MKOFTEN: The CIA Experiments in Paranormal Warfare

As a secret sub-project of MKULTRA, Project MKOFTEN was far more than just a chemistry experiment; it was the CIA's desperate attempt to harness the power of the occult and paranormal. While many historical accounts gloss over MKOFTEN as simple drug research, these official versions omit the program's darkest aspect: the covert search for a way to combine toxic chemicals with the mind-altering influence of the occult.

Project MKOFTEN was the CIA's attempt to determine whether the supernatural could be weaponized. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, the agency worked with the U.S. Army to go beyond conventional drug testing. Under the direction of Sidney Gottlieb, head of the CIA's Technical Service, palm readers, psychics, and specialists in alternative belief systems were hired as consultants. The government wanted to know if the psychological terror of "black magic," witchcraft, and "powers of darkness" could be used as a weapon to influence or break foreign enemies. From prison cells to investigations of ritualistic behavior, the CIA compiled a list of all possible methods of destroying the human mind, using both chemicals and the psychological power of the occult.

Human subjects were needed for the practical application of this science. Many of these individuals were found in the corridors of Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia. Under the direction of Dr. Albert Kligman, the prisoners were subjected to intensive pharmacological tests, often without knowledge of the true nature of the substances used on them.

One of the most extreme accounts comes from inmate Edward Anthony. He believed he was participating in a medical trial to earn money, but instead, researchers applied high concentrations of dioxins directly to his skin. Anthony suffered horrific blistering and physical trauma, but the psychological consequences were even worse. During these experiments, he reported hallucinations in which he felt hunted by demonic entities. His testimony later became a cornerstone in the court cases that exposed the complete lack of ethics in the prison.

While prisoners were being used for toxicity tests, the military wanted to find out how its own soldiers would react to incapacitating substances on the battlefield. At Edgewood Arsenal, thousands of US soldiers were given BZ, a powerful drug designed to induce a state of total delirium. The goal was to develop a "non-lethal" weapon that could incapacitate an entire enemy unit by disrupting their grasp on reality. For days, soldiers under the influence of BZ lost their bearings, talked to people they didn't know, and completely forgot who they were. The aim was to find a way to exploit this chemical trance state to make people easier to control or more susceptible to psychological manipulation.

MKOFTEN's most bizarre assignment involved the direct study of ritualistic behavior and occultism. CIA agents were tasked with investigating the burgeoning occult scene in San Francisco and New York. They weren't there for spiritual reasons. They were looking for psychological "triggers" used in rituals that could be weaponized. They analyzed how occult figures could induce states of total fear or obedience in their followers. The CIA believed that by combining occult imagery with the potency of their new drugs, they could effectively overwhelm a target's consciousness. They wanted to find out if they could induce a public psychic breakdown that would appear to the outside world as a demonic possession.

The end result of this research was the CHICKWIT database. It served the CIA as a digital encyclopedia of toxic substances. Agents traveled the world to gather information on exotic poisons and plants traditionally used in shamanic rituals and local healing practices. Their mission was to record the recipes for ritual poisons and substances used to induce trance-like states. Each substance was analyzed in the laboratory and entered into the CHICKWIT system. Categorization was based on its effects on human behavior. The CIA was essentially attempting to transform the ancient knowledge of ritual magic into a modern military asset.

The project was officially terminated in the early 1970s. As with many other MKULTRA documents, the CIA attempted to destroy all records of it. However, due to filing errors and mislabeled folders, enough documents survived to reveal the program's terrifying scope. The surviving MKULTRA files paint a picture of an agency that completely disregarded the rules of traditional science. They reveal a period in American history when the line between a government laboratory and a sinister ritual conducted in the name of victory in a secret war became blurred.

MKOFTEN
Most people are familiar with Project MKUltra, the CIA's mind control operation. This was just the tip of the iceberg and spawned over 150 sub-projects. One of these projects was called "MKOften."
This project went beyond mind control and branched out into a world of black magic, witchcraft, and the occult. It was used to explore the world of black magic and to harness the powers of darkness within the mind.

Sources
• The Church Commission Reports (1975): This is the authoritative government investigation into CIA misconduct. It forms the basis for almost everything we know about MKULTRA and MKOFTEN. Read the declassified report. PDF file in the National Security Archive.
• Acres of Skin (Allen Hornblum): This is the primary source for the story of Edward Anthony and the experiments at Holmesburg Prison. Hornblum interviewed the survivors and compiled the records. Learn more about the The book and the testimonies of the survivors.
• The CIA's search for the "Manchurian Candidate": A detailed look by John Marks into the CIA's mind control programs, based on 16,000 pages of declassified documents. The complete book is accessible through the CIA reading room in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)..
• Analysis of the CHICKWIT and OFTEN projects: A detailed account of how the CIA cataloged toxins and “ethnopharmacological” (shamanic) recipes. Article about the CIA's chemical/biological research
(via Red Pill Conspiracy)