Ong’s Hat, or The Incunabula Papers, is a conspiracy theory that arose on the early internet. Combining cutting-edge science, mysticism, and obvious hokum, it intrigued thousands of people who tried to find out what it all meant. Today we uncover the secrets of Ong’s Hat, the man behind it, and the new art form it inadvertently birthed.
In this video were going to jump down the rabbit hole of the worlds first internet conspiracy theory and what happens when the actual creator of the hoax comes forward and admits that its just that. A big fat hoax.
This… is Ong’s Hat!
The series will premiere on BBC 4 Radio Limelight on air and then as a podcast after every Friday broadcast for five weeks. It was a five-part series titled The Incident at Ong’s Hat.
The series was inspired by Ong’s Hat: The Beginning and elements from my personal life.
My upcoming book, Ong’s Hat: Compleat, will have a chapter about this series. It will be available in 2025.
I make an appearance playing “myself,” or at least a fictionalized version of myself, as it were.
Here are some raw audio interviews conducted as background material by the “so-called” producers. I call this series Behind the Scenes.
Here’s an Archive.org collection of all the BTS files: https://archive.org/details/joseph-matheny-ongs-hat-interview
Disclaimer: The Incident at Ong’s Hat was not written by me. It is a true crime podcast story using the Ong’s Hat narrative and elements taken from my personal life. This is part of the reason I am sharing the interviews behind this story. I think seeing both sides, the facts and the fiction, will illuminate the process. I do not endorse or recommend the series.
Tonight we just have some things to discuss about upcoming investigations, and look back on what we are truly grateful for. Especially ‘You’ our viewers.
Added to this is some audio recorded on a night hike in the Pine Barrens with the UK BBC who came over the pond to investigate the mystery surrounding Ong’s Hat.
Alternate Reality Games have existed for far longer than most people realize, I just wanted to talk about some of the first ones. (the outro has all the music used in order)
CONTENTS: 00:00
Intro 00:55
Ong’s Hat 04:17
Publius Enigma 09:13
Blair Witch 11:44
The Beast 14:03
ilovebees 16:04
Closing Thoughts
17:10 Outro
Si hoy es miércoles, hay nuevo episodio de #333podcast, el programa que Perra de Satán y yo hacemos con
@PodiumPodcast
. Hoy exploramos las relaciones entre una revista contracultural de los sesenta, el misterio de Ong’s Hat, 4chan y QAnon.
LINK: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6klpVzZoq7I4fqfWK5gzo2?si=2Y1E7CDtQSuJN7oPvGeoNQ
- I then moved on to my three examples, the first of which was Ong’s Hat. Gizmodo produced an excellent overview, Ong’s Hat: The Early Internet Conspiracy Game That Got Too Real. The Ong’s Hat story was created by Joseph Matheny, and his story is excellently told in the two-part Information Golem podcast.
Read the rest of the Orbific article here: https://orbific.com/writing/some-links-on-args/
- Note: I have collected all three parts of the mentioned podcast mini-series here: https://josephmatheny.com/2022/07/05/information-golem-new-mini-series-from-toowi-arts/
The Prop Anon Podcast explores the life and work of American novelist, Robert Anton Wilson through interviews and discussions with some of the most cutting-edge artists and thinkers around today. The Prop Anon Podcast presents interviews with Artists, Journalists, Comedians Comic Book Writers, Scientists, Community Activists, and Musicians as we think of ways to make existence, in the words of Bill Hicks, “a better ride” for everyone on Spaceship Planet Earth!
Joseph Matheny, transmedia Artist and creator of Ong’s Hat, the first Alternative Reality Game speaks about ‘weaponized’ ARGs, propaganda, how to free oneself from mental slavery, and works of Robert Anton Wilson
Tune In, Turn On, and Prop Out!
