Experiments that Inspired Stranger Things
The fictitious world of the Upside Down from the Netflix TV show Stranger Things is fascinating and ominous. Hawkins, Indiana, as well, is a mysterious and nostalgic town in itself, but did you know much of the show’s plot draws inspiration from real life government experiments dating back to the 1950s?
Most notably, season 1 of Stranger Things contains elements of the CIA run experiment from the 1950s and 60s called MKUltra. Formerly, it was considered a conspiracy theory, but after declassified CIA documents were released detailing the heinous experiments performed, it’s acknowledged as fact.
During the height of the USA vs Russia Cold War, the CIA and much of the US government were convinced Russian communists had found a way to control people’s minds. So, in response, the CIA created a top secret experiment to test the effects of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, on patients.
In the beginning, it was considered a voluntary-based program, but that quickly shifted as participants were subjected to physical and mental torture due to high doses of LSD, as well as extreme sleep deprivation and repeated electroshock therapy. This left many people traumatized, with some being subdued into comas and a few dying from the effects.
The CIA believed by performing these unethical experiments, they would be able to replicate mind control and gain advantage over the Russians. Of course, like other projects and medical treatments of the time, it was outlawed and stopped altogether.
One of the main character’s from Stranger Things, Eleven’s, backstory revolves around the “aftermath” of MKUltra. What was discussed and explored in season one, and was later confirmed in season two, was the fact that Eleven’s mom had been a subject of MKUltra and had taken LSD while pregnant. Because of this, Eleven received psychic abilities and was forced to perform them in the Hawkins National Laboratory as a child by Dr. Brenner.
Another, but lesser known experiment, known as the Montauk Project, had also inspired the creators of Stranger Things. In comparison to MKUltra, the Montauk Project is more of a conspiracy than a fact, but some elements of the project detail real places and military programs on Long Island, New York. Much of Eleven’s storyline draws from this conspiracy theory, but also inspired some of the lore and background of the Upside Down.
Although it supposedly took place in the 1980s like Stranger Things, this theory wasn’t created until 1992 when Preston B. Nichols self-published a book titled The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time.
According to Nichols, The Montauk Project was a secret US military programme on Long Island. Most of the research was invested in the paranormal, and according to Alfred Bielek in the book, a man who was allegedly a part of the Montauk Project, the experiment had opened a hole in hyperspace - between 1943 and 1983 - and had threatened to “engulf part of the planet”.
Only thanks to Bielek and his brother, Duncan, were they able to prevent this by destroying all the equipment involved in the program.
Bielek also claimed his brother, as a result of the experiment, had aged rapidly, but by convincing their parents to have another son after traveling back in time, they were able to keep Duncan alive by transferring his soul into the new brother’s body.
In the same breath, Bielek insisted that Duncan had substantial psychic abilities, including the ability to manifest objects with his mind using an object called the Moutank Chair. The Moutank Chair was able to transport Duncan to other planes of existence through sensory deprivation and even open interdimensional portals.
Because of his extreme abilities, Duncan manifested a monster from his subconscious to which Nichols referred to as the “Beast”. Like the hyperspace issue, the only way the brothers were able to defeat the Beast was by destroying all the equipment.
Much of Eleven’s character is drawn from Duncan, even the creation of the “Beast” aka the Demogorgon of the Upside Down. Although this conspiracy is likely a hoax, it’s a fascinating story nonetheless.
Both MKUltra and The Montauk Project, both fact and fiction, are intriguing and complex. With Stranger Things coming to an end next season, it’ll be sad to see the mysterious world of Hawkins and the Upside Down leave us. But seeing how the Duffer Brothers, the creators of Strangers Things, were able to bring the nostalgia of the 80s with Cold War Sci-Fi in the 21st century, the impact and its inspiration will always live on.
