Originally published on 1/2/26

Stranger Things has officially come to an end, and while Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) didn’t die—thank goodness—other characters did. To honor them and others we lost throughout the show’s 10-year run, we have decided to rank the 10 most shocking Stranger Things character deaths. From Barb (Shannon Purser) in Season 1, to Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) in Season 4, this is sure to make you laugh, cry and want to head back to Hawkins, Indiana again. 

10. Vecna/Henry Creel/001/Mr.Whatsist 

Since Vecna/Henry Creel/001/Mr.Whatsist (Jamie Campbell Bower) was the main villain in both Seasons 4 and 5, his death was practically guaranteed, making it not that sad. It was, however, satisfying, especially when viewers learned that Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) would be the one delivering the final blow. 

As the mother of two put it, “You f-ck-d with the wrong family.” Well said, Joyce. Well said. 

9. Martin Brenner

Another villain’s death that was more satisfying than sad was Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine). Originally deemed dead at the end of Season 1, the scientist came back in Season 4 to help re-train Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), only to die again in a lab explosion, something that had most fans screaming with joy. Modine has a different opinion, though, telling Vulture in 2022, “I wouldn’t want him to be dead.” 

8. Chrissy Cunningham

Chrissy Cunningham (Grace Van Dien) might have only appeared in one episode of Season 4, but her death quickly became a cultural phenomenon. Not only was she Vecna’s first victim, but her death scene also went viral on social media for how horrifying it was. Because of that, she’s joined our shocking death list. May Chrissy rest in peace. 

7. Kali Prasad/Eight

Kali Prasad/Eight (Linnea Berthelsen) first appeared in Season 2 of Stranger Things, but disappeared shortly after. Then, she reappeared in the Season 5 Volume 1 finale and remained on the show until the finale, where she eventually died. While her death was sad for Eleven, viewers were kind of torn. Afterall, she seemed very suspicious throughout her time in Hawkins, and even said she planned to die after killing Vecna, which made it hard for anyone to to be either shocked or sad.

6. Alexei 

Alexei (Alec Utgoff) might have been a Russian scientist, but his sweet personality and love for slurpees quickly made him a fan favorite character. That being said, like so many others, he was killed in Season 3 and many fans were saddened by it, especially since he had finally achieved his goal of winning a prize at a carnival. RIP Alexei. You are heavily missed by the Stranger Things community. 

5. Billy Hargrove

Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) was Max’s (Sadie SInk) stepbrother, and while he was rude and mean, he also sacrificed himself in the end to protect Hawkins from The Mind Flayer in Season 3. It was sad, but sadder still was how Max responded to it in Season 4. For that reason alone, he’s made the list. 

4. Barbara Holland 

Barbara “Barb” Holland is considered to be the first shocking death in Stranger Things. Killed by a Demogorgon in Season 1, Barb quickly developed a huge fan base with people sporting “Justice for Barb” merchandise now, 10 years after her death. That alone is enough to make her one of the saddest deaths throughout the show’s run. 

3. Bob Newby 

Bob Newby, Superhero (Sean Astin), died in Season 2 after being attacked by a Demodog. His death— heavily mourned by Joyce and viewers—was super shocking considering  he had just learned about The Upside Down. Astin himself even commented on his character’s ending, telling Variety in 2018, “For the first few episodes I was, like, ‘Are you sure you wanna kill off Bob?’” 

“Because Bob came across so likable, I think they kept him around for a while. And I thanked them for letting him do something heroic. But I thought maybe he’d stop them from getting hit by a bus or something. I didn’t know he’d go totally Sigourney Weaver in Aliens,” he continued. “I really enjoyed that drama and suspense at the end of that character’s storyline.” 

2. Jane Hopper/Eleven

Now, some might argue that Jane Hopper/Eleven isn’t actually dead given Mike Wheeler’s (Finn Wolfhard) monologue at the end of Season 5, but either way her ending was super sad. But it wasn’t all that shocking, since Eleven did tell everyone she planned to end her life after killing Vecna, yet seeing everyone’s reactions to her death just added something to her final scene in Hawkins. 

“It was definitely a challenge going in because we’ve been building to this decision that Eleven was going to make, or have to make, for most of the season,” creator, writer and director Ross Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter. “Even talking with the writers about her fate and what we wanted to happen, we tried to vocalize that in the episode because her decision was hard for us. That’s where we had Hopper’s [David Harbour] whole speech; the trauma of her childhood and all the pain she’s experienced, and that she deserves better than that.” 

1.Eddie Munson

Eddie Munson’s death can be described in just one sentence: “Why would they give us him just to take him away?!” After sacrificing himself in Season 4, the Hellfire Club member quickly became a fan favorite character and was heavily talked about in Season 5 by Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo). He also became a style icon for fans, thanks to his Hellfire Club shirt. May Eddie rest in peace knowing that he died a hero. 

Honorable mention: Max Mayfield 

At the end of Season 4, Max is seen lying in a hospital bed in a coma after being attacked by Vecna. She isn’t dead, but at the same time she can’t wake up, which became a major plot point in Season 5. Eventually she does awaken thanks to “Running up that Hill” by Kate Bush and her boyfriend Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), but her Season 4 ending had fans crying… and praying to Netflix that she wasn’t actually dead. Because of that, we decided to give her an honorable mention on this death list.

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/tv-shows/stranger-things-deaths-ranked-eleven-eddie-and-more