Stranger Things remains one of Netflix’s most popular shows since its release in 2016. From the ’80s nostalgia, the eerie score, to the amazing acting all across the board, audiences stay tuned for whatever is coming next through each season. Creators Matt and Ross Duffer have shared that their love for the horror genre inspires many of the shows plot lines and notably, its villains. Here is every horror tribute throughout the series.

A Nightmare On Elm Street

     New Line Cinema

Stranger Things 4 starts by introducing the series main villain, Henry Creel “Vecna,” a re-working of A Nightmare on Elm Street’s bloodthirsty, vengeful villain, Freddy Krueger. This telepathic entity is determined to make Hawkins pay after his human form is destroyed by Eleven; and what better way then through the nightmares of Hawkins’ impressionable youth. A Nightmare on Elm Street Easter eggs include Vecna and Nancy’s hospital chase scene, a reference to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, and the gymnasium battle between Eleven and Vecna, a call back to A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.

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Halloween

     Universal Pictures

Halloween is referenced in Stranger Things 4, Episode 9, when Nancy, Steve, and Robin battle Vecna inside his childhood home. When they manage to torch Vecna down, the villain is plunged out a window, but very much like Michael Myers in the ending scene for Halloween, Vecna is nowhere to be seen when the trio goes to check on his body on the Creel home front porch.

IT

     Warner Bros. Television Distribution

This one is really on the nose for anyone who’s watched IT. While Vecna attacks his victims through their dreams, he selects those with surmountable trauma in Pennywise’s fashion. From Chrissy’’s troubled home life, Freddy’s guilt over accidentally killing someone, to Max’s overarching trauma from seeing her step-brother, Billy, die, Vecna only preys on Hawkins’ most emotionally unstable youth.

The Thing

     Universal PicturesDrew Struzan

Stranger Things 3 introduces some new villains, both through the citizens of Hawkins and from The Upside Down. Max’s older step-brother, Billy, is a rebellious, violent, and abusive teenager that torments Max instead of protecting her; Billy is already a villain without any influence from The Upside Down. Nevertheless, he descends into absolute evil when possessed by the Mind Flayer and starts terrorizing Hawkins’ citizens. Just like The Thing’s supernatural force, The Mind Flayer is constantly looking for new hosts to carry out its wishes.

Amityville Horror

     American International Pictures

The Creel home adds to the already somber tone of Stranger Things 4 due to its parallel to another classic horror film, The Amityville Horror. From its architecture, the demise of the Creel family while living there, and the attic Vecna takes refuge in, the Creel house is a nod to the most haunted home in the horror genre.

Poltergeist

     Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Poltergeist was the initial horror inspiration used in Stranger Things. The series starts off by introducing Will Byers, a twelve-year old boy who is abducted by an unseen force one night. No one has any leads on his whereabouts until his mother, Joyce, starts receiving signs throughout their home from the boy. From the iconic living room, Christmas light scene, Will’s phone call from the Upside Down, to Joyce having to travel to the Upside Down to save her son, Stranger Things One parallels some of Poltergeist’s best scenes and through such achieves a truly creepy foundation for the show.

The Exorcist

     Warner Bros

Stranger Things couldn’t go without implementing the most iconic horror movie ever into its narrative: The Exorcist. Stranger Things 2 focuses on the aftermath of Will’s return to Hawkins. All seems well for the boy as he readjusts to school, his friends, and family…until he starts exhibiting odd behavior. From violent outbursts, superhuman strength, and mental manipulation, Will’s possession culminates with an exorcism by the end of the season. Joyce herself mirrors many of the emotional nuances Regan’s desperate mother, Chris, undergoes when figuring out how to save her child. Though nowhere near as graphic or disturbing as Regan MacNeal’s ordeal, The Exorcist references amplify the horror of Stranger Things 2.

The Fog

     Embassy Pictures

This movie will likely be referenced again in the next season, but The Fog’s print is seen in the last minutes of Stranger Things 4. When Vecna succeeds in opening the gate between The Upside Down and Hawkins, the town goes into an apocalyptic chaos and starts fleeing, just like the characters in The Fog. The season ends with a debris substance falling from the sky as Eleven and her friends look out at the doomsday awaiting them; this obscure finale opens the possibility to the dangers the debris may pose in the final season of Stranger Things.