An independent and selective RP blog for Henry Creel, AKA, Vecna, from Netflix's Stranger Things. Freed by Ireannis.
π³π΄π°π»πΈπ½πΆΒ πΈπ½Β ; Β Unseen horror,Β cryΒ forΒ theΒ devil,Β memoryΒ turnedΒ malevolent,Β theΒ corruptionΒ ofΒ innocence,Β aΒ mirrorΒ ofΒ suffering,Β usedΒ toΒ beΒ a sweetΒ kidΒ &Β neitherΒ livingΒ norΒ dead ||Β π³π³π³π½π΄,Β you haveΒ beenΒ warned.Β StrangerΒ ThingsΒ isΒ horror-basedΒ media.Β Cosmic,Β religiousΒ and sci-fiΒ horrorΒ areΒ massiveΒ aspectsΒ ofΒ myΒ loreΒ andΒ portrayal and wont be held back or censored here.
IREANNIS β’ TWENTY + β’ BIPOC β’ GTM+11 β’ AUDHD β’ HE/HIM PRONOUNS.
WARNINGS. This blog contains dark, explicit horror themes, including (but not limited to): extreme violence/gore, human experimentation, trafficking, abuse, torture, imprisonment, child/animal death and abuse, eugenics, cosmic, religious and sci-fi horror, spiders/bugs, and unreality. Heavier topics are tagged as βthing cw.β Stranger Things is a horror based franchise and will be treated as such. Henry is not for the faint of heart; his background is incredibly dark. Please do not follow me if you have triggers commonly associated with the horror genre or found within the Stranger Things universe. Mun β muse. Iβm a writer, nothing more.
GENERAL. This is a private and selective blog, unaffiliated with the ST fandom/RPC/Duffers, etc. Feel free to follow if interested, and I'll check you out ASAP. If I do not follow back, please do not take it personally. I soft-block blogs I will not follow, and I request the same in return. This said, it may take me a few days to check you out, so please be patient if you're interested.
AFFLIATED. Please do not be intimidated by my decision to have and showcase affiliates on my blog. These people are my friends and people who have actively engaged with me RP-wise. I enjoy promoting their blogs. There is no elitism involved, and anyone can be affiliated with me if they express interest and show they want to actively write with me. I am generally a friendly, welcoming person. Do no harm, take no shit is a mantra I tend to live by.
GENERATIVE AI. I do not support Generative AI and I don't personally use it, but I'm not going to waste my time policing it. For me, Gen AI has advanced so much that I can't distinguish what is Gen AI and what isn't unless it is explicitly tagged/marked as such. Ultimately, I'm not going to spend my time trying to sniff out Gen AI. It is what it is and I have better things to do.
TAGGING. This blog operates under the assumption that all its viewers are mature adults who have consented to viewing mature and dark content and are capable of looking after their own mental and emotional health. You are welcome to poke me off anon in case I ever miss anything important, but I will never acknowledge anonymous requests or complaints from non-mutuals.
INTERACTING. Do not ever rush or push me for replies: you will be blocked. I find memes and asks to be the best way to begin interaction for me but I am not opposed to starter calls. I am very crossover, canon-divergence, and AU-friendly, and open to most fandoms, however I will be very cautious about animated/anime RPCs due to negative past experiences.
BLOCKING. I block liberally for my own comfort but this is almost never a personal thing.
With the introduction of the for you page, I sometimes block RP blogs suggested there to avoid confusion or accidentally interacting with non-mutuals if I have no interest in following the blog. Please donβt question or bypass a block. I will also block anyone who blocks me out of curtesy.
DUPES. I love duplicates, and those who write the same muses as me have excellent taste. However, I wonβt follow first and any mention of "dupe anxiety" is a hard block. Please DO NOT copy or reference anything from my blog without my explicit permission. This has happened a number of times, and none of you are ever as slick as you think you are.
SHIPPING. I'm open to ships with chemistry and build-up. Shipping-only interactions do not interest me and you should never expect instant gratification when aiming for a ship with my muses. Moreover, I am not interested in dating my RP partners and shipping will not change this. OOC flirting, mun-bleeding and possessive behaviour will result in a big old hard block.
NSFW. This is a strictly adult-only space. 21+ is highly preferred. Minors will be blocked on sight. My tag for content of a sexual nature is βπ·οΈ π»ππ : usfwβ with explicit content typically placed under read more with a warning banner. I only write smut with mutuals and typically those I have discussed a ship with. I will NOT ship my muses with minors or underage characters ever; I do not care if you age them up, if they are canonly underage it is not happening.
