Is Stranger Things based on a true story? While some may immediately think the Silent Hill, Dungeons and Dragons, and Stephen King-inspired Stranger Things is purely fiction, the truth isn't quite as it seems. Here's the true story behind Project MKUltra, a CIA operation that serves as a subplot in Stranger Things. The sci-fi series, created by the Duffer Brothers, first debuted in 2016. After emerging as a sleeper hit, the viewership grew, making it one of Netflix's most popular series in the streamer's history. The fourth season was heavily delayed due to the COVID pandemic, but both parts landed with thundering success, bringing Stranger Things' world of secret government science projects back into the public eye.
When Stranger Things began, the story was set in 1983 and followed the disappearance of a young boy named Will Byers. At the center of the series, however, was Eleven's story and powerful abilities. As time went on, more about Eleven's past was uncovered, including her connection to a local lab partaking in dangerous experiments. Their actions would go on to open a breach, threatening the lives of the town's residents for years to come. Later seasons then delved further into Eleven's history, with season 4 fully opening up the history of Hawkins Labs, the mysterious organization responsible for experimenting on children and opening the portal to Stranger Things' infamous Upside Down.
The Duffer Brothers may have taken a fictional approach with Stranger Things, but there are certain aspects of history mixed into the narrative. Aside from the supernatural elements, Stranger Things' Soviet Russia storyline is a key element of the show alongside the U.S. government cover-ups. The presence of Project MKUltra might be the most compelling historical element interweaved in the plot. Even though the operation might seem bizarre, it has very real connections to the CIA and some of the government's biggest secrets. But is Stranger Things based on a true story, or is it fictionalizing pure conspiracy? Here's everything to know about MKUltra, the notorious CIA mind control project, and how it influenced Stranger Things.
Project MKUltra Explained
Project MKUltra, or MK-Ultra, was essentially a secret mind control program conducted by the CIA. The covert operation started in 1953 as a way to develop techniques for getting the upper hand on enemies during the Cold War. Through human experimentation (not unlike Hawkins Labs although without the interdimensional portals), the CIA was trying to find ways to weaken enemies in order to force out information through mind control methods. Many aspects of Project MKUltra were illegal including the use of unwitting test subjects from the U.S. and Canada. The experimentation was done at over 80 institutions across the country including universities, hospitals, and prisons. Some of the operation's files were destroyed by the CIA director during Watergate, but key information was made public by 2001.
Project MKUltra was a continuation of experiments that first started during WWII in Japanese institutions and Nazi concentration camps. According to CIA documents, the operation focused on chemical, biological, and radiological methods of mind control. To test the subjects' mental states and brain functions, they were exposed to high doses of psychoactive drugs like LSD. Many participants were even dosed without their knowledge and then interrogated to see whether they would reveal secrets. The test subjects also went through sensory deprivation, hypnosis, electroshock, abuse, and other forms of torture. Widespread drug experimentation carried special code names such as Project Bluebird and Operation Midnight Climax.
How MKUltra Fits Into Stranger Things
Project MKUltra lasted decades, allowing the secret operation to be a major focus of Stranger Things and the show's tie-in novels and comic books. Hawkins National Laboratory was one of the institutions that took part in the project under the leadership of Dr. Martin Brenner. Based on flashbacks in the series, Eleven's mother, Terry Ives, volunteered to participate in Project MKUltra. During the experimentation, Terry was subjected to psychedelic drugs and sensory deprivation, just like the real-life members of the program. She was unknowingly pregnant at the time, but Dr. Brenner kidnapped her child, and the birth was covered up.
The child, Jane, was born with telepathic and telekinetic abilities due to her mother's exposure to LSD. Jane was renamed "011" (Eleven) and became a member of a new operation, Project Indigo. Dr. Brenner took full control over the children born from Project MKUltra test subjects, like Stranger Things' Eleven, to train them with the special abilities they exhibited. These other test subjects were also exposed to a sensory deprivation tank and other forms of abuse. At one point, Jane returned to the lab to retrieve her daughter, but the woman was put through electroshock therapy, leaving her in a catatonic state.
During Eleven's training, she came into contact with the Demogorgon. Her experimentation ended up opening the Gate to the Upside Down, bringing the Demogorgon into the human dimension. Like Stranger Things' other test subjects, Eleven managed to escape, but the Upside Down and its denizens hang over the entire Hawkins population in Stranger Things.
What Happened To MKUltra
The real MKUltra didn't mess around with the Upside Down (that's pure fiction, hopefully), but its end is just as fascinating. Project MKUltra lasted 20 years before officially coming to an end in 1973. Aspects of the operation were made public two years later, but with so many documents destroyed, it was impossible to learn the full scope of the project. The existence of Project MKUltra became the focus of a Senate hearing in 1977 when the CIA uncovered nearly 20,000 pages of documents that weren't destroyed. The documents revealed financial information, but there were few details regarding the actual project.
During the height of Project MKUltra, thousands of people were used for experimentation. Some of them died as a result, but the CIA reportedly covered up any types of connections. Due to the lack of record-keeping and follow-up research, it was never known how many people may have died following their participation (Granite Flats, another Netflix Original, also explored this). Even though the project halted in the early '70s, some investigators that the CIA continued their mind control efforts under a new program. There's even some belief that similar experiments continue to this day.
The Montauk Project Also Inspired Stranger Things
When developing Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers used a handful of real conspiracy theories and secret government experiments as inspiration. Other than Project MKUltra, the duo did a lot of research on the Montauk Project, a conspiracy theory suggesting that certain government projects took place in Montauk, New York. The projects were meant to develop psychological warfare methods and research into time travel, teleportation, and mind control. Specifically, the test subjects in the Montauk Project were children. According to the conspiracy, the US Government periodically abducted kids in the Montauk area to run experiments, and the way Montauk inspired Stranger Things is clear.
When Stranger Things' original plan was taking shape, the working title was Montauk. Rather than fictional Hawkins, Indiana, the series was going to be set in Montauk with a focus on supernatural elements in 1980. The creators later altered their setting but kept the main theme intact with their heavy inclusion of questionable scientific experimentation.
Did The CIA Really Experiment On Children?
Project Montauk is a conspiracy, but MKUltra's existence is now public record, even though full details aren't known for two main reasons. Firstly, MKUltra is still mired in conspiratorial rumors despite being proven true, so there's a lot of false information that can take a while to debunk. Secondly, a lot of the records from MKUltra were subsequently destroyed or are still hidden behind black tape. Many people claim to be child victims of real-life CIA experimentation, but this can't be proven beyond their testimony.
Also, MKUltra almost definitely didn't involve the fatally dangerous experimentation shown in Stranger Things. Most MKUltra participants were adults who signed on for what they believed were medical trials, and the CIA used various legitimate institutions and research centers to conduct their experiments. Ultimately, there can be no definitive answer, and there are many who claim to have been abducted for experimentation in their childhood. MKUltra will forever be a stain on the US Intelligence community's history and a lesson in ethics that's since informed many Government decisions, but it's a far cry from Stranger Things despite serving as the Netflix show's direct inspiration.