Category Archives: Alternate Reality Game

Perplexity: A Mystery PodcastEpisode 67: Ong’s Hat, New Jersey and the Internet Conspiracy Theory

Show link: https://shows.acast.com/perplexitymysterypodcast/episodes/episode-67-ongs-hat-new-jersey-and-the-internet-conspiracy-t https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6581f49405fe780015128caa/e/65e09a7996c1510018f8197d/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOmZhbHNlLCJzcG9ucyI6ZmFsc2UsInN0YXR1cyI6InB1YmxpYyJ9&sig=Q-6tmBj-9IuVheZRTd4h_JCZ5D6Zlrp2wWLZ_51NPc8 Have you ever driven through a ghost town and wondered about the history behind it? What ruin or tragedy may have led to the town becoming nothing more than a skeleton? And have you ever wondered if these towns can serve as gateways or portals to the other side? What would you do if you ventured into an internet forum, where hundreds of people were claiming to have discovered another universe hidden in a lost town? In this episode, we will journey into the complex story of Ong’s Hat, New Jersey and the man who put this town back on the map… sort of.

The Incredible Tale of Ong’s Hat

Step into the enigmatic world of Ong’s Hat, a town shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Join us as we delve into the rich history and captivating legends that have surrounded this puzzling place for decades. From its obscure origins to the strange stories that have been passed down through generations, this video is your ultimate guide to unlocking the secrets of Ong’s Hat.

Discover why Ong’s Hat has become a hotbed for urban legends and conspiracy theories, and separate fact from fiction as we explore the truth behind the myths. With each twist and turn, you’ll find yourself drawn deeper into the enigma that is Ong’s Hat.

00:00:00
The Elusive Town of Ong’s Hat
00:00:51
The Mysterious Moorish Science Ashram
00:01:42
The Incunabula Papers and Internet Speculation
00:02:07
The Pine Barrens of New Jersey
00:03:36
The Internet and the Spread of Urban Legends
00:04:52
The Legacy of Ong’s Hat
00:06:12
The True Uncharted Territory
00:07:38
Journey’s End, The Story Continues

Tales of Weird NJ: Bovine, Bigfoot & Frogs

Paul Giamatti and friends discuss weird New Jersey stories and give some props to Ong’s Hat.
Recorded live from the (possibly haunted) Marines’ Memorial Theatre in San Francisco at @SFSketchfest 2024 with special guest, comedian, writer, and host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast…, Chris Gethard. Chris heard about a lot of brushes with the paranormal during his time at Weird NJ, and he relays one of the spookiest stories imaginable about a band of silent, menacing cows leading the way to a flannel-clad BigFoot lying supine on a mattress. Was there LSD involved? And what’s more terrifying, encounters with man, or the supernatural? You decide Chinwaggers! Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art. Chris Gethard is a comedian, author, actor and host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast which was recently adapted into a 4-part series streaming on Topic. He also wrote the book “Weird New York” and hosts the podcast New Jersey is the World, a celebration of his home state. If you want to see Chris live, check out his tour dates on https://chrisgeth.com/. ???????????? ========= Bonus Chin-Word: ONG’S HAT =========

133 — Joseph Matheny Interview: Ong’s Hat & The Alchemy of Alternative Realities

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/forcedn/thelongseventiespodcast/Joe_Matheny_Interview.mp3?_=1
A great conversation I had with the guys from The Long Seventies Podcast Show page: https://www.thelongseventiespodcast.com/home/2024/2/15/133-joseph-matheny-interview-ongs-hat-amp-the-alchemy-of-alternative-realities

VYS0036 | Infinite Game – Vayse to Face with Joseph Matheny

vayse podcast

Show linkhttps://www.vayse.co.uk/vys0036

https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/c1ee48fa-8d12-4ba3-8be5-091a548cdc6c/e8025c98-7752-4529-846a-95892ba37c65.mp3?_=2

Some rare art transcends reality, some even rarer art seems to create a new reality altogether – the work of Joseph Matheny does both of these things while embracing the trickster spirit inherent in the magickal traditions in which his work has its roots.

