City Occult #1: The Philadelphia Experiment
As one of the oldest municipalities in the United States, Philadelphia has a rich and complex history spanning 340 years, since its founding in 1682. Though many of the city’s stories are well known for their place in textbooks across the nation, some of Philly’s most interesting and odd histories are blanketed in conspiracy. From secret tunnels to Freemasonry, our relationship with the occult has been far from distant.
A prime example: The Philadelphia Experiment — October 28, 1943
the military urban legend that indirectly led to the Netflix series, Stranger Things.
The Legend goes…
On October 28, 1943, the government was conducting experiments to develop technology that would shield naval ships from enemy radar equipment—essentially turning U.S. ships completely invisible using magnetic radiation. The USS Eldridge, a destroyer escort, was docked at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard with the intention of finally testing out the equipment that would win command of the ocean against the Axis powers.
While testing the ship’s World War II era equipment—its engine, generator, weapons system, radar, and, of course, its new & improved magnetic radiation technology—the generators began to whirl out of control. Then, an eerie blue-green haze enveloped the ship in its mystique, and the entire Eldridge disappeared into thin air.
very real, not-photoshopped image courtesy of Den of Geek
Now, if this was the end of the story, it wouldn’t be worth telling.
What pushes this supernatural story down from generation to generation is the anecdote that over two hundred miles away, the USS Eldridge was seen again!!
It had been docked briefly in Norfolk, Virginia. Witnesses (those on board the USS Andew Furuseth) caught only a glimpse of the destroyer before it was suddenly back in Philadelphia.
As if the teleportation wasn’t weird enough, the supposed effect of the event on the crew members was downright disturbing. Some were driven insane, others developed inexplicable illnesses, and some were said to have limbs fused permanently with the metal of The Eldridge while still alive. These poor seamen were said to have been mangled by the event horizon during the supernatural-like experience and were left wailing as they tried to pull themselves out of the hull.
Though its been 70 years since the Philadelphia Experiment may or may not have occurred, the legend has stuck and become a favorite among supernatural tales all over the country. Not surprisingly it’s believed to be a hoax, but it has lived on for good reason and inspired other events. The “success” of the military’s Philadelphia Experiment supposedly led to the Montauk Experiments at Camp Hero about thirty years later; the basis for the story of Eleven and the Demogorgon in Stranger Things.
From the Montauk Experiment’s wikipedia page:
These center on topics including United States government/military experiments in fields such as time travel, teleportation, mind control, contact with extraterrestrial life, and staging faked Apollo Moon landings, framed as developments which followed a successful 1943 Philadelphia Experiment.
Of course, besides this particular electromagnetic phenomenon, Philadelphia has a solid history with electricity.
Ghost Ship by Blur is a great tune.
Til next time, y’all.