Where is Stranger Things set? Hawkins, Indiana, and the real filming locations in Georgia
Universe · Hawkins · Filming locations
Stranger Things is set in Hawkins, a fictional small town in Indiana, but is filmed more than 800 kilometers from there, in Georgia, around Atlanta. Here is where Hawkins sits in fiction, and what each place in the show corresponds to in reality.
The essentials
- In the fiction: Hawkins, Roane County, Indiana
- In real life: Georgia, around Atlanta
- Downtown Hawkins: Jackson, Georgia
- Lab: former Briarcliff campus of Emory University, Atlanta
Contents
Hawkins, Indiana: a town that does not exist
Hawkins is an invention. The show places it in Indiana, a Midwest state, a few hours' drive from Indianapolis, with a forest, a quarry, a federal lab on the edge and, later, a mall. The choice of Indiana comes down to one idea: a midsize farming town, with no landmarks, the most ordinary America possible, so that the irruption of the supernatural is more violent.
The show was first imagined in Montauk, on the Long Island coast. The move inland gave Hawkins what defines it: woods, empty roads, and high-voltage lines.
The Hawkins T-shirt, for those who know the town does not exist.
In the shopWomen's oversized Hawkins Indiana T-shirt25,90 €See the product
The real filming locations, one by one
| In the show | In real life |
|---|---|
| Downtown Hawkins | Jackson, Georgia (main street, movie theater, police station) |
| the Byers house | An isolated house near Fayetteville, Georgia |
| Hawkins National Laboratory | Former Briarcliff campus of Emory University, Atlanta |
| Hawkins middle school and high school | Former Patrick Henry High School, Stockbridge |
| Starcourt Mall | Gwinnett Place Mall, Duluth, refitted for season 3 |
| the Creel house | Claremont House, Rome, Georgia |
| The studios | Screen Gems Studios, Atlanta, for the interior sets and the Upside Down |
Jackson, an hour south of Atlanta, has become a fan destination: the main street was used for every downtown scene, and the Season 1 movie theater is recognizable there. The Byers house, though, is a private property: you can see it from the road, not visit it.
Why GeorgiaThe state has offered a very generous tax credit to film and TV productions since 2008. Atlanta has become one of the top American shooting hubs, and the countryside around it looks enough like the Midwest to play Indiana.
What you can visit
Jackson is the natural starting point: the town runs tours around the filming locations, and several shops on the main street are the ones on screen. The Briarcliff campus, which stood in for the lab, is a disused building closed to the public, visible from outside. Gwinnett Place Mall, the Starcourt of Season 3, has largely closed: the neon sets were taken down after the shoot.
The Creel house, in Rome, is a real Victorian home, turned into an event venue: it can be visited at events. For a fan passing through Atlanta, one day is enough to see Jackson, Stockbridge, and Briarcliff; count a second day for Rome.
Spotting the places on screen
A few landmarks for attentive viewers. The bridge under which Will throws his bike in the first episode, the quarry where they pull out his fake body, the Mirkwood forest where the party looks for Will at night: everything is less than an hour from Atlanta. The forest, in particular, comes back every season, because it borders several of the properties used by production.
Downtown Jackson was redecorated each season: period signs, collector cars parked along the street, 80s movie posters at the theater. Between shoots, the town takes back its normal look, with a few nods left in place for visitors.
And the scenes filmed elsewhere?
The California of Season 4 (Lenora Hills) was shot in New Mexico, around Albuquerque, which also supplied the desert of the Nina project. The Russia scenes, including the Kamchatka prison, were filmed in Lithuania, in a former prison in Vilnius. Chicago, where Eleven finds Kali again in Season 2, was partly rebuilt in Pittsburgh.
As for the Upside Down, it has no address: they are the same sets as Hawkins, replayed in studio or on location, covered in vines and ash, then reworked in post-production.
The figure to take on a pilgrimage to Jackson.
In the shopLego Hawkins party bikes68,90 €See the product
The filming locations, set by set
| In the show | In real life |
|---|---|
| Downtown Hawkins | Jackson, Georgia, an hour south of Atlanta |
| The lab | A former state psychiatric institute, on a university campus in Atlanta |
| The quarry | Bellwood Quarry, in Atlanta |
| Middle school and high school | A high school in Stockbridge, Georgia |
| the Creel house | An 1882 house in Rome, Georgia |
| Pennhurst asylum | A private school near Rome, Georgia |
| Starcourt Mall | Gwinnett Place Mall, near Duluth |
| The Kamchatka prison | A decommissioned prison in Vilnius, Lithuania |
| The Nevada bunker | Studios in Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| The trailer park | Griffin, in Georgia |
Why Georgia, and not Indiana
The show was supposed to be set in Montauk, on Long Island, and the Duffers wanted to shoot on location. The shoot was scheduled for November 2015, too cold for the coast; production looked for locations around Atlanta, where the state's tax incentives have drawn productions since the 2000s. The Duffers, who grew up in North Carolina, found the landscapes of their childhood there, and Montauk became Hawkins, in Indiana.
The choice held for ten years. The five seasons were shot in Georgia, in the same Atlanta studios for the interiors, with trips to Lithuania and New Mexico for Season 4. The final table read of the script, on September 8, 2024, happened on Stage 16 of those studios, where it had all begun.
What the show did to Georgia
Jackson, the small town that plays the center of Hawkins, has become a destination: fans photograph the town-hall facade, the downtown shops, and the bridge, and guided tours have sprung up. Gwinnett Place mall, in decline, had a brief second life thanks to visitors, and the Creel house in Rome has drawn the curious since 2022.
That tourism has its rules: most of the houses in the show are private properties, and the lab is not open to the public. The show made Georgia the Indiana of the fans, without Indiana itself ever seeing a camera.
The town poster, woods and high-voltage lines included.
In the shopWelcome to Hawkins Indiana patch hoodie59,90 €See the product
Frequently asked questions
Where is Stranger Things set?
In Hawkins, a fictional town in Indiana, in the United States. Some seasons move to California, Russia and Chicago.
Does Hawkins really exist?
No. The town is made up. Its streets are those of Jackson, Georgia, and its buildings come from several places around Atlanta.
Where is the show filmed?
Mainly in Georgia: Jackson, Fayetteville, Stockbridge, Duluth, Rome and the Atlanta studios. The Russian scenes were filmed in Lithuania.
Can you visit the filming locations?
Yes for downtown Jackson, the Creel house in Rome and the Stockbridge exteriors. The Byers house and the lab are closed to the public.
Where is the Russian prison of season 4 filmed?
In a decommissioned prison in Vilnius, Lithuania, just closed when filming started in February 2020.
Was a scene shot in Indiana?
No. The whole show was filmed in Georgia, with side trips to Lithuania and New Mexico for season 4.
Where did the final script read take place?
On stage 16 of the Atlanta studios used since the first season, on September 8, 2024, in the presence of the whole cast.
Why did the Duffers choose Jackson for Hawkins?
Because its main street, its town hall and its shops had the look of a small Midwest town of the 80s, and reminded the Duffers of the North Carolina of their childhood.