Joseph talks to Hine and Buckley about Ong’s Hat, his “living book” project, widely recognised as the first Alternate Reality Game, and how it took on a life of it’s own, not only for the people who were playing it but also for the people who created it. The conversation also turns to synchronicity and how his recent work, the Liminal Cycle, seems to generate synchronicity in the lives of those who engage with it, how his work connects so closely to magick, nature and theatre, his experiences in the North Pole and how they affected his writing, the use of magic in political systems and how the internet we know and love (to hate) today retains the legacy of the ritual magicians and DnD enthusiasts who created it… (recorded 7 February 2024)

Thanks to Joseph for his time and thanks, as always, to Keith for the excellent show notes, you can hit him up on on bluesky: @peakflow.bsky.social

Joseph Matheny online

Website
Official Archive of the Ong’s Hat Project
Ong’s Hat website
YouTube channel
Twitter/X
Instagram
Substack
Facebook
Goodreads page
IMDb page

Hine and Buckley’s Intro

Neuralink – Wikipedia
Elon Musk says Neuralink has implanted its first brain chip in human – The Guardian
True Detective (Season 1) – Wikipedia
Ong’s Hat – Wikipedia
Ong’s Hat: The Beginning (Authorized Version) by Joseph Matheny (Audiobook) – Soundcloud
Ong’s Hat: The Beginning (Authorized Version) by Joseph Matheny – Goodreads
Alternate reality game (ARG) – Wikipedia
QAnon – Wikipedia
January 6 United States Capitol attack – Wikipedia
Pizzagate conspiracy theory – Wikipedia
Gamification in Politics: how does it influence Political Participation? by Elena Giordano – Medium
Liminal (The Liminal Cycle) by Cameron Whiteside (Joseph Matheny) – Goodreads
Xen: The Zen of the Other (The Liminal Cycle) by Ezra Buckley (Joseph Matheny) – Goodreads
Statio Numero (The Liminal Cycle) by Joseph Matheny, Jason Nunes (Illustrator) – Goodreads

Joseph’s early background in tech

Early Personal Computers, 1970s-1980s – Museums Victoria
Technology that changed us: The 1980s, from MS-DOS to the first GPS satellite – ZDNET
Berkeley Macintosh User Group – Wikipedia
Steve Wozniak – Wikipedia
ARPANET – Wikipedia
Dial-up Internet access – Wikipedia
Bulletin board system – Wikipedia
Email – Wikipedia
The History of Email: Digging Into the Past, Present, and Future – Email On Acid
Pony Express – Wikipedia

Joseph’s epiphany

High Frontiers magazine – Anarchivism
High Frontiers Issue #1 – Archive.org
Modem – Wikipedia
The WELL – Wikipedia
Dialer – Wikipedia
Apple Inc. – Wikipedia
Silicon Valley: How a Bunch of Hippies Changed the World – Techovedas

Joseph’s ‘living book’ art project

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Wikipedia
Ceremonial magic – Wikipedia
Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) – Wikipedia
The worlds of technology and magic are closer than you think – Dazed
Swiss Army knife – Wikipedia
This is Not the End of the Book by Umberto Eco and Jean-Claude Carrière – Goodreads
Nick Herbert (physicist) – Wikipedia
Bulletin board system (BBS) – Wikipedia
How Psychedelics Helped Shape Modern Technology – Psychedelic Spotlight
Mycelium – Wikipedia

Magic is theatre; theatre is magic

Live action role-playing gamer (LARP) – Wikipedia
Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) – Wikipedia
Rimbaud’s Systematic Derangement of the Senses – Language is a Virus
Arthur Rimbaud – Wikipedia
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn – Wikipedia
John Dee – Wikipedia
Enochian magic – Wikipedia
Enochian (language) – Wikipedia
Watchtower (magic) – Wikipedia
Scrying – Wikipedia
“Spirit mirror” used by 16th-century occultist John Dee came from the Aztec Empire – Live Science
What Do The Angels From The Bible Actually Look Like? – All That’s Interesting
Ezekiel – Wikipedia
Yahweh – Wikipedia
J. Z. Knight / Ramtha – Wikipedia

Would there be magic without humans?