DISCLAIMERS. I do not engage in drama, callouts, vague posting, or DNIs without proof of genuine harmful/predatory/bigoted behaviour. Iβm neurodivergent and disabled, and I have absolutely no spoons for RPC toxicity. Parasocial behaviour is not my responsibility. I don't care what kind of beef you imagine you have with me or anyone else, and I am very unlikely to add anyone to Discord or join RP groups as I've found writers to devolve into their worst selves there. I am not saying I will NEVER add anyone to discord or join discord RPs but I am very cautious.
END. All content, graphics, icons, and PSDs are mine and created entirely by me. If we are mutuals you're welcome to reach out to me with any concerns you might have. If you are blocked by me do not contact me. Again, I am not interested in imagined issues or parasocial projections.
NAME. Henry Creel.
ALIAS. 001. Vecna.
BIRTHDAY. March 8th. 1947. βοΈ
PRONOUNS. NB. He/him. It/its.
ORIENTATION. Aspec.
SPECIES. Human / Lich.
HEADCANONS. Click here.
OVERVIEW. Once a young boy with clairvoyant abilities, moving to Hawkins the Creel family began to experience strange and terrifying events. Henry's father believed in the presence of a demon cursing his family as stranger things marred the town of Hawkins, changing the course of young Henry's life forever. Kidnapped, Henry was imprisoned in Hawkins Lab for 20 years by Dr. Martin Brenner and was forced to participate in years of human experimentation.
RELATIONSHIP STATUS. Selective. Please do not ask me to ship Henry with the underage or teen cast of ST. This is freak shit and you will be blocked for it. The fact is Henry is in his 40s by the time of season 4 and 5. I am perfectly fine to explore potential ships with canonical adult characters, however.Anyone canonically 21+ Is fine with me. I typically ship Henry with my bestie's portrayal of Patty Newbie from the stage play. @Corfides π©Ά
HENRY & VECNA. I do not portray Henry and Vecna as separate characters. Vecna is Henry but Henry isn't always Vecna. Vecna is essentially an altered survival state born from extreme trauma and partial assimilation of Henry's mind by the Shadow. Vecna is the version of Henry shaped by control, mysticism, and purpose. Henry's humanity remains present underneath and will often have a passive influence over Vecna. Likewise, Vecna's personality will occasionally have a passive influence over Henry in verses where Henry was never assimilated by the Shadow.
THE SHADOW. The creature dubbed as the Mind Flayer by the party is depicted by me as a godlike, primordial force of creation and decay β not a demon or an alien, but hunger incarnate. The Upside Down is its living body: viscera suspended between dimensions. As the Shadowβs consciousness presses into a world it corrodes and consumes it. Hawkins is not being invaded so much as it is being digested, accelerated by Vecna's presence as its human conduit. You can find more about my lore and headcanons surrounding this right here.
AESTHETICS & MOTIFS. Dust, cobwebs, fractured mirrors, flickering/dying light, broken clocks, ticking hands, black veins under pale skin, crumpled drawings, spiders, webs, decay, deep roots, fungal colonies, mold blooming on brick, childrenβs toys twisted and melted, silent corridors, void-like eyes, muted screams, shapeshifting shadows, ashen snow, the smell of ozone and decay, apocalyptic dreams, dead forests, red lighting, necrotic flesh, storms, abandoned labs and the color of bruises: red, blue, and deep black.
Chaos unto the fly: CANON
Here, Henry exists as the psychic predator bound to the Upside Down known as "Vecna". He views himself not entirely as a monster, but as a necessary correction to a cruel and dishonest world. Feeding on guilt, fear, and unresolved trauma, he selects his victims carefully, believing death to be a form of revelation rather than punishment. Calm, methodical, and serving as an army general to the Shadow, this Henry no longer seeks understanding, but rather dominion. Humanity is something he has outgrown, and Hawkins is merely the fertile ground for something far greater.
ALONG CAME A SPIDER : MAIN / AU :
This verse doubles as an AU of canon events where Henry actually did escape the lab rather than being transformed into the creature known as Vecna, thus meaning Henry remains human, although his connection to the Shadow remains. This verse can include Henry's escape with Eleven, with Patty or his escape alone. Either way, he winds up squatting at his childhood home as he hopes to map and plan his way out of Hawkins.
