Stranger Things has been one of the biggest Netflix series since its release on July 15, 2016. After the drop of the second season, the show gained an incredible viewing of over twenty million streams in one weekend. There are currently three seasons available on Netflix, leaving fans eager for more. With all the buzz surrounding season four, fans have dug deeper into the history of the show’s plot itself, creating the theory that maybe there is a real-life story behind their favorite show. 

   The show was originally meant to be named Montauk, which is a play on the Montauk Project, a conspiracy theory itself. The theory of the Montauk Project is that the government was using the basement of Camp Hero in Montauk, New York to run psychedelic experiments illegally on runaway children. Experiments supposedly held at Camp Hero consisted of mind control, time travel, and interdimensional travel. 

   Preston B. Nichols, a man who claims to have repressed memories of being a part of the project, wrote a series of books on his memories called The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time. In the books, Nichols remembers one boy named Duncan Cameron who was “more advanced” than other children. He was supposed to have abilities that allowed him to create objects and people within his mind simply by thinking of them while in the “Montauk Chair,” similar to the powers of Eleven on the show. The so-called “Montauk Chair” was a piece of furniture used to further childrens’ psychic abilities using electromagnetic technology. Nichols explained that Duncan once summoned a monster into the camp after whispering “the time is now.” Stranger Things clearly displays a monster called the Demogorgon as the cast’s common enemy, which resembles Duncan’s monster in many ways.

   Similarities between the supposed Montauk Project and Stranger Things are far from hidden and would leave many unknowing fans in shock. The main core commonalities linking the two include government experiments, children with psychic powers/abilities, a monster, and interdimensional portals. Stranger Things main character Eleven and Duncan Cameron seem to have the most connection with each other. Whether it is the opening of portals, summoning and creation of monsters, or the ability to travel through different dimensions, the resemblance is easily recognizable. If you still are not sure, the creators of Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers, even named the show The Montauk Project during the earliest stages of production. So now it all comes back to one question, were the experiments performed at Camp Hero real or fake?