Since 2016, when it landed on Netflix, “Stranger Things” has conquered the world. Brothers Matt and Ross Duffer have created something unique: an investigative drama containing supernatural and horror elements, full of references to the popular culture of the 1980s. The series blends genres such as horror, science fiction, drama and coming-of-age story into an irresistible blend that has surpassed 1.2 billion views overall.
The inspiration? Several thematic and directorial elements were inspired by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, David Lynch, Stephen King, Wes Craven and HP Lovecraft. The two brothers, who grew up in North Carolina in the 1980s, transformed their great passion for Spielberg’s cinema and King’s novels into a series that many critics have described as “a film written by Stephen King, directed by Steven Spielberg and set to music by John Carpenter”.
And Stephen King himself, the horror master who inspired the series so much, expressed himself thus on the old Twitter – now X – way back on July 18, 2016: “STRANGER THINGS is pure fun. A+. Don’t miss it. Winona Ryder shines”. An endorsement that was worth gold for a new series.
Even from a visual point of view, the opening sequence of the series, with the red logo on a black background accompanied by a synth theme, is a clear tribute to the covers of King’s novels from the 1980s.
The cinematic references are endless: from “ET” to “The Goonies” (it is no coincidence that Sean Astin, protagonist of the 1985 cult, plays Bob in the second season), from “Stand by Me” to “Poltergeist”, without forgetting “Alien” and “The Thing” by John Carpenter. The alternative dimension, the Upside Down, was conceived as a dark shadow of the normal world, taking as reference the video game Silent Hill and, for the visual, the aforementioned “Alien”.
But let’s get to the point, with 5 curiosities that perhaps you don’t know.
It was originally called Montauk
It’s hard to imagine now, but Stranger Things could have had a completely different name. The Duffers’ original project was called “Montauk” and was set in the town of the same name in Long Island. The inspiration? Conspiracy theories about the MK-Ultra project and the secret experiments of the American government. Then the two brothers rethought everything: new location (rural Indiana), new title. And thank goodness, because “Stranger Things” sounds much better.
Millie Bobby Brown was in danger of giving up everything
To find the perfect Eleven, the Duffers auditioned 246 actresses. The fact is that the future leading lady, Millie Bobby Brown, was on the verge of giving up on acting before she even tried out for the role. At ten years old, a casting director told her she was “too mature” for Hollywood. Devastating, at that age. Her parents convinced her to do one last recorded audition, promising that afterwards she could go back to playing with her friends. Of course, that audition was for Stranger Things. The Duffers wanted her immediately: she knew how to convey very strong emotions even without speaking, exactly what was needed for Eleven.
Kate Bush made money with a song from 40 years ago
“Running Up That Hill” was released in 1985. Thirty-seven years later, thanks to the fourth season of Stranger Things, it rocketed to the top of the charts around the world: first place in the United Kingdom, fourth on the American Billboard Hot 100. The result? Kate Bush earned $2.3 million in streaming royalties alone in the month following the release of the episodes. On her website she thanked the Duffers, saying she was “overwhelmed” by the affection she received. Not bad for a song that was almost forty years old.
The Demogorgon really exists (more or less)
The head of the Demogorgon that opens like a flower full of teeth is not completely the fruit of the authors’ imagination. The designers took inspiration from real plants and mushrooms that look like they came out of a horror film. First: Rafflesia arnoldii, nicknamed “corpse flower”. It is the largest flower in the world (one meter in diameter, over 10 kg), blood red, and smells like rotten meat. Second: Clathrus archeri, an Australian mushroom that pops out of the ground like red tentacles covered in black slime, also with a delicious, corpse-like scent. Let’s combine these two elements together and we will have the Demogorgon.
They shot the ending… without knowing the ending
The fifth season required 237 days of filming, more than 6,700 sets and 630 hours of footage. A monstrous production. But there’s an absurd detail: the Duffers started shooting the last episode without having finished writing it yet. Matt Duffer admitted it in the behind-the-scenes documentary: “I’ve never read episode 8 from start to finish, yet we’re already filming. I’ve never worked like this before. It’s absurd to go straight to episode 8… I don’t like it at all.” The pressure from Netflix and the very high expectations of fans have them on the ropes. In the end they did it, and Volume 1 of the fifth season recorded the best debut week ever seen on Netflix for a series in English (net of the many criticisms received by the fifth season, considered the weakest and with an ending that did not convince at all).
And what do you think of these curiosities? Did any really surprise you?
But above all: are you still waiting for the secret episode? Yes, because after the finale aired, thousands of fans became convinced that there was a hidden ninth episode, based on alleged narrative inconsistencies and conspiracy theories that invaded Reddit and Resetra. The “Conformity Gate” theory – the name given by fans to this alleged conspiracy – claimed that the true ending had been kept secret and would have come out as a surprise.
Spoiler: there is no secret episode. The Duffer brothers confirmed this several times in post-finale interviews, and the One Last Adventure documentary clearly showed that episode 8 is indeed the end of the story. The problem, if anything, is that that ending was written with Netflix and the production breathing down their necks, which perhaps explains why some fans found it unsatisfactory.
The truth is that Stranger Things ends exactly where the Duffers always imagined: with Mike closing the basement door, symbolizing the end of childhood. Point. No hidden episodes, no last minute twists. Just a farewell – perhaps bitter, but definitive – to Hawkins and the Upside Down.
