👾 The Real Abandoned Places Used in Stranger Things (2025 Guide)

Stranger Things is famous for its monsters, portals, and supernatural atmosphere…
But what many fans don’t know is that several key locations in the series are real abandoned places — used exactly as they were.

With Season 5 now released, interest in these locations has exploded.
Here’s a complete guide to the real forgotten places behind Hawkins, the Upside Down, and the show’s most iconic scenes.

🏚️ 1. Starcourt Mall — A Real Abandoned Mall

Real location: Gwinnett Place Mall (Duluth, Georgia, USA)

One of the most iconic Stranger Things locations is a real half-abandoned shopping mall.

📌 What’s real:

• The mall was already mostly abandoned before the show.
• Netflix transformed an empty wing into a full 1980s mall.
• After filming, the mall was shut down entirely and large sections remain abandoned today.
• Many corridors still look exactly the way they did during production.

The empty halls gave the show its authentic retro–apocalyptic vibe.

🏥 2. Emory Briarcliff Campus — The Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital

Real location: Emory Briarcliff Campus (Atlanta)

Used for hospital scenes in multiple seasons, this building is a real abandoned psychiatric and research center.

📌 What’s real:

• Built in the 1950s for psychiatric care
• Closed in the late 1990s
• Many rooms have never been renovated
• Real isolation rooms, abandoned hallways, peeling paint, old furniture
• Parts of the building are unsafe and sealed off

The perfect setting for Hawkins Lab–style chaos.

🏫 3. Hawkins High School — A Real Closed & Partly Abandoned School

Real location: Patrick Henry High School (Stockbridge, Georgia)

The real Hawkins High is filmed in a closed public high school, unused since 2015.

📌 What’s real:

• The school is officially shut down
• Entire wings are empty and abandoned
• The gym, cafeteria and long hallways are real interior locations
• Only minor set dressing was needed

It’s one of the most instantly recognizable Stranger Things spots.

🕳️ 4. Hawkins National Laboratory — A Real Abandoned Research Center

Real location: Georgia Mental Health Institute (GMHI)

The famous Hawkins Lab is a mix of exterior shots and real interior scenes filmed inside an abandoned research campus.

📌 What’s real:

• Closed since 1997
• Long concrete corridors
• Old medical rooms
• Basement tunnels partly sealed
• Flickering lights & peeling walls → all real

This is one of the eeriest Stranger Things locations in real life.

🎡 5. The Fairgrounds — A Semi-Abandoned Carnival Site

Real location: Georgia State Fairgrounds (Rome, GA)

For the funfair scenes, the production used a real decaying fairground.

📌 What’s real:

• Rusted structures
• Unused carnival shacks
• Old rides left exposed to weather
• Abandoned vendor booths

The location required almost no modification — it was already perfect for Stranger Things.

🏨 6. The Abandoned Motels of Hawkins

Throughout the series (especially seasons 2, 4, and 5), several motel scenes were filmed in real abandoned motels around Atlanta.

📌 What’s real:

• Closed since the early 2010s
• Real rooms kept intact
• Old carpets, curtains, broken TVs
• Complete retro atmosphere

These are classic American roadside motels stuck in time.

📷 Photo references (public sources)

Starcourt Mall / Gwinnett Place
https://flic.kr/p/2kL6K4v

Emory Briarcliff
https://flic.kr/p/26XUz9R

Patrick Henry High School
https://flic.kr/p/2jxPWvF

🧭 Want to explore real abandoned places yourself?

Stranger Things used real-life abandoned places, some untouched for decades.
If you want to explore similar places — in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and across Europe — here are the maps you can access:

✔️ Free Urbex Map (includes several real locations)

🔗 Access the Free Map

✔️ Full Map Access — 5000+ verified abandoned places

Ghost towns, hotels, factories, bunkers, sanatoriums…

🔗 See all paid maps

🎁 Create an account & get your free map

🗺️ Access the Free Map

⚠️ Important Legal Note

These filming locations are not open to the public.
Do not attempt to enter:

• abandoned malls
• closed hospitals
• sealed school campuses
• restricted government buildings

All exploration must be done legally and safely.

🎯 Final Thoughts

The magic of Stranger Things comes from the real abandoned places behind it.
From the ghostly hallways of Briarcliff to the empty Starcourt Mall, these filming locations are just as haunting in real life as they are in the Upside Down.

🧭 If you want to discover real abandoned places you can explore today, start here:
Access the Free Urbex Map