Stranger Things viewers were astonished to learn about the show’s beginnings.
The Duffer Brothers produced the science fiction horror drama series, which premiered in 2016 and features actresses Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, and Sadie Sink.
It’s one of the streaming platform’s most popular series, with three more seasons released since then, and a fifth and final season presently in development.
For those unfamiliar, the programme is set in the 1980s and follows the people of the fictional tiny town of Hawkins, Indiana, as they are besieged by a malevolent alternative realm known as the Upside Down.
Crazy events begin after a human experimental centre unlocks the portal between the two realities.
Millie’s character Eleven, who possesses telekinetic and telepathic skills, goes through years of testing as a youngster before making her escape in the show’s first season.
Many fans were surprised to learn that the narrative was based on a long-held conspiracy theory known as the Montauk Project.
Fans have praised the hypothesis as ‘interesting, fascinating, and scary.’ So let me know what you think of it.
What is the Montauk Project?
The Montauk Project conspiracy idea originally surfaced in the early 1980s, when writers Preston Nichols and Al Bielek claimed to have rediscovered repressed memories from their childhood.
According to the notion, a number of US government projects took place at Camp Hero or the Montauk Air Force Station in Montauk, New York.
The goal of these studies was allegedly to create psychological warfare methods as well as exotic research, including time travel.
The Montauk Project conspiracy idea originally surfaced in the early 1980s, when writers Preston Nichols and Al Bielek claimed to have rediscovered repressed memories from their childhood.
According to the notion, a number of US government projects took place at Camp Hero or the Montauk Air Force Station in Montauk, New York.
The goal of these studies was allegedly to create psychological warfare methods as well as exotic research, including time travel.
He told The Sun: ‘They used derelicts, foster children and drug addicts and then ultimately, they decided that people with certain genetics, people with certain backgrounds were conducive to the more advanced experiments and that’s when I was taken in.
‘With all of these children their memories were wiped, their genetics were altered and they couldn’t always remember what happened. It would be in the form of nightmares or flashbacks.
‘But with me, they could not erase my memory. I became an anomaly for them.’
He went on to claim he had witnessed ‘children being beaten, murdered, injured in horrible ways’.
Meanwhile, stories of secret underground tunnels have circulated for years.
Parts of the facility on Long Island’s extreme eastern edge, known as ‘Area 51’ on the East Coast, are still heavily secured and off-limits to the public today.
What do we actually know about what happened there?
Camp Hero, built in 1942, was part of the United States’ ‘Semi-Automatic Ground Environment’ defensive network, which was meant to detect a surprise assault.
The military facility was built to resemble a Cape Cod fishing town in order to confuse invaders while safeguarding the Eastern Seaboard.
Brutalist concrete houses were painted with false siding and windows to seem like cottages, and a make-believe ‘downtown’ section was built, complete with a gymnasium, bowling alley, and church.
The base was transferred to the US Air Force in 1951 and finally disbanded in 1981.
Parts of the wartime base are now Camp Hero State Park, a popular hiking destination with views of the Atlantic Ocean.
How did it inspire Stranger Things?
Before inventing Stranger Things, the Duffer brothers devised the concept for the television series Montauk.
They previously claimed they got ‘obsessed’ with the conspiracy after discovering it as youngsters.
The Montauk Experiment was initially conceived as a series based on the ‘legend’ of US government clandestine tests conducted at the abandoned Montauk Air Force installation between 1982 and 1987.
‘In our version of history, the O.S.S. Film Photography Unit exhaustively documented the entirety of the experiments at the behest of the U.S. government. After the experiments came to a sudden and disturbing conclusion in late August of 1987, the O.S.S. securely locked away the film canisters so they would never be seen by the public. That is, of course, until now,’ they wrote in their pitch.
The series was supposed to be a ‘gritty and incredibly realistic found footage presentation of the missing film, following the experiments from their origin to their blood-soaked end’.
It was intended to be recounted from the perspective of the scientists, while the protagonist, Duncan Cameron, was ‘the only test subject known to have survived’ after undergoing more horrific examinations aimed at developing his undeveloped psychic powers.
Though The Montauk Experiment was never produced, it inspired the Montauk TV series concept, which eventually became Stranger Things.
Hawkins National Laboratory is presented as ground zero in the series, with the clandestine government complex being one of numerous national laboratories constructed after WWII.
Unbeknownst to Hawkins inhabitants, the facility held tests for the infamous government programme known as MKUltra, which resulted in the birth of multiple child test subjects with psychokinetic skills, who were then experimented on.
In November 1983, during laboratory experiments, one of these test subjects, Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown), accidentally opened a gate to an alternate dimension, allowing a humanoid creature to enter Hawkins and abduct residents before transporting them to the other world, with Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) among the victims.
What do fans think of the link?
Some Stranger Things viewers have just lately found the inspiration for the smash series.
After a post on social media reminded individuals of the connection, many said they had no idea what had transpired in real life.
‘Interesting. And disturbing,’ user Alex Blok posted on X.
‘Fascinating how Stranger Things draws inspiration from the mysterious Montauk Project, blending reality with science fiction seamlessly,’ Catia shared.
‘WTF. I just started rewatching it, now I’m gonna have this on my mind,’ Sam added.
Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix.
Source My Celebrity Life.