Ready, Set, Restart
New schedule and new direction LINK: https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/placeholder
Tag: Multiverse
Multiverse
This Is Not a Game with Marc Fennell (Ong’s Hat History)
This Is Not a Game is the award-winning, extraordinary, untold story of the internet’s first conspiracy theory, the legend of Ong’s Hat. Marc Fennell will dive deep into a previously … Continue reading This Is Not a Game with Marc Fennell (Ong’s Hat History)
The COMPLEAT Broadcasts: Final Thoughts and Credits
Plus a linked index of the series This is the final segment of the free podcast/post series of Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT For reviews regarding this work, go here. You may subscribe to … Continue reading The COMPLEAT Broadcasts: Final Thoughts and Credits
SUPERSTORY: La Virgen de Guadalupe en el Inframundo – Sacred Protection in High-Risk Worlds
Synthesizing research from Kendall Haven (DARPA’s Narrative Networks project), Carl Jung’s theory of synchronicity, Jeffrey Kripal’s concept of the Super Story, and Joseph Matheny’s transmedia ARG experiment (Ong’s Hat), Jose … Continue reading SUPERSTORY: La Virgen de Guadalupe en el Inframundo – Sacred Protection in High-Risk Worlds
The Basement: Joseph Matheny | The Man Who Hacked Reality Before the Internet Existed
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
The Man From 2036: John Titor, the IBM 5100 and the Internet’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery
They’re just never gonna let this one go, are they? I guess that was kinda the point. 😜 (Hint: Some things are more fun if left a mystery) Queued up … Continue reading The Man From 2036: John Titor, the IBM 5100 and the Internet’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery
The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 7
Chapter 7 of the ongoing series, Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/the-compleat-broadcasts-chapter-7
Thin Liminal Lines
“Reality is often less interesting than fiction.” “I would not have said this 20 years ago, but I’m going to say this now: make sure there is a very clear … Continue reading Thin Liminal Lines
The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 6
Chapter 6 of the ongoing series, Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT LINK: https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/the-compleat-broadcasts-chapter-6
The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 4
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
The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 3
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
The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 2
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
The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 1
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.
‘Mycellium Parish News 2025’
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’
The COMPLEAT Broadcasts, Chapter 0
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
Ong’s Hat: The NJ Ghost Town That Invented Alternate Reality Games
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
7 famous places that don’t actually exist
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
![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)
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】
■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】
My Dad took me on graveyard picnics in the Pine Barrens — and I’ve never gotten over it
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
Ghost Towns Used As Movie Filming Locations In New Jersey: Ong’s Hat and Other Mysterious Abandoned Settlements
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
Nancy Guthrie and the gamification of crime
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
AWGIE
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
The Unseen Internet
The Unseen Internet Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse by Shira Chess In 2003, I had this idea that a book should be written chronicling the influence that psychedelic drugs … Continue reading The Unseen Internet
Ong’s Hat: The Ghost Town That Became an Internet Legend
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
Ong’s Hat: The NJ Ghost Town That Invented Alternate Reality Games
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
in the footsteps of giants
@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
Joseph Matheny 