When it comes to time travel, space, or alternate dimensions, there are countless blockbusters in the cinematic world, but when you talk about this exciting niche, Stranger Things stands in the top 5. There are many reasons for this standing. This series is a mix of childish humor, fun, growth, friendship, adventure, science, and a lot of fun altogether.
At first, when I began watching this series, I thought it was all about children who are about to have some serious adventures (like Will (Noah Schnapp) taken by Demogorgon) in the alternate dimension, which they named “Upside Down” as per their comic book “Dungeons & Dragons”. But season after season, this alternate dimension gets trickier and more powerful, and we as viewers are kept surprised with a lot of questions.
And then comes the fourth season in 2022, and in we get all the answers in 7th episode (The Massacre at Hawkins Lab), and as a viewer we get to know, that it was always all about Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), who has been living and growing in that place since the time Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) put him in that dark world.
Now comes the real question, what is upside down, and how does it differ from our world? And that’s what we are going to discuss in this article, after watching all 4 seasons.
Although, 5th and final season is about to release in November 2025, but first four seasons of Stranger Things are a complete package to know everything about Upside Down.
Difference Between Stranger Things Upside Down and the Real World
Upside Down from season 1
Stranger Things is famous for showing two worlds.
- The Real World — where we live
- The Upside Down — a dark parallel dimension which is an exact copy of our world, but full of death and troubles.
What Exactly Is the Upside Down?
As we know, this type of dimension doesn’t exist in reality (as far as science says). So we’ll try to understand the narratives according to the details given in series.
In the first season, when Eleven tracked Will and informed the nerdy boys group that he has been taken to the other side, which they obviosuly can’t see, they try to understand about this parallel place and according to the descripton that Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) gives us, it’s a place full of death and decoy, full of creatures and monsters. It’s right in front of us, and we can never see it.
That was the description they got from the book, but as none of them ever visited that dimension, this is why they were brave enough to decide that they would save Will from Upside Down, and began to plan their expedition.
Mike, Dustin, and Lucas planning their expedition to save Will in Upside Down (Season 1)
But one thing is clear, if they really knew about that place in reality, they might have reconsidered their plan, or they might have thought to get help from someone who can actually save Will from that death den. Now there are many reasons, if anyone who had visited or seen that place in reality would have never wanted to visit it again.
Some visual differences | Upside Down vs Real World
| Feature | Real World | Upside Down |
|---|---|---|
| Atmosphere | Normal | Dark, cold & Creepy |
| Air | Clean & breathable | Full of spores and toxic |
| Time | Moves forward | Stuck in 1983 |
| Nature | Growing plants and vegatables | Dead vines and decay |
| Light | Sunlight | Almost no light |
| Water | Available | No water – lakes and rivers are dry |
Now, we’ll discuss the main differences one by one to find out what that place really is, and no one will ever want to visit it.
Biological Differences | Life in Upside Down
That world hold no lovely organisms. As far as we have seen in first four seasons, all the creatures and monsters from Upside Down are not meant for the real world. They don’t even look like normal creatures, maybe the producers tried to make it more exciting and horrible for the show, but if we talk for real, these creatures are no less than any ghosts.
Let’s have a quick look at these creatures and trouble they caused in each season.
Demogorgon
Eleven destroying Demogorgon in season 1 episode 8
We get to see this creature in the very first few episodes, and it makes us confused about what it really looks like. This is among the very first creatures that stepped into the real world and started taking people on the other side.
If you think Will was the first person Demogorgon took, you’re wrong, it was actually that doctor from Hawkins Lab we saw in season’s intro.
It looks horrible as per the description, overall body like a human, with small shoulders, huge claws with sharp nails, and no face but a mouth opening with countless teeth. It’s stronger than any average animal or person, and can take down any powerful armed person in a few seconds, which actually explains that living organisms from Upside Down were bred differently.
You can’t take it down with simple ammunition, maybe with a bomb (no one tested it in the series), but the only person who defeated Demogorgon is Jim Hopper (David Harbor) with a sword in the 8th episode of 4th season.
