A quaint town with a small population, eerie vibes, and prohibited government or military-controlled buildings within the reach of residential areas - it's the famous (or infamous) Hawkins from Netflix's Stranger Things. However, it is also the appropriate description of Camp Hero in Montauk, a small village within the town of East Hampton.
Since season one of Stranger Things premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016, fans have wondered whether the series, created by Matt and Ross Duffer, is inspired by a true story. In an old interview, Gaten Matarazzo (aka Dustin Henderson) and Joe Keery (aka Steve Harrington) confessed that the show is indeed based on true events.
Matarazzo said, "It (Stranger Things) is based on a place in Montauk, New York, called Camp Hero. There were rumours of secret government spies doing secret human experiments to fight in the Cold War. Exactly like what is happening in Stranger Things."
While there is no Hawkins on the map of the US, there is Camp Hero in Montauk. A conspiracy theory suggests that the American government was involved in developing psychological warfare in the 1940s.
The Montauk Project
Camp Hero in Montauk, New York, is a popular site frequented by tourists. However, the story of the Montauk Project originated in the 1980s in the Montauk Project series of books by Preston Nichols, along with Peter Moon, whose original name is Vincent Barbarick.
UFO researcher Jacques Vallee revealed that Preston Nichols claimed that he had repressed memories of his involvement in the Montauk Project. He claimed he remembered things - from being abducted to participate against his will to alleged activities at Montauk Point.
Born in May 1946, Nichols claimed he had degrees in psychology, parapsychology, and electrical engineering. He claimed in his books that the US military and government were involved in the project and conducted experiments on teleportation, time travel, contact with extraterrestrial life, and mind control.
Although the work of Preston Nichols and Peter Moon had been characterised as fiction, locals claim that there is some truth in their story.
In fact, a September 2022 report published in The Roar Campus Student Media With Pride claims that when World War II ended, the US recruited former Nazi scientists who later helped in various other projects. "People who claimed to have worked for the Montauk Project have stated that those scientists were performing the experiments as well," read an excerpt.
Real-Life Stranger Things' Hawkins In Montauk, NY
Magical Hijinx, a digital content creator who creates guides to theme parks and travel, shared a video on December 9. She said in her video that Stranger Things was initially pitched as a show called Montauk by the Duffer brothers. Why?
"Because the entire plot is based on the conspiracy theories from right here [Camp Hero State Park, Montauk]," she added.
"In the 1940s, the US military disguised the entire base as a fake fishing village to hide it from the Nazis," she explained. For those who are foggy on the history, the US fought Nazi Germany in World War II, which began in December 1941 and ended in May 1945.
Nazi is a term used to define the members of the far-right National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) led by Adolf Hitler, who controlled the country from 1933 to 1945.
"You see that church? It's not a real church. It is a military gymnasium built with a fake steeple. Underneath these hills are massive sealed bunkers. In the show, these are the labs where they keep the gates to the Upside Down. In real life, these doors are welded shut, and locals say there are miles of tunnels still down there," said Magical Hijinx in her video.
She pointed at a radar and explained, "This is an AN/FPS-35 Radar. Conspiracy theorists say it was not just scanning for Soviets. They claim that it could broadcast at 400 MHz, a frequency used to experiment on the minds of the kidnapped children."
While all the setting looks eerie and too close to what Hawkins looked like in the first season of Stranger Things, the theory would have fallen flat without a monster. But things only get interesting in Camp Hero State Park, Montauk. In fact, there was a monster.
"The legends say a psychic subject named Duncan Cameron accidentally manifested a creature from his subconscious. It roamed these woods, eating people until they cut the power to that dish [radar].
"So, Hawkins, Indiana, isn't real, but the lab, the experiments, the monster, that story started right here," said Magical Hijinx, concluding her story.
In fact, tourists can visit Camp Hero State Park, Montauk, New York. It is frequented by adrenaline junkies who enjoy fishing, biking, hiking, and birdwatching. The place is open throughout the year, but you cannot go inside the military buildings.
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