Jacques Vallée – Wikipedia
Daemon (computing) – Wikipedia
Httpd – Wikipedia
Unix – Wikipedia
Linux – Wikipedia
Invocation – Wikipedia
Evocation – Wikipedia
Function (computer programming) – Wikipedia
Magical Code and Coded Magic: The Persistence of Occult Ideas in Modern Gaming and Computing
Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers by Jacques F. Vallée – Goodreads
Martin Shaw website: books
Wolf Milk: Chthonic Memory in the Deep Wild by Martin Shaw – Goodreads
Devon – Wikipedia
William S. Burroughs – Wikipedia
Brion Gysin – Wikipedia
Cut-up technique – Wikipedia
Cut ups – BrionGysin.com
The Third Mind – Wikipedia
The Third Mind by William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin – Goodreads
Simonton’s Famous Flying Flapjacks, Just Another Tin Foil Hat – YouTube
The Eagle River Incident – UFO Insight
Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati – Wikipedia
Buckwheat – Wikipedia
The Trickster and the Paranormal by George P. Hansen – Goodreads
Peripheral vision – Wikipedia

Joseph’s thoughts on, and experiences of, synchronicity

Synchronicity – Wikipedia
Collective unconscious – Wikipedia
Psychic staring effect – Wikipedia
Grimoire – Wikipedia
Six Ways: Approaches & Entries for Practical Magic by Aidan Wachter – Goodreads
Everything You Need to Know about Salmon Fishing in Alaska – Katmai Fishing Guides
Sockeye salmon – Wikipedia
Naknek, Alaska – Wikipedia
Contiguous United States (‘The lower 48’) – Wikipedia
Jack London – Wikipedia
Arctic circle – Wikipedia
Arctic methane emissions – Wikipedia
‘Squirt the bird’ – Wordspy
True Detective: Night Country (Season 4) – Wikipedia
True Detective (Season 2) – Wikipedia
Watchmen (TV series) – Wikipedia
Rust Cohle – Wikipedia
Thomas Ligotti – Wikipedia
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race – Wikipedia
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror by Thomas Ligotti – Goodreads
The magnetic field near the Arctic is acting weird – The Verge
Climate change is rapidly transforming the Arctic: Why everybody should care – The Hill
Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles – Wikipedia

We are nature

Big Sur – Wikipedia
Santa Cruz, California – Wikipedia
Central Coast (California) – Wikipedia
Sequoioideae (Redwood) – Wikipedia
Jack Kerouac – Wikipedia
Big Sur (novel) – Wikipedia
Henry Miller – Wikipedia
Esalen Institute – Wikipedia
Robert Anton Wilson – Wikipedia
‘Dark Watchers’ have been spooking California hikers for centuries. What are they? – Live Science
Brocken spectre – Wikipedia
Shamanism and trees – Shamanic Practice
Peter Levenda – Wikipedia
Joseph Campbell – Wikipedia
Cardinal Directions Spiritual Meaning – Spiritual Desk
Firmament – Wikipedia
The Matrix – Wikipedia

Is the Internet a failed experiment in freedom of expression?

How the Internet Has Changed Everyday Life – Open Mind BBVA
Early websites 1991 – 1995 – Web Design Museum
The Deoxyribonucleic Hyperdimension – Deoxy.org website
Gopher (protocol) – Wikipedia
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) – Wikipedia
Incunabula Research Centre – Deoxy.org
Timothy Leary – Wikipedia
Robert Anton Wilson – Wikipedia
John C. Lilly – Wikipedia
E- commerce – Wikipedia
Art Bell – Wikipedia
HTML – Wikipedia
Adobe Photoshop – Wikipedia
How The Internet Transformed The American Rave Scene – NPR
Disinformation (company) – Wikipedia
Penny Royal podcast website
Push technology – Wikipedia
Algorithm – Wikipedia
MySpace – Wikipedia
Spotify – Wikipedia
Neurodiversity – Wikipedia
Artificial Intelligence – Wikipedia
Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences by D.W. Pasulka – Goodreads
Chatbot – Wikipedia
Cut-up technique – Wikipedia
Large language model – Wikipedia
Enochian (language) – Wikipedia
Jacques Vallée – Wikipedia
Scrying – Wikipedia
Creepy Microsoft Bing Chatbot Urges Tech Columnist To Leave His Wife – Huffington Post
Dave Metcalfe’s blog
Source code – Wikipedia
Ezekiel – Wikipedia
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – Wikipedia
Special Collections & Archives – UC Santa Cruz
Alchemy – Wikipedia
Hermeticism – Wikipedia
Schizophrenia – Wikipedia
Santa Barbara, California