Demodogs
Demodog from season 2
It’s simply a baby demogorgon, as far as we know. We get to understand many biological facts about this monster in season 2, of course, because of Dustin. As he found one of the little ones in his trash can, he began to feed it and pet it. Later, it became a problem for him, as it was a fully grown monster. Still, their friendship was marvellous, and that actually tells one of the most beautiful things about this season, which is friendship, even with a monster.
Dustin wasn’t wrong. Anyone can pet a baby demodog, as they seem very cute when they are the size of a frog, but as they continue to grow, they become terrible.
Their resistance to heat, eating patterns, quick growth, and many other behaviors show us how they normally grow in their own world, and somehow, they quickly adapt to the environment, warmth, taste, and climate (not on extreme levels). It looks like they have a strong metabolism and strength. Perhaps, in the Upside Down, food is healthy and nutrient-rich.
Demobats
Demobats from season 4
It’s more like a bat but with huge wings and very sharp teeth. Moreover, they are so well-connected and quick that I can bet the real bats from our world are not capable of doing what these bats can do. They are mostly like the guards that always protect and keep an eye on the gates of Upside Down.
Demobats almost took the life of our handsome playboy Steve (Joe Keery) in the 4th season. Luckily, he already had a backup of other nerds.
The Mind Flayer
Mindflayer from season 2
In our real world, we just have a belief about God and divine power that created and rules this world. In Upside Down, we see a different kind of ruler that basically controls everything in that dimension.
We have never seen the origin and actual description of the Mind Flayer, but in seasons 2 & 3, we saw how powerful it is.
It can easily possess anyone and anything in its vicinity. The so-called Vecna was also under the Mind Flayer’s influence (as per the 4th season). This entity created a huge mess in the second season by using only a single victim (Will Byers), and in the third season, it almost took half of Hawkins, including one of the very charming and brave characters, Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery).
These are some major threats that abducted our real world in a very bad way after Eleven opened the portal and made contact with Demogorgon. Besides that, there were a number of features that made it unhabitable, like toxic air, no food, no clean water, and constant fear of monstrous creatures and dark breathing vines.
Physical & Chemical Environment
A glimpse of haunting Upside Down from season 4
No Sunlight
There’s no sunlight ever in that dimension, and that theory is confirmed as we can see multiple times in the four seasons. Maybe that’s a reason it’s so cold. Remember, what Will said in its first season “its so cold, dark, and empty”. The funny thing was that he was still in his house, but no mum, brother, friends, and other privileges.
Bad air quality
Speaking of the air quality, it has so bad quality of the air that is not breathable for a normal human. It looks more like a flammable type of air that causes a lot of trouble in breathing. And that’s why the scientists we have seen in early episodes working at the site of the portal were wearing lab suits. Even Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper also wore a lab suit before they could go to rescue Will.
Joyce and Hopper in season 1 when they were about to enter Upside Down to find and save Will, wearing a lab suit due to bad quality of breathing air.
Vines and empty buildings
Now, if you speak of the structures, buildings, shops, and everything else, probably, one thing is clear that it is an exact copy of the original world, but, in a rotting and damaged form, covered by spores and movable vines. These are sensible vines that move throughout a structure connected to one mind. It means when you enter the vicinity and step on one of the vines, it will alert every creature connected to that vine, especially Mind Flayer and Vecna.
Vines in Upside Down | Season 4 | The day Nancy was possessed by Vecna and she saw this dimension for second time
Moreover, the most strange part is about the virus-type fluid that the mind flayer puts in everyone via a vine in their mouths that reaches up to their intestines. The best visual we get about this virus is in season 1 episode 8, where Hopper saves Will’s life by putting out and firing one of the vines from his mouth. The same thing Eleven found his Barbara’s (Shannon Purser) mouth. But she got unlucky as no one was able to track her on time, and that’s why she’s among all the people who visited Upside Down but never came back.
Will in season 1 episode 8 | Trapped in Upside Down | Being infected by virus via vines in mouth
No water
Steve in Upside Down standing in a lake which is completely dry | Season 4
Well, we need no evidence or references for this fact. In the fourth season episode 6th (The Dive), Steve just took a dive to find out if Dustin’s really right about his theory related to compasses, as they get messy when they’re close to a strong magnetic field. Well, he found a gate in the Lovers Lake, but, unfortunately, he was dragged into the Upside Down by one of the vines.
