Revisiting 10 of the best ‘Stranger Things’ monsters before season five
For the longest time, the updates and whereabouts of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things have consumed every waking thought of viewers worldwide. The Reddit fan theories have run cold, and the doom hovering over Hawkins is sending SOS signals nonstop. But what many have forgotten is that the wait is, after all, the best part. Before the Hawkins-hungry fans know it, Stranger Things five will be unveiled on Netflix. And when it does, Best of Netflix wants you to be prepared.
The Duffer brothers are long done rearranging their sci-fi ducks in a row, and all that remains is a full circle. But since Stranger Things has a tradition of unleashing monsters every spine-chilling season, the possibility of a new dark force helming its last lap has unfurled a whirlwind of anticipation. Well, just like Hawkins is not short on its heroes, neither is Upside Down with its gory villains.
So, in case the spiked bats, axes, and flaming spears are your best line of defence, reconsider begging Eleven to lend some telekinetic powers. Because if season one to four was a showdown between the teenage troupe of heroes and beasts, season five is about to culminate the battle once and for all.
But before we leap towards the speculation of the menace that awaits in season five, here’s a recap of every monster Eleven and her gang have fought.
A look back at the 10 best Stranger Things monsters
The Vines
The Stranger Things monster canon grows each season. And one of the very first brute forces we encounter in season one is The Vines, AKA Tendrils. The vines are a creepy combination of ‘plant’ and ‘animal,’ found spreading like a virus all over Upside Down. It is an essential part of the Mind Flayer’s hive mind that sprawls into Hawkins through the interdimensional cracks connecting Vecna’s dark abyss.
In season one, Will Byers and Jim Hopper confront the vines at different points in time. But in season four, it’s revealed that the vines strengthen Vecna’s psychic abilities. Additionally, Vecna uses the tendrils to restrain his victims in the Upside Down.
The Demobats
The Demobats resemble bats, sure enough. They are blind and have a gaping mouth somewhat similar to Demogorgons, but much smaller in proportion. Like the vines, Demobats are inherently connected to the hive mind. But its power lies in its tail, which they utilise to strangle their victims. While their size might look deceiving, when they attack in numbers, their strength amplifies.
Although they can be distracted by loud noises, the beloved Stranger Things character Eddie Munson died in season four after a swarm of Demobats attacked him. Moreover, they snoop for Vecna throughout the dimension.
The Demodogs
The Demodogs seen in Stranger Things season two initially are not exactly fully developed versions, but they are of the Demogorgon species. When Dustin finds a Demodog in a trash can near his house, he keeps it as a pet, calling it Dart. Although they are not as powerful as a full-grown Demogorgon, when in packs, they can be hard to combat.
The Demodogs, too, are entwined with the hive mind. But unlike the other beasts, Demodogs can be empathetic, as seen when it opts not to attack Dustin in a tunnel, despite the Mind Flayer’s callings. Of course, Dustin didn’t know the true nature of a Demodog while adopting. His pet cat, unfortunately, becomes the first to know it, but it’s too late.
The Flayed
The Flayed were the unsuspecting members of the Hawkins community who were slowly consumed by the Mind Flayer’s insidious mental power. Their minds were shattered and reconstituted as vessels for the monstrous entity’s malevolent will.
After losing its control over Will, the Mind Flayer chose Billy to spy on Eleven and the gang. Eventually, the Mind Flayer, through Billy, was able to consume several other Hawkins members, who had no option but to sacrifice themselves.
The Demogorgon
The Demogorgon is easily the most recognisable monster of the Stranger Things saga. Controlled by Mind Flayer, and by default, Vecna, the towering creature first set foot in Hawkins when the first gate to the Upside Down was cracked open accidentally by Eleven. Will was rescued from the grasp of the Demogorgon, and it was also defeated. However, he had become a vessel for the Mind Flayer. Simultaneously, the Soviet Union began experimenting with technologies to ensure entry into the Upside Down.
The gate to the dimension was in a base underneath the Starcourt Mall. However, in hopes of weaponising the creature, they obtained quite a few Demogorgons. The Demogorgon has a gaping maw with a petal-like head.
