Stranger Things timeline – From Creel House to Eddie Munson manhunt
Stranger Things spoilers ahead.
Stranger Things is a weird and wonderful, but somewhat complicated world.
While it's based in the 80s, the events currently happening on screen have been decades in the making in Hawkins, Indiana.
With the end finally in sight with the upcoming season five, here's a timeline of everything that's led up to this moment – for better or for worse.
Be prepared – lots and lots of spoilers lie ahead.
1959 – Henry Creel murders his family in their new family home
The Creel Family – comprised of father Victor, wife Virginia, daughter Alice, and 12-year-old son Henry – thought they'd moved into their 'forever home' in Hawkins, Indiana.
But Henry had a series of superpowers, primarily telekinesis (the power to move things with his mind) and the ability to implant visions, that were increasingly being used for sadistic means, including torturing animals and his family members.
Virginia eventually reaches out to Dr Martin Brenner to help him at his nearby lab.
Infuriated at this news, Henry uses all his power to murder his mother, and later his sister, but collapses before killing his father.
Victor is pinned for the crimes, and spends the rest of his life incarcerated in a mental facility.
Henry survives, but is hidden at Dr Brenner's facility, which has government connections.
1959 – Henry Creel becomes 001 at the Hawkins Lab
Rather than help him, Henry's blood is instead taken and a series of experiments begin, with doctors trying to recreate his powers in other children.
The experiment is somewhat successful, with the kids who developed powers being given numbers tattooed on their wrists rather than names.
As the initial test subject, Henry is renamed One (001), and at some point is implanted with a device which dulls his capabilities. He later takes on the job of an orderly as he grows up.
July 1969 – 008 arrives at Hawkins Lab
Kali, aka 008, arrives at Hawkins Lab from London after being abducted, becoming the latest child in the experiment. She is five years old.
After gaining her abilities, she would later escape, but the date of when is unknown. However, she was not present at the massacre at Hawkins Lab in 1979.
June 1970 – Terry Ives gives birth to daughter Jane
During her time at the laboratory, Terry Ives – believing she was taking part in the CIA's illegal human experiment programme MKUltra – gives birth to a daughter, Jane.
Terry is told she miscarried the child, but she's suspicious and later becomes certain her daughter was for the experiment.
Going public with the information about Dr Brenner and the lab, Terry's later captured and subjected to electroshock therapy, leaving her practically immobile.
The little girl she became convinced was her daughter would later develop telekinetic abilities and would be renamed Eleven (011).
1978 – Sara Hopper dies
Jim Hopper and his wife Diane are left devastated as Sara dies aged seven of cancer. It ultimately results in a fracture in the marriage they cannot repair.
They later divorce and Jim returns to his native Hawkins, Indiana, becoming the Chief of Police. He's also closed off and a heavy drinker. Diane later remarried.
September 8th, 1979 – The Massacre at Hawkins Lab
In the years of living as an orderly, Henry becomes a friend of Eleven, assisting her when she's bullied by the other children and teaching her how to focus her powers.
His friendliness results in loyalty from Eleven, who struggles to fit in. So when he asks for her help in getting out of the lab, she accepts.
Eleven uses her telekinesis to remove the chip in Henry's neck (known as a soteria) unaware it would reignite his powers. As far as she was concerned, he didn't have any.
Henry immediately horrifically murders nearly everyone in sight – including orderlies, doctors and the roughly dozen other children being used in the experiment.
Mortified as she played witness to what Henry is done, the pair end up in a showdown as she refuses to go with him. Using every inch of her power to fight back against Henry, she unwittingly creates a portal sending him into the Upside Down.
His skin is seemingly stripped from him as part of the move, and he morphs into the evil force we later know as Vecna.
1982 – Joyce Byers splits from husband
Lonnie and Joyce Byers filed for divorce in 1982. Lonnie has been depicted as abusive, loveless and mean-spirited. He made his son, Jonathan, cry on his 10th birthday by making him kill a rabbit, and would use derogatory slurs against his youngest son, Will for his 'less masculine' nature.
This forms a tight bond between the brothers, with Jonathan teaching Will about music like The Clash's 'Should I Stay or Should I Go?' and the building of their makeshift clubhouse Castle Byers at the woodland near their home.
November 6, 1983 – Eleven breaks out of Hawkins Lab
Eleven has now developed ability to see where other people are and what they are up to, but in doing so has discovered a monster that lives in the Upside Down.
In trying to see the monster, which we later know as a Demogorgon, she unwittingly opens a gate to the Upside Down inside the lab, allowing it to escape into our reality.
She later breaks out of Hawkins Lab and goes on the run.
November 6, 1983 – Will Byers is abducted from Hawkins, Indiana
The evening that kicked off Stranger Things as we know it, 11-year-old Will Byers is unwittingly sucked into the world of the Upside Down as he rode home on his bike from a night playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends Dustin, Mike and Lucas.
