History NightmareFuel / StrangerThings

* Henry/001/Vecna's entire origin is disturbing as hell. There are so many signs that this was '''not''' a mentally stable child who progressively became more detached from humanity. And made even worse that he has psychic powers. Let's see how many red flags we can list...
** His mannerisms alone are offputting. [[BewareTheQuietOnes Henry as a child has a cold, expressionless face worn all the time]] while his parents and sister looked so jovial and lively.
** He started to collect black widows found within his house and found them to be more alike to himself than to other humans. He grew to have an unhealthy obsession with them; drawing spiders constantly, admitted to worshipping them and calling them gods in our world.
** [[StartOfDarkness When he decided to go against humanity's mundane routine of life]], he first started practicing with his powers by murdering rabbits in his yard. [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals No glimpse of remorse is seen in his expression as he does it.]]
** Without a doubt the worst part of his backstory was the [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil Creel murders]] (ie. '''his own mother and sister'''). He mericlessly kills his mom when he found out she wanted to take Henry to more extreme levels of treatment. And he did this in front of the rest of his family. [[SiblingMurder He didn't hesitate]] [[KidsAreCruel with his sister either...]]
** Although he wanted to kill his father too, he subjected him to a [[FateWorseThanDeath much worse fate]]. He made sure his father was framed for Henry's murders and sent to prison. The sheer trauma Victor felt from the experience was icing on the cake for Henry. We can only imagine his reaction when he found out his father blinded himself to be with his family.

* The mid-credits scene in "The Battle of Starcourt" reveals that in a Soviet facility somewhere in Kamchatka, it seems like [[TheBadGuyWins the hard work of the Russians paid off anyway, even with the heroes thwarting them]]. Two guards go down a hallway and then grab hold of a panicked prisoner, dragging him down an ''incredibly'' deep stairway as he struggles, and then toss him into a large holding pen at the bottom of the staircase. As he begs to be released from the pen, one of the guards opens up a small gate for an animal that's being held captive alongside the prisoner as it makes its way out. And it's revealed to be an ''[[WhamShot adult Demogorgon]]'' that the Soviets have been feeding their prisoners (one of whom is implied to be ''Hopper'') to, almost as if trying to tame it. The look of pure ''fear'' on the guy's face before he becomes this thing's latest meal... who can blame him?

** After a fairly relaxed, though eerie, series premiere, the new season takes things from 0 to 100 at the end of the first episode. Chrissy, the new NiceGirl cheerleader character, is at Eddie's when she suddenly gets a vision of her mom and dad at home, both horribly deformed. Then, she's attacked by a monster with claws that would put [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] to shame.
** In the real world, Eddie watches as she floats up into the air, her bones and jaw break, and then her head is '''literally crushed from the inside.'''
** The next episode shows Fred, Nancy's fellow school reporter, getting attacked by Vecna. And this time, we get to watch the [[SarcasmMode lovely]] sight in full detail.

** Vecna's curse itself is the stuff of nightmares. So something bad happened to you. But you are okay, right? First comes the headaches. Then the nosebleeds. Then the nightmares. Then the flashbacks. Then you are dead. Unless you have truly worked through your trauma or guilt, there's no escape. And that takes time. Time you don't even know you longer have...

** Both Max and Lucas' reactions during the scene are absolutely gut-wrenching. Max is terrified, unable to see or feel anything, sobbing that she doesn't want to die yet. Given that Vecna is portrayed as a metaphor for depression, her pleading that she's not ready to go is horrifyingly reminiscent of the way many survivors of suicide attempts have stated that they regretted their decision as soon as it was too late to turn back. Lucas, meanwhile, is utterly helpless to do anything but hold her and scream for Erica to get an ambulance, even though it's clear that an ambulance would never make it in time even if Hawkins ''hadn't'' just been ripped into four pieces by the portals opening.

* Joyce and Hopper's return to the Russian base. [[NothingIsScarier Seeing the once guarded and operated lab now empty and covered in blood is bad enough]], but the series fully embraces its influences in the SurvivalHorror genre, with the security footage providing an ApocalypseLog and monster-infested tunnels.

** Without a doubt the worst part of his backstory was the [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil Creel murders]] (ie. '''his own mother and sister'''). He mericlessly kills mom when he found out she wanted to take Henry to more extreme levels of treatment. And he did this in front of the rest of his family. He didn't hesitate with his sister either...