Art becoming someone else’s reality

Rorschach test – Wikipedia
Waking Life – Wikipedia
Waking Life (2001) Official Trailer – YouTube
Rotoscoping – Wikipedia
Richard Linklater – Wikipedia
Philip K. Dick – Wikipedia
A Scanner Darkly (film) – Wikipedia
A Scanner Darkly (2006) Official Trailer – YouTube
A Scanner Darkly (novel) – Wikipedia
Allen Greenfield on Twitter/X
Santa Cruz , California – Wikipedia
Valis (novel series) – Wikipedia
Gnosis (magazine) – Wikipedia
Gnosis magazine website
High Frontiers magazine – Anarchivism
Robert Anton Wilson – Wikipedia
Berkeley, California – Wikipedia
Big Sur – Wikipedia
Route 66 – Wikipedia
Los Angeles – Wikipedia
Jim Morrison – Wikipedia
J.R. “Bob” Dobbs – Wikipedia
Church of the Sub Genius – Wikipedia
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake – Wikipedia
Tai chi – Wikipedia
Timothy Leary – Wikipedia
Nina Graboi – Wikipedia
Albert Hofmann (chemist) – Wikipedia
R. Gordon Wasson – Wikipedia
Terence McKenna – Wikipedia
Dennis McKenna – Wikipedia
St Louis Obispo, California – Wikipedia
Robertson Jeffers – Wikipedia
Peter Levenda – Wikipedia
Sinister Forces Series by Peter Levenda – Goodreads
Project Artichoke (formerly Project Bluebird) – Wikipedia
Edward Kelley – Wikipedia
John Dee – Wikipedia
Edward Kelley and Paul Waring Raising the Dead – The Occult and Magick blog
Cosmic Trigger I (audiobook) – Audible
Light pollution – Wikipedia
Noise pollution – Wikipedia
Electromagnetic radiation and health – Wikipedia
Nonsense Bizarre podcast

Psychoactive texts

Paul Weston’s website
VYS0023 | Mercurial, Mutable, Mysterious Something – Vayse to Face with Paul Weston
Synchromysticism, Wikipedia
Valis (novel) – Wikipedia
Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati – Wikipedia
Robert Anton Wilson – Wikipedia
Syd Barrett – Wikipedia
Psychedelic drug – Wikipedia
The Illuminatus! Trilogy – Wikipedia
The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea, Robert Anton Wilson – Goodreads
The Raw Shark Texts – Wikipedia
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall – Goodreads

Are ideas living things?

Animism – Wikipedia
VYS0010 | Amazing Stories – Vayse to Face with Dr Allen H Greenfield Pt.1
VYS0011 | Weird Tales – Vayse to Face with Dr Allen H Greenfield Pt.2
Muscle memory – Wikipedia
Genesis P-Orridge – Wikipedia ( )
Psychic TV – Wikipedia
William S. Burroughs – Wikipedia
Cut-up technique – Wikipedia
Cartesianism – Wikipedia
Capitalism – Wikipedia
The Trickster and the Paranormal by George P. Hansen – Goodreads

Are there magicians in politics?

