Nov. 26, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Maya Huter and Chloe MelasHawkins, 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.”