For this family, Durham really is at the heart of Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’
For a mid-sized city, Durham sure has an outsized number of cultural touchpoints: Coach K and the Cameron Crazies, “Bull Durham” and “The Best of Enemies,” Lucky Strike, Black Wall Street, Pauli Murray, Big Daddy Kane, The Mountain Goats and Sylvan Esso. Even our inauspicious events become popular ESPN 30-for-30 documentaries and Netflix miniseries.
But no single Bull City cultural reference has brought our family more pride or meaning than “Stranger Things.”
The Netflix sci-fi show-turned-global-phenomenon doesn’t take place in Durham, nor was it filmed here. It’s set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, and was filmed in and around Atlanta. No matter, because the real ones know that Hawkins is Durham. Durham is Hawkins.
That’s not me speculating. That’s straight from the mouths of the show’s creators, twin brothers Ross and Matt Duffer.
You may know that the Duffer Brothers, as they’re commonly known, grew up in Durham when they were the same ages as the show’s main characters. Many of the locations in the show were inspired by well known Durham spots, reinforced by Easter Eggs littered throughout five seasons’ worth of episodes: the intersection of Kerley and Cornwallis, Pickett Road, Lochn’ora neighborhood, Enzo’s and Bullock’s restaurants, and the Eno River, to name a few.
You could argue there are other, more subtle references like the Cabelands quarry and Rhine Research Center, known for its pioneering parapsychology work. You could argue that Durham also inspired many of the characters and plot lines in the show.
As a proud Durhamite, I get extra vocal whenever the topic of “Stranger Things” comes up. I want to make sure Durham retains its rightful top spot in the conversation. Like many Ohioans in the unofficial battle with North Carolina over the Wright Brothers’ legacy, I make sure the world knows that “Stranger Things” may have taken flight in Atlanta and Indiana, but it was born in Durham.
Like looking in a mirror at our younger selves
My love for the show came naturally and was immediate. I remember the day back in 2016 when my good friend Kevin recommended it, knowing I was a card-carrying member of Generation X and aficionado of 1980s pop culture. My wife and I were born in 1975, squarely in the range of the younger characters on the show, and watching each episode felt like looking in a mirror at our younger selves — hers in Greensboro and Charlotte, and mine in Knoxville, Tennessee.
We lived in homes that looked like the Wheelers’ and had older sisters like Nancy and older brothers like Jonathan. We rode our bikes everywhere, played with figurines, and made indoor and outdoor forts. We grew up with Dungeons and Dragons, arcades, roller skating rinks, cassette tape players, video stores, school lunchboxes, walkie talkies, Tiffany, “Cheers” re-runs, big hair and Members Only jackets. All of this was so accurately brought to life in the show, we were shocked to learn the Duffer Brothers weren’t even born until 1984.
My wife and I devoured the first two seasons, patiently waiting to sneak downstairs and watch each episode after our two young daughters had gone to bed. By the time Season 3 came out, the girls were 8 and 10 and well aware of the show. They urged us to let them watch, so we reluctantly re-watched the first episode with them, strategically muting the set and covering their eyes during the scariest scenes. They fell in love as quickly as we did, and soon it was a family affair.
Actually it was more like family fanaticism.
The Barron family embraces ‘Stranger Things’
We named our late Golden Retriever “Hopper” after one of the main characters (Police Chief Jim Hopper, played by David Harbour). We dressed as “Stranger Things” characters on multiple Halloweens (even including our dogs in the act). We bought each special edition Durham Bulls jersey for their “Stranger Things” Nights. We saw the now-popular play “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” in London, a full year before it debuted on Broadway.
But our fandom peaked in the summer of 2022, still in the thick of the pandemic, as Season 4 was being released. I did some research and created an afternoon-long Durham/”Stranger Things” tour for our girls and some of their friends. We drove around town, hopping in and out of our minivan to take pictures of all the streets, neighborhoods, restaurants and other local references in the show. We all wore matching “Keep Durham Strange” T-shirts (in the proper ITC Benguiat typeface), listened to the soundtrack in between stops, and ate Bullock’s takeout afterward.
Meeting Mr. McCorkle and the Duffers’ parents
The last stop was a bit of a long shot. Some of the show’s lesser known references are characters named after people the Duffer Brothers grew up with in Durham. In Season 2, the character Dustin has a phone conversation with “Mr. McCorkle,” aka Durham’s own Pope “Mac” McCorkle. I knew Mac from church and asked if he’d be part of our tour. He immediately and enthusiastically agreed, and we made plans to have a safe, socially distant gathering with him in his driveway. He came out to greet us wearing a big smile and charming homemade sign that read “Mister McCorkle from Stranger Things.”
Minutes later, another woman walked over from the house across the street. We learned this was Cathy Gracey, aka “Miss Gracey,” Eleven’s high school teacher in California.
A few minutes later, another couple walked over. They weren’t the namesakes of any of the show’s characters, but they did create the show’s creators. For the next 30 or so minutes, the Duffer Brothers’ parents (Allen Duffer and Ann Christensen) shared stories about their sons, their childhood, and the inspirations for the show we all adore.
They talked about letting the boys stay up late not to watch current movies, but rather ‘70s and ‘80s movies my wife and I grew up watching: “Jaws,” “WarGames,” “The Goonies,” “Close Encounters,” “Breakfast Club” and yes, “The Neverending Story.” Everything about that conversation was delightful, and it was extraordinary to learn that the inspiration for arguably the world’s most popular TV show was both ordinary (in the best way) and so familiar to us.
As we piled back into the minivan afterward, I wondered if the kids thought this was all a big waste of time. As soon as the doors closed, they all screamed. “Oh my gosh!” our younger daughter shouted. “We just met the Duffer Brothers’ parents! Ahhhhh!!!!”
Season 5 closes the circle
Waiting three more years for this fifth and final season required a lot of patience, but the first batch of episodes (known as Volume I of Season 5) has been worth the wait.
Now we’re bracing for the final volume of episodes to be released on Christmas Day, followed by the show’s finale on New Year’s Eve.
It may sound silly to say this about a TV show, but it’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster for us. “Stranger Things” not only has been a fixture the past decade, but it also has connected us to our daughters in a way few other things could. Besides helping us get through the pandemic, it’s been a time machine that allowed my wife and me to re-live our own childhoods, and allowed our children to see ours as they’re living their own in real time.
And now, through some Hollywood-esque magic and baby-faced actors, the main characters in this final fifth season are the ages our daughters are now, bringing the show full circle for us all.
If you haven’t heard, Netflix did something unusual for the series finale. It is releasing the two-hour episode in local cinemas for a live viewing. When I found out, I set a calendar reminder and waited patiently to buy tickets for our family, as I wanted us to be with other fans who would appreciate it as much (or close to as much) as we do.
But I struck out, multiple times. No tickets for us. I’m not gonna lie — initially, I was pretty angry. I felt like we’re “Stranger Things” VIPs who deserve VIP-level access to this final celebration.
But then I realized my failure was a gift. Because the only way for us to end this wild, fictional, nostalgic ride is where it all began: together, in the comfort of our home, in the real town we, and the Duffer Brothers, and so many others are proud to call home.
Walt Barron is a startup executive and proud dad, husband and fan of Durham’s own mega hit “Stranger Things.”
