season 4 has wrapped up, many are revisiting the storyline and giving a show a rewatch. Therefore, there's never a better time than now to look back at the Stranger Things deaths that occurred back in season 1.
Inspired by Stephen Spielberg and Stephen King in equal measure, Stranger Things features both the heart of the former’s movies and the crushed skulls, broken bones, and gorily dismembered corpses of the latter’s oeuvre. Stranger Things has always had a darker edge, and even season 1 of the series boasted a sizable body count despite its story centering around one small kid going missing and another being found. Fortunately, both children make it to the end of the season, but they are some of the Stranger Things characters lucky enough to emerge with their lives.
The number of Stranger Things deaths in season 1 is a middling body count as far as the standard of the series goes, with season 2 having fewer casualties, season 3 boasting over twice as many, and season 4 going full throttle. However, despite this irregularity, many viewers find season 1 to be the darkest Stranger Things outing so far, as the technically gorier season 3 added a much more comical tone to the series to make up for the added violence. Only time will tell whether Stranger Things season five will be even grimmer than season 1 or funnier than season three but until its release, season 1 remains the show’s darkest hour thanks to its many gruesome character deaths.
Hawkins Lab Technician Number One
Seen during the cold open of the first episode of the show, and marking the first of the Stranger Things deaths, the nameless scientist glimpsed in Hawkins Lab is dispatched offscreen within the episode’s first minute. He is pulled out of sight through the roof of an elevator, presumably by the escaped Demogorgon, and heard screaming afterward. Given that viewers never hear from the character again and the series then cuts to the Wheeler household for the first of many Stranger Things Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, it is fair to guess that this technician didn’t make it out alive.
Benny Hammond
Introduced in the first episode of Stranger Things, Benny Hammond is the likable owner of a Hawkins diner who is kind enough to shelter Eleven when he catches her stealing food from his establishment. This kind gesture does not augur well for him as Benny becomes the second casualty of season 1, shot by Special Agent Connie Frazer for the crime of harboring Eleven. To add insult to injury, following the Stranger Things 'B' name death trend, Benny then has his death staged as a suicide to cover the tracks of the shadowy Hawkins Lab, and it is Hopper’s reluctance to believe this cover story that soon leaves the whole convoluted cover-up falling apart.
Two Unnamed Special Agents
Benny is pretty quickly avenged by Eleven, who kills a pair of nameless henchmen assisting Frazer during her escape from the diner. Offed offscreen, the duo is briefly seen with cutlery skewering their skulls, meaning this is likely the first hint viewers get of Eleven’s telekinesis. However, a few dead colleagues are unfortunately not enough to deter Matthew Modine’s Dr. Brenner from continuing to hunt down Eleven, resulting in a rapidly increasing body count.
Barb Holland
The first major character killed in the series, Stranger Things ing star Barb is brutally dispatched by the Demogorgon during Steve’s pool party. The monster drags her into the pool and out of sight, with her decomposed body later being seen the Upside Down. With Barb being the archetypical quiet, unassuming best friend of Mike’s older sister Nancy, many expected the character’s good behavior to ensure her survival and were shocked by this violent early exit.
Shepard
Another Hawkins Lab technician killed offscreen, Shepard is the unfortunate lackey eaten by the Demogorgon after Dr. Brenner sends him into the Upside-Down to investigate. Why the denizens of this shady institution continue to follow their employer’s demands when it is clear that Brenner is not concerned about their safety is never made evident. However, Shepard’s short tenure in Stranger Things season 1 does serve to reaffirm midway through the season that the Demogorgon is an extremely dangerous monster.
Henry and Dale
Although this death is technically only referenced and never seen onscreen, it nonetheless makes the cut for this rundown, as many of Stranger Things deaths take place offscreen and rely on the audience inferring the goriest elements for themselves. Henry and Dale are the locals who the Demogorgon hunts down while the pair are (ironically) on a hunting trip. Although the pair are minor characters, some have theorized that Dale is the unnamed store owner responsible for selling Nancy and Jonathan their Demogorgon hunting supplies.
Special Agent Connie Frazer (And A Half Dozen Henchmen)
A major antagonist in season 1 who doesn’t survive to see Stranger Things season 2, Connie Frazer was the seemingly sweet special agent who was actually a cold-blooded killer hell-bent on returning Eleven to Hawkins Lab. She almost succeeds, too, tracking the heroine down to Hawkins High School and attempting to apprehend her just before the Demogorgon arrives. Unfortunately for Connie and company, the villain underestimates the extent of Eleven’s powers and has her brain crushed by telekinesis during the season finale alongside six fellow secret agents, all of whom are killed by the Stranger Things heroine at the same time.
This does leave Eleven weakened and unable to dispatch Dr. Brenner (also the only Stranger Things character to survive a full-on Demogorgon attack), but the face-off leaves Connie and at least six of her henchmen dead. That brings the total body count of Stranger Things season 1 up to fifteen by the finale's close – a respectable tally with a surprising breakdown. Despite being the primary villain, the Demogorgon kills only five Stranger Things characters, while Hawkins Lab is directly responsible for offing only one, with the show's young heroine Eleven killing the remaining nine.
Which Stranger Things Season Has The Highest Body Count?
Stranger Things season 4 killed the most people. Stranger Things season 2 upped the ante considerably when looking at the number of unnamed Hawkins Lab technicians that bite the dust. Season 3 sees even more deaths when looking at the amount of Russians that are killed, though it doesn't increase the death count by much from its previous season. However, Season 4 shows the highest body count with a whopping 152 deaths. Season 2 saw about 50 deaths, a far cry from the 15 seen in season 1, and season 3 had the highest count, with 58 — that is, until season 4 parts 1 and 2 premiered. The sheer number of Stranger Things deaths seen in season 4 primarily involves three major events: the Hawkins Lab massacre, Hopper's escape from the Russian Prison, and Vecna's curse. The Hawkins Lab massacre, which was perpetrated by Henry Creel/One/Vecna, gets its own episode and was the main course of events leading up to Eleven's escape from the Lab and the creation of the portal to the Upside Down. After removing the chip from Henry Creel's arm, he proceeds to kill everyone he can find in Hawkins Lab, ultimately murdering 20 people including the young test subjects.
Hopper's escape and dealing with the Demogorgon also brought out a high body count. The event caused 36 deaths among the Russian prison guards. Though Vecna's curse technically only took 3 victims (Patrick, Chrissy, and Fred), the number is especially high given how many deaths the villain alone is responsible for. At the end of Stranger Things season 4, part 2, there are a total of 21 unnamed Hawkins citizens declared deceased after the "earthquake," which was actually caused by the Big Bad opening up gates to the Upside Down all over Hawkins. The increased death toll between Stranger Things seasons 1 and 4 is a necessary part of the show's expanding scope.