Group Magickal Workings in Politics – Reddit
What is Meme Magick? – YouTube
Pepe the Frog (and Kek) – Wikipedia
Cambridge Analytica – Wikipedia
Steve Bannon – Wikipedia
Chaos magic – Wikipedia
A video making the rounds online depicts Trump as a Messiah-like figure – NPR
Hacker – Wikipedia
Caller ID Spoofing – Wikipedia
Sophomore – Wikipedia
Memetics – Wikipedia
Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections – Wikipedia
Punk’d (TV series) – Wikipedia
Playing the Infinite Game – World Quant
Zero-sum game – Wikipedia
Gamification – Wikipedia
Bitcoin – Wikipedia
Live action role-playing game(LARP) – Wikipedia
Reality tunnel – Wikipedia
A framework for using magic to study the mind – Frontiers in Psychology
Ritual In Game Design – Lumpley Games
Ritual, reality and representation: From ancient theatre to postmodern performance – Interartive
Charles Bukowski, “Find what you love and let it kill you” quote – Goodreads
Charles Bukowski – Wikipedia

Joseph’s recommendations (with suggestions from Buckley and Hine)

Under the Silver Lake – Wikipedia
Under The Silver Lake (2019) Official Trailer – YouTube
Everything Everywhere All At Once – Wikipedia
Everything Everywhere All At Once | Official Trailer – YouTube
Michelle Yeoh – Wikipedia
Jackie Chan – Wikipedia
Wolf Milk: Chthonic Memory in the Deep Wild by Martin Shaw – Goodreads
Martin Shaw author page – Goodreads
High Fidelity (film) – Wikipedia
High Fidelity (2000) Theatrical Trailer – YouTube
John Cusack – Wikipedia
Evanston, Illinois – Wikipedia
High Fidelity (novel) – Wikipedia

Vayse online

Vayse website
Vayse on X/Twitter
Vayse on Instagram
Music From Vayse – Volume 1 by Polypores
Vayse on Ko-Fi
Vayse email: vayseinfo@gmail.com

Buckley’s Closing Question(s)

Central Intelligence Agency – Wikipedia
Dealey Plaza – Wikipedia
The motives of Terry Wriste – Reddit
Georgia Guidestones – Wikipedia
Waste Container (Wheelie bin) – Wikipedia
Voynich manuscript – Wikipedia
Ashtar (extraterrestrial being) – Wikipedia
D. B. Cooper – Wikipedia
The Narrator (Fight Club) (Tyler Durden) – Wikipedia
Fight Club trailer – YouTube

Portal a lo desconocido

Portal a lo desconocido description

Link to show: https://www.ivoox.com/portal-a-lo-desconocido-audios-mp3_rf_124087690_1.html Descubre cómo un simple libro polvoriento en la biblioteca de una universidad desencadenó una investigación que llevó a un viaje interdimensional de descubrimiento y aventura. Acompáñanos mientras exploramos los experimentos audaces, los científicos visionarios y los secretos enterrados bajo las ruinas de ONG’s Hat. Pero la historia no termina ahí. Desde teorías de conspiración hasta rumores sobre viajes interdimensionales, ONG’s Hat ha capturado la imaginación de millones, convirtiéndose en un símbolo de la búsqueda del conocimiento más allá de los límites de la realidad conocida. Únete a nosotros mientras desentrañamos los mitos y las verdades detrás de esta fascinante historia y exploramos cómo ONG’s Hat ha sido moldeado por las leyendas urbanas y las fake news en la era moderna. ¡Prepárate para adentrarte en el sendero del misterio con ONG’s Hat! https://audio.ivoox.com/audio/0/9/6/7/portalalodesconocido-memorybackups-ivoox124087690.mp3?secure=Czf-2QdUY69t0pXguLqGNA==,1707687103