On that night, he is chased by a Demogorgon before disappearing completely from his quiet little town. His apparent abduction becomes a major concern for the area at large, with his mother Joyce seeking the help of Chief Jim Hopper.
In the days that follow, Hopper investigates Hawkins Lab and is suspicious of what they're up to, he also finds out Dr Brenner was part of MKUltra experiments before his apparent reposition.
November 7, 1983 – Eleven meets the gang
Eleven finds solace in a friendly burger store owner whose business she breaks into on the hunt for food. He calls social services to come and get her. However, federal agents arrive for her instead, and the owner is killed in the crossfire as she makes her escape.
As she tries to find safety, she meets Mike, Dustin and Lucas, who are all out looking for Will, and they take her into the fold. She sleeps hidden in Mike's basement, and during her time there shares her abilities, and the fact she recognises Will. She agrees to help them find their friend.
November 8, 1983 – Barb is killed
Barb Holland is unwillingly dragged to a house party by her friend Nancy Wheeler, who is hooking up with high school jock Steve Harrington.
At one point, she is left alone in the garden while the lovebirds go upstairs, only to be dragged into the pool by the Demogorgon, never to be seen again. The incident is seen by Jonathan, who had been lurking in the surrounding woodlands while spying on his crush, Nancy.
Meanwhile, Joyce is being tormented by silent phone calls, visions of monsters in the walls, and Will's record player starting up playing The Clash unprompted. She begins to believe her son is trying to reach out to her somehow. The next day, she uses Christmas lights as a makeshift Ouija board in order to communicate with him. It works, but the message tells her to run just as the monster breaks through her walls.
Hours later, the seeming body of Will Byers is pulled from the lake, apparently closing the investigation.
November 10, 1983 – Will is alive?
Despite seeing the body being dragged from the water, Eleven convinces the gang Will is in fact still alive and manages to communicate with him using a transistor radio and walkie-talkie.
Nancy later reaches out to Jonathan about the photos he'd been taking, and discovers pictures of the monster he'd managed to get on camera. The pair get closer as the investigate what happened further, with Nancy even entering the Upside Down for the first time.
Finally, Hopper cements the theory after realising the state trooper that discovered Will's body was lying about his involvement, only to find out that Will's cadaver was a cotton-stuffed fake.
Proving there was some kind of cover up, he later returns to Hawkins Lab and bears witness to the open gate to the Upside Down, before going to Joyce and admitting she was right.
November 12, 1983 – First Final Showdown
The kids attempt to trap the Demogorgon at the Hawkins Middle School by luring it there with the help of Eleven. Agents try to capture Eleven after finding her there, but she kills them.
She later manages to successfully pin the Demogorgon to the wall, and sends it back to the Upside Down. In doing do, she disappears too (and just after Mike kisses her as well!). However it later transpires she survived and is living in the nearby woods.
Hopper and Joyce get into the Upside Down and save Will who had been trapped there. He's hurt but alive. Hopper realises Eleven's location, but takes his time earning her trust until she eventually secretly moves in to his cabin.
June 28, 1984 – Russian scientists are tasked with creating a portal opener
Russian scientists, including one named Alexei, are tasked with trying to open a portal into the Upside Down, and are given a year to do so.
October 30, 1984 – Will has visions
Almost a year after his abduction, Will is still experiencing trauma from being in the Upside Down. He starts envisioning a long-legged creature over the town (we later call this the Mind Flayer). Will later tells Joyce and Hopper about what he's been seeing.
Joyce's boyfriend Bob later deduces pictures that Will has created is a map of tunnels underneath Hawkins, and they all go and investigate.
October 31, 1984 – The Gang meet Max
Max is the cool new girl in town who skateboards so, naturally, Lucas and Dustin immediately develop crushes. However, her older stepbrother Billy is a massive bully who torments the kids, as well as Steve.
Lucas eventually tells her about the Upside Down, and she refuses to believe him... until she sees it for herself.
November 2, 1984 – Jonathan and Nancy taken
Jonathan and Nancy are still close after the events of the previous year, and feel guilty over the death of Barb, whose parents are still trying to find her.
When it looks like they were going to reveal the truth, they're kidnapped, taken to Hawkins Lab and threatened. But they record the encounter and later tell private investigator Murray.
November 3, 1984 – Will is taken in
Troubled Will ends up being rushed to Hawkins Lab after another collapsing in pain over something connected to his time in the Upside Down.
Before this, he warns that he feels like the creature is using him to spy on his friends and loved ones. After his collapse, he has lost vital parts of his memory. Dr Owens reveals he has been infected and is now connected to the 'hive mind' of the Mind Flayer.
November 4, 1984 – Eleven meets Eight
After contacting Eight/Kali telepathically, the still-hidden Eleven decides to run away from Hopper's cabin to try and track her down.
Kali accepts her, but her life is on a much darker and violent path, so much so Eleven saves a man they are attempting to kill who was involved in the experiments.
She then sees visions of Hopper and Mike in danger, and returns to Hawkins.
