What monster is in Stranger Things?

Stranger Things is an American science fiction horror series created by the Duffer Brothers. The story is set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, and brings in various supernatural elements with comic relief giving homage to various classics of the era. It revolves around a group of friends namely Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, and Will Byers, who become entangled in mysterious events following the disappearance of Will.

Will is taken to the mysterious dimension, The Upside Down, prompting his mother, Joyce Byers, and the town's police chief, Jim Hopper, to search for him. Will’s friends cross paths with Eleven, a girl with telekinetic abilities, who had escaped from a secret government lab and holds the key to finding Will and bringing closure to the mysterious events of Hawkins.

What monster is in Stranger Things?

From Season 1 to Season 4, we have seen various kinds of monsters introduced in the series.

Vines

Vines have been one of the most common forms of vegetation formed on the walls and grounds of the region. These vines are known to be part of the Mind Flayer’s hive mind, communicating with all other beings in the dimension including sending signals to Vecna. They can even move around using instincts and can easily entangle creatures between them. For example, the vines were easily able to bind Steve, Nancy, and Robin when they invaded Vecna’s house.

Demodogs

Demodogs are flesh-eating beasts who, even though they move around like dogs, can kill humans and other living beings in an instant. The first appearance of the demodogs was in the 2nd season of Stranger Things where initially a demodog was introduced as Dustin’s newly found pet who later ate his mother’s cat and fled from the house. The appearance of Demodogs are also witnessed by the end of season 2 when Will and company are trapped in the Hawkins National Laboratory infested with the creatures.

Demobats

Just like Demodogs, Demobats are also meat-eating monsters who can fly like bats. These creatures have huge teeth and fangs. These creatures were introduced during the 3rd season of Stranger Things when the group of Steve, Nancy, Robin, Max, Lucas, Eddie, and Dustin traveled to the Upside Down to stop Vecna. It was the Demobats that killed Eddie Mundson when he placed himself as a distraction to steer them away from Steve and the others.

Demogorgon

Demogorgons can be considered to be an evolved version of the Demodogs. These creatures, while having a similar facial structure to a demodog, have the ability to move around like humans on 2 feet. These creatures were first shown in season 1 during the mysterious disappearance of Barbra Holland. There was another Demogorgon introduced during Season 4 in Russia when Hopper and Enzo were captured in a Russian prison camp.

The Spider Monster

Possibly amongst the biggest creatures from The Upside Down, the Spider Monster was shown in the 2nd season and was the creature who killed Max’s brother Billy. While the creature in appearance is one the scariest beings from the Upside Down, having eight legs gave out its interpretation of being a Spider Monster. For now, the beast only made one appearance in the real world which is during the 3rd season.

The Mind Flayer

The Mind Flayer is a shady ghost-like entity, which is made of dust particles and has the ability to take over his host and make him do anything. The Mind Flayer is capable of communicating between various monsters and creatures in the Upside Down and overseas the hive mind between all the creatures. Till season 4 of Stranger Things, the hive mind has possessed Will Byers and Billy Hargrove which has caused huge chaos in the group.

Vecna or Number One or Henry Creel

In seasons 3 and 4, it was revealed that Vecna was the mastermind behind the creation of the beast and creatures in the lands of the Upside Down. Vecna was previously known to be Henry Creel aka Number One (later revealed in the show) and was a supervisor in the secret government facility where Eleven grew up. A series of mishappenings leads to the clash between Eleven and Creel where the latter is unknowingly banished and sealed in the Upside Down where he embodies the personality of Vecna waiting for his moment to strike back.

Also read: What is Stranger Things about?