Who is the Shadow Monster? (Stranger Things theory)

Hello, dear humans and fellow aliens!

Today, I decided to write this theory about “Stranger Things”.

I don’t want you to think I focus only on cartoons and animes (and whatever “Avatar” is, half of the people I know call it “anime” and the other half calls it “cartoon”, I have yet to create a word that expresses a fusion of the two), so I am writing about a show in which the characters are actual people.

For starters, let me tell you that I like “Stranger Things”. I’m not crazy about it, I just think it’s cool and funny.

So, let’s start!

We all know the second season’s antagonist, the Mind Flayer or Shadow Monster. He is an almighty creature from the Upside Down with the ability to control the minds of other creatures, like Will and the Demodogs, and do whatever he wants with them.

At first, I thought its existence completely disproved the common theory that Eleven is actually the Demogorgon, but then I looked further.

For those of you who don’t know the “Eleven is the Demogorgon” theory, let me explain it to you. As the name says, it is the theory that Eleven and the Demogorgon are one in the same.

Basically, this theory is supported on four main arguments:

·    The pop culture reference of “X-men 134” in the first episode;

·    Eleven and Lucas saying she’s the monster;

·    Eleven and the Demogorgon sharing the same set of powers;

·    The original Demogorgon from “Dungeons and Dragons”.

Let me clarify.

If, in the Upside Down, there are dark versions of the places you see in Earth, why couldn’t there be dark versions of people, but, instead of people, monsters.

“X-men 134” is the beginning of the “Dark Phoenix” saga. I haven’t actually read it, but the story is very similar to “Stranger Things”: a girl with superpowers creates a dark version of herself and, at the end of the series, she sacrifices herself to save her friends from the dark version of her. Sorry if I spoiled anything to you.

After that, we all know when Eleven and Lucas said she was the monster, I don’t really feel any need to explain that to you.

El and the Demogorgon have the same set of powers and the consequences of using them are the same too.

We have seen in season 2 that there are other kinds of powers beyond Eleven’s. For example, Kali or Eight can create visual illusions. That emphasizes even more that Eleven and the Demogorgon are one in the same.

When Will is kidnapped and taken to the Upside Down, we see the Demogorgon slide open a door to enter the Byers’ house. A few episodes later, we see Eleven lock a door to prevent Lucas from getting out of Mike’s room. Then, in the second season, she opens the door to her mother’s house in the same way.

Also, when the Demogorgon appears, electricity flickers, just like the light from the shed in which Will was hiding. The same happens to Eleven whenever she uses her powers. This may be because of her connection to the Upside Down, but we never see the Demodogs make electricity flicker when they appear.

And now, for the final point in our list, “Dungeons and Dragons”.

The design of the Demogorgon has changed a bit along the years, but one things always remains: it has two heads.

Let's just take a moment to appreciate this picture!

One of them represents madness and insanity, which would be the Demogorgon in “Stranger Things” because… you know… it has no self-control and wanders around Hawkins devouring people and animals that are bleeding.

The other head represents deception and lies, which would be Eleven, since she is supposed to be a secret and is the result of a government cover-up.

If you didn’t find this convincing enough, each of the heads wants to kill the other. The Demogorgon isn’t particularly focused on killing only Eleven, but Eleven is focused on murdering the Demogorgon, so…

Apart from that, 11 is a very interesting number. No matter in which direction you read it, it’s always the number 11. You can read it from right to left and left to right and, it’s still the same if you turn it upside down.

The same happens with the number 8, which means, Kali.

And that makes me think that the next Hawkins’s lab rat we’re introduced to will either be 1, 2 or 5. Or it could be someone marked as 6 or 9 who had like… the ability to maintain two different personalities in the same person or even go to the Upside Down freely (but turning into a monster or something).

Back to the Mind Flayer. You are probably wondering who it is.

Well, the Internet has the perfect candidate for you:

Sarah Hopper!

If you need a refresh, she’s Hopper’s daughter, who died from cancer.

Some people say that the cancer she died of was fake, that the Hawkins lab faked it and then used her like Kali and Eleven.

This is mostly supported by the fact that, when Sarah was kind of paralyzed in the playground, she looked the same as Will when he saw the Shadow Monster and was “possessed” by it.

After she dies, Hopper appears to be crying in the stairwell of Hawkins lab, which Bob Newby took to get down to the control room.

Fans recognized the handle and immediately started to theorize about it like crazy.

I honestly don’t know what to think about this. She might be a Hawkins’s lab rat, but probably not the Mind Flayer. I think the chance that Sarah returns is very small and we should consider other candidates.

What do you think?