View source for The Spider Monster

{{OtherTwoLines|the entity that appears in the [[Stranger Things/Season 3|third season]]|entity's main form, see [[The Mind Flayer]].}}
{{Creature
|name = Spider Monster
|image = St mind flayer.png
|status = Deceased
|died = {{date|July 4|1985}}
|residence = [[Brimborn Steel Works]], [[Hawkins]], [[Indiana]] <small>(1985)</small>
|aliases = The Mind Flayer<br>The Meat Flayer<ref name="mmj">[https://www.michaelmaherjr.com/meat-flayer-st3 "MEAT FLAYER - ST3 - MICHAEL MAHER JR"]</ref>
|other_relations = [[The Mind Flayer]]<br>[[Flesh Thralls]]<br>[[Hospital Monster]]<br><center>[[The Flayed|<u>"The Flayed":</u>]]</center><small>
*[[Billy Hargrove]]
*[[Heather Holloway]]
*[[Bruce Lowe]]
*[[Tom Holloway]]
*[[Janet Holloway]]
*[[Doris Driscoll]]
*[[Minor Characters/Season 3#David|David]]
*[[Minor Characters/Season 3#Adam|Adam]]
*[[Minor Characters/Season 4#Jack|Jack]]
*[[Minor Characters/Season 4#Melissa|Melissa]] and others</small>
|affiliation = [[The Mind Flayer]]<br>[[Vecna]] <small>(through the Mind Flayer)</small>
|height = 29.5 ft
|appearances = {{S3Lat|18 = noline|19 = yes|20 = yes|21 = yes|23 = yes|24 = yes|25 = yes|topline = no}}{{S4Lat|26 = nolinenote|28 = note}}{{LatAppendix|archive footage}}
}}
In the summer of {{year|1985}}, a '''proxy form''' of the [[The Mind Flayer|Mind Flayer]], known as the '''Spider Monster''', emerged from [[Brimborn Steel Works]] to terrorize [[Hawkins]], [[Indiana]].

The fragment of the Mind Flayer that was forced from [[Will Byers]]' mind and body laid dormant at Brimborn Steel Works following the closure of the [[Mothergate]]. After a new [[Gates|gate]] was [[The Keys|opened]] in [[Hawkins]], the fragment regained its psychic link to {{UD}}'s [[hive mind]]. It immediately set out to create a more corporeal form through which it could operate, creating the Spider Monster: a creature entirely composed of stolen bone, cartilage and flesh. 

It was originally a relatively small creature, composed entirely of infected rodents that gathered at Brimborn Steel Works. However, the monster, working in tandem with [[Flesh Thralls|various other flesh-thralls]] under the Mind Flayer's control, was then able to possess [[The Flayed|dozens of Hawkins residents]]; these unfortunate individuals were forced to consume toxic chemical products, triggering a strange biological conversion within their bodies. Eventually, the possessed people - and the other flesh-thralls - were summoned to the steel mill, where they were melted down and absorbed into the creature. 

The creature was then let loose throughout Hawkins, and attempted to hunt down [[Eleven]] and [[the Party]]; however, after the gate beneath Starcourt was closed, the psychic link between the monster and the Upside Down was broken, rendering the Spider Monster a empty, lifeless vessel.

== History ==
=== 1984 ===
A year following [[Will Byers]]' rescue from {{UD}}, the [[The Mind Flayer|Mind Flayer]] - an entity under the control of [[Vecna]] -  began stalking him in a series of visions. This culminated in the entity possessing Will by attaching a part of itself to the boy. This fragment served as a link between the Mind Flayer and Will, making him a part of the entity's [[hive mind]]. Vecna then began using Will as a means to spy on [[Hawkins National Laboratory]] in order to eradicate the scientists who were keeping the Upside Down's biological growth at bay.

However, this connection also allowed Will to learn the entity's weakness. When it was discovered the Mind Flayer was vulnerable to heat, [[Joyce Byers|Joyce]], [[Jonathan Byers|Jonathan]], and [[Nancy Wheeler|Nancy]] strapped Will down and surrounded him with numerous space heaters, exorcising the fragment from Will's body which subsequently flew up into the sky. When [[Eleven]] closed [[Mothergate|the Gate]], the fragment did not die like the [[Demogorgon (species)|Demodogs]] and other hosts, but rather entered a dormant state.

=== 1985 ===
In the summer of 1985, a secret Soviet operation located beneath Hawkins' newly-built [[Starcourt Mall]] successfully re-opened the Gate into the Upside Down using the [[The Keys|Key]]. The fragment's link with the hive mind, Vecna and the Mind Flayer was re-established, reviving in [[Brimborn Steel Works]] where it immediately began to possess a horde of rats. The Mind Flayer then began constructing a physical body for itself out of the rats' remains, with the ultimate goal to kill Eleven as revenge for closing the Gate the year prior. To achieve this, it began to target humans. The first human host was [[Billy Hargrove]], whom was then used to kidnap [[Heather Holloway]], possessing her as well. Over the span of three days, several more Hawkins residents became hosts to the Mind Flayer, among them being Heather’s parents, [[Tom Holloway|Tom]] and [[Janet Holloway]], as well as [[Doris Driscoll]] and [[Bruce Lowe]]. These hosts would later be dubbed "the Flayed".

