Stranger Things was originally developed under the one-word working title "Montauk."
The Duffer Brothers' early concept was set in Montauk, a hamlet on Long Island, New York, rather than in the fictional Indiana town of Hawkins. The coastal setting connected the project to the atmosphere of films such as "Jaws," whose fictional Amity Island was also associated with Long Island locations.
Montauk also fit the project's interest in eerie government-conspiracy lore. The nearby former Camp Hero military site became linked to the alleged Montauk Project, an urban legend about secret experiments involving mind control and other paranormal ideas. Those legends helped shape the show's early mood and mythology, although they are not established historical fact.
The creators later moved the story to Hawkins because a fictional town gave them more freedom to quarantine, transform, and endanger the setting. The title changed as Netflix prepared the series for release. The first episode was once known as the "Montauk Pilot," a surviving trace of the original development.