Shortly after binge watching season 1 of Stranger Things, we had the idea that we should put together a themed Halloween party. Since I had already been working on music-reactive LEDs as a hobby, it didn’t seem much of a stretch to build a bunch of decorations. Because how cool would it be to party at the Byers house?

The wall, DIY right from season 1

Stranger Things themed wall with Joyce Byers phone and alphabet lights. We needed some way for the Upside Down to communicate, so we built a wall! We ended up actually using studs, drywall and paneling as it seemed to be the best option to not have the actual walls. It turns out putting up real wallpaper is a gooey endeavor!

Joyce didn’t stop at anything to find Will. We didn’t stop at anything to have a good party! All in all, there are about 1200 individual light bulbs of some sort up here and around the house.

Animated Stranger Things alphabet wall lights spelling a message. Joyce’s phone rings throughout the party! It plays audio clips from YouTube of the show.

In addition to the lit letters, there are 600 addressable lights around the room. This let me change the patterns and colors to match the music. We are partying after all! And who knows how to party better than a Demogorgon?

I used both WS2811 and WS2812/NeoPixels for the project. It seemed like the perfect fit, and lets me individually address each and every bulb on its own.

Animated addressable string lights changing colors across the party room.
Animated light inside a dark cubby decoration.
Microcontroller wired to addressable LEDs for the Stranger Things party lights.
Small red cans arranged on a window ledge as Stranger Things themed props.
Ceiling covered with multicolored party lights.
Close-up of glowing red bulbs mounted on the wall.
Close-up of green, yellow, and blue bulbs on the alphabet wall.
Dark cubby with a hidden cluster of lights glowing inside.
Fireplace mantel lit with small red lights for the party setup.
Line of warm lights running along a fireplace mantel.
Stranger Things missing person flyers for Barb and Will.
Darkroom-style photo prints hanging near a window.
Close-up of black photo prints clipped in the window.
Living room transformed into the Byers house with alphabet wall and multicolored lights.
Wide view of the Stranger Things party room filled with glowing string lights.
Stairwell decorated with blue and purple party lights.
Close-up of the Stranger Things alphabet wall with green bulbs.
Alphabet wall installation with rows of multicolored bulbs above painted letters.