TANGLED WEBS WE WEAVE : RESIDENT EVIL AU :
In this verse a 12 year old Henry Creel fell into a chasm under Hawkins and became the first human host to the Root. His family was taken and used in illegal experiments that only Henry survived. Designated Subject A-001, he was studied and tortured by Dr. Brenner and his associates for a decade. Until the day of a mold containment breach where Henry typically escapes.
a noiseless patient spider : PRE-CANON
A verse for threads taking place prior to Henry's "death" or alternative escape during the Hawkins lab accident. In this verse Henry is typically presented as a kindly orderly who resides in Hawkins lab, though I do have branch off verses depending on a plot by plot basis. AUs, crossovers and canon divergence are extremely welcomed for this verse! He can be friend shaped if you let him.
THE FIRST : DEAD BY DAYLIGHT VERSE :
Once a clairvoyant child turned government experiment, Henry Creel would later be devoured by something ancient beneath the soil. Now a vessel for a godlike entity known as the Shadow he is no longer just a man, but a psionic predator, guided by rage, hunger, and something far older.
THE BLIND EATER : Fandomless :
FANDOMLESS. Essentially my Fandomless verse depicts Henry as the avatar of a horrifying unnamed god, this god is heavily liked to Azathoth and Khaos, as per my personal headcanons on what the mindflayer actually is in Henry's main verse, but we will not name the god for added creepy factor, because we go real hard on the horror aspects here. In this verse Henry's life is very similar as his canon counterpart but he is able to escape the lab with other mutants. His powers are also similar but altered slightly for the aesthetic and to put more emphasis on Henry's ability to quite literally drain the life / suck the souls out of his victims. What Henry possesses is the "touch of death", meaning he is able to gruesomely drain the life out of others, and thanks to his shadow/darkness manipulation he is able to inject this power through the shadows giving him the abilities to use it across distances.
X
Once a shy, quiet boy who had been described as odd and "sensitive" by his father, Henry always possessed a love of arachnids, specifically spiders, which was sometimes thought of as an obsession, along with some very impressive artistic skills. Reclusive and imaginative, he tended to spend his time drawing pictures alone, a strange boy never quite able to fit in with the other children. Everyone thought there was something "wrong" with Henry; all his teachers and doctors said that he was "broken".The truth was that Henry was an autistic child who possessed underlying clairvoyant abilities. When Henry was around twelve years old, his parents moved their family to Hawkins, Indiana, for a change of scenery and a "fresh start." At first, Henry was not happy with the move, thinking that it wouldn't "help" the family's struggles, but soon enough, he discovered a nest of black widow spiders living in a vent inside his new home, which brought him a tremendous sense of comfort in the frustration of all the unnecessary and pointless change.This peace, however, would be brief as spiders were not the only things lurking within the Creel house, and just as Henry had found his spiders, something else had found Henry. Hawkins was a small town with something truly ghastly lurking just beyond the average human perception. The town sits parallel to the dimension of a malevolent eldritch entity, and Henry's psychic ability made him an easy target for this creature to hone in and begin making an impression on the lonely boy.Guided by an inexplicable force that fed on feelings of sorrow and anger, Henry's psychic powers were drastically amplified, and he soon began to realize that, among the other remarkable things he was able to do, he could read minds. Upon using this newfound ability on his mother, father and sister, Henry was devastated to learn that his "perfect family" were anything but.His sister despised him, though he hardly needed to read her mind to know that. His mother was worse still; she harboured a dislike of him so strong that she had made plans to have Henry committed, for a doctor to come and take him away and ... "Fix him."Finally, Henry discovered his father, who had fought in World War II, had committed unspeakable acts during his time in combat, one such monstrosity entailing the burning of an infant within its crib. Repulsed by his family's "secrets," he began to wonder how such cruel and flawed people could possibly hope to judge him as "broken"? To think that HE was the one who needed to be "fixed."Driven by entirely new, ever-building loathing, Henry began to lash out, tormenting his family routinely with nightmarish illusions, forcing them to recount their darkest fears and worst secrets and then, to escape the clutches of the Doctor who would come to take him away and punish his family for his suffering, Henry decided to kill his mother and sister, leaving his father to take the blame for the attacks. Or at least... That's how Henry recalls the events that transpired that night. Unfortunately, Henry lost consciousness after exhausting his mind in the process and fell into a coma. He was taken to the hospital with his father, who was committed for the murders.This was when Doctor Martin Brenner swooped in. He falsified reports that Henry had died and abducted the troubled young boy, hoping to study him and make use of his remarkable abilities. Henry was then imprisoned in Hawkins National Laboratory and forced to partake in countless cruel experiments and studies. Henry, now called "001", proved to be slightly more