One of the greatest mysteries of Stranger Things was the Upside Down. What was it exactly? Was it a parallel dimension taking you to a dark (literally) version of Hawkins, Indiana? Where did it come from? Over the course of five seasons, we slowly got an answer to those questions while preserving the mystique that makes the Upside Down so terrifying.
It’s a Wormhole
In Stranger Things 5 Volume 2, Dustin gets a hold of one of Dr. Martin Brenner’s old journals, and is stunned to learn that the Upside Down is actually a wormhole anchored to Hawkins National Laboratory. It acts as an interdimensional bridge or tunnel connecting Hawkins to an alternate reality called the Abyss. That means the Mind Flayer and all the creepy creatures we’ve seen on the show are native to the Abyss. The gates are the entry points on the Hawkins side, and they drop you straight into the tunnel.
Because it’s a bridge, the Upside Down isn’t infinite. Step outside its walls and there’s nothing but an empty void. Rifts near the top lead out toward the Abyss, which is how Vecna, Demogorgons, and the Demobats cross over into our world.
How Was the Upside Down Created?
While defending herself against Henry Creel/One (Vecna and Mr. Whatsit) in 1979, Eleven (Jane Hopper) telekinetically pinned him against a wall of the Rainbow Room inside Hawkins Lab. From the outside, it looked like Eleven was disintegrating Henry. However, what she actually did was unknowingly carved an interdimensional rift through his body, only to close on its own once Henry disappeared.
This rift plunged Henry through a space between Earth and other dimensions until he found himself in the stormy, barren desert wasteland the Abyss. It’s where he reconnected with the Mind Flayer which set him on the path to becoming the nightmare we call Vecna.
By the early 1980s, Dr. Brenner shifted his focus on Eleven and expanding her remote viewing abilities so she could spy on Russian agents. While “eavesdropping” on a Russian spy using her psychic powers, Eleven encountered a strange, humanoid creature from the Abyss later known as a Demogorgon.
On November 6, 1983, Brenner ordered Eleven to use her powers to reach out and make contact with the monster. What Brenner didn’t know at the time was that Eleven and Henry’s battle in the Rainbow Room created a tear in the fabric of reality, weakening the barrier that kept multiple dimensions separate. As soon as Eleven made contact with the Demogorgon, her powers added more stress to that barrier. A wormhole was created as a result, also known as the Mothergate, linking the Abyss to Earth.
That tear also created an exact replica of Hawkins, but with some major differences. Time doesn’t seem to move like it does in our reality, keeping this version of Hawkins frozen to what it was like in November 1983. All forms of human life are absent while a massive wall made of some kind of flesh-like substance surrounds the “town.” This mirror of Hawkins also contained aspects of the Abyss, covered in vines and membranes with strange spores floating in the air.
The Destruction of the Upside Down
In seasons 4 and 5, Henry’s (now known as Vecna) goal was to weaken the barrier until the Abyss bled into Hawkins so that he and the Mind Flayer could claim the planet for themselves. He managed to open several gates across Hawkins at the end of Stranger Things 4 making it easier for anyone, human or otherwise, to travel between Earth and the Upside Down.
On November 1987, Vecna started kidnapping young children to use as conductors to amplify his powers. This was so he could tear down the remaining physical and psychic restraints around the Upside Down.
To save the world and their loved ones, the Party knows what they have to do: destroy the Upside Down.
But how are they going to do that?
Inside Dr. Brenner’s journals, the Party learns that after Eleven opened the gate, he created a mass of negative energy called exotic matter to stabilize the wormhole so it wouldn’t collapse.
In physics, exotic matter is a real scientific theory, though scientists haven’t been able to run proper tests on the subject. It is believed that with enough negative energy, it could keep a wormhole from crushing itself.
With Steve’s help, the Party comes up with a plan. They’ll wait until the Abyss reaches the Upside Down’s version of the town’s radio tower. They need it to be close enough so they can enter the Abyss but far enough colliding with Hawkins. They will launch their attack on November 6, 1987, the fourth year anniversary of Will Byers’ kidnapping and the Mother-Gate opening. Once they’re in the Abyss, Eleven, her “sister” Kali and Max will distract Vecna while the rest of the group rescue the kids.
Once the children are free and heading back to Hawkins, the Party will leave behind a timer bomb in the Upside Down set to Prince’s “Purple Rain.” When the song ends, the bomb detonates destroying the wormhole and leaving Vecna and the Mind Flayer behind in the Abyss.
Things don’t go as planned once Vecna realizes what they’re doing. But the Party does manage to rescue the kids and put an end to the merger. After killing Vecna, Eleven either choosing to stay in Upside Down when the bomb goes off so the U.S. government will stop targeting her or fakes her death, the Upside Down is destroyed.
The Upside Down was never a dark mirror of Hawkins that mysteriously appeared when the Demogorgon did. Its creation is the result of a series of freak accidents colliding with the dangers of the unknown. The most dangerous thing about the Upside Down is that it even existed in the first place.
All five seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix.
