Henry Creel

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Henry Creel is the secondary antagonist of the Stranger Things franchise, and the main character in its First Shadow stage play prequel.

He is the mysterious son of Victor and Virginia Creel and older brother of Alice Creel who gained psychic powers after returning home from another dimension. After moving to Hawkins, he befriends Patty Newby and tries his best to keep his powers under control and use them for good, but with Martin Brenner and his mother it is difficult for him to keep his sanity.

He is portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower. As a child, he was portrayed by Raphael Luce. In the stage play, he is portrayed by Louis McCartney.

Personality[]

Henry was a sensitive young boy who didn't fit in with other children, who much like Will Byers, suffered hallucinations due to a traumatic incident from another dimension.

While not having many friends, he did have a soft spot, however for a female school mate and love interest named Patty Newby, who would teach him to use his powers for good, continuing even as Martin Brenner would constantly psychologically abuse him to try to let the Mind Flayer take control. As things got worse, he would try resisting it's influence as best he could for a long time (stopping himself from killing Principal Newby.) This would all fall apart, however, when Martin Brenner would have Patty killed to destroy his only form of happiness, leading to Henry letting the Mind Flayer take over his body.

Biography[]

There are conflicting narratives regarding Henry's childhood and adolescence. Henry himself shared two versions of his life: one presented in a speech to Eleven, and another experienced as a "mindscape" by Nancy Wheeler. However, a separate, seemingly impartial account challenges certain aspects of Henry's recollection. It's uncertain whether Henry's versions are entirely accurate, as they might be influenced by bias or other factors affecting memory.

According to an alternative portrayal, Henry grew up with his family in Rachel, Nevada. While playing with a spyglass, he stumbled upon stolen scientific equipment from the Nevada Experiment in a nearby cave system. As Henry explored, the equipment activated, briefly transporting him and the scientist who pilfered it to Dimension X, resulting in the scientist's demise. In this otherworldly realm, Henry encountered strange creatures and was exposed to a shadowy entity's influence.

Surviving this encounter, Henry returned home after 12 hours, bearing significantly altered blood and a changed personality. Dr. Martin Brenner, involved in the Nevada Experiment, eventually retrieved the stolen equipment, including Henry's spyglass.

According to this version, Henry's early exposure to the Mind Flayer allegedly triggered his development of special psychokinetic abilities. However, this contradicts Henry's own account, where he claimed to have discovered the Mind Flayer and Dimension X much later in life.

Henry Creel was born in 1947 in Rachel, Nevada, to Victor and Virginia Creel, with an older sister named Alice. His father, a World War II veteran, hoped to leave behind the horrors of war by starting a family. One day, Henry spotted a cave through his spyglass and decided to explore it. Inside, he found scientific equipment stolen from the Nevada Experiment. While investigating, Henry and the scientist who had taken the equipment were briefly transported to Dimension X, where the gadget activated, killing the scientist.

Henry glimpsed strange creatures and was influenced by the Mind Flayer. Traumatized and endowed with psychic powers, Henry often experienced hallucinations and became an outcast, shunned by both other kids and his family. In 1959, the Creel family relocated to Hawkins, Indiana, for a fresh start. Henry, disturbed and possessing psychokinetic abilities, struggled to make friends at Hawkins High School but quickly bonded with Patty Newby, the principal's daughter. Patty helped Henry see his powers as something he could control and use for good. Their relationship blossomed into a romantic one, but Henry's mental state deteriorated as he was increasingly influenced by the Mind Flayer. He began killing animals and was haunted by visions of a monster, fearing he might harm Patty. Patty persuaded Henry to use his powers to find her biological mother, but during this effort, Henry was possessed by the Mind Flayer, nearly killing Patty's father, who witnessed the scene.

Patty's encouragement helped Henry regain control, but not before her father was severely injured. Henry's mother, Virginia, sent him to Dr. Martin Brenner after learning about his abilities. Brenner, who had been informed about Henry by Virginia, took him to Hawkins National Laboratory. Brenner revealed that his father survived the USS Eldridge experiment and that Brenner had tried to recreate these events with the Nevada Experiment. Henry, unknowingly involved in this when he found the stolen equipment, had been changed by his encounter with Dimension X. Brenner, using a sensory deprivation chamber, forced Henry to show him a creature from the Void. Henry resisted and ended up killing guards, revealing his devotion to someone Brenner later realized was Patty. Influenced by the Mind Flayer, Henry developed a nihilistic worldview, rejecting society's norms.

His obsession with black widow spiders and his psychic powers led him to torment animals and his family. When his mother planned to commit him to a mental institution, Henry, under the Mind Flayer's control, killed her and his sister. He tried to do the same to his father but overexerted himself and fell into a coma. Victor, believing their house was haunted, was arrested for the murders and sent to an asylum, unaware that Henry was the true culprit. Henry was secretly taken by Hawkins Laboratory, where Brenner tried to control him but eventually used his DNA to create other psychics, including Eleven. Brenner also implanted a chip in Henry's neck to track and suppress his powers. Forced to work as a guard, Henry met Eleven and encouraged her to harness her rage to unlock her potential. He manipulated her into removing his chip, regaining his powers, and then went on a killing spree at the lab.

Henry, now known as Vecna, was banished to the Upside Down by Eleven, where he encountered the Mind Flayer and reshaped it into a powerful entity. He later connected psychically with several Hawkins teenagers, killing them to open gates to the Upside Down. Dustin dubbed him "Vecna," and the group, including Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie, investigated. Max narrowly escaped Vecna's attack with the help of her friends. Vecna, using the Creel house in the Upside Down as his base, continued his murderous rampage, opening more gates and planning to let the Mind Flayer invade Hawkins. The group devised a plan to stop him, but Vecna was ultimately weakened by Eleven and the others. Despite his defeat, Vecna managed to open the fourth gate, beginning the assimilation of Hawkins by the Upside Down. Although severely wounded, Vecna remained determined to fulfill his vision of destroying intelligent life and remaking the world.