5 Mysterious Places to Experience Stranger Things

Fans of Stranger Things have been waiting on edge for season two to appear on Netflix, so they can start their binge-watching.

After seeing how Will copes with his reentry to the real world and finding out what actually happened to Eleven, you might be inspired to venture out on your own supernatural expedition. While you can't book a ticket to Hawkins, Indiana—and we still don't know how to get to the Upside Down—you can visit these real-life Indiana destinations to get a taste of the strange phenomena in America's Midwest.

Cross a Gateway to the Afterlife in Avon

What’s in the Upside Down? How do you get to that alternative dimension? We think we know, but many secrets are yet to be revealed. In Avon, there’s a bridge that might hold some answers. Locals claim that a mother and child fell from the bridge to their death, and those who drive across can still hear their cries. Maybe that’s why many people continuously honk while driving through, attempting to down out the spooky sounds of another world.

Step Back in Time at the Story Inn

Stranger Things doesn’t focus on ghost stories per se, but the show certainly features a healthy fear of what goes bump in the night. A stay at the Story Inn in Nashville, Indiana, does just the same. When the current owner bought the bed and breakfast, he discovered something incredible. Guestbooks detail accounts of paranormal activities in every single room. Now, you can book a night at this well-preserved, 19th-century historic building to check for yourself if any creature from beyond pays a visit.

Look to the Skies at Lucky Point in Vincennes

People have been consistently reporting UFO and other unexplained sightings over the past 120 years in Vincennes. One of the most popular spots for extraterrestrial-flight seekers is Lucky Point along White River, which flows through central and southern Indiana. Since 1986, UFO chasers have reported almost 100 sightings from the same spot. In 2006, 10 people reported sightings on just one night here. Some see balls of light, others notice a giant black triangle. If you’re lucky on a visit, you might see one of these strange shapes in the sky, too.

Listen Closely in Kokomo

In Stranger Things, Joyce Burns is the first to tune into unusual signs from the Upside Down. Apparently some residents of Kokomo, Indiana, are equally attuned to unusual phenomena. Some residents—though not all—of Kokomo, report a mysterious, low hum that causes headaches and discomfort. The hum isn’t the only strange thing happening in Kokomo: In 2008, residents reported several loud booms that rattled their homes while streaks of light appeared in the sky. Nearby Grissom Air Reserve Base denied there were any test flights on that particular April night, leaving the experience unexplained.

Watch Gravity Reverse in Mooresville

Eleven may possess supernatural powers that allow her to manipulate gravity with her mind, but the rest of us must rely on optical illusions if we want to see objects defy gravity. Gravity Hill in Mooresville is Indiana’s most famous place to do so. Visitors to Mooresville are known to park their cars in neutral or place basketballs on the road to watch them roll “uphill.” It’s really a trick of the eye; scientists have demonstrated that Gravity Hill is completely an optical illusion … but locals still tell stories of phenomena that explains it all.

Writer Valerie Stimac lived in the strange state of Indiana and shares her travel stories on Twitter.