Stranger Things' Henry Creel Twists Explained
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4 volume 1.
Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 ended with a shocking twist — revealing the season's real villain, Vecna, is actually Henry Creel. Stranger Things has always dined out on horror tropes, and so viewers were delighted when they heard Robert Englund would join Stranger Things season 4. The celebrated horror actor is best known for playing Freddy Krueger, the creepy villain of the Nightmare On Elm Street slasher series, but now he's headed to Hawkins.
Ironically, though, Stranger Things season 4 subverts expectations in that Englund isn't a major character at all. He's playing the part of Victor Creel, an inmate at the Pennhurst Mental Hospital who was imprisoned after the brutal murders of his family in 1959. Nancy notices strange parallels between these deaths and the spate of murders in 1986, and she and Robin manage to slip into the hospital and speak to Victor. There, they learn his backstory, and it's immediately clear he was indeed dealing with the same kind of quasi-supernatural horror they're facing. His information is key to helping them figure out how to rescue Max from Stranger Things season 4's real villain, Vecna.
Related: Stranger Things Season 4 Cast & Character Guide
Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 ends with Nancy's mind captured by Vecna, and he seems amused to realize how close she was to discovering his true identity. Victor Creel's family were indeed Vecna's first victims, but not from the Upside Down. In a shocking twist, Vecna reveals he is exactly Victor's son Henry Creel, played by Jamie Campbell Bower.
According to Stranger Things season 4 episode 7, Henry Creel was born with the same kind of powers Eleven possesses.
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