41°03′44″N71°52′26″W / 41.06222°N 71.87389°W /41.06222; -71.87389
TheMontauk Project is aconspiracy theory that alleges there were a series ofUnited States government projects conducted atCamp Hero orMontauk Air Force Station inMontauk, New York, for the purpose of developingpsychological warfare techniques and exotic research includingtime travel. The story of the Montauk Project originated intheMontauk Project series of books byPreston Nichols which intermixes those stories with stories about the Bulgarian Experiment.[clarification needed][1][2]
Stories about the Montauk Project have circulated since the early 1980s. According toUFO researcherJacques Vallée, the Montauk Experiment stories seem to have originated with the highly questionable account ofPreston Nichols and Al Bielek, who both claimed to have recoveredrepressed memories of their own involvement. Preston Nichols also claims that he was periodically abducted to continue his participation against his will.[3][1] Nichols, born May 24, 1946, onLong Island, New York, claims to have degrees inparapsychology,psychology, andelectrical engineering,[4] and he has written a series of books, known as theMontauk Project series, along with Peter Moon, whose real name is Vincent Barbarick. The primary topic of the Montauk Project concerns the alleged activities at Montauk Point. These center on topics including United States government/military experiments in fields such as time travel, teleportation, mind control, contact with extraterrestrial life, and stagingfaked Apollo Moon landings, framed as developments that followed the 1943Philadelphia Experiment.
Both Peter Moon and Preston Nichols have encouraged speculation about the contents; for example, they wrote, "Whether you read this as science fiction or non-fiction you are in for an amazing story" in their first chapter, describing much of the content as "soft facts" in aGuide For Readers and publishing a newsletter with updates to the story.[citation needed]
The work has been characterized as fiction.[5][6]
In 2015,Montauk Chronicles, a film adaptation of the conspiracy featuring Preston Nichols, Alfred Bielek, and Stewart Swerdlow, was released online and on DVD and Blu-ray. The film won the best documentary award at thePhilip K. Dick Film Festival in New York City[7] and has been featured onCoast to Coast AM[8] andThe Huffington Post.[9]
TheNetflix TV seriesStranger Things (2016-2025) was inspired by stories of the Montauk Project, and at one timeMontauk was used as itsworking title.[10][11][12][13]
The Montauk Experiment was featured on a season 8 episode ofDiscovery Channel'sMysteries of the Abandoned on October 23, 2003. The episode, titled, "The Montauk Conspiracy" documented the conspiracies that "swirled around an abandoned military base" (Camp Hero) on Long Island. Experts discussed the critical role that the base played in defending America's coastline.[14] It was featured in a 2023 season 10 episode of theScience Channel's Mysteries of the Abandoned.[15]
