Multidisciplinary Artist | Liminal Fiction | Alternate Reality Games
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
I had fun doing this interview. As I said when I announced that I was doing this interview, after deciding at the beginning of this year I would no longer … Continue reading The Basement: Joseph Matheny | The Man Who Hacked Reality Before the Internet Existed
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. You may subscribe to this series … Continue reading The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 3
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 legend-tripping and touring the void
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. You may subscribe to this series … Continue reading The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 2
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. Great zine and I highly recommend. @rawilson23.bsky.social published a review on their site, so go check that out. Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT … Continue reading ‘Mycellium Parish News 2025’
A new series and some assorted news It’s been on my mind to do this for a while. So, I’m just going to do it. This is the beginning of … Continue reading The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 0
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 Ghost Town That Invented Alternate Reality Games
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. The small town finds … Continue reading 7 famous places that don’t actually exist
Among New Jersey’s most enigmatic vanished settlements, Ong’s Hat blurs the line between documented history and enduring folklore. You’ll find this Burlington County location first documented on a 1778 Hessian … Continue reading Ong’s Hat: Burlington County’s Enigmatic Lost Settlement
![Entertainment that invades everyday life: The birth and evolution of ARGs [Until ARGs became widespread in Japan]](https://josephmatheny.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rectangle_large_type_2_57d1ca2b4b652b7b2d77aa04979018b3.webp?w=444&h=444&crop=1)
■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 is a real … Continue reading 日常浸食型エンターテイメント：ARGの誕生と変遷【国内にARGが浸透するまで】
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. The most popular folk legend says … Continue reading My Dad took me on graveyard picnics in the Pine Barrens — and I’ve never gotten over it
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. Located deep in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, this settlement vanished … Continue reading Ghost Towns Used As Movie Filming Locations In New Jersey: Ong’s Hat and Other Mysterious Abandoned Settlements
Ong’s Hat in New Jersey is a ghost town with strange legends, including disappearances and a supposed portal to another dimension. According to an urban legend (and a handful of … Continue reading Most People Have Long Forgotten About This Vacant Ghost Town In Rural New Jersey
Joseph Matheny learned the hard way what happens when this kind of thing works too well. His Ong’s Hat project, which started in the late 1980s as a collaborative fiction … Continue reading Nancy Guthrie and the gamification of crime
AUDIO – NON-FICTIONThis Is Not A Game: Season 1, ‘Portal to Utopia’ and ‘Joseph Matheny’ – Marc Fennell with Emma Weatherill Alex Lee and Suren Jayemanne hosted the awards, held … Continue reading AWGIE
FROM Why Locals Flock To Pine Barrens Towns In New Jersey To Explore Folklore And Legends Article By: Esme Whitman | January 13, 2026 Ong’s Hat is one of the most enigmatic locations … Continue reading Ong’s Hat: The Ghost Town That Became an Internet Legend
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 Ghost Town That Invented Alternate Reality Games
@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 … Continue reading in the footsteps of giants
Hi there, friends! This week, back on the show, is the brilliant, Joseph Matheny! Joseph and I have a granular look into UFO, “the phenomena”, starving for original stories, being … Continue reading Joseph Matheny Starving for Story
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 … Continue reading Tales of perpetual fire, demons and ghosts haunt these creepy US towns
I’ll be making a virtual appearance at the Lambertville Halloween Film Festival on Sunday. October 19th @ 4:30pm Easternwww.acmescreeningroom.org/lhff Slides from the presentation
Where to get it PDF only on Google The COMPLEAT Broadcasts (Serialized COMPLEAT podcast) Reviews Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT was an Amazon bestseller in two categories in 2025. This is an important … Continue reading Ong’s Hat: Compleat
Joseph Matheny 