The fictional Indiana town of Hawkins, in "Stranger Things," is really tiny Georgia enclave.
Legions of fans are traipsing to a tiny Georgia town, where the hit Neflix series "Stranger Things" stages its battle against the Upside Down.
The fictional enclave of Hawkins, Indiana, where a secret portal leads to all manner of evil, is in reality the Georgia hamlets of Jackson and Palmetto.
In the latter, at the Piggly Wiggly express market, formerly known as Bradley's Big Buy, admirers of the show's main character, Eleven, dress up like her and wander the aisles in search of Eggos, Eleven's favorite food, and cans of Coke, which the super-powered child can bend with her mind.
"You can spot them in the crowd when they come in here," manager David Johnston told The Associated Press. "The girl the other day was dressed like Eleven, all the way to the blood running down her nose."
Eleven, blessed with an amazing array of abilities that include being able to get inside other people's heads, suffers nose bleeds when exerting her special gifts.
The nostalgic 1980s series, a mixture of science fiction and Stephen King homespun horror, debuted three seasons ago. Within days of premiering, 40.7 million subscribers had already started watching the series, with 18.2 million of that number having already watched the whole season, according to the streaming service.
The beloved program broke all of its records when season three debuted in July. Since then, speculation has mounted over whether the series and its young cast, led by Winona Ryder's portrayal of a stressed-out, chain-smoking mom, would return for a fourth term.
Meanwhile, the faithful continue to flock southward. In Jackson, Lucy Lu's Coffee Cafe offers a special "Stranger Things" menu, containing concoctions such as "011," cinnamon coffee with maple syrup, topped with crumbled Eggos. Tourists have helped the local coffeehouse double its daily net sales.
Over at the corner of Second and North Oak streets, a marquee was added to the front of an eatery, turning it into the Hawk movie theater, where Nancy Wheeler's name was slut-shamed in spray paint. Just down Second Street, the Butts County Probate Court was transformed into Hawkins' public library, where the character of Sheriff Hopper was seen running up and down the steps.
The fever to see all things related to the filming of "Stranger Things" encompasses even road trips. On a website called TV Traveler, there is a detailed guide on "how to take a really strange road trip," containing addresses and directions to real-life, split-level ranch houses that doubled as the suburban homes where the fearless kids of "Strangers Things" lived with their clueless parents.
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