** His mannerisms alone are offputting. Henry as a child has a cold, expressionless face worn all the time while his parents and sister looked so jovial and lively.

** When he decided to go against humanity's mundane routine of life, he first started practicing with his powers by murdering rabbits in his yard. No glimpse of remorse is seen in his expression as he does it.
** Without a doubt the worst part of his backstory was the Creel murders (ie. '''his own mother and sister'''). He mericlessly kills mom when he found out she wanted to take Henry to more extreme levels of treatment. And he did this in front of the rest of his family. He didn't hesitate with his sister either...
** Although he wanted to kill his father too, he subjected him to a much worse fate. He made sure his father was framed for Henry's murders and sent to prison. The sheer trauma Victor felt from the experience was icing on the cake for Henry. We can only imagine his reaction when he found out his father blinded himself to be with his family.

** When El tries to read into Max’s thoughts, it’s nothing but pitch black. El’s screams for Max are met with no response, just an endless void, suggesting either Max's essence has retreated deep into the subconscious for protection, or there truly is nothing left, and that she's braindead.

* Max’s state at the end of the season is only made worse. Although Eleven managed to keep her body vital, the clinical death plus the snapped limbs have rendered her comatose. She’s not dead, nor fully alive, just stuck in limbo…Meaning that if/when we see Max in the final season, it'll be as a literal shell of herself, mentally and physically broken.
** When El tries to read into Max’s thoughts, it’s nothing but pitch black. El’s screams for Max are met with no response, just an endless void.
* The simple fact that in essence, ''[[TheBadGuyWins VECNA STILL WON]]''. Despite the Party's efforts into stopping him, he kills Max, leading to the super Gate to open and nearly ''destroy the entire town of Hawkins'', killing a total of twenty-two people as a result. Best shown by the final scene of the season, in which Will warns Mike that despite destroying his physical self, Vecna is still alive. After Hopper and Joyce reunite with the others, they walk to a meadow to find that the Upside Down is merging with Hawkins. This shows that the characters will face more horror than ever before as the threats are literally in their world. In the previous seasons they were safer as the monsters were in another dimension. This is the endgame, the setup for the final season of ''Stranger Things'': the Devil himself, leading the armies of hell in an all out assault on our world... '''[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The end]] [[GrandFinale has begun.]]'''

* Vecna managing to conquer the prey that escaped, recapturing Max and exacting revenge. Torturing her to the point where the snapped limbs was all that were needed, and without having to cave her skull in, Maxine Mayfield dies in the arms of the boy she still loved. * Max’s state at the end of the season is only made worse. Although Eleven managed to keep her body vital, the clinical death plus the snapped limbs have rendered her comatose. She’s not dead, nor fully alive, just stuck in limbo…Meaning that if/when we see Max in the final season, it'll be as a literal shell of herself, mentally and physically broken.

* Vecna managing to conquer the prey that escaped, recapturing Max and exacting revenge. Torturing her to the point where the snapped limbs was all that were needed, and without having to cave her skull in, Maxine Mayfield dies in the arms of the boy she still loved. And though Eleven managed to keep her body vital, the clinical death plus the snapped limbs have rendered her comatose, meaning that if/when we see Max in the final season, it'll be as a literal shell of herself, mentally and physically broken.

* While not as grisly as Bob's death from the previous season, Billy's demise is no less brutal. The Mind Flayer viciously imposes him through the torso with ''several'' of its tendrils, all while blood oozes from his mouth.

* After the party escapes to the mall, and after Eleven saves Steve, Robin, Dustin and Erica from the Soviets, the bite that El got from the Mind Flayer starts acting up, with a piece of it crawling around inside her leg. Jonathan performs some impromptu surgery on her, with special mention going to him ''digging around under her skin with his fingers.''

* Jason’s death. He unfortunately was lying helpless right where the big gate started to split open in the Creel house, disintegrating his midsection and you can faintly hear his agonizing scream amid the gate’s sizzling crackles.

* Vecna managing to conquer the prey that managed to escape, recapturing Max and exacting revenge. Torturing her to the point where the snapped limbs was all that were needed, and without having to cave her skull in, Maxine Hargrove dies in the arms of the boy she still loved. And though Eleven managed to keep her body vital, the clinical death plus the snapped limbs have rendered her comatose, meaning that if/when we see Max in the final season, it'll be as a literal shell of herself, mentally and physically broken.

