One couple has already won Halloween by perfectly recreating iconic 'Stranger Things' scene
No one can figure out how they did it.

Excuse us while we pick our jaws up off the floor.
Yep, we already have a winner for “Coolest Halloween Decor” this year, and this one’s a doozy.
Dave and Aubrey, a “horror prop making family” in Chicago, have left horror fans stunned with their hyperrealistic recreation of arguably THE most iconic scene from season 4 of Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
If you haven’t seen it (um, where have you been?), the season’s main monster antagonist, Vecna, traps Max and other characters in the alternate dimension of the Upside Down, and just before they meet their doom, these characters begin to float midair in the human world.
Luckily (spoiler alert) our heroes are able to figure out how to save Max before it’s too late, by playing “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush—her favorite song.
Dave and Aubrey somehow managed to make their own life-size replica of Sadie Sink’s character that, no joke, looks like it’s levitating using nothing but some kind of dark magic.
@horrorprops♬ Stranger Things - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
More than 14 million people have been mesmerized on TikTok, including Jimmy Fallon, who called the trick “amazing.”
Dave and Aubrey mentioned in the comments that nothing in the video was edited, which left folks baffled as to how the heck this image was made possible … especially without a tree or a telephone wire to attach a wire to.
“There’s clearly a string connected to a satellite in outer space. How don’t y’all know this?! 🙄🙄,” one person joked.
Though he wouldn’t disclose his secret, Dave did tell WRAL News that it’s “not drones, helium or balloons.” He also shared that he and his wife “go big” every year for Halloween. This year, in an attempt to outdo themselves, they began their project on Aug 1.
Unsurprisingly, a floating Max isn’t the only thing that Dave and Aubrey have up their sleeves this year. It’s actually part of a massive, all encompassing “Stranger Things” display, which includes:
A glowing, smoking Upside Down spire…
@horrorprops Upsidedown spire... it's looking strange here #halloweendiydecor #vecnascurse #strangerthings #strangerthings4 #upsidedown #halloween2022 #diyhalloween #horrorprops #transworldhauntshow #CHB #horrortok #spookytok ♬ Bfg Division - Mick Gordon
“Excuse me, I thought my house was gonna be the spooky one on the block this year w/ my dollar tree props, maybe I’ll just be the Christmas one. Jk lol,” one person quipped.
Vecna’s other victims…
@horrorprops We took Spirits Miserable Marie and tossed her right into Vecnas Layer. #horrorprops #vecna #strangerthings #daveandaubrey #fyp #fypシ #halloween2022 #halloweenprops #horrortok #diyproject#vecnascurse ♬ Chrissy Wake Up (gregorybrothers & Schmoyoho Remix) - Chrissy
Unfortunately, Chrissy (played by Grace Van Dien) wasn’t as lucky as Max. But it makes for a rad haunted house!
Sprawling house vines…
@horrorprops How we created our House Vines!! #upsidedown #halloween2022 #diyhalloween #spookytok #horrorprops #vecnascurse #halloweendiydecor #CHB #diyproject #strangerthings #halloweenprops #transworldhauntshow ♬ Cool Kids (our sped up version) - Echosmith
These were made with spray-painted aluminum foil.
And a creepy cuckoo clock…
@horrorprops Times Up Max. #vecnascurse #diyproject #horrortok #fyp #trending #strangerthings #strangerthings4 #upsidedown #timesup #halloween #transworld2022 #venca #saddiesink ♬ Stranger Things - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
Yet another well-known image from season 4.
"There's so many people out there who are fanatics like we are, so we wanted to make something that was the most iconic scene from the show; something maybe no one else could try and do," Dave told WRAL News. Mission successful, Dave. Well done.For folks in the Chicagoland area, this amazing “Stranger Things” display will be part of a haunted tour for Chicago Haunt Builders. For everyone else: Have no fear, TikTok provides.
Inspired to create your own haunted masterpiece? We’ve rounded up some easy, unique decor ideas to make your house effortlessly spooky this year.- Children with special needs now have more options for Halloween ... ›
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Men try to read the most disturbing comments women get online back to them.
If you wouldn't say it to their faces, don't type it.
This isn’t comfortable to talk about.
Trigger warning for discussion of sexual assault and violence.
in 2016, a video by Just Not Sports took two prominent female sportswriters and had regular guys* read the awful abuse they receive online aloud.
Sportswriters Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro sat by as men read some of the most vile tweets they receive on a daily basis. See how long you can last watching it.
*(Note: The men reading them did not write these comments; they're just being helpful volunteers to prove a point.)
It starts out kind of jokey but eventually devolves into messages like this:
Awful.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
These types of messages come in response to one thing: The women were doing their jobs.
Those wishes that DiCaro would die by hockey stick and get raped? Those were the result of her simply reporting on the National Hockey League's most disturbing ordeal: the Patrick Kane rape case, in which one of the league's top players was accused of rape.
DiCaro wasn't writing opinion pieces. She was simply reporting things like what the police said, statements from lawyers, and just general everyday work reporters do. In response, she received a deluge of death threats. Her male colleagues didn't receive nearly the same amount of abuse.
It got to the point where she and her employer thought it best for her to stay home for a day or two for her own physical safety.
The men in the video seemed absolutely shocked that real live human beings would attack someone simply for doing their job.
Not saying it.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
Most found themselves speechless or, at very least, struggling to read the words being presented.
It evoked shame and sympathy.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
Think this is all just anecdotal? There's evidence to the contrary.
The Guardian did a study to find out how bad this problem really is. They combed through more than 70 million comments that have been posted on their site since 2006 and counted the number of comments that violated their comment policy and were blocked.
The stats were staggering.
From their comprehensive and disturbing article:
If you can’t say it to their face... don’t type it.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
So, what can people do about this kind of harassment once they know it exists?
There are no easy answers. But the more people who know this behavior exists, the more people there will be to tell others it's not OK to talk to anyone like that.
Watch the whole video below:
.This article originally appeared nine years ago.