Exploring Ong’s Hat

A mystery inside a mystery. FROM CHASING SHADOWS FEB 2, 2024
Quietly nestled near the middle of New Jersey, Ong’s Hat(or sometimes just “Ong”) is about 45 minutes from the Pennsylvania border to the east or 45 minutes from Seaside Heights to the west. There aren’t any big towns or remarkable landmarks near Ong’s Hat. It rests, however, near the outskirts of Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, which also leaves it positioned on the edge of the infamous Pine Barrens. This region is home to a significant amount of the oddities that tend to crop up in New Jersey in far greater numbers and density than anywhere else in the United States. Most of the things encountered there aren’t well known outside of the locals, but you’ve probably heard of the most famous resident of the Barrens: the Jersey Devil. There’s no better obscure little dot on the map to find a story of mysticism, experiments, and other dimensions. And just like it lurks at the edge of the Pine Barrens, Ongs Hat manages to hang around the periphery of the paranormal community despite obscurity, confusion, little evidence, and a growing gap of decades. Most of what we know about Ong’s Hat comes from something called the “Incunabula Papers”, a book written by Joseph Matheny that relates a tale which seemed to first leak into public consciousness via BBS boards in the very earliest days of the Internet. So the story goes, a fellow named Wali Ford branched off from the Moorish Orthodox Church and created a sort of spiritual center in Ong’s Hat. There, a small sect explored the esoteric mysteries of the world in much the same way a great number of small metaphysical sects did throughout the latter half of the century. Ford’s group, however, attracted scientists of considerable skill who’d recently separated from nearby Princeton University.Subscribe This had all been happening in the 1970s. By the late 1980s, something called “The Egg” had been developed. Exactly what the Egg was meant for is a little complicated, but think of it like a sensory deprivation chamber allowing study of the mystical, chaotic inner workings of the mind. What’s more important is that The Egg, and whomever happened to be inside at the time, allegedly had a habit of disappearing. Where did it go? Well, word is they found passage to an alternate dimension. Eventually, this group of scientific mystics went and stayed there. There’s also some rumors of the military raiding their compound, there’s talk of UFOs, there’s talk of all sorts of coverups, and the Incunabula Papers even contain interviews alleging multiple other dimensions in which other groups of people lived – some having crossed over previously, through other means. So, what’s the deal? Well, I did leave out a missing piece. It’s all made up. Or, at least, that’s the common consensus. The “Papers” are a work of entertainment, the conspiracies are nurtured like a sort of ARG(Alternate Reality Game), and most of the mystery stems from it being so obscure and emerging from a hazy early-Internet that’s impossible to look back on clearly. Then again, some would say this is all a cover-story, and that anything Joseph Matheny says to suggest it’s all made-up is part of the game, or perhaps due to the Powers That Be asserting their influence. The associated websites certainly have a lot of information and links that feel genuine, or at least like they are being presented by people who believe as much.
But if it was all a game, why has it managed to hang around? It never blew up like some oddities do on the Internet, never became a viral trend that professional Conspiracy Salesmen could repackage into t-shirts and videos. Then again, if it was all real, why would the government do such a slapdash job of covering it up? And where are all these other dimensional travelers, where is the Egg(or Eggs), and how the hell do those of us stuck in this dimension join them? Well, I’d tell you to start looking in the town of Ong’s Hat, but I may have left out another missing piece. There is no such town. Not really. There is a place in New Jersey that, if you ask around and find an old-timer or someone schooled in the endless weird lore of the state, you’ll be pointed toward. It’s pretty much just an intersection, though. There’s a trail nearby, and a Circle to the east with a WaWa gas station: a chain which is a staple in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the kind of place where some weird things cling to the night-time parking lots. That’s another story, though. As for Ong’s Hat, there’s no town but there is a road that bears the name, and a little tavern, and there’s a tale of a man named Ong in the old days who flirted a bit too much and found his hat flung up onto a tree.
Mr. Ong isn’t there anymore, and it seems neither is the Egg or much of anything else. But, if you’re interested, Joseph Matheny is still around. So are a couple websites hosting all sorts of conversation and information on the topic. The “Incunabula Papers” are still out there, too. They’re freely available online, here, though you can obtain a paper version or audiobook, among other things, at Ongs-Hat.com. If you really want to dive deep, Incunabula.org has a vast archive of material on Ong’s Hat itself, and also a host of other unusual things. Is Ong’s Hat real? Is it a big game? Could it somehow be both? If anyone knows the answer, it’s Joseph Matheny. So I’ll close with his thoughts.
Many people have asked me over the years what I think this all is. So, I’m going to give you what I think in a nutshell. Or should I say Eggshell? What I think the Incunabula represents is an entrainment module for Quantum thinking. -Joseph Matheny, “Ong’s Hat: The Beginning, Authorized Version”
Thanks for reading Chasing Shadows! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

What I meant by “game”

A filter statement, if there ever was one

Original post: https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/what-i-meant-by-game

The above excerpt is from a book I’m currently reading and enjoying, This Is the Strangest Life I’ve Ever Known: A Psychological Portrait of Jim Morrison by Ana Leorne. I was impressed by this quote because it aligns with something I am working through as I write Ong’s Hat: Compleat.