The Hospital Monster
The Hospital Monster was one of the most hideous and terrifying creatures introduced in the Stranger Things monster canon. Made up of the Flayed members’ Bruce Lowe and Tom Holloway’s tissues, it’s unsightly and ugly.
After Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers took them down in the Hawkins Memorial Hospital, they transformed into a grotesque, bloody pulp in order to seek revenge. The Mind Flayer ultimately absorbed the Hospital Monster, potentially making it more formidable.
The Thralls
The Thralls are basically hosts that mutate with the help of the Mind Flayer. The Mind Flayer has induced fragments of its abilities in the creatures, which are inherently connected to the hive mind.
The Thralls excel at telepathic communication. Although it doesn’t look very powerful, the thralls eventually combined to make the Spider Monster.
The Spider Monster
If the Hospital Monster was ghoulish, the Spider Monster is its dad. Described as a 30-foot-tall abomination, the Spider Monster was made of the flesh of the Flayed members. Although it lay dormant inside Will, the six-legged spider-like beast was unleashed on Eleven and the Party in the Starcourt Mall. It’s almost unstoppable, and it’s an offshoot of the deadliest kind of Mind Flayer so far.
In season two, the visions Will sees of a Spider-like monster in the sky seem to be of this detestable creature.
The Mind Flayer
The Mind Flayer is undeniably the hive mind’s central brain, enabling every other monster stomping over Hawkins. For the most part, it was believed to be the ultimate villain with no other counterparts in the par. But that’s until we got a taste of Vecna’s medicine. By the looks of it, the Mind Flayer is a dark, humongous villain who was thought to be the mastermind of all things strange in Stranger Things.
It resembles the Spider Monster, but is far more formidable in size, impact, and intelligence. Throughout the series, Will’s vision showed a shadowy Mind Flayer hovering over Hawkins.
Vecna
The narrative of Stranger Things was changed forever with season four. It was time for the audience to unlearn and relearn. So far, so long, the Mind Flayer seemed like the ultimate trouble for Hawkins. But thanks to Vecna, the Hawkins gang has more than one threat on the plate. Vecna’s skeletal structure is made of vines, but the face? It’s a macabre skull-like thing.
But unlike the other monsters of Stranger Things, Vecna has a rich backstory that motivates his actions. He’s the main antagonist of season four, but he was once a human before becoming a humanoid creature, Henry Creel. However, during his adolescence, following the Creel family’s move into Hawkins, Henry developed uncanny psychic and psychokinetic powers.
When his powers ended in the fatality of the Creel family, Dr Martin Brenner took him to Hawkins National Laboratory. As the first test subject, he was assigned the designation 001. With every kill, Vecna opens a portal between the real world and the Upside Down. But the worst part? He preys on the guilt, insecurities, and traumas of the youngsters.
Well, that sums up every monstrous confrontation from Stranger Things. Now the question is, will there be a new monster in season five?
About the new rumoured monster in Stranger Things season five
Thessalhydra
The rumour mill has been abuzz about a new antagonist for Stranger Things’ final season. Hawkins Happening on X shared an exclusive possibility, although unconfirmed, that the Netflix series could unleash another horrific force in its final lap, known as the Thessalhydra. The speculation is not exactly a latest development, which spikes the curiosity even more. According to reports, Thessalhydra has its origins in Dungeons & Dragons, originally published in 1983 in the second volume of the Monster Manual.
From the looks of it, the Thessalhydra slithers into the legend as yet another grotesque amalgam, an eight-limbed creature crowned with hydra-like heads and a cavernous maw that yawns like a portal to hell. Although it bears an unsettling resemblance to the Mind Flayer, don’t be fooled, they’re horrors of a different breed. According to D&D, it’s a reptilian terror.
While it’s unclear whether this beast will claw its way into the show’s canon, Thessalhydra has an eerie resonance with the creature glimpsed in Nancy Wheeler’s vision, Vecna had shown in season four, a towering monstrosity with a gaping mouth.