Why Was Vecna Killing Everyone in Stranger Things Season 4?
As a passionate Stranger Things fan and gamer, one of the most chilling reveals of the latest season was the true identity of the demonic killer Vecna. Through gripping flashback scenes and investigations by the Hawkins crew, we learned that Vecna was actually Henry Creel, a boy with devastating psychic powers who was turned into a monster.
Vecna‘s Origins and Motivations
Henry Creel was born in the 1940s to Victor and Virginia Creel and exhibited strange abilities from childhood. As we saw in painful flashbacks, his mother in particular tried numerous tactics to curb his darkness. However, after years of attempted "treatments", the abuse by his mother and manipulation by Dr. Brenner, Henry snapped. He massacred his family and the scientists at Hawkins Lab before being defeated by fellow test subject Eleven and banished to the Upside Down.
Once there, through some combination of the Upside Down‘s corrupting influence and his enduring rage, Henry lost the last of his humanity. He became Vecna, a ruthless killer fixated on revenge against Eleven and Hawkins for all that was done to him.
As a fellow gamer, I can certainly empathize with the urge to get payback! But Vecna takes things to a whole other level…
The Murders: Tools to Open Gates
Vecna returned to Hawkins by first murdering and possessing vulnerable teenagers like Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick. As sad as it sounds, these tortured kids were pawns to him – their trauma made them easy targets for his manipulation.
With each gruesome killing ritutal, Vecna opened up a new portal between Hawkins and the Upside Down. We see Vecna himself explain his master plan to Nancy Wheeler – after four total murders, enough gates would be opened for the barrier between worlds to dissolve completely.
This would allow the shadowy Mind Flayer to invade Earth freely and rule over humankind. So in summary:
- Vecna exploited traumatized, lonely teenagers in Hawkins
- He horrifically killed them in order to breach the boundary to the Upside Down
- 4 total killings would fully merge the Upside Down with Hawkins
- This chain of events was orchestrated to enact Vecna‘s revenge while unleashing the Mind Flayer
| Victim | Trauma Exploited | Gate Opened? |
|---|---|---|
| Chrissy | Body image/emotional abuse | Yes |
| Fred | Abusive household | Yes |
| Patrick | Sexuality questioning/bullying | Yes |
| Max | Grief over brother‘s death | Nearly |
As a fellow Hawkins resident, I‘m disturbed to learn one of our own townsfolk kickstarted such terror decades ago. But with the origin of the latest supernatural threat finally explained, our heroes now have critical intel to turn the tides in Season 5!