spirited than Dr Brenner would have liked, and eventually, a chip was implanted into Henry's neck, tracking his every movement and completely suppressing his incredible powers. As Henry grew older, Dr. Brenner began to seek other subjects to replicate Henry's powers in a more "controllable" vessel.Henry remained trapped in Hawkins Lab for 20 years, routinely beaten and demeaned; he was kept alive due to his value to Dr Brenner's project, as, despite his efforts, Henry's innate abilities were no easy feat to replicate. Finally, Dr Brenner decided to allow Henry to "act" as an orderly within the lab, overseeing the "care" of the new child-test subjects that would replace him.Forever unable to refuse, fight back or escape, Henry accepted his new role and his new name as "Peter Ballard" and played the part that had been assigned to him to the best of his ability. He became known as "the kind orderly." Kind indeed: although Henry was unable to help himself, he was at least able to successfully assist one test subject in escaping, then called 008. With this success, he would later attempt to help subject 011 escape after she began to show remarkable abilities that caused her to become a target of abuse from the other test subjects in their jealousy, orchestrated by Dr Brenner.Henry began to offer help and advice to the young girl, only to be brutally reprimanded for his kindness later. Hearing Henry's agonized screams, 011 snuck out of the playroom and witnessed a moment of his torture at the hands of Dr Brenner and two other orderlies in horror. Undeterred by this, however, Henry overheard a plan to force 011 to use more of her powers by allowing several other test subjects to attack her, intending to cause her death if she could not fight back.Not willing to see this outcome, Henry reached out again, informing the girl of the danger she was in and giving her his security card, instructing her to meet him in the basement. There, Henry showed her a way out through an underground pipe, only for her to remark that he was too big to fit. After explaining that he could not leave due to the chip in his neck and that she would have to go alone, 011 offered to remove it. Henry delightedly agreed and 011 used her psychic powers to pull the chip out of Henry's skin, freeing him. With this, Henry and 011 were confronted by the sadistic guards and eventually cornered in their attempts to run away, with Henry using his powers to kill the guards in self-defence.Henry then took 011 into a storeroom and instructed her to wait there for him while he found a way out. When Henry left the storeroom, he began to kill the rest of the guards and the other test subjects, believing that they would hinder their escape and prevent the test subjects from using their psychic abilities to relocate them once they were free. 011, however, grew restless and left the storeroom, finding a trail of gore and death wherever Henry had been.Overwhelmed with guilt, she confronted Henry, and he explained his motives. He told her of his aspirations to use his powers to build a better world and told her that she was free of Brenner's abuse now and to leave with him. 011 refused and attacked Henry, engaging the two in a psychic duel. The outcome of this battle typically various from verse to verse, as detailed on the VERSES page.
Below you'll find a quick summary of things that have been altered for my AU verse detailing Henry's escape from the lab. Sometimes Henry is solo or escapes with Eleven. Everything is on a plot-by-plot biases.
Pre Season 1 : In summary, Henry isn't sent to the Upside Down. Eleven passes out before she can push him through and Henry is left horrified and disorientated, but manages to escape the lab none the less. In verses where Henry escapes with Eleven their confrontation simply never happens.Season 1 : Things stay largely the same because honestly there isn't much to change here. Given everything was pretty vague in season 1 anyway, particularly concerning the UD and the lab. Unless plotted otherwise canon events basically remain the same. In verses where Henry escaped with Eleven, he tends to end up leaving her with Jim Hopper.Season 2 : This is where Kali is officially introduced in canon via Eleven going to find her. The concept I'm going with however is that Eleven doesn't find Kali, she finds her mother, spends some time with her and then returns. Henry on the other hand does find Kali, and the two go on a little revenge rampage. Things could be subject to change however via plotting.Season 3 : Events largely remain the same, except Billy isn't killed. He is severely wounded and placed in a medically induced coma. His outlook appears grim. Neil essentially abandons him. ( He still pays for Billy's 'treatment' but he doesn't remain in Hawkins. ) He divorces Max's mother but none the less Max and Susan still watch over Billy. Max is riddled by guilt due the state Billy is in. Again, like with the other seasons things here could be subject to change or expansion with plotting.Season 4: Kali, Henry and the gang return to Hawkins. They are paralleled by Eddie's DnD campaign featuring "The cult of Vecna," So even though Henry doesn't become Vecna in the same way as in canon, he's still likened to him as an "evil wizard" even if indirectly, with this further keeping his parallels with El and Will as their "darker" reflection. If you would like to be involved in this verse please let me know because I consider it an open thing for everyone to play with when interacting with me.The point of Kali and Henry returning to hawkins is obviously to kill more of the people involved in the hawkins lab. One of these such victims