STRANGER THINGS 4 Cast Discusses The Influence of Dungeons & Dragons and The Satanic Panic

The Satanic Panic of the 80s was an interesting time as parents and religious groups were going crazy trying to save the souls of the kids from being swallowed up by the Devil. They believed that Dungeons & Dragons and heavy metal were being used as Satanic cult recruitment tools and led to suicide, murder, and Satanic ritual abuse.

The Stranger Things franchise is heavily influenced by D&D and in the upcoming fourth season, and the Satanic Panic will be put into focus with the introduction of the Dungeons & Dragons Hawkins High School club called the Hellfire Club, which is led by Eddie Munson, who is played by Joseph Quinn.

In a recent interview with Bloody-Disgusting, Quinn was asked if he researched the Satanic Panic for his role, and he explained: “I did. Yeah. I think it was brilliant the way that the brothers end it that way for the season. It was a really interesting time. Heavy metal really stands in the face of, I don’t know, American Christian values. It’s a real stark contrast, and I think it must have been crazy with that whole thing. I think it’s explored very brilliantly in this season.”

Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington, added: “Bravo to the brothers. I mean, it’s perfect if you think about what they did. I was thinking about that as we watched the first episode last night. What an awesome way to incorporate your character and that whole thing into the show.”

Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, says he doesn’t know much about the Satanic Panic, but he did share his thoughts, saying: “I didn’t really know much about the whole hysteria around Dungeons & Dragons and heavy metal and stuff like that. In my head, people who love heavy metal were hard, but it’s just this thing of ‘really hardened.’ You’d think of almost hardened criminals or something like that. Where it’s just, people just like Metallica. People like Megadeth or are nerds and outsiders. You can be both. I don’t know.”

Then there’s Eduardo Franco, who plays a new character in Season 4 named Argyle. He shared: “The whole, ‘Oh, D&D is the Devil.’ I feel I got a glimpse of that social hysteria when I was a kid. It wasn’t in the ’80s, but I remember very vividly when Pokémon hit the streets. I don’t know if it was just where I was from, but parents were saying, ‘Pokémon is from the devil.'”

While I’m very familiar with the Satanic Panic, I don’t ever recall parents freaking out over Pokemon being a tool of the devil! Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see the Satanic Panic explored in the upcoming season of Stranger Things.

In Stranger Things 4, “It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time — and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.”

Stranger Things 4 is set to premiere on May 27th, 2022.