* In the final scene of the season, Will warns Mike that Vecna is still alive. After Hopper and Joyce reunite with the others, they walk to a meadow to find that the Upside Down is merging with Hawkins. This shows that the characters will face more horror than ever before as the threats are literally in their world. In the previous seasons they were safer as the monsters were in another dimension. '''[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The end]] [[GrandFinale has begun.]]'''
** The simple fact that in essence, ''[[TheBadGuyWins VECNA STILL WON]]''. Despite the Party's efforts into stopping him, he kills Max, leading to the super Gate to open and nearly ''destroy the entire town of Hawkins'', killing a total of twenty-two people as a result. And as pointed out, he's ''still'' alive and isn't going to stop until he succeeds in opening the Gate and taking over.

* Dustin and Eddie distract the Demobats while Nancy, Steve and Robin sneak up on Vecna. The duo manage to get to the portal, but Eddie quickly realizes the Demobats will break through their flimy barricade and come through into their world, so he opts to lead them away, dooming himself in the process.
** It overlaps with {{Tearjerker}} if you give it some thought. Eddie's prospects were looking quite dim and the town was all too eager to scapegoat him just for being a non-conformist. Knowing that his options were an angry mob of humans or an angry mob of monsters, Eddie may have figured that '''there's no happy end for him.'''

* In the final scene of the season, Will warns Mike that Vecna is still alive. After Hopper and Joyce reunite with the others, they walk to a meadow to find that the Upside Down is merging with Hawkins. This shows that the characters will face more horror than ever before as the threats are literally in their world. In the previous seasons they were safer as the monsters were in another dimension. '''The end has begun.'''

** It overlaps with {{Tearjerker}} if you give it some thought. Eddie's prospects were looking quite dim and the town was all too eager to scapegoat him just for being a non-conformist. Knowing that his options were an angry mob of humans or an angry mob of monsters, Eddie may have figured that '''there's no happy end for him.

* Victor Creel's darkest secret that [[spoiler: Henry/Vecna]] used to manipulate him. During WWII he was in France and ordered the bombing of a house he believed Nazis were hiding in. When him and his men enter afterward they find [[spoiler: not only were there no Nazis, but it was a normal family. Including a baby. Which we never see - but we do get to ''hear'' shrieking as it burns to death in a crib covered in flames.]]

* [[spoiler: In the final scene of the season, Will warns Mike that Vecna is still alive. After Hopper and Joyce reunite with the others, they walk to a meadow to find that the Upside Down is merging with Hawkins. This shows that the characters will face more horror than ever before as the threats are literally in their world. In the previous seasons they were safer as the monsters were in another dimension. '''The end has begun.''']]

* After delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new trailer for Season 4 is released in May 2021…[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILwLN6hV-X8 and it’s creepy]], with NothingIsScarier used to great effect as seemingly innocent shots of kids playing in the lab quickly become unsettling as it shows that the kids are using their powers-[[spoiler:then Dr. Brenner shows up.]]
* [[https://youtu.be/hgsUzL75Yjk The next teaser released for September 2021]] showcases a quaint family in the Creel House in the late sixties, which cuts to the present where the Party, Steve and Robin are out exploring for various reasons. In a timelapse to the sixties, the little girl finds a dead rabbit and titular signs of the Upside Down interfering with the house, which soon leads to a scene with the ''kids dead'' and the father looking horrified, and in the cut to the present, completely abandoned. While the grandfather clock ticks away and then [[spoiler: it cuts to the Upside Down, where the clock ''shatters'' due to some reason.]]

** It overlaps with {{Tearjerker}} if you give it some thought. Eddie's prospects were looking quite dim and the town was all too eager to scapegoat him just for being a non-conformist. Knowing that his options were an angry mob of humans or an angry mob of monsters, Eddie may have figured that '''there's no happy end for him'''.
* [[spoiler: In the final scene of the season, Will warns Mike that Vecna is still alive. After Hopper and Joyce reunite with the others, they walk to a meadow to find that the Upside Down is merging with Hawkins. This shows that the characters will face more horror than ever before as the threats are literally in their world. In the previous seasons they were safer as the monsters were in another dimension.]]

** His gang were fully prepared to murder Erica, who is only 11 years old.

* [[spoiler: In the final scene of the season, Will warns Mike that Vecna is still alive. After Hopper and Joyce reunite with the others, they walk to a meadow to find that the Upside Down is merging with Hawkins. This shows that the characters will face more horror than ever before as the threats are literally in their world. In the previous seasons they were safer as the monsters were in another dimension.