9 Scariest Moments In Stranger Things, Ranked

While Stranger Things combines a sci-fi mystery plot with coming-of-age dramedy, the Netflix hit is also a horror series and occasionally reminds viewers of this fact with some seriously terrifying scenes. Since the show’s inception, Stranger Things has leaned into its horror roots from time to time. The series might owe a lot to Steven Spielberg, but Stranger Things was also heavily influenced by the oeuvre of fellow ‘80s icon Stephen King and the show leans into gruesome scares as often as it plays with nostalgic depictions of the decade.

While the dark backstory of Stranger Things villain Dr. Brenner ensured that season 4 featured more horror elements than ever before, every outing of the mega-hit has included some shocking moments. From the Demogorgon’s infamous kills in season 1 to Billy’s antics while possessed by the Mind Flayer in season 3, Stranger Things has no shortage of terrifying sequences. These scenes became more frequent and intense in season 4, as evidenced by a comprehensive ranking of all the scariest moments featured in every season of Stranger Things.

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9 Bob’s Death (Season 2)

More tragic than scary, Bob’s death was still memorably nasty nonetheless. Near the end of Stranger Things season 2, Sean Astin’s supporting character was brutally torn to pieces by a pack of Demogorgons that escaped from the Upside-Down. After a tense, Jurassic Park-inspired chase sequence through Hawkins Lab, Bob, Hopper, and Joyce seemed to finally be safe. However, just as the trio reached the door, Bob sacrificed himself to save the others and received one of the goriest deaths in Stranger Things history in exchange for his kindness.

8 After the Snow Ball (Season 2)

Not long after Bob’s bloody exit came a subtle but still scary Stranger Things season 2 scene. The Snow Ball was a surprisingly poignant ending for the season, with an embarrassed Dustin sharing a dance with Nancy while Eleven and Mike were finally reunited after spending the entire outing apart. For a while, it seemed as if all was well in Hawkins. But then, an aerial shot zoomed out of Hawkins high school and into the small town, revealing the monstrous Mind Flayer looming in the clouds overlooking Hawkins. While Stranger Things hero Will Byers may have temporarily vanquished the monster, this shot proved it would be back.

7 Heather Comes Home (Season 3)

When Billy is infected by the Mind Flayer at the start of Stranger Things season 3, the attack takes place offscreen. As such, the extent of the monster’s evil doesn’t become clear until his co-worker Heather (controlled, like Billy, by the Mind Flayer) returns to her family home and turns her parents into the monster’s next converts. The Mind Flayer-directed invasion of the Holloway home is brutally efficient, violent, and the creepiest scene in the tonally uneven season 3. It is hard to believe that the moment takes place in the same outing as Dustin and Susie’s Stranger Things singalong, but this doesn’t make the sequence any less intense.

6 The Exorcism of Will Byers (Season 2)

While the Demogorgon’s existence ensured that Stranger Things season 1 was technically a horror show, season 2’s exorcism scene clarified that the horror elements of the series were outright supernatural. It is a disquieting sequence, all the more effective for its lack of blood and guts. Will’s struggle to battle against the Mind Flayer’s influence calls to mind classic exorcism movies. At the same time, the unknown nature of the monster makes Will’s ordeal even creepier (as does the eventual revelation that this exorcism only temporarily subdues the villain).

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5 Meeting Victor Creel (Season 4)

Robert Englund’s creepy asylum inmate turns out to be a red herring in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn’t make his interaction with Nancy and Robin any less unsettling. Stranger Things used the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise veteran perfectly, filtering Vecna’s rise to power through the confused eyes of his hapless father. Creel’s tale is tragic, but Englund’s delivery is scary enough to wrong-foot viewers who might otherwise have guessed season 4’s big twist early.

4 Barb’s Death (Season 1)

The earliest proof that Stranger Things was a horror show and not just a small-town sci-fi mystery, Barb’s death still hurts for many viewers. The idea is clever, with Stranger Things season 1 killing off Nancy’s perfectly-behaved best friend instead of the more rebellious Nancy in a subversion of ‘80s slasher movie tropes. However, in practice, this clever twist was a nasty surprise and, even as Stranger Things enters its final season, one that some fans still can’t forgive.

3 Vecna Kills Chrissy (Season 4)

Vecna’s first onscreen kill was a spectacular Nightmare on Elm Street-inspired sequence that combined Chrissy’s nightmarish hallucinations with bone-crunching violence to terrifying effect. It may not be as scary as it was on first viewing (mostly thanks to the hilarious viral meme that Eddie’s anguished cries of “Chrissy wake up” became), but this is still the moment that season 4 proved Stranger Things would be amping up its horror quotient considerably. However, the rest of the season took things in an even darker direction.

2 Henry Creel’s Rampage (Season 4)

While Stranger Things season 4 killed two potential spin-offs by explaining the origin stories of both Brenner and Vecna, this did provide the season with one of its scariest scenes. The opening sequence of Stranger Things season 4 was filled with upsetting images of dead children. The shocking sequence where Henry Creel cuts a bloody swathe through Hawkins Lab via flashback finally explains these brief flash-forwards. When it finally arrived, the bloodbath turned out to be even more ruthless than viewers feared.

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1 Max’s Near-Death Experience (Season 4)

After the triumph of Max’s iconic first encounter with Vecna, seeing the character slowly tortured by the villain before being thrown into a coma was the most disturbing Stranger Things scene so far. It took Max and Eleven’s combined efforts to stop Vecna temporarily. Seeing Lucas watch in helpless horror as the villain came within inches of killing his love interest was breathtakingly brutal (even if Jason’s well-deserved Stranger Things death did soften the blow somewhat). While Max’s coma-inducing beatdown was a hard watch, the surprising fact that Stranger Things season 4 ended without clarifying her survival made the sequence so uniquely scary.

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