If Stranger Things has a superpower beyond creepy lighting and turning 80s songs into chart-toppers, it’s ripping our hearts out. Over four seasons, we’ve watched beloved characters (and a few unexpected ones) meet their end in ways that stick with us long after the credits roll. From blink-and-you-miss-it casualties to gut-punch goodbyes, here’s a ranking of the most tear-inducing deaths in Hawkins history.
10. The Nameless Many
Before we discuss the A-listers, a shout-out to background heroes—and victims. Hawkins Lab workers, Russian scientists, miscellaneous neighbors… the Upside Down doesn’t discriminate. Whether it’s the Demogorgon ripping through lab technicians, the Mind Flayer taking whole rooms of souls, or Vecna’s body count at the NINA project, these anonymous tragedies establish the tone: in Hawkins, no one is safe.
9. Chrissy Cunningham
Chrissy’s season 4 demise was a tonal hammer. She was a cliché mean girl at first, but some quiet moments revealed that she was troubled—and then Vecna happened. Her bloody death in Eddie’s trailer shocked us, but it also served to announce that this season would be darker than ever before.
8. Mews the Cat
Laugh all you want, but Dustin losing his family cat was ruthless. Poor Mews was lunch for Dart the Demodog in season 2, and Dustin’s embarrassing fib to his mom only added insult to injury. Little moment? Sure, emotionally traumatizing for pet owners around the world? For sure.
7. Dr. Martin Brenner (“Papa”)
The guy who experimented on Eleven isn’t a sympathetic candidate, but his season 4 departure was complicated. Brenner’s final moments made Eleven—and us—struggle with all those years of manipulation, abuse, and warped affection. It’s not an easy “good riddance,” which makes it more impactful.
6. Billy Hargrove
Billy began as the resident bad boy bully on the show, but by season 3’s conclusion, he’d earned some redemption. Possessed by the Mind Flayer, he eventually gave his life protecting Eleven and the others. Seeing Max lose it over his death was as painful as his last act of heroism.
5. Barb Holland
Barb’s death may not have been the most sensational, but it’s quite possibly one of the most discussed. She was merely in the wrong place at the wrong moment, consumed by the Demogorgon as Nancy danced the night away upstairs. The absence of in-show justice only added to the fan outrage—Justice for Barb was a cause for a reason.
4. Alexei
We didn’t expect to love a Slurpee-obsessed Russian scientist, but Alexei won us over in record time. He brought humor and heart to season 3, which made his sudden death during the fair all the more gutting. He deserved to enjoy that freedom a little longer.
3. Bob Newby
Bob Newby, superhero—and cinnamon roll through and through. Sean Astin made Bob so likable and sincere that we should have guessed he was a goner. And yet, seeing him almost make it to safety before the Demodogs brought him down was a moment that no Stranger Things fan will ever forget.
2. Eddie Munson
Season 4’s breakout legend departed like a rock god. Eddie’s guitar-shredding diversion in the Upside Down was epic and heartbreaking, topped off by his emotional farewell with Dustin. A genuine hero who at last demonstrated that he wasn’t the coward others perceived him to be—just to shatter all our hearts.
1. The Hawkins Lab Children
The season 4 flashback massacre is possibly the darkest moment of the show. Seeing Henry Creel (a.k.a. One/Vecna) kill every other child at the lab was shocking not because of the killing itself, but because these were children who—imperfections and all—never deserved their death. This act defined Eleven’s life and cast a long shadow on everything else that came thereafter, and that made it the most haunting loss of the series.
Whether you’re still replaying “Master of Puppets” for Eddie or quietly grieving Barb, Stranger Things has taught us something: no character is too beloved to be spared. And with season 5 on the horizon, we may need to begin preparing ourselves all over again.