Creel House

The Creel House was the Creel family's short-lived residence in Hawkins, Indiana. It was located on Morehead Street.^[1]

The house was purchased in the spring of 1959 by the Creel family. However, strange circumstances led Victor, the patriarch, to apparently murder his family there. By the mid-1980s, the infamous house was abandoned, but, in the Upside Down, the house was Vecna's base of operations. A fragmented version of the house was also at the center of Vecna's mindscape.

In March 1986, the house became the site of the final 'curse' gate, following the near-death experience suffered by Max Mayfield.

History[]

1959[]

The house was purchased by the Creel family in March of 1959. The Creel family consisted of the father Victor Creel, his wife, Virginia, and their two children, Alice and Henry. The house was initially unremarkable, until Henry Creel found solace through a nest of black spiders living inside the vents, finding them "endlessly fascinating". Henry grew to hate the human civilization, not wanting to be part of society's "mindless play". He discovered he had telekinesis (among other powers), and used it to manipulate a grandfather clock in his house. Soon, Henry began experimenting with his other powers,

Finding out that he can see into the past of others, Henry began showing his family a series of illusions in the house, sending his family into their dark memories. His mother suspected her son's ability, and that her son was behind the unsettling visions and other events that the family was experiencing. However, Victor Creel was convinced that a demon was responsible for the visions he and his family were experiencing. Victor was convinced that the demon was lurking in the attic, and even went as far as to have the house blessed by a priest. Virginia Creel was planning to take her son Henry to be seen by Dr. Martin Brenner, whom she apparently thought had some ability to treat her son's psychic powers.

One night, while the Creel was having dinner, Henry used his powers in an attempt to murder his family. Henry was still a child and did not know the limits of his own powers. He killed his mother and his sister, but he collapsed before he could kill his father. With Henry in a coma, Victor was left as the uninjured survivor of the family. The same night, he was arrested by the police and was eventually committed to Pennhurst Mental Hospital, leaving the house abandoned. It was reported that Henry Creel died several days later but this was not true - Martin Brenner took custody of him and begin to study him, becoming his first human test subject where Henry was labeled as "001."

1979[]

On September 8, 1979, Eleven banished Henry into the Upside Down, where he was horrifically burned and mutilated. He spent years adapting to the environment, and eventually used the dimension's version of the Creel House as his base of operations.

1986[]

In the spring of 1986, Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, Max Mayfield, Lucas Sinclair, and Nancy Wheeler broke into the abandoned home; Robin used a brick to break the stained-glass window on the front door and access the door handle. While investigating, Steve discovered Henry's old jars of preserved black widows under the bathroom floorboards. The group noticed fluctuations in electrical activity, indicating a presence was there, but in the Upside Down.

The group later re-entered the house, both in the regular world and in the Upside Down, in their attempts to kill Vecna. Max, a survivor of Vecna's curse, was used as bait for Vecna in the regular version of the house; meanwhile, Steve, Nancy and Robin traveled to the Upside Down house to attack Vecna's physical form. The group hoped that Vecna would be distracted while attempting to finally kill Max and open a fourth curse gate, giving the trio in the Upside Down an opportunity to kill him.

The plan began smoothly enough, with Max voluntarily making herself vulnerable to Vecna's influence in the Creel house attic. However, the plan was derailed after Jason Carver and his friends arrived at the house to investigate. Suspecting Lucas to be performing a Satanic ritual on Max, Jason confronted and ultimately attacked Lucas after he refused to listen to Lucas's explanations. This prevented Lucas from breaking Max out of the hallucination as Jason broke Max's Walkman. Lucas overpowered Jason, but it was too late; Max had lost consciousness. The fourth curse gate opened up in the floor, bisecting and killing Jason, before rapidly expanding and converging upon the town square. Moments later, Eleven used to psychic projection to restart Max's heart. Max came back to life, but was comatose, and in a vulnerable condition.

Known inhabitants[]

Residents[]

Visitors[]

Behind the scenes[]

Claremont House in Rome, Georgia was used to film the Creel House, while the outside playground was filmed on Columbia Avenue in College Park, Georgia.

Creel ground plan — The Creel House ground plan

“

The house, a Second Empire Victorian mansion with a mansard roof, had such a uniquely imposing air that we committed to traveling nearly two hours to shoot practical exteriors. On stage, we painstakingly recreated the intricate interior details of the three-story masterpiece down to the hand-carved bookcases and mantelpieces, ornate newel posts, and the beautifully hand-painted wall safe. We invented our own labyrinthine layout for the upper floor and attic to accommodate the extended explorations and climactic showdown that take place there.

— Chris Trujillo^[2]

”