November 6, 1983, in Stranger Things: the night Will disappears, and why fans remember it
Universe · Hawkins · November 6, 1983
The evening in episode order, what everyone believes at the time, what the show reveals later, and why November 6 became Stranger Things Day.
On November 6, 1983, a Sunday night in Hawkins, Will Byers rides home on his bike from a game of Dungeons & Dragons and disappears in the shed behind his house. Everything in Stranger Things starts from that night.
The essentials
- The date: Sunday, November 6, 1983, in Hawkins, Indiana
- The episode: Season 1, episode 1
- The only time given for the evening: Will leaving the Wheelers', “a little bit after 8”
- Where he disappears: the shed, behind the Byers house
- What takes Will: the Demogorgon
- Where Will is found: the Hawkins library, on the Upside Down side
- Stranger Things Day: every November 6, since 2018
Contents
The evening of November 6, 1983, moment by moment
The show opens at Hawkins National Laboratory, without a word: an alarm, a scientist running, an elevator, then something that snatches him. The same day, four boys are playing in the Wheelers' basement.
Their game of Dungeons & Dragons, in which Mike has summoned the Demogorgon, has been going for ten hours when Mike's mother puts an end to it (“It's a school night, Michael.”): Will's die has just rolled out of sight, and the seven he finds doesn't count. The details are in our article on the Wheelers' basement.
On his way out, Will tells Mike: “The roll, it was a seven. The Demogorgon, it got me.” Then Will and Dustin race each other, with a comic book at stake. The next day, Karen Wheeler says Will left “a little bit after 8.”
Alone on the road nicknamed Mirkwood, Will sees a figure loom up in front of him and takes a fall. He leaves his bike and runs all the way home.
The house is empty and the dog is barking. Will locks the door and tries to call: the line rings, then crackles. The lock opens on its own. Holed up in the shed behind the house, Will aims a gun at the door. The light swells, something appears behind him, and Will is gone.
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At the lab The elevator
A scientist snatched, without a word.
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In the basement Ten hours of play
A lost die, a seven.
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A little after 8 p.m. Heading home
The only time given all evening.
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On Mirkwood The figure
A fall, a bike left behind.
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At home Nobody
A dog barking, a line crackling.
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In the shed The bulb
A light that grows, then no one.
Building-brick figure of Will, walkie-talkie in hand, with a blue bike fitted with a headlight. The boy from that evening.
In the shopBuildable mini figure Will Byers and his blue bike14,90 €See the product
A Sunday, a school night
November 6, 1983, falls on a Sunday. That's why Mike's mother calls it a “school night”: the next day, Monday, there's school.
No line in the episode gives the date. It comes from the broadcaster's descriptions of the series, and the show confirms it in dialogue much later. Nobody says what time the fall or the disappearance happens.
What everyone believes at the time
Nobody knows Will hasn't come home. The house is empty: Jonathan is covering Eric's shift at work, and Joyce's line the next day, “You can't take shifts when I'm working,” suggests she was working too.
On Monday morning, everyone has an explanation. Will slept over at the Wheelers', Jonathan thinks; he left early for school, Joyce suggests on the phone. On TV, there's talk of power outages in East Hawkins the night before. The episode doesn't make the connection.
As Hopper sees it, Will is playing hooky, or he's with a parent. Then the bike turns up. “Bike like this is like a Cadillac to these kids”: Will would have walked it home. The pilot is covered in our recap of Season 1, episode 1.
What Season 1 reveals next
Will is alive, on the other side. He answers Joyce through the lights, then on the alphabet she paints on the wall: “RIGHT HERE,” then “RUN.” Meanwhile, a body pulled out of the quarry turns out to be a fake.
The creature came in through the lab. On Brenner's orders, a terrified Eleven made contact with it and opened a gate without meaning to: “I opened it. I'm the monster.” The party names the creature after the game: the Demogorgon. Will survived by hiding in the Upside Down version of his fort, Castle Byers.
Joyce and Hopper find him in the Hawkins library, on the Upside Down side, a tendril down his throat, and Hopper revives him. At the hospital, Will sums up his night in the words of the game: “It got me. The Demogorgon.”
A 4.8 cm building-brick figure: the Demogorgon, its head open in five red petals. The creature from the road.
In the shopBuildable mini figure Gray Demogorgon open flower14,90 €See the product
November 6 in the later seasons
Warning: what follows reveals plot points from Seasons 2, 4 and 5. In the fall of 1984, in the first episode of Season 2, Dr. Owens explains Will's attacks as an “anniversary effect.” The show itself turns November 6 into an anniversary.
In episode 7 of Season 4, Nancy finds her bedroom on the Upside Down side, and her diary, whose last entry is dated November 6, 1983. “The day Will went missing.” “The day the gate opened.” The other world froze that day; our article on Dimension X and the bridge explains why.
Season 5 picks up on November 3, 1987. Lucas is sure of it: “November 6th. The day all this started… is the day it ends.” The seventh episode takes place on November 6, 1987, the fourth anniversary of the 1983 night. The season's prologue goes back to 1983, six days after the night in the shed: a Demogorgon hunts Will down. It takes him to Vecna: we explain elsewhere why Vecna does not kill Will.
Why fans celebrate Stranger Things Day
Since 2018, November 6 has been Stranger Things Day. The show's broadcaster launched it on social media, with the cast, inviting fans to dress up as their favorite characters and reenact the scenes they love most. It isn't a public holiday: it's a fan day, every year.
On that day, the show has often lifted the veil: episode titles, the first page of a script, and even the world premiere of its final season. Fans have also rewatched the first episode together. To mark the date at home, an alphabet wall and a string of lights are all you need: that's Joyce's decor.
Tapestry with grommets: the alphabet painted on floral wallpaper, under a string of lights. The wall where Will answers.
In the shopWallpaper alphabet wall tapestry flag27,90 €See the product
Frequently asked questions
What happens on November 6, 1983, in Stranger Things?
Will Byers disappears in the first episode. After a game of Dungeons & Dragons at Mike's, he comes across a creature on the road nicknamed Mirkwood, then disappears in the shed behind his house.
Where exactly does Will disappear?
In the shed, behind the Byers house. Not on the road, where he only took a fall, and not at Castle Byers, his fort.
What time does Will disappear?
The show doesn't say. Only the time he left the Wheelers' is known: “a little bit after 8.”
What day of the week was November 6, 1983?
A Sunday. That's why Mike's mother calls it a “school night”: the next day is a Monday.
What took Will?
The Demogorgon, a creature that came from the lab through the gate Eleven opened without meaning to.
When is Will found?
At the end of Season 1, in the Hawkins library on the Upside Down side, by Joyce and Hopper.
What is Stranger Things Day?
A fan day, every November 6 since 2018, in memory of Will's disappearance. The show's broadcaster has made several announcements on that day.
