Every state’s Stranger Things fun fact

Indiana: Hawkins setting and more

Indiana is the true Stranger Things State (they should change their nickname) as that’s where the show takes place. Hawkins, Indiana may not be a real place as many a google search has shown lots of curious people, but that Midwest, small-town vibe is all over the show. The town doesn’t even have a mall until the third season!

But why is the series set in Indiana? Good question. It’s most likely due to how much Close Encounters of the Third Kind inspired the creators and the writers of the show. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is set in Indiana so it makes sense that the Duffer brothers chose that state for their show.

If you’ve never seen Close Encounters, it’s a movie from 1977 starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, and François Truffaut. The film follows Dreyfuss’s character, Roy, who is an electric lineman and who discovers how his life changes after he has an encounter with a UFO.

While it’s not an 80s movie like some of the other inspirations for the series, it is a classic sci-fi that many creators in the genre go to.

You can see the inspiration in Will’s drawings as well as in the season 2 poster. It looks eerily similar to the poster for the movie. There is also the whole idea of a boy abducted. Will’s storyline looks a lot like Close Encounters just with a different abductor.