The fourth season of Stranger Things has caused so much hype among fans of the series that many already qualify it as the best installment so far. The space between the first seven chapters and the last two gave rise to a thousand theories about what could happen, including the fate of some characters who had not appeared until now but whose role has been almost protagonist. That’s right, we are talking about Eddie Munson, and his drama is based on a true story.
As we already know, Joseph Quinn‘s character was a member of Hellfire Club, a group of nerds who play Dungeons and Dragons, the favorite role-playing game of the protagonists of the series. In fact, Dustin and Mike are part of the club, as is Lucas, although his love of basketball meant that he was eventually replaced by his sister Erika. The game is relevant within the world of Stranger Things, as all the monsters they fight are named after one of the villains from Dungeons and Dragons. And it is in the “battle” that Erika fights in place of her brother that we meet Vecna.
The fact is that Eddie’s involvement in the death of poor Chrissy puts him in serious trouble for being the main suspect. But everything gets out of control when the cheerleader’s boyfriend decides to accuse him of being the leader of a diabolical sect that kills people. All because he witnesses one of Vecna’s murders with him, and blames him. Although to be honest, even though Eddie wasn’t exactly a sane guy, it’s Chrissy’s boyfriend who completely loses his mind and starts a senseless witch hunt.
We already know Eddie’s story, but what not many know is that there are already people who know his story, through the real case of Damien Echols. Like Eddie, Damien was accused of a series of murders he did not commit. It all started when the bodies of three children were found in a canal in West Memphis. It was so gruesome that people soon began to associate it with a satanic ritual. The reason Damien and two of his friends were accused? Because they were fans of the band Metallica, and at that time there were still prejudices about rock bands that associated them directly with the devil. And of course, the most obvious nod to this is the song that Eddie plays in the Upside Down, which belongs to the group Metallica.
This case has a whole documentary trilogy, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996), Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000) and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011). The most tragic part of the story is that the town considered the three teenagers involved guilty before they were tried, and the police focused on Jessie Misskelley because he was developmentally delayed and it was much easier to coerce him into admitting to the crimes even though he did not commit them. The documentary demonstrates all the irregularities in the case and the danger that all this negligence entailed because the real culprit was still at large.
While the cases are similar, the ending is very different, and we all know what happens to Eddie in Stranger Things 4, but luckily for Damien, today he is free, has written several books and has participated in several television shows. He even has his own YouTube channel.
