Clearly the hit Netflix series Stranger Things draws a lot of inspiration from classic geek culture, and there is nothing that has been more influential over the show than the iconic role playing board game Dungeons & Dragons. The main characters of the show are obsessed with the game, and when their fantasies about fighting against evil monsters suddenly become a reality, their fascination with the game connects to that reality as well.
In the first season of the series, the characters face off against a interdimensional creature that they call the Demogorgon (named after one of the scarier monsters in D&D). But when it comes to the monsters of Dungeons & Dragons, which beasts are even more frightening than the Stranger Things Demogorgon?
Roper
In the world of Dungeons & Dragons, Ropers are one of the most frightening monsters for a few reasons. Firstly, the creature remains motionless and innocuous in order to lure it’s prey into a false sense of security.
Secondly, these are actually incredibly intelligent monsters, to the point where they often ponder philosophical concepts and ideas, which makes them a far more dangerous adversary than the Demogorgon of Stranger Things.
Lich
Any sorcerer or dark magic user is going to be scarier than the Demogorgon clearly, both because they have magical capabilities and because they’re intelligent enough to use them. But what makes Liches extra scary is that they’re undead sorcerers.
Confronting a Demogorgon is a terrifying, but at least simple fight, whereas a Lich is incredibly dangerous and would be nearly impossible for average humans to defeat.
Rust Monster
Demogorgons are undeniably very scary creatures to behold, but it seems safe to say that for most people, the Rust Monster would be even scarier. This monster looks like some sort of horrifying insect, but it’s the size of a small horse.
Rust Monsters are actually relatively docile, and at least they eat metal instead of meat, however they have a very thick outer skeleton that makes them borderline impossible to kill.
Bulette
One only needs to take a look at the Bulette to understand why it’s so much scarier than the Demogorgon of Stranger Things. However, even aside from it’s scary as hell appearance, it is actually an incredibly dangerous monster.
Bulettes are creatures that travel beneath the surface of the earth and can pop up anywhere, so many of the people who wind up facing off against it won’t even see the danger coming.
Black Dragon
Given that Dragons are literally the titular creatures of Dungeons & Dragons, it seems safe to say that they are more powerful and intimidating than any Demogorgon.
But the scariest and most dangerous of the dragons just might be the Black Dragon, a chaotic evil creature that prefers to sneak up on it’s victims and defeat them before they even knew what happened. Not to mention, the acid that it can spray from it’s mouth seems like a horrific way to die.
Beholder
Dungeons & Dragons is a fictional universe where many of the most visually and mentally horrifying creatures imaginable exist. And one of their most iconic creatures is the Beholder, which is essentially a giant floating blob of eyeballs where each eyeball appendage is home to a different superpower.
No one would want to turn around and see a Demogorgon in pursuit of them, but most would choose that over the eyeball blob.
Sibriex
In the world of Dungeons & Dragons, the Sibriex might just be the most viscerally repulsive creature of all. This deformed mass of flesh and bodily fluids is enough to make even the strongest stomachs retch, and their intelligence and insatiable appetite for cruelty only makes them more frightening.
The Sibriex is one of the most evil creatures in the D&D universe, and most people would take the Demogorgon over it any day.
Tarrasque
The Tarrasque has the look of the scariest dinosaur that anyone could imagine, and that is essentially what this beast is. Clocking in at 50 feet tall and 70 feet long, even the Stranger Things mind flayer would have a hard time defeating this insane monster.
In most instances, the only hope of surviving the Tarrasque is escaping it or running from it for a long enough time that it finally falls asleep.
Mind Flayer
Of course, one of the D&D creatures that has got to be scarier than the Stranger Things Demogorgon is the Mind Flayer. After all, there’s a reason that the next-level monster that the Stranger Things squad has to face after the Demogorgon is nicknamed the Mind Flayer.
These creatures want nothing more than to enslave and destroy everything that they come across, and as their title indicates, they are experts at pulling people apart from the inside out.
Aboleth
Like the Mind Flayers of Dungeons & Dragons, Aboleths are capable of extreme mind control and torment, a skill that they certainly love to use on any victim that they can find.
But on top of their apparent mind flaying abilities, they also secrete a fluid that transforms any victims into amphibious, mindless slaves. Aboleths are intelligent beasts that are capable of great cruelty, and they love to be cruel.