After discovering that the Mind Flayer had returned, the Party along with Nancy and Jonathan decided to use Doris as a way to find the location where the creature’s victims were being flayed. Nancy and Jonathan went to see Doris at the [[Hawkins Memorial Hospital|hospital]] but were instead met by Tom and Bruce, who proceeded to attack them. Tom and Bruce were killed in the ensuing fight, but their bodies then melted and combined to form a [[Hospital Monster|grotesque monster]]. After Eleven threw the creature out of a window, it escaped into the sewers where it was absorbed into the Spider Monster's body.

On {{date|July 4|85}}, Vecna finally enacted his plan; after learning the Party's location by using Billy as a decoy, Vecna summoned all of the Flayed to the steel mill where they were melted and absorbed into the proxy body, allowing it to grow to a massive size. Once complete, the creature made its way to [[Hopper cabin|Hopper's cabin]] and proceeded to attack the residence. In its assault, the creature managed to grab El by the leg with one of its tentacles, injuring her in the process. Once the tentacle had been severed, El split the Spider Monster’s head in half, temporarily incapacitating it and allowing the group to escape.

Due to a small piece of the creature still lodged under El's skin, the Spider Monster was able to pursue the Party to the Starcourt Mall. The Spider Monster was distracted and lured away from the mall as El, [[Mike Wheeler|Mike]], and [[Max Mayfield|Max]] evaded the creature by escaping through the mall’s back entrance. However, they were intercepted by Billy, alerting the Spider Monster to their location. Once he returned to the mall, Billy brought El to the creature to be killed. Just before he could do so, the creature was pelted with fireworks. When the fireworks were depleted, the Spider Monster tried again, only to be stopped by Billy, who had returned to his real self. The Spider Monster retaliated by impaling Billy with tentacles, mortally wounding him. 

Immediately after, the Key machine was disabled, thus closing the Gate and severing the Spider Monster's psychic link to Vecna and the Mind Flayer. The Spider Monster collapsed on the mall floor, lifeless. 

It is not clear what happened to the creature's corpse following the closure of the gate. The body may have been recovered by the American or Russian government; alternatively, it may have burned up during the "mall fire".

== Description ==
The Spider Monster was a 30-foot tall amalgamation of human and rodent remains. The creature loosely resembled the Mind Flayer’s 'shadow monster' form, possessing an elongated flame-shaped head, and six branching spider-like legs.

It had a highly irregular surface, with bones belonging to the creature's victims jutting out from various parts of its body. The creature was equipped with several prehensile tentacles used for offensive attacks, one of which extended from the monster’s mouth. The maw of the creature was filled with circular rows of jagged "teeth".

Despite posing a formidable threat, the creature was clumsily designed and thrown-together by Vecna, with some of its limbs being completely dysfunctional.<ref name="bts"/>

== Appearances ==
{{Season Three Appearances|yes|yes|yes|yes|yes|yes|yes|yes}}

{{Season Four Appearances|8 = note|note|3=note}}
{{LatAppendix|The Spider Monster appears in flashbacks in {{ep|26}}, {{ep|28}}, and {{ep|33}}.}}

== Behind the scenes ==
According to the [[Duffer Brothers]] and VFX supervisor [[Paul Graff]], the Spider Monster was inspired by [[Influences & references|David Cronenberg films]] and ''[[Influences & references|Hellraiser]]'', and was conceived as a kind of "Frankenstein's dinosaur":
{{Quote|It's not a well-designed creature; it's a thrown-together, nasty, weird body-parts creature, so it should be limping. Maybe some of those limbs that you see are completely dysfunctional, and it's just dragging them behind him.|[[Paul Graff]]<ref name="bts"/>}}

{{Gallery|The Mind Flayer|#Season Three}}

== Trivia ==
* Concept art by [[Michael Maher, Jr.]] refers to the creature as the "Meat Flayer".<ref name="mmj"/>
* The tentacle that protrudes from the Spider Monster's mouth is similar to the [[w:c:avp:Inner jaw|inner jaw]] of the [[w:c:avp:Xenomorph XX121 (Alien)|Xenomorphs]] from the ''Alien'' franchise.
* According to [[Kate Trefry]], the writers considered having the kids defeat the Spider Monster in a very different way; they would load up [[Karen Wheeler]]'s station wagon with fireworks and drive it off the mall balcony, making the Mind Flayer explode - a "literal suburban icon crashing into this Lovecraftian monster".<ref name="bts">[[Behind The Scenes: Stranger Things 3|'"Behind The Scenes: Stranger Things 3 - Episode 3: "The Mind Flayer"']]</ref>

{{References}}
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[[Category:Creatures]]
[[Category:Upside Down]]

[[Category:Deceased characters]]
{{DEFAULTSORT: Spider Monster, The}}
[[Category:Characters/Season 3]]