happens to reside at the same trailer park as Max and Eddie.Chrissy arrives to buy drugs from Eddie, she's driven to this because of her mother's abuse and body shaming and she's heard drug use controls weight gain. Due to this being her first time engaging in drug use she stays with Eddie. Chrissy takes the Ketamine entrusting Eddie to watch over her.In her altered state Chrissy begins to trip out and she expereinces being "trapped" in the Upside Down. Meanwhile, Eddie hears a commotion in the trailer over from his and decides to go check it out. He witnesses "The Cult of Vecna" who are disguised with hoods and masks, supernaturally murder his neighbor and freaks out. He returns to Crissy only to find Chrissy has seemingly overdosed further adding to Eddie's freak out. He flees.The police arrive and find Chrissy who isn't dead but isn't in such a good way, on top of the mangled next door neighbor, and Eddie missing. Chrissy is taken to hospital and the police begin their hunt for Eddie, who they suspect might be responsible. Another minor change here is they think Eddie's neighbor was a drug dealer and Eddie and Chrissy were in a relationship, went to buy drugs from him, got out of their minds on special K and Eddie murdered the neighbor. Max relays the strange light activity that night to Dustin.Jason finds out about what has happened to Chrissy and the Police's theory on what happened and is naturally enraged. He goes to visit Chrissy in the hospital who is still non-responsive and vows he will find Eddie and make him pay for what he's done. He goes back to the team and spouts his theories of devil worship and so on with Eddie as the cult leader.Nancy and Fred go investigating at the Trailer Park. While Nancy talks to Wayne Munson and learns about the Creels, Fred is "lured" into the woods and goes missing. Eleven has her moments with Angela which also leads to her eventual arrest and Dustin and the gang find Eddie, who just like canon has been hiding after what he witnessed. He learns Chrissy is still alive and explains to the gang what he saw. They begin to liken Henry and Kali and her gang to " Vecna and the cult of Vecna" just like their DnD Campaign earlier.Henry and Kali take their revenge on another Lab associate, bringing the death toll up to two and further weakening the barrier between Hawkins and the Upside Down.Meanwhile, Billy begins having lifelike dreams of being back in the Upside Down. He miraculously wakes up from his Coma and flees from the hospital. Kali and the gang eventually discover him trying to crash in and abandoned factory where they were also hoping to hide out. At first they think he is a crazy homeless drug addict, but this changes when Billy "attacks" Henry and suddenly they're both able to see what the other has seen, ie, Henry can see the upside down and the spider monster proxy and Billy sees the same Upside Down and "The shadow".Henry calms Billy down and Billy realizes he has a kindred spirit here, and maybe he's not crazy. Max takes a call on behalf of Susan that Billy has not only woken but he's fled the hospital. Billy talks to Max on a payphone and assures her he's fine and not to look for him.Henry and Billy talk about the Upside Down and "The Monster". Nancy and Robin talk to Victor.With a lot on his mind, Henry wanders away from the groups squatting place which now includes Billy. He's attacked by a man who thinks he's a drug addict looking to rob his house and land. He shoots at Henry and Henry kills him and flees back to the squatting place.The mans body is found, bringing the death toll up to three, and Eleven is duped into returning to Brenner's care by Owens. The government believes Eleven is responsible for the murders and disappearances around Hawkins but obviously Owens and Dr Brenner know differently. Eleven begins the process of getting her memories back.Meanwhile, Jason and the team try to capture Eddie only for Patrick to be pulled under the water by an unseen force and disappear. The gang snoop around the Creel House and they talk about the "Cult of Vecna", they theorize that this is the Russians again. Eventually they go to the lake and wind up in the Upside Down. The police are back again to investigate Patrick's "disappearance".The gang fight through the Upside Down. Nancy falls into a trance while in the Upside Down and has a vision of Hawkins destruction, at the same time Henry does. Henry's 'vision' however also includes Eleven's capture by Brenner. He informs Kali of what he saw and the two conclude that Henry's dooms day vision must be connected to Brenner's capture of Eleven. Nancy on the other hand simply sees the "terrible fate" of Hawkins and all her friends.Kali, Henry and the gang plan to go rescue Eleven from Brenner and Billy opts to go find Max, however, the gang are attacked by the government before this can happen. Eleven is also attacked by the government, resulting in Brenner's death. She is picked up by Mike and co and they begin returning to Hawkins. Chrissy wakes up and manages to call Eddie. Billy finds Max and the others and begins to explain to them what is going on, meanwhile, Henry, Kali and the gang having killed the government agents decide to interrogate a survivor about Brenner's whereabouts. Eventually Henry kills him, creating a death toll of four and shortly after Hawkins rips apart.Anyway, thats just the rough write up of the changes ! Things may be subject to change based on plotting and as I think more about it because threads can take place at any time here. Events can be changed based on RP etc, but that's yeah the basic outline of how Season 4 went in Henry's escape AU going into Season 5.
