The creepy real life event that inspired Outlast

Many conspiracy theories about the Central Intelligence Agency exist, but this one happens to be true, according to documents published by the U.S. Senate. Starting in the 1950s and continuing through the 1970s, more than 30 institutions and universities (and perhaps as many as 86) acting under the aegis of the CIA apparently conducted experiments on people without their knowledge by subjecting them to hallucinogenic drugs and chemicals as part of a project called MK-ULTRA. Techniques such as torture, electroshock therapy, hypnosis, and sensory deprivation were also tested.

The idea was to develop mind-controlling drugs that could give the U.S government an edge in international relations, including the Cold War between it and the U.S.S.R. It was a continuation of work done in Nazi Germany and Japanese concentration camps; in fact, the CIA hired some of those professionals to build upon their work, investigative journalist Stephen Kinzer has said. The head of the project was Sidney Gottlieb, who has been called “poisoner in chief” and “the most prolific torturer of his generation.”

At least one person (and possibly more) died as a result of the experiments, although many others became ill or had their lives irreparably altered. The actual scientific knowledge gained was negligible and the reports incomplete, Senate reports indicate. Records of MK-ULTRA were ordered destroyed in 1973 by then-director of the CIA Richard Helms, and the LSD subculture from that era is said to be a by-product of the effort.

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