November 5, 1984 – Reunited
With the entire gang descending on Hawkins Lab, Bob is killed as they're attacked by Demodogs. They later reconnect at the Byers' home to come up with a plan, and attempt to communicate with Will who is knocked unconscious. He tells them to close the gate.
Eleven then surprises everyone with her reappearance, and together they try to shut the Upside Down for good.
They eventually set the tunnels underneath Hawkins on fire, with Eleven closing the gate, seemingly ending Will's pain in the process.
December 21, 1984 – The School Dance
Let's put a little light note in here. At the end of 1984 (and the end of season two), the gang head to their school Snow Dance.
This is where Max and Lucas kiss for the first time, where Dustin is saved by Nancy after he's mocked by the school girls, and where Eleven and Mike officially become 'a thing'.
OK, the Mind Flayer was keeping an eye on their every move, but they were allowed this nice moment.
The date of the high school dance is confirmed in the accompanying spin-off annual, The Hawkins Junior/High School Yearbook.
1985 – Russians infiltrate Hawkins
With the aid of power-hungry Mayor Kline, the Russians relocate their lab to Hawkins, working in a hidden bunker underneath Starcourt Mall in order to build The Key – a machine that opens portals to Upside Down.
Dustin later accidentally picks up a communication reading from them while trying to contact his girlfriend Susie.
June 29, 1985 – Billy attacked by the Mind Flayer
After being a town bully (but a hottie), Billy is on his way for a rendezvous with the married Karen Wheeler when his car is attacked. He then becomes the latest host of the newly-restored Mind Flayer. The Mind Flayer then uses Billy to drag more into his hive mind.
June 30, 1985 – Scoops Troop Assemble
Dustin heads to Scoops Ahoy to tell Steve what he found out. Steve's co-worker Robin overhears and offers to help out, cracking the code fairly easily using clues around the mall, discovering the lab is in the mall itself.
July 3, 1985 – Joyce and Hopper take a hostage
While on an investigation inspired by magnets, Joyce and Hopper also realise Russians are up to something in Hawkins. They ultimately find and kidnap Alexei, holding him hostage. They keep him happy with Woody Woodpecker cartoons and slushies.
July 4th, 1985 – The Battle of Starcourt Mall
Amid Hawkins independence day fun fair, the gang stop the Mind Flayer in Starcourt Mall.
At the fun fair, Murray takes captive scientist Alexei to enjoy the stalls – but he's killed by a mobster for seemingly being a betrayer of Russia.
Hopper, Joyce and Murray head to the Russians lab under the mall to close down The Key, while the kids on the forecourt attempt to stop the Mind Flayer.
Figuring out a way to close the portal, unfortunately Hopper was lost to the closure, and presumed dead in his efforts to save the world.
Billy is ultimately killed by the Mind Flayer after stepsister Max appealed to his humanity underneath the control the beast had on him. He saved her life in the process.
July 5th, 1985 – Hopper arrives in Russia
Despite it appearing like he'd died, Hopper actually fell through the portal and lands in Soviet Russia. He's immediately taken prisoner and tortured for information.
While we don't know how well Russia is aware of the Upside Down, we know they keep a pet Demogorgon which they periodically feed prisoners.
October 1985 – The Byers and Eleven leave Hawkins
After the supposed death of Hopper, Joyce decides to take sons Will and Jonathan – as well as the newly taken in Eleven – away from Hawkins, Indiana for a new life in Lenora Hills, California.
Following her exhausting her powers at the Battle of Starcourt, Eleven now doesn't have her powers, and attempts to go about life as a "normal" teenager.
March 21, 1986 – Vecna kills Chrissy Cunningham in Eddie Munson's trailer
Cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham, haunted by nightmares in which she's chased by a mystery demon, seeks drugs from local dealer Eddie Munson in order for her to sleep.
However, before he gets them for her, she is trapped by Vecna who then murders her, with Eddie helpless as she's thrown up in the air before every limb is broken out of shape.
Eddie goes on the run as he becomes the prime suspect for the murder.
Vecna would later attempt to do the same thing to Max, but Steve, Dustin and Lucas are able to save her using her favourite song, Runing Up That Hill by Kate Bush.
Steve would later recruit the Scoops Troop to close the portals that are being made at the death site of every victim.
March 22, 1986 – Eleven returns to Hawkins Lab
Over in California, Eleven and Will's reunion with Mike goes spectacularly wrong when bullies targeting Eleven come after her at the local roller rink.
Embarrassed and publicly dragged, the heartbroken Elle later grabs hold of a skate and whacks the lead bully Angela in the face, causing her to get arrested for assault.
However, on the way to jail she's accosted by members of the Hawkins Lab, who are working with the government, and it's demanded they're handed over to her.
She agrees to return to Hawkins Lab in a bid to get her powers back, subjecting herself to experiments including a sensory deprivation tank in order to trigger her early memories.
It's through this that she triggers the repressed memories she has of her initial time at the lab, and what happened with Henry.
Stranger Things is available now on Netflix.
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