ESPionage: When the CIA Attempted Telepathy (Project Stargate)

For over 20 years, the feds investigated supernatural powers... here's what they found

This article is part of a series on psychedelic conspiracies: MK-ULTRA, Operation Midnight Climax, Project Bluebird/Artichoke, & Subproject 58.

At the end of May 1973, Project Scanate — the first in a long line of codenames to later roll up into Project Stargate — set off on its most ambitious mission yet.

The results of the next few days would bring a raid to the doors of the facilities and a detailed investigation into how exactly they managed to determine one of the government’s biggest secrets using alleged “psychic abilities.”

Here’s how it all went down…

Stargate At A Glance…

1. Two scientists convinced the CIA to fund research on telepathic ability in 1973 — they believed telepathy was possible and could be used for spying on other nations

2. The feds funded this research in secret under the codename “Project Stargate” for nearly 20 years — yielding several strange and unexplainable successes throughout the program

3. Former President Jimmy Carter leaked the existence of this research in 1995 — ultimately leading to the end of the program

Project Stargate was undeniably one of the strangest in a series of research projects backed by the US government (see our recent story on MKUltra for another example).

Starting Stargate: Impressive Feats From Ingo Swann

Harold E. Puthoff, a laser physicist and the future director of what would become Project Stargate had just received government funding to study sensitive “quark” particles — elemental structures forming the foundation of all known matter.

Puthoff wasn’t studying psychic capabilities at the time, but a friend had written him about impressive feats from a man by the name of Ingo Swann.

“[I]t was suggested that perhaps, as a physicist with sensitive equipment available, I might like to work with him in an experiment or two.”

Puthoff was skeptical but wanted to provide a chance for irrefutable proof through something nobody could ever manipulate (and even if they could, it would be just as impressive).

His motivation was pure curiosity.

According to the memo Puthoff sent out, he “decided on an experiment where if trickery were successful, that would be nearly as important” as a successful outcome.

The experiment: influence the quark detector telepathically.

The “First Movements” of Stargate

The sensor was placed five or so feet below them, “encased in an aluminum container and insulating copper canister,” Swann would later recollect.

The goal was for Swann to influence the readings on the sensor — proving in some way that telepathic ability was physically possible.

As the experiment commenced, Puthoff noted that the needle on the sensor — calibrated and operating reliably for the past 24hrs — would both fluctuate and pause for brief periods.

Swann could allegedly make the needle stop and continue moving again on demand.

The next day, the sensor was removed after falling into disrepair, rendering the entire study (depending on who you ask) fruitless.

True believers™ might say it was the force of Swann acting on the delicate machinery.

May 1973 Was Different…

Roughly a year later, in May of 1973, the program had shifted from telekinetics to remote viewing. While they believed telekinetics might be possible, it seemed too limited and too prone to ridicule.

Remote viewing — while still not taken seriously — offered the exciting potential to spy on enemies anywhere, anytime, without a known defense. They had achieved some success in finding remote viewers capable of viewing photos when “separated from the target material.”

In one experiment, Swann rather reliably determined the secret location of 10 secret coordinates — all within 30 minutes. Basically, he would be given a coordinate and tasked with describing what he immediately saw before moving on.

After the strange success of these tests, more were done, this time with extra safeguards in place.

Here’s how the tests were structured:

1. Specific coordinates were sent to one of the researchers

2. This researcher then randomly assigned the coordinates to another researcher

3. This researcher then blindly gave the coordinate to Swann, who was asked to “remote view” the location and describe what he saw

Here’s a cutout of one of their coordinates in Virginia (38°23'45.48"N 79°25'00.0’W)