A majority of this is considered canon to my portrayal of Henry across the board and delves into my headcanons about Brenner, his research and the Hawkins Lab.Notes: Hopefully everyone is aware that the Stranger things universe delves into some very potentially uncomfortable real life events and things, particularly surrounding project MK Ultra and its history. As a warning, this post will briefly touch on things the WW2, the N-zi party, ableism, human experimentation and child abuse. If you weren't aware? Well consider yourself informed and please do not proceed if any of these things bother you.Stranger Things also likes to take a lot of inspiration from popular horror movies particularly those from the 70s and 80s. This verse is the same, drawing from similar places, such as IT, The Shining, Carrie, Fire Starter, Flowers in the Attic, Natural Born Killers etc. We also have inspo going on from things like Silent Hill, The Ring, Evil Dead, Made in Abyss, F.E.A.R, Resident Evil, etc.As mentioned in one of my previous posts, and drawing directly from canon, βThe Shadowβ entity known as the Mindflayer by the party is an ancient god-like being with a malevolent disposition and has perhaps been interfering with the affairs of man for as long as mankind as walked the Earth. It has likely been recorded in mythology, perhaps under different names and aliases which Brenner was able to decipher and connect, particularly after working with psychiatric patients who had described βencountersβ with eerily similar beings. Needless to say, in this verse there is no βVecnaβ as with canon, though Henry is still likened to a dark Wizard and the figure known as Vecna from DnD, and the Mindflayer still very much exists and is at large. Ok onto the verse!
In 1921 a man we would come to know as Dr Martin Brenner was born; a curious young soul, Brenner would grow up to become a physicist by 1941. Through a young Brenner's work with physics, he began to look toward popular mythology and cultural depictions of different universes and godly beings. As a result, Brenner starts to take an interest in parapsychology and he develops theories linking his fields of study and interest.Then, in 1945, World War Two ended, and the US government employs various N-zi scientists into their service along with their more "interesting" research. A still young Brenner overhears "rumors" surrounding various N-zi experiments and the deep influences of occultism within the N-zi party.Brenner begins to familiarize himself with these aspects and becomes quite the believer in certain phenomena, hence solidifying his interest in parapsychology and his belief of its relations to cosmology.( I am Intentionally leaving certain things here vague because again this all references some very real stuff that could be considered triggering / upsetting but I do have insanely in depth info and headcanons surrounding these things due to my own studies on WW2 and occultism that I feel could work here. )By 1947 Brenner had built a name for himself as a brilliant young psychologist who is also known for his other scientific theories and writings surrounding suggestions of parapsychology and cosmology, particularly going back to his roots in physics. Come 1959, Brenner had become very highly esteemed in his fields of research and theory, and had become involved in the US government, taking part in a top-secret initiative known as MK Ultra, which started in 1953.
While working as a psychiatrist in 1947, Dr Brenner took a particular interest in the birth of a young girl, having taken place within the psychiatric facility he oversaw. The child's mother believed the girl to have powers. While written off as delusional ramblings by other staff members, Brenner decided to personally adopt the girl as his own rather than allow her to be shipped off to an orphanage in the area. Hoping to use the girl to prove the existence of psychic phenomena, Brenner kept her as his own daughter. The girl is affectionately nicknamed "Zero" by her father.
