Thanks to a highly creative mythology, a cast that connected with all types of audiences, and innovative production values for the television industry, Stranger Things has become one of the biggest hits in Netflix history. The disappearance of Will Byers and the appearance of a young woman with telekinetic powers, Eleven, changes everything in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. And although for many its story is a complete feast of fantasy, science fiction, and even horror, the truth is that Stranger Things was inspired by a certain real life project.
Although the Duffer brothers have cited references in film icons such as E.T.. either The Ghostbusters, and followers have found some more, it was a controversial project that served as a reference to create this success. More than three decades ago, in 1992, authors Preston B. Nichols and Peter Moon released The Montauk Project: Experiments In Time, a book that attracted attention for its peculiar content. It narrated, in first person, testimonies of a young American who disappeared in Mountak, New York, during the 1970s.
The disappearance had a shocking science fiction aura around it. It wasn’t about criminals or anything like that, but rather a series of time travel. Even with that, everything seemed relatively normal. But there soon came a twist to the story: the testimonies did not belong to someone who remained anonymous. They were memories of Preston B. Nichols’ own experiences. As if there was something missing in this story, these memories were not present in Nichols all the time, they returned a few years later.
What could become the ridicule of many, became a worrying issue. Several people who read the book claimed to have anecdotes similar to Nichols’s. Not only had they traveled in time, they also suffered a “detachment of their memories,” and then they returned.
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Surprisingly, these types of stories had a connection with a theory that emerged in the 80s, a time in which the story of Stranger Things: the Montauk Project. In that town in New York there is a place called Camp Hero, a supposed government laboratory in which American leaders developed experiments. His intention was to develop war techniques focused on the psychological deterioration of enemies, and even find a way to travel in time.
One of the many techniques of the Montauk Project consisted of repressing memories and other strategies to recover them later. Some time after Nichols and Moon released their book, a man named Al Bielek corroborated the former’s information. He claimed that the US government also experimented on him, and then removed his memories so that the Montauk Project would not become something of the public domain.
According to Bielek’s statements, see The Philadelphia Experiment, the 1984 film directed by Stewart Raffill, stirred up certain memories in him. This film is based on a conspiracy theory of the same name, and indicates that, in the 1940s, the North American Navy wanted to do “invisible to radar” a ship to fight the Sumbarians of Germany. Albert Einstein’s knowledge of Relativity was used, as well as its relationship with gravity and electromagnetism.
A test was carried out in July 1943 with some success, but there were mental disturbances and physical problems among the sailors who were on the ship. A new test was carried out in October of that same year, and the ship managed to disappear. She reappeared at a base more than 600 kilometers away, and 15 minutes before the test was to be performed. Basically, the ship traveled back in time, but the consequences were more catastrophic. Some sailors developed schizophrenia, injuries, there were humans merging with the ship, and even disappearances.
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Seeing all this gave Bielek a shock. He claimed that innovative therapies for the time restored his memories, including that his name was Edward Cameron, and that his brother Duncan had also participated. Bielek faced the media at a press conference, which you can see by clicking here. How does his story relate to the events of The Philadelphia Experiment? According to his statements, he and Duncan traveled back in time to destroy the sailors’ equipment and the ship that managed to travel back in time.
The relationship with Stranger Things It is more than evident. Knowing the story, the Duffer brothers wanted to pay tribute to that story. For a time, the working title of the series was Montauk, and that its plot includes a secret government laboratory where supernatural powers or portals are experimented on is no coincidence. Even in Nichols and Moon’s book it is mentioned that some survivors of the Montauk Project manifested after-effects through supernatural powers. Some victims suggested having the ability to move things with their minds, or make objects appear just by thinking about them, as happens with the aforementioned Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown.
In fact, the Netflix series was originally going to be called Montauk, and the name change was something that upset David Harbour, one of the lead actors. This is how he expressed it a few years ago in an interview with Seth Meyers:
“Actually, that was the first kind of breakup between us. Because I loved that script so much. I mean, I love the show… But it was originally called Montauk and I thought that was a really cool title. Really strong and simple, one word, and it was set in Montauk. Then they changed it to be set in the Midwest, and they said, “We’ll call it Stranger Things.” And I said, “That’s the worst title I’ve ever heard in my life.” Sounds like a terrible idea for a TV show. And that’s why I hated him.”
In turn, part of the cast is aware of the inspiration for the series. Although Stranger Things has taken many licenses in order to nourish its history and mythology, the creative base remains intact. Gaten Matarazzo, Dustin’s interpreter, commented on this in an interview for WIRED some years ago:
“It’s based on a place in Montauk, New York, called Camp Hero. There were rumors that secret spies for the United States government were conducting experiments to fight the Cold War. (Stranger Things) is based on that government laboratory.”
Although these types of theories have their detractors, the impact they generate on other people and the peculiar testimonies that exist around them cannot be denied. Although there is no conclusive evidence of what could have happened in Montauk, the place is closed and cannot be visited. No one has given a convincing explanation as to why it is better to have its doors closed to the public.
Juan Jose Cruz I am one of those who always defended Robert Pattinson as Batman and can see the same movie in the cinema up to 7 times. My guilty taste? Low-budget horror films.