In Netflix's award-winning series Stranger Things, the creators of the show, the Duffer Brothers, wrote the scripts to take place in a very specific time in history — the '80s — and took inspiration from the world as it was then. While the beloved characters find themselves battling very literal monsters, some aspects of the show are derived from real-life monsters of the era. Such is the case of fan-favorite Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), whose character arc is based off of the trials of the West Memphis Three, and more specifically off of wrongfully convicted Damien Echols. After the Season 4 finale concluded, Eddie Munson easily became one of the massive fanbase's favorite characters from all four seasons, and on July 15, Echols weighed in on the tribute.

From the moment Eddie stepped onscreen he was an anomaly. His character sported tattoos, a lustrous Eddie Van Halen-inspired 'do and that damning Hellfire Club shirt. His taste in the macabre, from his band Corroded Coffin, to his eccentric passion for metal and Dungeons & Dragons, set him apart from what was deemed socially acceptable, especially in the mid '80s. Because of his unusual preferences and his reputation as a drug dealer, Eddie became Hawkins' number-one suspect in the gruesome murder of cheerleading captain Chrissy Cunninham (Grace Van Dien). When local law enforcement were unable to immediately satiate the residents' call for Eddie's arrest, the townspeople took it upon themselves. Fueled by the mob mentality, the children and adults of Hawkins, Indiana began a man-hunt for a high school senior, based off the assumption that his peculiar behaviours indicated that he was a part of a Satanic cult.

The inspiration behind Eddie Munson, Damien Echols, was questioned on how he felt about the character being based off his real-life nightmare and responded on his personal Twitter:

"In case anyone else is wondering, I was tremendously honored by it. And I greatly appreciate all the new eyes and hearts it has brought to our fight. I was watching it at 3 am in the morning, and when I heard the very first chords from Master of Puppets, my heart exploded."

Stranger Things' Eddie Munson
Image via Netflix

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While the idea is barbaric and seems far-fetched, the '80s experienced a frightening moral call-to-arms as thousands of unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse spread across the U.S. By the early '90s what would later become known as Satanic Panic had extended its reaches to many parts of the world. One city in particular, West Memphis, Arkansas, would go down in history for launching a baseless investigation against three teenagers due to stigma, who became known as the West Memphis Three: 18-year-old Damien Echols, 17-year-old Jessie Misskelley Jr. and 16-year-old Jason Baldwin.

Following the horrific murders of three eight-year-old boys in 1994, a desperate city found the three teens guilty, sentencing Misskelley and Baldwin to life in prison and Echols to death. Despite the hysteria surrounding the case, the wildly mishandled evidence and crime scene and many other errors, the three boys remained in prison, appealing their cases whenever able. Finally, nearly two decades later, the three were resentenced to time-served after taking plea deals and released from prison. To this day they are still suffering the consequences and fighting to prove their innocence.

All four seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix, and you can check out Echols' post and an interview with Katie Couric below: