7 Famous Places That Don’t Actually Exist: Ong’s Hat
Ong’s Hat
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Tucked into the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, Ong’s Hat may be found on actual maps from the early days of the region. The small town finds naming on maps but most likely, it was merely the site where Ong (presumed a farmer) parked in a hut (Ong’s hut) on regular long journeys to and from market. As late as the 1930s, Ong’s Hat appeared on maps but nothing could be done to prove the place ever existed, save finding the ruins of one single hut in the middle of the forest.
In 2003, I had this idea that a book should be written chronicling the influence that psychedelic drugs and magick had on the development of the early Internet. Granted, my “evidence” was all anecdotal. However, since I was in the trenches during the “dotcom” revolution, I thought I could build a strong case. I pitched it to a couple of publishers. The publishers in question were not convinced that this was really a thing. I think we’d call them “normies.” They also could not envision a marker for such a book. So, I dropped the idea and went about my tech career.
The truth is, I wasn’t the right person for the job. I can say that now. I was too engrossed in developing tech, working on infinite game theory, and championing ARG as a legitimate art form. It would not have received the treatment it deserved as a subject.
I also feel like the time is right for this story, with the advent of LLMs and the ongoing misunderstanding of what AI is, what consciousness is, and why corporations are trying so hard to convince us we need that as a feature in our everyday lives. This book would make a great companion piece to Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT.
When Shira called me a few years ago and said she was interested in writing such a book for MIT, I was overjoyed and quickly began rattling off names of people she should contact. I also told her stories about my own experiences developing “occult tech,” as well as the cultural milieu that literally built the Internet in the 90s through the mid 2000s. I am really glad that the right person for this job stepped up and kept this story from falling down a memory hole.
I won’t kick it to death by categorically reviewing this book’s contents, but rather, I will give it a full-throated endorsement and assure you that you will be in capable hands. The book finally found the right person and the right co-conspirators at the right time to tell this tale.
A added note; if you’re one of those people who can’t get your head around how Ong’s Hat was a game, read this book.
Ong’s Hat is one of the most enigmatic locations in the Pine Barrens, and its legend has spread far beyond New Jersey thanks to the internet.
Located at the intersection of Magnolia Road (Route 70) and Turkey Buzzard Bridge Road in Pemberton Township, this ghost town is nearly invisible today, with almost nothing left but a clearing in the woods.
In the 1980s, an elaborate urban legend emerged claiming that renegade scientists had created an interdimensional portal here, allowing travelers to slip between realities.
The story spread like wildfire online, becoming one of the earliest and most enduring internet conspiracy theories.
Whether you believe in portals or not, visiting Ong’s Hat is a surreal experience.
The emptiness of the site adds to its mystique, and the surrounding forest feels dense and watchful.
Hikers and curiosity seekers come here to stand in the clearing, take photos, and imagine what might have been.
There are no markers, no signs, and no commercial development, which only deepens the sense of mystery.
Some visitors report strange sensations or unexplained sounds, while others simply enjoy the quiet solitude of a place that feels forgotten by time.
The legend of Ong’s Hat is a fascinating blend of folklore, science fiction, and internet culture, making it a must-visit for anyone interested in modern mythology.
Bring a GPS or a good map, because the intersection is easy to miss, and cell service can be spotty.
Wear sturdy boots and be prepared for uneven terrain.
Ong’s Hat won’t offer you answers, but it will give you plenty of questions, and sometimes that’s exactly what makes a legend worth chasing.
In a world where everything is documented and explained, Ong’s Hat remains beautifully, stubbornly mysterious.
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 Project, Cicada 3301, and modern creepypasta, and still draws pilgrims to the ruins today. Full deep-dive episode!
LINK TO SHOW: https://media.rss.com/northeast-legends-and-stories/feed.xml
You might expect to find frogs in the Pine Barrens of NJ, not to mention the Jersey Devil, but what about a ghost town that is an interdimensional portal? The now abandoned town of Ong’s Hat is very real, but the internet is riddled with stories about this place that are weird to the core. There are apparently documents called the Incunabula Papers that talk of the town being the starting point for interdimensional travel. Most believe this story to be an elaborate ARG, but there are still those who think that Ong’s Hat might be the starting point for the journey of a lifetime.
@jeffreykoval has written a very flattering piece that covers my virtual appearance at the LHFF, which I very much enjoyed, so it’s satisfying to know the attendees got a lot out of it. I’ve included the intro here, but I encourage you to visit @jeffreykoval‘s blog and enjoy the other posts as well.
in the footsteps of giants
Years ago, in the early days of our work on the Monolith, I had begun extensively researching ARGs, having only vaguely heard the term when I was younger. I’ve talked about it before, but there was a sort of chicken and the egg situation when we really started to get the project rolling. I knew “what” an ARG was, but never had the words. Growing up, I participated in I Love Bees and thought the concept was incredible, but didn’t have the terminology for it. Obviously, the allure of making media that felt “real” was always there from the beginning of the project, but a few deep-dives around 2010 brought everything into a new perspective.
Especially when I realized that the godfather of all alternate reality games was set in our own New Jersey.Joseph Matheny created what would become known as Ong’s Hat in the late 80s and it flourished into the early days of the accessible Internet. He was an OG, working on projects that pioneered the commercial aspect of it, while also tuning into what made it wonderful and punk rock, too. He deemed the work an “interdisciplinary art experiment” and acknowledges that the more popular terms would become the ARG and transmedia we know today.
When we had first started our project, two works most clearly inspired me (and us) to produce the Monolith the way we did, heaving the “audience participation” onto the path that ultimately unfurled. Those were Ong’s Hat and (obviously) House of Leaves. I would be remiss to omit my love for the Series of Unfortunate Events that consumed my attention when I was a kid, as well.
All of that is to say, it’s an incredibly small world out there, and when I was partly assisting in the development of the 2025 LHFF, there was a focus on Internet storytelling, in addition to the staple of independent production. Every year, there was a guest (or two, or three) that we really wanted to feature, and with this year’s focus on Internet storytelling, I thought it might be worth a shot to reach out to that godfather himself.
It’s that time of the year again! Every Samhain, the Internet lights up (or darkens?) with spooky stories and inevitably, Ong’s Hat gets thrown into the mix. Here’s an entry from this year’s mentions. Expect more.
One of several “ghost towns” in the New Jersey pine barrens
New Jersey’s Pine Barrens
The Pine Barrens of New Jersey encompass several towns and counties, and in the most densely populated state in the U.S., it’s a wooded wonderland of weirdness and natural beauty.
Legend says the Pine Barrens, which are filled with scrub pine but are far from barren, may also contain a devil. And perhaps a portal to another dimension.
In a 1936 book, “Forgotten Towns of Southern New Jersey,” Henry Charlton Beck described Ong’s Hat, one of many abandoned towns in the Pines, a “vanished town of murder, of prize fights and of isolated country dances,” a place that “a hundred or so years ago, we were told … was a center of life among the Pineys,” with “brawls and fisticuffs, some of them bloody enough.” Weird NJ, a magazine whose name says it all, wondered in 2023 whether there might be even more than a sketchy past, asking, “Ong’s Hat: Piney Ghost Town or Gateway to Another Dimension?”
LINK: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/20/scariest-us-towns/86478634007/
This episode deviates slightly from the stories of ghosts and demons featured in most episodes to discuss one of the internet’s earliest conspiracy theories. This story contains travel to alternate Earths, encounters with paranormal phenomena, mysticism and chaos magic, shadowy government agents bent on stripping humanity of freedom, and lots of drugs and sex. It can also teach us a lot about how paranormal folklore develops and spreads online. Also, it explains how a pulp science fiction writer popular with the hippies is connected to Reaganomics and Q-Anon. So, listen and learn about Ong’s Hat and the Incunabula.
