The Shocking Truth Behind Fred Benson's Tragic Demise in Stranger Things

Summary

Fred Benson's personal trauma, his guilt over a car accident that killed another kid, plays into his ultimate demise at the hands of Vecna in Stranger Things season 4.

Vecna's curse specifically targets individuals carrying guilt or psychological trauma. It effectively exploits their vivid hallucinations connected to their trauma, ultimately leading to their entrapment and demise.

Fred's demise is exceptionally unsettling, as Vecna skillfully utilizes his guilt as a means to ensnare him. Unveiling a harrowing vision of the car crash and mercilessly taunting his utmost regret, Vecna ultimately executes Fred.

Content Warning: The upcoming article discusses a traumatic event involving teenage deaths.

In season 4 of Stranger Things, Fred Benson becomes the second victim of Vecna. His personal experience of trauma sheds light on the reasons behind his demise. This season reveals that Vecna has been the true villain all along, responsible for the darkness that has engulfed Hawkins and Eleven's friends. Vecna's target is the teenagers of Hawkins, which marks the initial step of his plan to destroy and reshape the world under his rule. In a two-part season, the main characters of Stranger Things unite across different states to temporarily halt Vecna's schemes.

Vecna, the most formidable adversary in Stranger Things, poses a grave threat with his formidable skills. His curse stands out as one of his most potent weapons, inflicting both psychological and physical harm. Vecna preys on individuals burdened with guilt or psychological trauma, exploiting their vulnerability to his insidious influence. Gradually, the victims are plagued by haunting hallucinations related to their traumas, until Vecna completely entangles them in a nightmarish vision. Ultimately, he mercilessly and agonizingly snuffs out their lives. Each instance of a Stranger Things character succumbing to Vecna's curse sends shivers down the spine, but the death of Fred Benson is particularly disquieting.

Fred's Trauma Was His Guilt At Killing A Kid In A Car Accident

Vecna targets not only grieving children but also those burdened with immense guilt. Such is the case with Fred Benson, who mourns the loss of another child while carrying a heavy weight of culpability. In 1985, Fred was involved in a disastrous car accident that claimed the life of a fellow kid. Although Fred seemingly moved on from the tragic incident, a profound sense of survivor's guilt continues to consume him. Exploiting this vulnerability, Vecna initially reaches out to Fred through a police officer, epitomizing the aftermath of the crash, in order to instill fear within him. Additionally, Vecna accentuates Fred's distress by creating an illusion of his accident scar expanding, further tormenting the troubled student.

Haunted by the belief that he himself is a murderer, Fred Benson lives in perpetual fear of being accused of a crime. Although there is no concrete evidence implicating Fred as being directly responsible for the car crash, as the sole survivor, he relentlessly blames himself for the death of the other child. Deep within, Fred views himself as a cold-blooded killer, a notion that Vecna cunningly exploits to terrorize and ensnare him.

Fred Benson's Stranger Things Death Is More Disturbing Than The Other Vecna Victims'

Vecna's method of killing the Hawkins teenagers is brutal, but his murder of Fred Benson in Stranger Things is especially disturbing. Fred is enticed to a secluded area by Vecna, where he is then confronted with a horrifying vision of the fiery aftermath of the car accident that Fred caused. Suddenly, a revenant, representing the deceased child, emerges from the wreckage and slowly crawls towards Fred. It is a truly terrifying and profoundly symbolic hallucination, exploiting Fred's guilt, before Vecna ultimately takes his life.

What makes this act particularly sadistic on Vecna's part is that he has killed before, but never with such a personal approach involving his victims' innermost guilt. Both Chrissy Cunningham and Patrick McKinney fall victim to him earlier. Chrissy, tormented by emotional abuse from her mother, battles with an eating disorder, while Patrick endures physical abuse at home. However, neither of their deaths include hallucinations preying on their deepest fears and guilt. Only Fred Benson in Stranger Things suffers the cruel mocking of his greatest regret through a personalized hallucination.