Joseph Matheny

New schedule and new direction LINK: https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/placeholder

This Is Not a Game is the award-winning, extraordinary, untold story of the internet’s first conspiracy theory, the legend of Ong’s Hat.

Plus a linked index of the series This is the final segment of the free podcast/post series of Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT For reviews regarding this work, go here.

Synthesizing research from Kendall Haven (DARPA’s Narrative Networks project), Carl Jung’s theory of synchronicity, Jeffrey Kripal’s concept of the Super Story, and Joseph Matheny’s transmedia ARG experiment (Ong’s Hat), Jose … Continue reading SUPERSTORY:

I had fun doing this interview.

Chapter 8 of the ongoing series, Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT LINK: https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/the-compleat-broadcasts-chapter-8

They’re just never gonna let this one go, are they?

Chapter 7 of the ongoing series, Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/the-compleat-broadcasts-chapter-7

“Reality is often less interesting than fiction.”

Chapter 6 of the ongoing series, Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT LINK: https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/the-compleat-broadcasts-chapter-6

That a group of renegade Princeton physicists and mystics, working in secret at Ong’s Hat, New Jersey, used chaos-theory and consciousness research to build a machine (the “Egg,” and later … Continue reading Renegade physicists at Ong’s Hat built a machine

Chapter 5 of the ongoing series, Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/the-compleat-broadcasts-chapter-5

Chapter 4 of the ongoing series, Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT This is a free podcast/post series of Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT For reviews regarding this work, go here.You may subscribe to this … Continue reading The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 4

Chapter 3 of the ongoing series, Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT This is a free podcast/post series of Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT For reviews regarding this work, go here.

Sophie James *, James Cronin A B S T R A C TUsing ˇZiˇzek’s concept of ontological incompleteness, we theorise the touristic appeal of onlinelegend-tripping as derived from the fantasy … Continue reading When dark tourism goes para-terrestrial: Online leg…

You know, it is gratifying when you point out a very obvious (to you) hanging thread, and someone takes the time to follow it and, most importantly, has the capacity … Continue reading Talking About Talking About Talking About UFOs

Chapter 2 of the ongoing series, Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT This is a free podcast/post series of Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT For reviews regarding this work, go here.

https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/the-compleat-broadcasts-chapter-1 This is a free podcast/post series of Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT For reviews regarding this work, go here.

Received my ‘Mycellium Parish News 2025‘ in the mail.

A new series and some assorted news It’s been on my mind to do this for a while.

Explore Ong’s Hat, the real Pine Barrens ghost town behind the legendary 1980s–90s interdimensional cult myth and Joseph Matheny’s groundbreaking Incunabula/ARG that blurred fact and fiction, inspired The Blair Witch … Continue reading Ong’s Hat: The NJ G…

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Ong’s Hat© Patrick Tappe/Shutterstock.comTucked into the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, Ong’s Hat may be found on actual maps from the early days of the region.

Among New Jersey’s most enigmatic vanished settlements, Ong’s Hat blurs the line between documented history and enduring folklore.

■Incunabula: Ong’s Hat “Ong’s Hat” is considered one of the oldest urban legends originating on the internet, and is akin to a creepypasta or SCP.

Ong’s Hat — Burlington County, Pine Barrens New Jersey’s most mysterious ghost town — little more than a wooded clearing deep in the Pinelands today.

From: THE COMMERCIAL VIABILITY OF ALTERNATE REALITY GAMES:A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR PROFITABILITY AND SCALABILITY LINK: https://s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/pstorage-ryerson-5010877717/28138491/Robertson_LeeStahr_G.pdf

While most ghost towns fade quietly into history, Ong’s Hat has carved out a peculiar legacy that blends verifiable abandonment with decades of digital-age mythology.

Ong’s Hat in New Jersey is a ghost town with strange legends, including disappearances and a supposed portal to another dimension.

Joseph Matheny learned the hard way what happens when this kind of thing works too well.