Sharp Objects on Location: Welcome to Wind Gap! #book2screen

On Location in Wind Gap AKA Barnesville, Georgia

Where is Wind Gap, Missouri, the main location for Sharp Objects based on the book by Gillian Flynn? You won't find the location for her novel—almost a classic southern noir with sweltering days and nights—on a map. Which meant director Jean-Marc Vallée had to search far and wide to find a place with just the right sleepy—dare I say creepy?—vibe.

According to Vulture, location manager Gregory Alpert dug up a variety of locations across three states to create the world Sharp Objects so uniquely inhabits. The series was shot in St. Louis, Missouri, in both Northern and Southern California—where 16 different communities are seen in the series—and the town that’s been Wind Gap’s primary stand-in, Barnesville, Georgia.

Hello Betty! says photographer & film fan Tracey Phillipps

I’m grateful to Tracey Phillipps, a member of the Sharp Objects Facebook group and a fellow film fan, for allowing me to share her photos of the real town behind the show. Tracey lives about an hour from Barnseville, Georgia, the stand-in for Flynn's fictional Wind Gap and decided to go have a look. Kathy Oxford, the film liaison from the county even gave her a personal walking tour and says the town is thinking about offering tours in the future. In the meantime, you can stop by the Chamber of Commerce to get started. 

Thanks for the tour, Tracey! You can find Tracey Phillipps on Twitter and Instagram, both at @scrappnfan. She’s also on Facebook. Tracey is a contributing host at a site called SoManyShows.com where they cover television shows via reviews, podcasts, and radio. Bosch fans are going to want to tune in! Thanks again, Tracey! Your photos were both informational and gorgeous to look at.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you’re lusting after the Crellin estate, the “home’’ Camille returns to in Sharp Objects.  More on that on my next Sharp Objects post but—spoiler alert—it’s not in Georgia. The location manager told Vulture that Vallée “had very specific marching orders for the mansion: “I want a house that if someone was screaming, you would never hear them.”  This gorgeous home up in California’s Mendocino County fit the bill. With Realtor in my background, I can’t help but wonder what a manse like this goes for. Any guesses?