Hawkins, Indiana, the fictional town in Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” is as central to the show's plot as any of its main characters.
Fans are so fascinated by the place that they travel from all over the world to experience it for themselves. Only, it’s not in Indiana — it's in central Georgia, in the town of Jackson, about an hour south of Atlanta.
The quaint town of 5,000 is in a wooded area just outside of Indian Springs, one of Georgia’s oldest state parks. Locals say the town was once marked by significant drug activity and was desperate for business.
“It was a bootstrap situation,” said Hannah Thompson, who owns a local shop dedicated to 1980s memorabilia and runs daily “Stranger Tours” with her husband, Cameron. “If you’re looking around, you’re seeing empty shops, many of those were empty for almost a decade.”
The town’s fictional identity helped rejuvenate it. “We’re bringing fans here, and they want to have a great time,” Thompson said. “They’re really here to have fun — take a tour, grab some lunch, fill up the gas tank.”
The show, set in the 1980s, follows a group of friends’ efforts to save Hawkins from the creepy crawly world of “the upside down” — the dark and evil universe that lies beneath their hometown, lurking with monsters who are slowly invading.
“Stranger Things” is Netflix’s third most-watched show of all time, racking up more than 140 million views over its nearly decadelong run, according to the company. The fifth and final season is set to debut Wednesday night, with the finale airing on New Year's Eve, giving the characters one last chance to save Hawkins once and for all.
In 2015, the Duffer Brothers, the creators of “Stranger Things,” descended upon Jackson’s main street to turn back the clock to 1983. The Thompsons saw it as an opportunity to bring tourism to Jackson.
A decade later, Jackson is buzzing from the “Stranger Things” tourism boost. Coffee shops, an ice cream parlor and several restaurants line the main drag, making it possible for fans to make a full day out of their visit.
Butts County, where Jackson is, says it has had a 12% increase in tourism in the years when “Stranger Things” is actively streaming.
The effect is reminiscent of the draw “Gilmore Girls” brought to Washington, Connecticut, which inspired the fictional town of “Stars Hollow.” In Wilmington, North Carolina fans come to visit the “Dawson’s Creek” fictional town of “Capeside,” and more recently “Cousins Beach” from Amazon Prime’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”
It's also particularly important to Jackson, where the average per capita income is less than $30,000, and one in five residents lives below the poverty line.
Fans often come to Jackson dressed as their favorite characters to go on one of the Thompsons’ daily tours that feature iconic filming locations, like “Melvald’s General Store,” where Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) works early in the show, and the alley where Steve Harrington’s (Joe Keery) fight scene takes place in season one. Jackson’s welcome center is visible throughout the show as the Hawkins library, and it will play a big role in the upcoming season five.
Bits of Hawkins can even be found scattered across the region surrounding Jackson. The set of the Byers family house, famous for the scene in which Will (Noah Schnapp) communicates with his mom from the upside down through Christmas lights, is an Airbnb in nearby Fayetteville.
For some fans, the love of “Stranger Things” transcends the show itself.
Lynn Yu and Graeshmar Miranda, a couple from Orlando, Florida, with a strong affinity for the ‘80s, drove six hours to Jackson for a cake tasting ahead of their “Stranger Things”-themed wedding, which is scheduled for the weekend after the season five premiere. The brides, who visit Jackson regularly for fan events, have matching “demogorgon” rings and plan to wear vintage ‘80s dresses for the ceremony.
“When we started dating, we started re-watching the show, and then we were competing about who liked the show more, and we started collecting stuff together, and it’s just something that bonded us a lot,” Yu said.
For many “Stranger Things” fans, watching the characters grow up through the seasons created an emotional bond that makes it hard to say goodbye. When the show debuted in 2016, the average age of the show’s main cast was 12 years old. Now, the actors are all in their early 20s.
Fans visiting Jackson recently talked about how close they've grown to the characters and their relatable lives beyond the supernatural realm.
For 16-year-old Maddie, “Stranger Things” helped her through an epilepsy diagnosis and severe seizures. “It kind of was just like an escape,” she said while visiting Jackson from Tennessee with her family. “It’s cool to have been a fan for so long and then experience all of the amazing things that they do here.”
Even as fans mourn the end of “Stranger Things,” they’re beyond excited to see how the Duffer Brothers conclude the story.
“We’re just so excited to see how everything comes together. Honestly, we don’t know what to expect,” said Yu.
“We’re a little nervous about it, because we know somebody’s gonna die,” Miranda added.
But in Jackson, “Stranger Things” is here to stay beyond the final episode.
“We’re going to keep it alive, and we invite people to come here,” said Jacqueline McKoon, the president of Butts County’s Chamber of Commerce. “If you look at legendary things like ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Star Trek,’ like they’re still a thing. So we fully expect for it to continue, for people to come and see it generation after generation.”
