In Stranger Things 5, we learned that Max’s mind/spirit has been hiding inside a cave residing in the mind of the psychic psychopath Vecna.
The cave is tied to a memory that’s so traumatizing for Vecna he refuses to enter it. Max has turned the cave into her personal sanctuary for the past 18 months since Vecna (temporarily) killed her.
What is hiding inside that cave memory? What kind memories are capable of making someone as cold-blooded as Vecna frightened?
The First Shadow holds the key
To find the answers, we need to look back on the 2023 stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
Set in 1959, the play follows a young Vecna (then Henry Creel) after the boy moves to Hawkins, Indiana with his family.
Before the move, Henry vanished for twelve hours near a military site in Lincoln County, Nevada. He was eventually found outside a cave with no memory of what happened.
What happened in the Nevada cave
Well, to make a long story short, Dr. Martin Brenner’s dad was conducting experiments on a mysterious realm called Dimension X.
Henry found some of the equipment in a cave in Nevada. He accidentally activates a device that teleports him to Dimension X, where he encounters an entity that will eventually become the Mind Flayer. The entity forges a connection to Henry that slowly begins to corrupt him. It’s also the source of his psychic abilities.
After Henry returns to the real world, he’s been changed forever. His personality is colder as he embraces misanthropic beliefs. His blood type changes. His powers grow stronger.
The importance of the cave
The Duffer Brothers have confirmed the cave in Vecna’s mind is the same cave from The First Shadow. The cave is the foundation of basically every important plot point in the entire series.
The Mind Flayer’s corruption of Henry leads him to murder his sister and mother while pinning the blame on his father. Dr. Martin Brenner gets his hands on Henry and uses his blood in his experiments to give children superpowers. These experiments lead to the creation of Eleven and Kali.
And of course, we can’t forget about how Henry killed those children except for Eleven, who sends him to Dimension X. It’s where he’s mutated and encounters the Mind Flayer again.
Henry’s visit to the cave set Stranger Things in motion.
Why this memory is Vecna’s greatest weakness
So why is Vecna so terrified of the cave?
The cave was probably created after his experiences in Dimension X. It’s a memory his young mind repressed.
It’s possible that the real reason Vecna is afraid of the cave is that he might regain his humanity. Revisiting the most traumatic experience of his life could force Vecna to reconnect with the innocent child he used to be. Being reminded of how he used to be could be enough of a shock to break the Mind Flayer’s hold on him. It would also make it difficult for Vecna to go through with his plan of world domination.
That’s my conspiracy theory, though some fans feel the same way. Vecna’s existence depends on suppressing whatever pieces of Henry Creel still exist. The cave threatens the persona he’s created.It makes sense that he’s repulsed by the cave. He would be confronting the moment that destroyed his original self. He knows exactly how breakable Henry used to be.
