Project MKOFTEN

Project MKOFTEN was a covert U.S. Department of Defense program developed in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It was initiated in 1966 following other parallel programs such as MKULTRA, initiated on April 13, 1953, which was later changed to Project MKSEARCH in 1964. A partner program to MKSEARCH, the goal of MKOFTEN was to "test the behavioral and toxicological effects of certain drugs on animals and humans".
There have been allegations, with little to no evidence provided to support them, that Project MKOFTEN went further than just research about mind control, but it branched out into the world of the occult. According to author Gordon Thomas's 2007 book "Secrets and Lies" the CIA's Operation Often was also initiated by the chief of the CIA's Technical Services Branch, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, to "explore the world of black magic" and "harness the forces of darkness and challenge the concept that the inner reaches of the mind are beyond reach". As part of Operation Often, Dr. Gottlieb and other CIA employees visited with and recruited fortune-tellers, palm-readers, clairvoyants, astrologists, mediums, psychics, specialists in demonology, witches and warlocks, Satanists, other occult practitioners, and more.