Stranger Things creator confirms the show paid tribute to one of the coolest fan theories around

This is so cool.

Just like the first season, the new episodes of Stranger Things is a wonderful homage to some of the best films from the '80s. Again, spoiler alert if you haven't seen the new season yet. Still with us? Great! Who didn't get a giddy thrill from seeing Bob - Mikey from The Goonies - noting that X marks the spot on the map? Also, Beetlejuice fans will appreciate the fact that Lydia (Winona Ryder) ended up dating the leader of The Goonies. It's another nostalgic feast! Aside from this, it's nice to see that the scheming, hateful and soulless Burke from Aliens is still able to play both sides perfectly - Paul Reiser platys Dr. Sam Owens in Season 2. https://twitter.com/dramas_my_life/status/923939105515323392 https://twitter.com/UpsideDownFacts/status/925021637564497921 In strictly thematic and stylistic terms, Gremlins, Aliens, The Warriors, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mad Max, Ghostbusters, E.T, Halloween, Karate Kid, Risky Business, The Thing, The Exorcist and Pretty in Pink are all referenced throughout the new season, but yet again, the shadow of Stephen King's work looms larger over Hawkins than even the shadow monster itself. If you feel that the adventures of Dustin, Mike, Eleven, Will, and Lucas are similar to Stand By Me, it's on purpose. If you think Eleven's abilities eerily resemble the narrative of Firestarter and Carrie, it's done on purpose. Hell, even the shadow monster looks exactly like the unholy demons that were unleashed during The Mist. All on purpose. Well, Stephen King is a massive fan of the show and in the new episodes, the creators of Stranger Things even included a scene where Bob (Sean Astin) suggests that Joyce moves with him to the house that his parents are selling in Maine. As we all know, this is where Stephen King is from and where he sets his stories like It. https://twitter.com/StephenKing/status/754699429047836672 In an interview with Vulture, the Duffer Brothers have said that Stephen king does exist in the universe of Stranger Things and that Bob's childhood trauma of clowns was directly shaped by their own feelings towards Pennywise. Matt Duffer said: "Well, we both have a problem with clowns. I’ve had it my entire life. I had it when I was really little, so when there were clowns at a party, it was a real problem for me. Then in 1990, we saw the It mini-series and Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise really messed me up. Like, it scarred me in a major way. It was one of the first true horror things I had seen, and I had not experienced Stephen King before. That was my first experience with Stephen King, so that was a really huge point in my life. It was two weeks, at least, of no sleep because of that. So yeah, I think [Bob’s clown story] was really me describing something that just freaked me out. I didn’t have that experience myself. I just had nightmares like that.

He adds: "I’m sure we were just like, “It would be cute if [Bob] suggests moving to Maine, right next to Stephen King.” Stephen King exists in this world. Some of the characters have read Stephen King. But Bob definitely does not read Stephen King. He’s not interested at all in Stephen King because he hates that kind of story."

Could Bob's trauma have been caused by Pennywise? Stranger things have happened.

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