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History Channel Special Will Chronicle Real Life “Stranger Things” Inspiration
Before “Stranger Things” Season 2 premieres, why not learn the *real* story?
It’s no secret that the Duffer Brothers-created Netflix series “Stranger Things” drew inspiration from a whole lot of different ’80s films, but the tale of a telekinetic girl and a monster arriving in a small town also has ties to, well, things that (allegedly) actually happened.
CIA mind-control program Project MKUltra was used as an inspiration for “Stranger Things,” and so too was the so-called Montauk Project – a series of government mind-control and time travel experiments that allegedly took place in Montauk, NY in the 70s.
In fact, the original title of “Stranger Things” was actually “Montauk.”
Premiering Friday, September 8 at 10/9c on History, the brand new special “The Dark Files” will chronicle former CIA operative Barry Eisler, award-winning journalist Steve Volk, and filmmaker Chris Garetano‘s exploration into the mythologies, conspiracies and accusations that surround an abandoned military base known as Camp Hero in Montauk, Long Island.
Garetano recently made documentary The Montauk Chronicles, about the same subject.
Watch the teaser for the special below.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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