When it became clear in 2000/2001 that people clearly did not understand what I was trying to do with the Ong’s Hat “sacred game” (or living book as I often called it back then), I broke the fourth wall momentarily. I pointed out that there was and always had been an explanation on the CD ROM, which served as the center point for the game at the time. If you want to see it, download the ISO, use something like WinRAR or any ISO extractor, and open the Secret.pdf in the /eXtras folder.

Rather than calming the waters, my admission stirred some people up even more. It ultimately resulted in me canceling the game due to unbridled hostility on the forum over their inability to grasp a simple concept, such as not all play implies winners and losers. Sometimes, it can be about playing for the simple joy of playing. (Read your Homo Ludens).

The misunderstanding persists to this day, with people not being able to understand what an infinite game is and persisting in acting out the only thing they know: zero-sum games. The problem, as I see it now, is that I was speaking a language that some people do not understand. To most people, a game means something trivial or a cause to seek domination, nothing more, definitely not as something sacred.

It astounds me how incapable and unwilling so many people are to grasp a concept that seems so simple. Play for the joy of playing. More about that in Compleat in 2024.

As you can see from the quote above, Jim Morrison got it, and thankfully, I know some of you here get it. I know because you’ve written and expressed it, or we’ve spoken, and it came across. That’s why you are here. So, this is a note to thank you if you’re one of those people, and I wish you all the best in the coming year.

As a side note, in 2013, I spent a week living in Jim’s old room at the Alta Cienega motel and was surprised and amused to see the graffiti below among all the scrawls and scratches on the walls and furniture in the room.

2024 will be full of new things, some of which we might enjoy.

Ong’s Hat creator Joseph Matheny on the blurred lines between fiction and reality

Sat down and had a discussion with Greg, one of the curators of one of my favorite OG websites, The Daily Grail. LINK: https://www.dailygrail.com/2023/12/ongs-hat-creator-joseph-matheny-on-the-blurred-lines-between-fiction-and-reality/ Ong’s Hat. For those who were on the early internet and into Grail-like topics, those two words likely spark a heady sense of conspiracy, alternative science and history nostalgia. Across websites, email lists and forums devoted to those topics, there was discussion about how much of the mythos behind the many-threaded, multi-media story of Ong’s Hat was fiction, and how much might be based in truth. Could the rumours of portals to alternative dimensions have any truth? Were conspiracy theories about it being hushed up? In retrospect, thirty years later, it all seems a little quaint. We now know Ong’s Hat was co-created as a piece of ‘guerilla storytelling’ by a number of individuals which morphed into what is now known as an alternate reality game (ARG). It’s influence, nevertheless is huge – both on the ARG business and in various modern stories which echo some of its themes, like Stranger Things. But a more shady part of its influence is on the conspiracy scene, in particular the way in which it revealed how blurring fiction and reality can give birth to myths that can no longer be controlled by their creators – and create a horde of ‘true believers’ who cross the line from having fun in a game to being particularly toxic, and possibly dangerous. Those who have followed the trajectory of Pizzagate and QAnon in recent years might recognize a similar pattern, with myths that started on messageboards as LARPs (live action role-playing games) propagating out into the real world and being co-opted by bad actors. As such, when I got the chance recently to sit down and chat to the creator of Ong’s HatJoseph Matheny (embedded below), these topics dominated our discussion. I think it’s one of the most important areas worthy of talking more about, in a world now dominated by social media and influencers, in which myths of all kind are now spreading through society and being taken as reality by far too many. Especially in the conspiracy, and alternative history and science scenes, such as we’re currently seeing play out with ‘UFO Twitter’. Enjoy! From the description: Pioneering storyteller and artist Joseph Matheny joins us to talk about his seminal ‘Alternate Reality Game’ (ARG) Ong’s Hat and how, in recent years, the techniques he employed have been weaponized by others, blurring the line between fiction and reality and leading to the rise of political cults like QAnon.