Former Nazi hotspots are often a good choice of destination for dark tourists. As it turns out, one of the creepy filming locations used for shooting the latest season of Stranger Things was the Lukiškės Prison in Vilnius, Lithuania, which was under Nazi operation during World War II.
The creepy Lukiškės Prison was constructed in the early 20th century and was an involuntary home for criminals and political prisoners. Following the Nazi occupation of Lithuania in 1941, the Gestapo and Lithuanian Saugumas used the prison as a holding cell for Jewish people picked up from the Vilna Ghetto. Most of these prisoners were eventually executed in the Ponary massacre.
The Lukiškės prison only ceased to operate as a correctional facility in 2019. The visitors that the building receives now are not the loved ones of inmates but holidaymakers with a penchant for Nazi history or indeed, Stranger Things. The prison has now been redecorated for the Stranger Things set and also transformed into an Airbnb for dark tourism.
The remnant atmosphere of human torture and suffering has been glazed over with 1980s-style decor to bring the Stranger Things aesthetic. You can see photos of the Airbnb below and learn more about the strange holiday destination here.
For those yet to begin the new season, the synopsis reads: “It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier.”
“In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.”
With scenes shot in a former Nazi prison and the shooting disclaimer, it’s safe to say the latest Stranger Things chapter is the darkest and most harrowing yet.