Vecna’s Stranger Things 4 Entrance Would Make Clive Barker Proud

At the end of “Stranger Things 4,” Episode 1, “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club,” Vecna finally gets his claws on Chrissy (Grace Van Dien) after the fleshy villain stalks her for most of the episode. Although she’s physically in the trailer belonging to Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), she’s actually trapped in a hellish nightmare version of her own house. Vecna descends from the stairs, squelching with each footstep. Then, he tells the cheerleader, “It’s time for your suffering to end,” indicating that he feeds on the trauma of the citizens of Hawkins. (Also, calling him creepy would be an understatement.)

This Episode 1 moment feels like it’s so obviously a nod to Clive Barker’s Pinhead, who famously relishes torturing his victims and berates Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) by saying, “Oh, no tears, please! It’s a waste of good suffering!” (via YouTube). In the world of “Hellraiser,” Pinhead and the Cenobites’ whole motivation is to explore the boundaries of suffering, pain, and pleasure in equal measure. In this way, Vecna acts similarly to Pinhead, stalking his victims slowly before passively attacking them with his powers rather than brutally attacking them like the Demogorgon or the Mind Flayer.

During that same May 2022 IGN interview, Ross Duffer explained the Pinhead influence. He confessed that “Hellraiser” had a huge impact on the duo when they were growing up. Duffer shared, “Pinhead really freaked us out when we were younger. We really want to imbue Vecna with some Pinhead vibes.”

It’s certainly a change of pace compared to the previous monsters that have terrorized Hawkins in previous seasons. Even so, it’ll be interesting to see how Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Co. manage to vanquish Vecna when “Stranger Things 4” Volume 2 arrives on July 1 on Netflix.

At the end of “Stranger Things 4,” Episode 1, “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club,” Vecna finally gets his claws on Chrissy (Grace Van Dien) after the fleshy villain stalks her for most of the episode. Although she’s physically in the trailer belonging to Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), she’s actually trapped in a hellish nightmare version of her own house. Vecna descends from the stairs, squelching with each footstep. Then, he tells the cheerleader, “It’s time for your suffering to end,” indicating that he feeds on the trauma of the citizens of Hawkins. (Also, calling him creepy would be an understatement.)

This Episode 1 moment feels like it’s so obviously a nod to Clive Barker’s Pinhead, who famously relishes torturing his victims and berates Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) by saying, “Oh, no tears, please! It’s a waste of good suffering!” (via YouTube). In the world of “Hellraiser,” Pinhead and the Cenobites’ whole motivation is to explore the boundaries of suffering, pain, and pleasure in equal measure. In this way, Vecna acts similarly to Pinhead, stalking his victims slowly before passively attacking them with his powers rather than brutally attacking them like the Demogorgon or the Mind Flayer.

During that same May 2022 IGN interview, Ross Duffer explained the Pinhead influence. He confessed that “Hellraiser” had a huge impact on the duo when they were growing up. Duffer shared, “Pinhead really freaked us out when we were younger. We really want to imbue Vecna with some Pinhead vibes.”

It’s certainly a change of pace compared to the previous monsters that have terrorized Hawkins in previous seasons. Even so, it’ll be interesting to see how Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Co. manage to vanquish Vecna when “Stranger Things 4” Volume 2 arrives on July 1 on Netflix.