Warning: SPOILERS for Stranger Things season 4.

There are a handful of meanings behind the grandfather clock appearing to Vecna's victims in Stranger Things season 4. One of the first elements from Stranger Things season 4 to be teased to fans was the grandfather clock (way back in 2020), though no one could understand what the marketing team was trying to get at with its inclusion in various teasers. Unfortunately for the people in Hawkins, as it turns out, it's a sort of calling card for Vecna, the new villain in season 4.

Vecna isn't a monster like the Demogorgon or Mind Flayer and he isn't after Eleven or her powers; rather, Vecna is a humanoid, dark wizard who is using his powers to amass some sort of team, similar to what the Mind Flayer did in Stranger Things season 2 with the Demodogs. But there's more to it; he isn't choosing people at random, nor is he killing them whenever he wants to. He's quite calculated in his modus operandi, first going after people psychologically and then with visions, before finally bringing them into his realm.

Related: Why Stranger Things Season 4 Took So Long To Happen

As Max explains, Vecna first goes after his victims by causing intense headaches, then nosebleeds, and ultimately, visions of their past trauma. For Max, that's seeing Billy, who died during the Battle of Starcourt. But before Vecna comes for his victims, he provides them with a vision of a grandfather clock, essentially letting them know they have less than a day left to live. Max put together the timeline and noted that Chrissy and Fred (and later Patrick) all died within 24 hours of having their first vision. Furthermore, this falls in line with Henry Creel's obsession with world order and emphasizing that time - the seconds, minutes, hours, and so on - is an imposition on nature. In a way, time fueled his hatred for humans.

Stranger Things season 4 Creel House clock

A common theory is that the grandfather clock is a possible gateway to the Upside Down. In Stranger Things season 4, it's seen inside the Creel House and even cracks (or fully breaks) in the trailers, implying its greater usage. Considering that Vecna is a human who has been inside the Upside Down for a few decades (if not longer) and has the ability to open portals wherever he attacks his victims, it's plausible the original grandfather clock could be a gate to the Upside Down, or at least an amplifier for Vecna's ability to open a gate, but that hasn't been confirmed.

Interestingly, in the real world, it's believed that if a grandfather clock appears in someone's dreams, it signifies a person's past catching up to them as well as the worry that comes along with dredging up forgotten or suppressed memories, an element that plays into Vecna's ability to tap into people's minds and recall traumatic memories. So for Vecna's victims in Stranger Things season 4, that symbolism holds water. There's also a notion that the grandfather clock applies to patriarchal values, specifically one's adherence to or retribution of patriarchies, another element that applies to Henry Creel twice - once against his father, Victor Creel, who he naively believed to be a good man, and again with Dr. Brenner, the doctor he sought to escape from.

Next: Stranger Things 4 Ruins Season 3's Perfect Ending

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