The True Story of Stranger Things

Although Stranger Things isn't real, it is based upon real events. The Duffer Brothers base parts of Stranger Things upon a real government project, infamously known as MK ULTRA. MK ULTRA was created by the CIA in 1953 with the aim of developing mind control techniques that could give America an advantage against Russia in the Cold War. MK ULTRA is actually mentioned in Stranger Things Season 1. Eleven's mother is one of the patients MK ULTRA is tested on. Starting out, it was nothing more than a volunteer-based program. But soon after, it evolved into something far more sinister. Unwitting participants were subjected to physical and mental abuse with psychedelic drugs, sleep deprivation, and other experimental memes. Parts of this can be seen in Hawkins' labs. The dangerous nature of the research led to the project's shutdown in 1965. Many documents were destroyed, but enough information was leaked to inspire Stranger Things' Hawkins Laboratory. The Duffer Brothers also got inspiration from a government conspiracy called the Montauk Project. The Montauk Project happened in the village Montauk, and according to several sources, it involved experimenting on children, things like mind control, mind reading, and time travel. The Duffer Brothers were even going to call the show Montauk before they went with Stranger Things. Preston Nichols was an electrical engineer who grew up in Montauk. He claims to have worked on the classified project. In an interview, he explained, Preston later explains how their experiments became too powerful and had to be destroyed. Employees were subsequently brainwashed to forget what they had experienced, and in 1984, the base was filled with cement. Over time, Preston and others were able to reclaim the memories and tell the world what had happened. Others too have come forward to talk about how they were even a part of the experiment. Although this is a conspiracy theory, many elements of it have helped Stranger Things turn out the way it is.