First, you had to blast away the existing mind. Second, you had to find a way to insert a new mind into that resulting void. He didn’t get too far on number two, but he did a lot of work on number one.
Stephen Kinzer, Journalist
Period Context
In 1942, the rise of political unrest, famine, and nuclear warfare during the Second World War was the cause for the U.S. government to establish an army base off the East Coast in Montauk, New York. Disguised as a fishing village, the army base—Camp Hero—was home to three gun batteries, Battery 112, 113, and 216. The base served as protection against German invasion until 1947, when it was decommissioned. The batteries were sealed tightly, receding into the earth with only the faint etching of “the words ‘Stranger Help Me’ [in] the concrete” to spark theories and suspicions amongst locals in the years that would follow.
As the Cold War raged on, Camp Hero was transferred to the U.S. Air Force in 1951 to aid in air defence against nuclear attacks. The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) quickly installed a radar tower said to “[afford] the U.S. government an extra 30 minutes of warning time in the event of an incoming Soviet nuclear attack,” recalls the newsletter, Roadtrippers. But warnings are not the only thing the tower is said to have emitted; locals in the area claimed that while the structure was up and running, it caused electronics to malfunction, severe headaches, and even an increased number of nightmares. True or not, a longtime resident of Montauk insists that “the impact that tower had on the town was real. I don’t know if it affected our thoughts like some people say, but it was a force.” The effect the tower had on the inhabitants was just the breaking point. Gradually, the vast majority of believers insisted that a mind control weapon was located in a secret lab underneath the grounds.
On edge, Camp Hero—despite its supposed intentions to protect New York—grew in suspicion, until it was ultimately believed that the “radar tower hid underground labs where kidnapped children were turned into mind-controlled soldiers” The air force decommissioned the base in 1982 where it was passed on to the National Park Service in 1984 and turned into the Camp Hero State Park.
Gottlieb and the Search for Mind Control
During the 1950s, “the CIA became convinced that communists had discovered a drug or technique that would allow them to control human minds. In response, the CIA began its own secret program, called MK-ULTRA,” reveals NPR. Led by American chemist Sidney Gottlieb, the MK-Ultra program facilitated, most notably, the testing of drugs—mainly LSD—on prisoners, students, and hospital patients. With the recruitment of Nazi scientists and government funding of an estimated 80 million USD, Gottlieb’s tests caused severe psychological, genetic, and physical damage, with some patients even facing death.
Stephen Kinzer, a journalist who wrote Poisoner in Chief, a novel about the events of MK-Ultra and Gottlieb, committed years to unveiling the truth of Gottlieb’s sins. Quickly, he understood that the program was a two-part process: “first, you had to blast away the existing mind. Second, you had to find a way to insert a new mind into that resulting void.” This shows how the program intended not only to understand the human mind and its ability to be controlled, but to understand how to destroy it.
With very little supervision, copious funding, and enough drug supplies to last a lifetime, there were very few limits to what Gottlieb wouldn’t do. Ranging from electroshock to fatal levels of LSD, Kinzer admits, “We don’t know how many people died, but a number did, and many lives were permanently destroyed.” Gottlieb’s research and testing spanned over 80 sites, including hospitals, schools, prisons, and even unsuspecting volunteers. Over his morally corrupt career, “he made pills, powders, and potions that could kill or maim without a trace,” but despite the horrors he caused, Gottlieb was never convicted of murder. Ultimately, the program never found a solution for mind control, but his testing wasn’t the only conspiracy surrounding the underground labs of Camp Hero.
The Vanishings
In 1992, the novel The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time by Preston Nichols highlighted the conspiracies of psychological warfare techniques and research regarding time travel in Montauk and was a driving force in the creation of Stranger Things. In his novel, he claimed that “government agents were using electromagnetic radiation to transmit ideas directly into people’s heads,” and that “thousands of children were taken from the streets, kept below ground, abused, and programmed into super soldiers known as ‘the Montauk Boys,’” states Roadtrippers. The novel was created entirely from conspiracies and theories surrounding Camp Hero with the intention of uncovering government secrets and proving the existence of the labs. Nichols spent over a decade investigating stories, conducting interviews, and uncovering documents in preparation for his book.
In an article by The New York Post, Joe Loffreno, who believes he is one of the lost Montauk Boys (a term coined in Nichols’ novel), details the events leading up to his alleged abduction. Loffreno recalls “a local boy whom no one knew very well invited him to bike to the base,” upon arrival, two men dressed as civilians took them through an entrance in Battery 113. Throughout the summer of 1981, Loffreno believes he was abused, tested, and “analyzed like an animal,” reports an article by The Medium. Loffreno insists, “There were up to 50 other kids there. He believes some of them were later killed.” Despite its unlikelihood, Loffreno is a respected and trusted member of his community.
Stranger Things
As season 5 wraps up the tales of government secrets, child experiments, and alternate dimensions, it’s important to remember this show may not be all that far off from reality. Stranger Things, which was originally named Montauk, pulled inspiration from the real-life theories of Camp Hero in order to bring to life characters such as Dr. Martin Brenner, Will Byers, and, yes, Eleven. So, as you settle down for the showdown, remember the story of Hawkins may not be as far-fetched as you thought.