‘Stranger Things’ creators paid homage to their favourite Stephen King book
(Credit: Netflix)

Must Watch Series

'Stranger Things' creators paid homage to their favourite Stephen King book

Stranger Things released the first volume of its fourth season on May 27th, 2022, and will release the final two feature-length episodes constituting volume two on July 1st, 2022.

Created by the Duffer brothers, namely Matt and Ross, Stranger Things has become a pop-cultural phenomenon ever since its inception in 2016. With a massive ensemble cast, the show has inculcated a huge cult-like fan following. 

The meteoric success of the show can be charted by taking into account the sheer genius of the Duffer brothers as they managed to incorporate every child’s dream sequence into the web of the sci-fi and supernatural, in this beloved and nostalgic ode to the ‘80s. With interdimensional time travel, mysterious portals, a child with telekinetic powers, a despicable monster, ruthless government experiments, evil bureaucracy and dysfunctional families, Stranger Things has it all. 

Since Stranger Things is a nostalgic ode to the enigmatic ’80s by its creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, and a definitive homage to their superhero and the acclaimed master of horror, Stephen King, a reference to the maestro seems inevitable.

In the first season, the fourth episode of the season is titled The Body. It is a tribute to Stephen King’s eponymous novella which is set in a 1960s fictional town called Castle Rock.

The mysterious disappearance of a boy leads a 12-year-old protagonist and his gang of three friends, who all hail from dysfunctional families, to embark on a daunting quest to find the presumably dead boy.

King’s film was later developed into a coming-of-age story by Rob Reiner in 1986 titled Stand By Me. Starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Jerry O’Connell and Corey Feldman, the Academy Award-nominated film derives its title from Ben E. King’s iconic song, and deals with a similar subject matter.

The Duffer Brothers told EW, “That’s our not-so-subtle nod to Stephen King’s short story The Body.”

True fan-boys, they said, “We love that story and that film with all of our boyish hearts, and its DNA is written all over the show.”

In the Stranger Things episode, the boys give Eleven a makeover while Joyce refuses to believe her son’s death despite seeing a body that has a resemblance to Will.

The show stars  Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, Charlie Heaton, Natalie Dyer, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Matthew Modine and others in prominent roles.