Chester was the pet dog of the Byers family, living with them in Hawkins, Indiana until 1984, the year of his death.
History
1983
When Will came home after running away from a mysterious creature, Chester greeted him ecstatically. When a tall figure appeared behind the front door, Chester barked at it, indicating that he saw it as a threat. The next day, when Chief Hopper was searching the Byers' house for clues, his attention was drawn to Chester barking at the shed. Hopper asked if this behaviour was normal, but Joyce dismissed it as hunger and dragged Chester inside. A few days later, Chester sat on a chair watching Joyce hang Christmas lights around the house to communicate with Will. Though this initially appeared to be unsuccessful, Joyce noticed Chester barking at the lights blinking toward a table. Later on, Chester went to Castle Byers on the day of Will's "funeral", whimpering for his owner.
A month later, Chester eats raw meat off of the kitchen counter while the Byers eat Christmas Eve dinner.
1984
By 1984, Chester had passed away from unknown circumstances, with the Byers having dug a grave for him.[1]
Gallery
Trivia
- While the dog has not been referred to by name in the show, in the original pilot script and the final script for "The Vanishing of Will Byers", his name is Chester.
- David Harbour (Jim Hopper) has stated that the dog was one of the worst "actors" to work with, even making him storm off set on one occasion.[2] This most likely resulted in Chester being retired from the show.
- Chester's character was most likely inspired by E. Buzz, the Freeling's family dog in the 1982 horror film, Poltergeist. Both dogs interact with a paranormal entity within their home by barking at it, much to the initial confusion of their owners.
- Noah Schnapp revealed Chester's fate during a panel at Stranger Con Chicago.[1]
- Chester is portrayed by a dog named Cruiser.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Noah Schnapp revealed Chester's fate during a panel at Stranger Con Chicago
- ↑ "‘Stranger Things” David Harbour reveals the awful truth about that ‘damn dog’" UPROXX. August 26, 2016.
- ↑ Crusier's Resume