Stranger Things’ Scariest Moments Ranked

If there’s one thing Stranger Things does better than Eddie Munson wailing on an electric guitar, it’s scaring the absolute crap out of us. From creepy monsters to psychic showdowns, the hit Netflix series has delivered some of the scariest TV moments of the last decade

But with the show wrapping up and heading to spinoff town, it’s time to grab your walkie-talkie, crank up some Limahl, and join us as we look back at some of the most terrifying Stranger Things scenes to date.

7. RIP Barb

Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4 “The Weirdo on Maple Street” and “Holly, Jolly”

While her best friend was getting down to business with a handsome boy, Barb (Shannon Purser) chilled at the pool during a house party and played it cool. But while your standard horror slasher would kill off the girl who dared to have sex and have the more reserved best friend make it out alive, Stranger Things clearly had no intention of playing by the horror rulebook, shockingly killing off Barb in a Demogorgon attack by season one’s halfway point. At the time, people were so upset by her grim fate that they were inspired to start the “Justice for Barb” movement to give the character some closure in season two.

6. Billy on a Rampage

Season 3 Episode 4 “The Sauna Test”

Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) is young, bad, and dangerous as hell. We know this because we’ve seen some of his uniquely brutal reactions by this point in the series, but when Billy gets possessed by the Mind Flayer, the kids have to trap him in a sauna to confirm just how dangerous he is. We soon find out when he snaps and gives us one of the show’s most distressing moments. Shifting from pleading to a violent rage in a heartbeat, he smashes through the sauna door with terrifying superhuman strength. The claustrophobic atmosphere of Billy’s test, combined with his innate unpredictability, has this season three moment dialing our fear up to eleven.

5. Joyce and the Demogorgon

Season 1 Episode 2 “The Weirdo on Maple Street”

One of the most successful tactics in the horror genre is to keep your monster hidden for as long as possible. An unseen threat is way more effective than one you can actually physically process, and season one experiments with this tactic by having Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) come very close to real contact with the Demogorgon in the perceived safety of her home. As her wallpaper bulges and ripples and the Demogorgon stretches reality, Joyce understands that something is nearly breaking through from the Upside Down, and that, really, she’s not safe anywhere. And neither are we.

4. Shadow Monster

Season 2 Episode 3 “The Pollywog”

In one of season two’s rather rare standout moments, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) encounters part of his monster in a field after glomming onto advice from his mom’s new boyfriend, Bob, who thinks he should confront it. The monster appears to him as a swirling black smoke tendril (if you’re a Lost fan, you know how deadly that can be!) and then envelops him, entering his body as he screams.

Sweet, broken Will is once again in danger. He’s now a vessel for a horrifying entity. No longer being fully in control of our bodies is a very relatable psychological scare, and one that Stranger Things does very well in season two.

3. Body Melt Hospital Attack

Season 3 Episode 5 “The Flayed”

Who could forget this absolutely gross body horror moment in season three, when Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) confront two Flayed guys at Hawkins Hospital? The duo think they have enough on their plate when they start scrapping with Tom and Bruce, only for their bodies to turn into disgusting piles of gore before merging into a single monstrous creature that does the Mind Flayer’s bidding. The fluorescent hospital lighting makes this one even more stomach-churning and sickening. Hospitals are creepy anyway, so this was overkill of the best kind.

2. Max in the Graveyard

Season 4 Episode 4 “Dear Billy”

Arguably, one of the most iconic moments of the series is also one of its most upsetting. As her friends in the real world try to save her in a graveyard, Max (Sadie Sink) remains trapped and strangled by the villainous Vecna in his nightmare territory. Max’s desperate struggle and frantic run to the portal is set to the strains of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”, while we understand that at any second, she could end up just like poor Chrissy. Speaking of Chrissy…

1. Chrissy Dies in Eddie’s Trailer

Season 4 Episode 1 “The Hellfire Club”

Chrissy’s death is the most upsetting Stranger Things moment, in our humble opinion. It really set the bar for season four by introducing a new character in troubled cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham, only to kill her by the end of episode one.

When Chrissy follows up with drug-dealing metalhead Eddie Munson in his trailer in an attempt to quell some disturbing hallucinations she’s been having, she ends up being killed by Vecna, who levitates her body and breaks her arms, legs, and jaw, all while Eddie tries to frantically help her snap out of her trance. Yep, this one truly established Vecna as the ultimate big bad of Hawkins, and Chrissy’s horrid death still gives us the shudders.