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The Aboleth[1], also commonly referred to as the snow shark[2], was a creature that terrorized Hawkins in January, 1985.
History
Background
On the night of January 10, 1985, after breaching containment, a "Vine Dog" (a creature born from a mutated vine) was cornered at the gate of Hawkins National Laboratory by a person in a hazmat suit with a flamethrower. Realizing its impending demise, the Vine Dog released spores into the air before getting disintegrated. The spores would be carried by the wind into the woods, where, upon landing in the snow, a vine with thorns and green mist sprouts from the snow.
Terrorizing Hawkins
The next day, January 11, Dustin Henderson was biking to school alone after being left behind by his friends. On the way, he was passing through Mirkwood, when two classmates: Charlie Dandridge and Jeff Nelson–who are also bullies–stops and hassles him. Dustin evades the boys after falling into a sewer ravine. They chased him through the woods before Charlie trips over the same vine from the night before. He tried to get up and continue his pursuit of Dustin, but the vine had a grip on his ankle. As he tried to pry it loose, another vine arose behind him before its maw attached itself to his face–dragging him underneath the snow. As Dustin hid from the boys, Jeff passed him hiding underneath a log in the snow. Dustin resurfaces to the road before throwing the bullies bikes into the ravine. At the same time, Jeff ran to the edge of the forest, exiting into a field. He called for Charlie who has vanished. Behind him, a hump in the snow formed and began moving toward him. He ran but was ultimately grabbed and dragged underground putting up a fight before ultimately succumbing to the effects of the monster.
Later in the day, the Party had gathered after school in the AV room. They were trying to figure out how to make extra money for their upcoming D&D campaign which now included Max Mayfield and Eleven, costing more than usual. They eventually came up with a plan for El to use her powers to clear driveways, much to Mike Wheeler's discomfort. After Mr. Plow came through the neighborhood, he threatened the kids since they were threatening his livelihood. Before the plowman can finish insulting Will Byers, he was grabbed and dragged away by an unseen force. Eleven stops the creature temporarily and it sprouts spikes across its back and began going after the Party. Max and Lucas almost get injured when the creature knocks the breaks loose on the truck the pair are seeking refuge on, but before they crashed into a tree–El used her powers to levitate the truck in a safe position. The creature briefly disappears before it knocked Dustin off the car he was on. It dragged him into multiple obstacles as his friends tried to help him. The creature was separated from Dustin after Eleven breaks a tree into its path and now, after their first encounter with the creature, they nicknames the creature "snow shark" due to its attack behaviour being similar to a shark (diving towards prey, fins foreboding its approach), only instead of attacking in water, it attacks in snow. The kids also debated whether or not they should go to Jim Hopper or their other allies, but Max pointed out that it was ultimately Eleven's decision. She decides to catch the monster and not to tell anyone.
Defeat
Later that evening, the Party splits up–El and Mike were on the arcade roof on lookout, Max and Lucas were on the west side of the arcade hiding behind the bushes as the capturers, Will was on the east side corner on attack duty–with Dustin in the parking lot as the bait. Dustin and Lucas argued about what to call the parking lot while Mike told them to calm down. But, nearby, Mike notices a person. It's Nikki Baxter, a new kid at Hawkins Middle School. She was getting pizza across from the arcade at Pizza One. Mike tracked Nikki's path, with her cutting through the park and the snow shark going after Nikki instead of taking their bait. Nikki ate her pizza, listening to punk rock on her walkman. The Party tried to get her attention but she didn't hear them until Lucas used his slingshot to knock Nikki's headphones off. This succeeds and Nikki's attention was brought to them as they ran, telling her to get out of the snow. She freaked out and ran as fast as she could before she dived over a brick wall. She landed in a parking lot before the creature jumped out in front of her, revealing its form.
The Party made it across the park and drew its attention away from Nikki, attacking it. The creature went after Max and Lucas before being trapped in the net Max carried. Will attacked next, hitting the monster with his hockey stick before getting pinned underneath it. Nikki jumps into action grabbing a nearby garbage pail lid. She bum-rushed the creature before getting knocked down, prompting Max, Dustin and Lucas to help push it off Will. The creature broke free from the net and Mike distracted it, running into an alley. His friends followed and before it attacked him–Eleven used her powers to stop it. Mike saw that inside, Charlie was trapped and warns El before Will and Max pull him out of the monster. Eleven then didn't hesitate to kill the creature, not noticing the spores that float away. Charlie woke up, freaked out and ran away as the remains of the monster dissolved.
Aftermath
As Dustin headed to Ironwood Park–on the guise of looking for the Slothman that was reported to the H.I.C.–he ran into Charlie Dandridge who was hiding in the woods. He pinned Dustin against a nearby tree and revealed that he left the fake tip. Charlie wanted answers from Dustin because he was freaked out. He told Dustin that Jeff Nelson was missing and had been since the day before. Dustin realized the snow shark attacked Jeff and told Charlie to tell him what happened. Charlie told Dustin that he was caught in a vine and then everything went black except for a blinking red light. He told Dustin he couldn't remember anything after and threatened to go to the cops but Dustin told him about the events from 1983 and 1984, telling Charlie that the Department of Energy said experimental chemicals leaked into the woods causing people to hallucinate and pass out. Dustin scared Charlie by telling him Jeff is probably detained by the military before Jeff walks away.
Appearance
TBA
Etymology
Snow Shark
After their first encounter with the creature, the Party nicknames the creature "Snowshark" due to its attack behaviour being similar to a shark (diving towards prey, fins foreboding its approach), only instead of attacking in water, it attacks in snow.
Aboleth
After defeating it, Dustin Henderson decides the creature should get a better name than "snow shark", arguing it sounds too silly. He instead names it after "Aboleths", aquatic, fish-like monsters with tentacles from Dungeons & Dragons who use their telepathic powers to enslave other creatures, similar to how the Aboleth possesses humans to use as hosts.
Appearances
TBA
Gallery
TBA
Trivia
- The Aboleth marks the second time a creature from the Upside Down has been compared to a shark, the first being the Demogorgon by Nancy Wheeler in "The Monster".
- Interestingly, while both reasonings stem from similar hunting styles, different aspects of a shark's hunting pattern are cited; The Demogorgon, because it is attracted to blood, and the Aboleth, because it attacks by diving towards its prey.
- The Aboleth shares a few similarities with the "Graboids" from the 1990 monster-comedy-horror movie "Tremors": both are eyeless monsters with round, gaping, teeth-filled mouths that dive through the earth, elevating it in the process, and attacking anything standing on the ground. Additionally, when attacking Nikki Baxter, the Aboleth exits the ground by breaking through a brick wall, similar to a Graboid breaking into Burt Gummer's basement in "Tremors".
- Despite being officially named the Aboleth by the Party, the McDonald's Happy Meals toys still refer to it as the snow shark.