According to Victor Creel, in 1959, the Creel family came into a small fortune upon the death of Virginia Creel's exceptionally wealthy great uncle. The family purchased an old mansion in the quiet town of Hawkins, Indiana and moved in, bringing their young son Henry along with them. Henry was considered an odd boy, shy and sensitive; he was often recognized as "different" by those who knew him. The truth was that from birth, Henry had possessed clairvoyant abilities.The Creel's decision to move from their old home was primarily attributed to Henry's problems with school, his selective engagement and his inability to fit in with other children, but this was more likely an example of Henry's parents allowing him to be a scapegoat for their issues. The real reason for moving had little to do with Henry. This was more attributed to Virginia's affair, which Henry's older sister Alice had resulted from.Over the month of living in Hawkins, The Creel's dream life swiftly veers into a "waking nightmare." During this time, strange, frightening things happen in the Creel house. Dead, mutilated animals appear around the yard, and the family's horrible nightmares soon manifest themselves even while they are awake.According to Victor, Henry always knew something was wrong with the house; however, whatever Henry knew or tried to warn his family of was overshadowed by the family's initial wonderment with the beautiful gothic home. At some point, Henry, again becoming the focus of "blame" for his mother, was taken to a general practitioner who very heavily suspected Henry was suffering from childhood-onset schizophrenia. As a result, Virginia sought out psychiatric treatment for Henry and made plans to hand him over to a psychiatric facility. Brenner was the doctor who answered this call upon learning the details of Henry's "delusions", including the presence of a shadowy, cloud-like being.Between all this, a continually isolated and disbelieved young Henry is driven closer to the "entity," "making friends" with the "spiders" in the house. As a result, Henry's powers are mysteriously enhanced, causing Henry to develop advanced psionics and a form of telepathy, allowing him to read others' minds and specifically see their darkest thoughts/secrets.Henry attempted to use his "new powers" to show his family their "true selves", specifically in the hopes of showing his family they were not perfect people and, therefore, their expectations of him were unfair. This resulted in the family's encounters with horrifying visions, as if nightmares taking place while they were still awake.However, Henry is unsuccessful and soon discovers his mother's plans to abandon him to a psychiatric facility and a doctor that could "fix him". Henry lashes out, killing his mother and sister, leaving his father to take the blame, who is swiftly arrested for the murders and committed himself. Unfortunately for Henry, however, he falls into a coma, allowing Dr Brenner to put his plans into motion and kidnap the troubled boy, falsifying his death to the public.
Henry is initiated into Project MK Ultra, labelled "001", with Brenner hoping to study Henry's powers and eventually harness them for himself and his own goals. From 1960 to 1965, over a five-year period, as Brenner continues his experiments on Henry and his attempts to try and use Henry to gather answers toward the "entity" and the possibility of another dimension sitting parallel to Hawkins, Henry proves himself difficult and compromises the project, resulting in Brenner being forced to "neutralize" Henry.After Henry's outburst, the US government grew concerned about the potential danger of keeping subjects like Henry. However, Brenner is able to argue for Henry's life, desperate not to lose his most valuable test subject completely, resulting in the creation of the "Soteria" chip that was forcefully implanted into Henry to keep him subdued and harmless.
To continue his research, Brenner works with broke college student Terry Ives as the last official test subject of Project MK Ultra. However, it becomes known that Terry has fallen pregnant, which results in her departure from the project. Undeterred, Brenner abducts Terry's daughter during her birth and prepares to begin his own project, with MK Ultra coming to an "official" close in 1973.Brenner attempts to "recreate" Henry's powers in other test subjects, one's who are younger and far more malleable, this supposedly lessening their risk factor and contributing to ongoing research into controlling human minds stemming from the previous work with MK Ultra. The government allows Brenner to continue his work within another top-secret project.Soon, Brenner picks up from his work surrounding subjects such as Henry and Melanie with a new batch of children, numbered two to eighteen.By now a stranger to giving up, Brenner instates Henry, renamed "Peter Ballard", as an orderly within the lab starting in 1973 upon the official end of project MK Ultra, intending to have him help attend to the lab and the new children test subjects introduced to it.
