Stranger Things: Eddie and Hellfire Club were inspired by real tragedy

Even with fantastic beings from another dimension and beings with superpowers, Stranger Things takes advantage of some real-life events to base the characters on. This happened with Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) it’s the Hellfire Clubfeatured in the fourth season of the original series Netflix.

In the production created by Matt and Ross Duffer, Eddie is a young rock fan and founder of Hellfire ClubRPG club Hawkins High Schoolwhere the protagonists Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Will (Noah Schnapp), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Max (Sadie Sink) study.

Second @NetflixGeekedone of the official accounts of the Netflix on twitter, Eddie Munson was vaguely inspired by Damien Echolswriter and artist who is one of the characters in the documentary Paradise Lost: Child Murders at Robin Hood Hillreleased in 1996.

STRANGER THINGS 4’s Hellfire Club storyline — and especially the character Eddie Munson — were inspired by the documentary series PARADISE LOST.

Eddie is loosely modeled after writer and artist Damien Echols, who was a member of the West Memphis Three. pic.twitter.com/nyUnvZ5B8x

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) May 28, 2022

What is the story of Damien Echols that inspired Stranger Things?

Damien Echols and friends were part of Gryphons & Gargoyles, an RPG group from West Memphis, Tennessee. They were blamed for the murder of three boys, even with solid alibis without hard evidence. The group was associated with Satanism – and so would have committed the crimes.

echols was sentenced to death, while two friends and members of the Gryphons & Gargoyles received life imprisonment at the time. Due to the lack of evidence to convict them, several celebrities – among them Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder and Peter Jackson – from the United States protested against the court’s decision and started to defend the group.

What happened to Damien Echols and Gryphons & Gargoyles?

Due to strong popular pressure and lack of concrete evidence, Damien Echols and Gryphons & Gargoyles succeeded in suspending criminal execution. They were only released from the US prison system after 18 years of imprisonment.

In 2010, the investigation was reopened and DNA tests were redone with new and modern equipment, which showed the innocence of echols and friends. Since then, the artist has written the book Life after death (2012) tells his entire life story, from childhood to prison experience.