Step Inside the Hawkins Lab: A Stranger Things–Inspired Halloween Experience in Oakland, NJ

Something strange is happening in Hawkins, Indiana — and this Halloween, it’s happening right here in Oakland, New Jersey with this incredible Stranger Things Halloween Experience!

Creative Geekery invites you to “The Hawkins Incident”, a free Stranger Things–inspired immersive experience that blurs the line between nostalgia, science fiction, and spine-tingling suspense.

Guests won’t just watch the story unfold — they’ll step right into it.

When you arrive, you’ll be greeted by representatives of the Hawkins National Laboratory. They’re conducting what they call a “community outreach demonstration” — an opportunity for local residents to learn more about the lab’s ongoing environmental research. The atmosphere is calm, clinical, and reassuring. At least at first.

Inside the Stranger Things Halloween Experience everything feels exactly as you might expect from a 1980s government facility — buzzing fluorescent lights, plastic sheeting from floor to ceiling, clipboards, and the faint smell of sterilizer. Scientists explain that this is one of Hawkins Lab’s new containment sites, built to stabilize “atmospheric disturbances” and examine “energy fluctuations” that have been affecting nearby homes.

You’ll move from room to room — through sterile white corridors, past humming machines and equipment marked with the Hawkins seal — until you reach the lab’s central chamber. There, a cage sits on a table. It’s shaking. Something inside is alive.

Moments later, the lights flicker red. A low hum begins to vibrate through the floor. The scientists look confused. Then panicked. The world around you shifts — and in a flash, you’re no longer in the Hawkins you knew.

Plastic walls pulse with light from the Upside Down, shadows move on the other side of translucent barriers, and you begin to realize that this was never just a science demonstration. It was a test — and the containment is failing.

This year’s Creative Geekery Halloween event transforms an ordinary suburban home into a full-scale cinematic experience. Every inch of the set — from the glowing Hawkins monitors to the eerie containment cages — has been hand-built to create the feeling that you’ve truly stepped into the Stranger Things universe.

In the final scene, guests encounter the lab’s frozen specimens: massive industrial refrigerators, labeled and sealed, humming in the dark. Frost clings to the plastic walls as one of the doors begins to thaw — revealing a towering Demogorgon stirring from hibernation.

It’s the perfect blend of storytelling, nostalgia, and practical effects magic — built by fans, for fans.

The event is free to attend, with entry every ten minutes for small groups to keep the experience personal and immersive. Donations are accepted for charity, and each run lasts about 8–10 minutes.

Location: Oakland, NJ (full address provided after booking)

Date: Halloween NightTickets: Reserve free timed slots at www.creativegeekery.com/halloween

Recommended Age: 13+

Creative Geekery’s builds are known for their attention to cinematic realism — combining lighting, projection, handmade props, and storytelling to create experiences that feel more like scenes from a film than a traditional haunt.

So if you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to walk the halls of Hawkins Lab, this Halloween is your chance. Step into the lab.

Meet the scientists. See the research. And try not to think about what might be waiting… behind the plastic.

Because in Hawkins, science doesn’t always go as planned.