Why does vecna kill teens

Spoiler Warning! This article or section reveals details from the fourth season. Read at your own discretion...

• Grandfather clock
• Mindscape

Hallucination Execution method

"Curse"

Severe headaches, nosebleeds, nightmares, hallucinations and death

Vecna's curse refers to Vecna's predominant method of murder and torture. Using his supernatural psychokinetic abilities, Vecna can probe and influence the minds of others. Motivated by a cruel and misanthropic philosophy, Vecna targets particularly traumatized, mentally ill or insecure individuals.

Vecna gradually wears down his victims by inducing involuntary hallucinations, making them see apparitions such as a grandfather clock, black widow spiders and an otherworldly realm with red skies, as well as visions tailored to a victim's specific fears or history. After inflicting protracted suffering, Vecna finally executes the victim, using his powers to make them levitate before snapping their limbs and gouging out their eyes. Upon each execution, the psychic connection between Vecna and the victim is powerful enough to tear open a gate between Hawkins and the Upside Down, created in the exact location of the murder.

Signs and Symptoms

The 'curse' begins with the victim having severe headaches, nosebleeds and nightmares regarding any traumatic event in their past.

Eventually, the cursed will have waking hallucinations, often of other people taunting them about their secrets. These hallucinations progress to stronger versions, in which the trauma will be visibly shown by Vecna.

Vecna's victims will first see a grandfather clock and black widow spiders superimposed onto the world around them. The clock itself has a distorted strike noise and acts as a countdown: after seeing it a number of times, the curse is fatal.

In some cases, such as Max Mayfield, the victim will then hallucinate themselves entering Vecna's mindscape. The deconstructed version of the Creel House present in the mindscape, as well as the grandfather clock and black widow spiders, are all derived from Vecna's former identity as human Henry Creel.

After a certain period of time, Vecna will finally kill the victim by placing them into a comatose-like state, in which they will be unable to respond to outside stimuli. He makes them physically levitate in the real world, before snapping their bones and neck, and crushing their eyes. The murder site then becomes a small gate into the Upside Down, as part of a long term goal to bleed both dimensions into one.

Counter

“

Hatch said that music can reach parts of the brain that words can't. So maybe that's the key, a lifeline. A lifeline back to reality. It's worth a shot.

”

Nancy Wheeler and Robin Buckley decide to visit Victor Creel, a man imprisoned for the murder of his entire family, after linking the similar way of executing to the current curse and realizing he somehow escaped it. After explaining what happened to him, Victor simply claimed he heard "the voice of an angel" and he was guided back to safety and believed the entire encounter to have been the result of a powerful demon.

Nancy and Robin realize that Victor Creel was listening to "Dream a Little Dream of Me" by Ella Fitzgerald, which somehow brought Victor out of the trance, escaping the curse. Quoting Dr. Robert Hatch, Robin stated "..music can reach parts of the brain that words can't".

The music theory is put to the test when Max is attacked by Vecna once more. Before she is levitated, Robin and Nancy are able to tell the group how to save Max: they place headphones on her ears and play her personal favorite song: Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill".

While in Vecna's world, Max was able to hear the song, which created a visible hole in the mindscape. After focusing on positive memories of her friends, Max attacked Vecna and escaped, amidst Vecna's attempts to throw debris at her while she ran.

After surviving the attack, Max began to play the song at all times for her own protection against another attack by Vecna.

Later on, just before leaving the Upside Down, Nancy, having traumatic memories of her own (the loss of Barb), briefly became Vecna's next target before being spared.

Victims

# Victim info Status

1		Chrissy Cunningham
Gate location: Munson trailer
2		Fred Benson Student reporter at Hawkins High School Haunted by survivor's guilt after causing his friend's death Attacked and killed by Vecna on March 22, 1986
Gate location: Unknown road
3		Max Mayfield Student at Hawkins High School Haunted by grief and guilt after wishing for the death of her stepbrother, which she regretted when it later came true Survived an attack by Vecna on March 24, 1986 Attacked, wounded and momentarily killed by Vecna - but later revived - on March 27, 1986	Alive (comatose)
Gate location: Creel House
4		Patrick McKinney Basketball player at Hawkins High School Verbally abused by his father after he was discovered drinking alcohol Attacked and killed by Vecna on March 25, 1986
Gate location: Lover's Lake

Trivia

• Ironically, Vecna (as Henry) turned on the radio during the Creel murders to act as a distraction, playing the very song that would save his father from his own attack.
• Victor Creel's actor, Robert Englund, is famously known for portraying Freddy Krueger. Kreuger's method of attack is extremely similar to Vecna and the overall Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is a strong influence on the overall series.
• This is the second time music has played an important role in survival and communication: "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash was the song Will Byers relied on while he was trapped in the Upside Down.
• In the season 4 premiere, in honor of her song's use, Winona Ryder wore a Kate Bush badge.
  • Kate Bush herself is stated to be a huge fan of the show, before being approached about her song being used in the show. The song in the real world subsequently charted due to popularity. According to Spotify, streams for Running Up That Hill increased by a whopping 9,900% in the US.
• Some of the cast revealed what songs would save them from a hypothetical Vecna attack:
  • Sadie Sink's song would be "August" by Taylor Swift.
  • Noah Schnapp tweeted "W.A.P" by Cardi B would "snap him out of the trance in no time".
  • Jamie Campbell Bower stated it would either be Placebo's cover of "Running Up that Hill" or Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA".
  • David Harbour stated it would either be Tones and I's "Dance Monkey" or Train's "Drops of Jupiter".
  • Answering on behalf of her character at a convention, Grace Van Dien chose Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl".
  • Joseph Quinn jokingly chose "Up & Down" or "We Like To Party!" by Vengaboys.

References