'Stranger Things' Is Based On A True Story And We Bet You Didn't Even Realise

22 November 2017, 12:46

Eleven, Stranger Things
Eleven, Stranger Things. Picture: Netflix

By James Wilson-Taylor

Turns out the story of the experiments in Hawkins, Indiana is not that far removed from what went down in real life...

Well here's a revelation we certainly weren't expecting to find out today - Netflix's awesome sci-fi horror show Stranger Things is actually based on a true story. Seriously.

Actors Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo recently took part in a Wired interview when Gaten revealed the story behind the show:

"It’s based on a place in Montauk, New York called Camp Hero. There was, like, rumors of secret government spies doing human experiments to fight in the Cold War. It’s based on that one government lab.”

Jump to 0.20s for all the tea:

Stranger Things Cast Answer the Web's Most Searched Questions | WIRED

Pretty wild right?

So basically, it is widely believed that human experiments, similar to those portrayed in the show, were taking place at a military base in Montauk, Long Island known as Camp Hero. A book published in 1992 called The Montauk Project: Experiments In Time fueled the conspiracy fire with tales of "secret government experiments, kids with supernatural powers, time-travel portals, and scary monsters". Yikes.

A 2011 documentary called Montauk Chronicles also featured interviews with three men who claim they were brainwashed and forced into secret government experiments. According to the filmmakers, the movie tells "tales of experiments that were conducted on nearly one hundred thousand people over the course of about ten years. Kidnappings, murder, torture, time travel, mind control, and extra terrestrial contact are all said to have occurred at Camp Hero."

In fact, when series creators The Duffer Brothers originally pitched the show to Netflix, it was known as Montauk and set around this military base. They would later, of course, retitle the show and move the action to Hawkins, Indiana.

So, yeah, the exact tales of Mike, Dustin, Will, Lucas and the gang may be fictional but they were definitely inspired by the story of Montauk and it's mysterious experiments.

via GIPHY