of Camp Hero,” which gained the name the “Montauk Monster” (Roadtrippers). Now, this could just be an animal that was impacted by chemicals from experiments in Camp Hero, but the photo taken of the animal does happen to look a lot like the monsters on Stranger Things. Additionally, before Camp Hero became a park, a guy named Brian Minnick and a group of his friends explored the area. They found “documents and sealed entrances,” which proves that Camp Hero was “operated for much longer than officials will admit” (Roadtrippers). If Camp Hero is still operating after it was shut down, it could have been used for these paranormal experiments.
In the end, I think there are too many instances where the Montauk Project conspiracy could be true. The connection between Project MKULTRA and the Montauk Project, the tunnels under Camp Hero, and even the CIA staying silent on the topic are all part of the evidence proving the Montauk Project and the experiments that happened because of it. Whether or not it is true, all of these events ended up creating one of the greatest shows.