Stranger Things monsters are what nightmares are made of.
It's finally time to head back to the Upside Down, which can only mean one thing: Terrifying monsters on our small screens, of course! Season four of the Netflix series premiered on May 27 and with it came one of the most frightening creatures in Hawkins history—Vecna.
With previous haunting creatures, such as The Mind Flayer and Demogorgon, any new monsters on the block have some stiff competition to take the lead as the scariest monster in the Upside Down. But the cast seems to think that season four, along with Vecna, may have done just that.
In an exclusive interview with E! News, Caleb McLaughlin, who stars as Lucas Sinclair, said that "it's really scary this season."
"Honestly, we really took it up a notch," the actor continued. "When I watched this season, I was like, 'Wow, I don't think I would want my nephew to watch this.' It's very gory."
Charlie Heaton, who plays Jonathan Byers, added that after watching the new season, some children may not be able to "sleep for weeks."
Ready to find out which Stranger Things monster is the scariest of all? Keep reading to find out!
Yawn!
When it comes to the world of Hawkins, we've seen much worse. The Flayed are people from the community that were taken over and controlled by The Mind Flayer. At the end of the day, though corrupted, they're just humans (er, well, zombies) and we're not that scared.
The Mind Flayer on the other hand? That's another story.
The only reason the Demobats are ranked so low is because they haven't escaped into the real world yet. These ferocious part-bat beings are not to be messed with. Case in point: They nearly killed Steve (Joe Keery) in Stranger Things season four, volume one. Thankfully, Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Robin (Maya Hawke) and Eddie (Joseph Quinn) swooped in to save the day.
However, Eddie wasn't so lucky in volume two. The eccentric leader of the Hellfire Club passed away after bravely fighting off a vicious swarm.
Any monster with the name "dogs" in it can't be that scary, right?
Wrong. Nicknamed by Dustin for resembling a dog, the Demodogs have the infamous "petal mouth" with rows of sharp teeth and posed great danger in season two. After killing Joyce's sweet boyfriend Bob, we wouldn't want to run into one of these in the dog park!
Color us terrified!
The Mind Flayer, which is also known as Shadow Monster or "Him," is no doubt one of the scariest monsters in Stranger Things. It was introduced and season two and returned in season three and rules the Upside Down, along with controlling Demogorgons and making them murder innocent children.
However, as we learned in volume two, the Mind Flayer gets its orders from another being (more on that later on).
During season three, Heather's dad, Tom and his co-worker Bruce turn into goo, become the Spider Monster—a being controlled by the Mind Flayer—and try to eat Nancy and Jonathan. Though Eleven tries to step in and save the day, the monster liquefies and goes down the sewer. This monster eventually remerges, bigger than ever, killing Billy at the end of season three.
Anytime we watch an episode with the Demogorgon, we need to sleep with one eye open.
Named after the Dungeons and Dragons antagonist, this iconic Stranger Things monster is probably the most notable monster and earned the number two spot for good reason. The murderous, violent creature doesn't have a mind of its own and obeys the Mind Flayer.
We're sure Will and Eleven would agree with us on this one!
When you were a kid and had your parents check for monsters under the bed, Vecna is what you had in mind.
The monster was introduced in season four and is described by the streamer as "a former human who mutated into a monster because of exposure to the Upside Down. Vecna lives in the attic of the Creel House, which will be a major setting for this season."
What makes him even more terrifying? He has the same abilities as Eleven—being the original Hawkins Lab test child—and controls everything in the Upside Down, including the Mind Flayer.