10 Stephen King References And Homages In Stranger Things
7. Hawkins = Castle Rock
A slightly less obvious nod to Stephen King's world comes by way of the town of Hawkins itself.
Now, much has been made of the link between Hawkins and Amity Island from Steven Spielberg's Jaws - the local police force boasts the same uniforms as its Amity counterpart, for example.
However, there's another case to be made - that Hawkins is actually a nod to Stephen King's Castle Rock.
Castle Rock is the Maine town that many of King's novels, especially early on, were set in: Cujo, The Body, The Dead Zone, The Dark Half, Needful Things, and numerous short stories took place there. The town was also referenced in other King works, notably It (which was set in another King hotspot, Derry).
Castle Rock was the quintessential, picturesque small town - that little burg where everyone knows everyone, there's a local bad boy, a few weekend drunks, but nothing much really happens. Everyone knows the local sheriff, and everyone knows all the local gossip. Quiet, until it isn't.
Sound familiar? You could pretty much swap Hawkins with Castle Rock, and everything would fit right in, especially since both are magnets for paranormal activity.