And when he was in that dimension, well, it was an exact copy of Lovers Lake, but there was no water.
There are trees in Upside Down, but no leaves. There’s soil, but a rotten one. Then there’s a lake, but no water. We can say that it’s an exact copy of our world that is stuck and can never generate or reproduce anything new.
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Psychological and Emotional Effects on Humans
If you ever get a chance to visit this alternate dimension, you may feel
- Fear
- Sadness
- Hallucinations
- Loss of hope
There are a number of examples in the entire show about all the people who had their time in the Upside Down. No one really came back home happy. Speaking of the facts, Will was the first ever person who was taken by Demogorgon and came back alive, but had to take long-lasting therapy because of the nightmares and episodes he had, especially in season 2.
Will’s nightmare after he came back alive in season 2
The other lucky ones on the list are Joyce, Hopper, Nancy, Steve, Robin, and, of course, the group of nerds who only visited one of the dug holes to burn it down and challenge Mind Flayer’s plan to overcome their friend and Hawkins.
In the first season, Nancy hardly visited for 5 minutes, and couldn’t sleep for days because of the things she saw, especially the Demogorgon.
Hopper, on the other hand, tried to behave and act like a brave fella, but still, he had nightmares of his own. The worst part was that they could never share this type of trauma with anyone to unburden themselves, because, if they did it, even by mistake, their life could be at stake or even in more danger than that could be in Upside Down.
Technology and Communication Differences
Technology doesn’t work accurately in the Upside Down, but, there are some magical and interesting things for that can happen.
| Technology | Result |
|---|---|
| Radios | Static noises, weak signals |
| Electricity | Only sometimes works |
| Sound | Echoes strangely |
| Wireless Communication | Works (but in a range) |
Stranger Things portrayed one of these things beautifully, which is communication from the other side via lights. Joyce never lost any kind of hope, even when Hawkins lab tried to cover up everything by providing a fake body. The best part is about their communication via lights, which comes into effect when you touch the lights from the other side, which is really exciting.
Joyce talking to Will via lights from the other side
We never understood how Will was able to talk with lights in the first 3 seasons, but overall, that scene was splendid.
The second time we get to see someone using wireless communication from the Upside Down to the real world is in the 4th season, when Steeve and the rest of the crew get stuck while looking for the water gate. At that point, we can understand that if you touch a bulb or light on the other side, and in the real world, it doesn’t matter if that bulb or light is on or off, it will always blink, which is a sign of communication (but only with lights).
Somehow, Joyce was able to listen to her son via the walls in an echoing voice. And the same thing could be seen in the 4th season when Steve, Nancy, Eddie, and Robin were stuck, and they planned to go to Wheeler’s house to get some guns, so they could make an exit from that deadly place. And, at that point, we can see that Steeve was able to listen to Dustin while he was speaking on the other side.
Dustin helping steve and rest of the crew stucked in Upside Down in fourth season
Maybe that’s a sign of a close connection with someone, as none of the other guys were able to listen to him in the first place. But their wireless communication via lights became the exact reason for their safe escape.
Connection Between Both Worlds
Now, heading towards some final and closing facts on the connection between these two dimensions.
- These two worlds are connected via gates and portals.
The first gate was opened in 1983 by Eleven. Then, Vecna opened multiple gates in season 4. He was trying to put multiple cracks, which means that, more gates he opens, it will ultimately bring Upside Down to the real world.
- People from the real world can die from toxic air and monstrous creatures.
People need fresh air, water, sunlight, and resources to create and regenerate their living needs, but that alternate dimension comes only with polluted toxins, a cold environment, and darkness, so people really can’t survive.
- Vecna wants to take over everything.
Vecna, aka Henry in his childhood, made it clear in the 7th episode of the 4th season (The massacre at Hawkins Lab) that humans are no more than consuming creatures that only want to damage this world and its resources, so he wants to create his own system where there is no time, no rules, and no more damage. In clear words, he wants to have his own kingdom.
- Hawkins is the only beginning.
We just saw what happened in the closing scenes of the 4th season, and that is a clear sign about Vecna being alive, and the small town of Hawkins is just a beginning. Sooner or later, he wants to consume everything.
