1. The show's creators, the Duffer brothers, pulled tons of references together, confirming Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, and John Carpenter as major sources of inspiration.
2. They tested their idea for the series by cutting together a fake trailer for the show, using clips from more than 25 movies.
3. And they auditioned 906 boys and 307 girls to find their young leads.
4. Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, had a slight head start after Stephen King tweeted about her performance in Intruders back in 2014.
Millie Brown, the girl in INTRUDERS, is terrific. Is it my imagination, or are child actors a lot better than they used to be?
5. Millie was anxious about shaving her head for the role. The directors told her to "have the mind-frame of Charlize Theron in Mad Max".
6. The directors also told Millie they wanted her performance to resemble E.T.
7. They had the kids read classic scenes from Stand By Me in their auditions.
8. The kids were also asked to watch classic movies like Stand By Me, The Goonies, and Poltergeist.
9. Similarly, before starting the show, the writers all watched the same films, plus The Thing, E.T., and A Nightmare on Elm Street - films which all heavily influence Stranger Things throughout.
10. Winona Ryder wanted her hairstyle to be modelled after Meryl Streep's in Silkwood.
11. This wasn't the first time Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine were in a project together. Both appeared in the music video for Roy Orbison's "A Love So Beautiful".
12. Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, went through such a dramatic change during filming, they weren't able to use his voice for additional dialogue recording (ADR) at the end of production.
13. Caleb McClaughlin, the actor who plays Lucas, requested to wear a camouflage bandana during the show. He's seen wearing one in the final three episodes.
14. The kids formed a close bond by starting a group chat before shooting even began.
15. The main titles were inspired by the work of Richard Greenberg, the designer behind titles like Alien, Superman, The Goonies, and The Dead Zone.
16. They used 1200 pounds of Epsom salt to get Eleven to float in the kiddie pool.
17. Hopper's trailer reportedly only cost the art department $1 to buy.
18. Executive producer Shawn Levy directed chapters three and four of Stranger Things. Levy has also directed films like Night at the Museum, Date Night, and The Internship.
19. The series was shot on a digital cinema camera, but to achieve the vintage look, they added a layer of scanned film grain to the colouring process.
20. The Duffer brothers have a 30-page document that maps what the Upside Down is, and the nature of the monster.
21. Stranger Things was the first acting role for Shannon Purser, who plays the stand-out queen Barb.
22. There were no original plans for Steve and Nancy to reconcile at the end of the series, but the actor that played Steve, Joe Keery, was too likeable and charming in reality, the showrunners decided to tweak his character.
23. Holly was actually played by twins Anniston and Tinsley Price.
24. Most of Holly's scene-stealing moments were totally unscripted.
25. The monster was achieved through a combined effort of animatronics, prosthetics, CG, and performance.
26. The toddlers on set were terrified by the "monster", but the crew calmed them down by telling them it was just like Monsters, Inc.
