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One couple has already won Halloween by perfectly recreating iconic 'Stranger Things' scene

No one can figure out how they did it.

@horrorprops/TikTok

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.

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Nobody came to his 'Stranger Things' birthday party. The show's cast found out.

Aaron Alambat had a "Stranger Things" birthday party. It looked badass.

There was a cake made in honor of the Netflix series, Demogorgon blood (punch) to drink, and — of course — holiday lights strung up to communicate with those stuck in the Upside Down. (If none of that made sense to you, you really need to watch the show.)

The only thing the party could have used were more of Aaron's friends.

Aaron's sister, Ayen, pointed out in a disheartening tweet that, even though Aaron invited eight of his classmates, "none of their punk selves showed up."



Ugh.💔

The good news is that other Twitter users wanted to make sure Aaron still had a great birthday party. So they started replying to the tweet.

A radio DJ wanted to give him a shoutout on air.

Someone else said that his whole supportive "Twitter fam" will show up for a good time next year.

One encouraging user opened up about a similar experience they had as a kid, writing, "In 5th grade I made invitations to a laser tag party and none of my friends showed up. ... This past weekend I had a surprise birthday and it was laser tag."

Internet star Bretman Rock chimed in, too, noting how delicious all the Filipino food looked in the pics.

It didn't take long before the tweet made its way to the feeds of a few "Stranger Things" cast members.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Netflix.

Actress Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven on the show, said she wants to come to Aaron's birthday party next year. "You can let them all know that everyone on behalf [of] 'Stranger Things' would’ve come! I think [you're] awesome and next year I would like an invite ... Please?"

Actor Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, replied to Brown's tweet: "Count me in too! I'll bring the chocolate pudding."

All the positive vibes and well-wishes seemed to turn Aaron's birthday into an experience he'll never forget — in a good way!

In a tweet posted the following day, Ayen updated all those wondering how her brother was doing in the aftermath of her viral tweet.

Aaron is "chillin now" and doing just fine.

Sharing tough life experiences with complete strangers can actually bring out the best in humanity sometimes, it seems. And who knows? A few celebrities may even chime in to show their love and support for you, too.

Stranger things have happened.

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31 Days of Happiness Countdown: a 'Sesame Street' parody even adults will love. (Day 11)

Thanks for stopping by for Day 11 of Upworthy's 31 Days of Happiness Countdown! If this is your first visit, here's the gist: Each day between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, we're sharing stories we hope will bring joy, smiles, and laughter into our lives and yours. It's been a challenging year for a lot of us, so why not end it on a high note with a bit of happiness? Check back tomorrow (or click the links at the bottom) for another installment!

You might think that "Sesame Street" is only for young children and their parents. You would be wrong.

Everyone's favorite muppetcrew recently came out with a silly parody of "Stranger Things" (the Netflix hit that follows a small town being terrorized by a malevolent monster from the underworld), and you need to check it out. Yes, you. I don't care if you're 30 years old watching it by yourself on a Friday night with a glass of wine. The wacky fun and life lessons in this parody transcend age and life status!

It's called "Sharing Things" and is about as adorable as you would expect. (That is to say very).

In the six-minute-long skit, the Cookiegorgon (Cookie Monster, duh) has eaten all the food in his realm — known as the Snackside Down. So, disguised as a kid trick-or-treating on Halloween, he runs amok in "Sesame Street" world eating everything in sight.

Leave it to Ernie and the gang, who play the "Stranger Things" kids, to teach the Cookiegorgon a simple but important lesson. You're going to get a delightful kick out of who (or what) shows up to save the day in the end.

Come for the sick '80s score, stay to watch Cookie Monster's cold, greedy heart melt — not unlike the morsels of chocolate in a homemade cookie.

After all, sometimes adults need a little reminder about sharing too.

(Warning: Extremely, extremely mild spoilers for "Stranger Things" ahead.)

More days of happiness here: DAY 1 / DAY 2 / DAY 3 / DAY 4 / DAY 5 / DAY 6 / DAY 7 / DAY 8 / DAY 9 / DAY 10 / [DAY 11] / DAY 12 / DAY 13 / DAY 14 / DAY 15 / DAY 16 / DAY 17 / DAY 18 / DAY 19 / DAY 20 / DAY 21 / DAY 22 / DAY 23 / DAY 24 / DAY 25 / DAY 26 / DAY 27 / DAY 28 / DAY 29 / DAY 30 / DAY 31
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This 'Stranger Things' star is one in a million. So is his genetic disorder.

The Netflix retro sci-fi hit "Stranger Things" brought a lot of wonderful things into our lives — including the phrase "cleidocranial dysplasia."

When I watched the show, I just assumed that Dustin's oft-repeated comeback about his "cleidocranial dysplasia" was a just fancy scientific way of saying "late tooth development" or something.

All GIFs from "Stranger Things."

But turns out, it's actually an incredibly rare congenital disorder that affects one in a million people. Symptoms can include underdeveloped bones and joints, absent collarbones, shortened limbs, skull deformities, and, yes, dental abnormalities like adult teeth that fail to come in when they're supposed to.

Which is really all just a fancy scientific way of saying that Dustin is awesome.

That might seem like a deep-cut from a totally random medical text. But there's a good reason it was mentioned in the show.

Gaten Matarazzo, who played Dustin on the show, has cleidocranial dysplasia in real life.

While his is a more mild case — he really is missing some teeth, which makes him speak with a lisp, and he's missing his collar bones, which means he can do some crazy things with his shoulders — that doesn't mean that his life has been easy.

The 14-year-old has had to endure several surgeries, and it's also made it harder for him to find work as an actor.

"It was always because of my lisp, and me being shorter and having the teeth issue, that was always the reason they couldn’t cast me,” he explained in an interview with BBC Radio.

"They couldn’t write in a disability into the show because they had already written the script."

That made it all-the-more powerful when the Duffer Brothers, who created "Stranger Things," not only cast Matarazzo in the show, but also embraced his condition and made it a part of the character. (Of course, that wasn't the only part of his character that the writers embraced...)

Matarazzo is using his newfound fame to raise awareness about this rare condition too.

He's opened up to People magazine and the BBC, spreading knowledge about the condition far and wide.

"I just want to raise awareness for it and let people know that it's not something they should be afraid of showing," he told the British talk show host Jonathan Ross.

That sudden limelight has also had a tangible impact on people like Matarazzo. "It really helps them come out of their shells a little bit. Because a lot of people have it much worse than I do and it affects them much worse than it does me," he told the Daily Beast. "Because this was in the show and this is the first time they’ve heard of it outside the doctor’s office, it made them feel really good and it inspired them."

Despite the setbacks that he's faced in the past, Matarazzo's success today is a moving reminder that representation for folks with disabilities is important.

In addition to "Stranger Things," he's even appeared on Broadway several times, and let me tell you: This 14-year-old kid with missing teeth, and a lisp, can belt out show tunes like there's no tomorrow.

There was a time not too long ago when all this would have been impossible. But thanks to people like Gaten Matarazzo, representation is making the world brighter — and fairer — every day.

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