Brenner focuses on subject Eleven, the stolen daughter of Terry Ives, who has displayed substantial abilities in her one-on-one sessions. Beginning a new experiment, Brenner hopes to pit young Eleven against his most powerful subject, Two. The intention is to create a massive power surge, one strong enough to tare the theorized dimensional fabric between Hawkins and "another world" and study the resulting phenomenon. The safety and welfare of the test subjects involved, secondary to the scientific marvel their 'sacrifice' might pave the way toward.Learning that Brenner intended to force Eleven into a dangerous situation, apparently to accurately gauge her power, Henry begins to interfere, striking up a friendship with Eleven to mentor her and help her harness her powers and display them less dangerously, hoping to satisfy Brenner. However, when Henry realizes Brenner remains undeterred, he escalates his efforts and begins a plan to break Eleven out of the facility altogether.He provides her with a keycard and instructions on how to get down to the basement of the facility, where he will be waiting for her. Once in the basement, Henry opens a vent, explaining to Eleven that it leads outside the lab and that she will have to crawl through it to escape. Eleven notes that Henry is too big to fit into the vent, having believed Henry would flee with her upon witnessing his torture at the hands of the other orderlies and Brenner. Henry explains that he can't leave the facility due to the Soteria chip in his neck that tracks his movements and reports them to Brenner, and Eleven realizes she can use her powers to remove it.With the chip removed, Henry and Eleven are confronted by the guards who have come looking for Henry. The two run but are soon cornered, with Henry using his powers to kill the guards. He takes Eleven to a store room within the facility and tells her to wait for him while he finds a way out.In the process, Henry begins to kill the other guards and orderlies who have arrived to apprehend him and soon turns his destructive powers onto the other test subjects, killing them as well. Eleven grows impatient and leaves the storeroom to look for Henry, only to find a horrifying trail of gore and carnage throughout the facility. This leads her to the rainbow room, where she reencounters Henry and realizes he has used his powers to kill everyone.Henry explains his motives to Eleven. However, Eleven is unable to understand and attacks Henry, locking the two in a psychic duel in which Eleven gets the upper hand. Finally, she is able to throw Henry through the two-way glass mirror and pin him to a wall, where she begins to focus her power on him. Helpless, Henry can only watch in horror as Eleven begins using her powers to do something previously unseen. Henry's body begins to be enveloped by a bright light that starts disintegrating his body into the wall behind him, although this doesn't last long as Eleven starts to lose power.Henry is dropped to the floor as Eleven collapses into a comatose state. Horrified and confused, Henry bolts for the door within the mirror room and exits swiftly. Running through the corridors, he finds his way out of the building and escapes into the night.
Brenner focuses on subject Eleven, the stolen daughter of Terry Ives, who has displayed substantial abilities in her one-on-one sessions. Beginning a new experiment, Brenner hopes to pit young Eleven against his most powerful subject, Two. The intention is to create a massive power surge, one strong enough to tare the theorized dimensional fabric between Hawkins and "another world" and study the resulting phenomenon. The safety and welfare of the test subjects involved, secondary to the scientific marvel their 'sacrifice' might pave the way toward.Learning that Brenner intended to force Eleven into a dangerous situation, apparently to accurately gauge her power, Henry begins to interfere, striking up a friendship with Eleven to mentor her and help her harness her powers and display them less dangerously, hoping to satisfy Brenner. However, when Henry realizes Brenner remains undeterred, he escalates his efforts and begins a plan to break Eleven out of the facility altogether.He provides her with a keycard and instructions on how to get down to the basement of the facility, where he will be waiting for her. Once in the basement, Henry opens a vent, explaining to Eleven that it leads outside the lab and that she will have to crawl through it to escape. Eleven notes that Henry is too big to fit into the vent, having believed Henry would flee with her upon witnessing his torture at the hands of the other orderlies and Brenner. Henry explains that he can't leave the facility due to the Soteria chip in his neck that tracks his movements and reports them to Brenner, and Eleven realizes she can use her powers to remove it.With the chip removed, Henry and Eleven are confronted by the guards who have come looking for Henry. The two run but are soon cornered, with Henry using his powers to kill the guards. He takes Eleven to a store room within the facility and tells her to wait for him while he finds a way out.In the process, Henry begins to kill the other guards and orderlies who have arrived to apprehend him and soon turns his destructive powers onto the other test subjects, killing them as well. Eleven grows impatient and leaves the storeroom to look for Henry, only to find a horrifying trail of gore and carnage throughout the facility. This leads her to the rainbow room, where she reencounters Henry and realizes he has used his powers to kill everyone.Henry explains his motives to Eleven. However, Eleven is unable to understand and attacks Henry, locking the two in a psychic duel in which Eleven gets the upper hand. Finally, she is able to throw Henry through the two-way glass mirror and pin him to a wall, where she begins to focus her power on him. Helpless, Henry can only watch in horror as Eleven begins using her powers to do something previously unseen. Henry's body begins to be enveloped by a bright light that starts disintegrating his body into the wall behind him, although this doesn't last long as Eleven starts to lose power.Henry is dropped to the floor as Eleven collapses into a comatose state. Horrified and confused, Henry bolts for the door within the mirror room and exits swiftly. Running through the corridors, he finds his way out of the building and escapes into the night.