Strange things do not just happen in Hawkins. For fans of Stranger Things, reality occasionally mirrors fiction in unsettling ways. From flickering lights to unexplained skies, the real world sometimes feels like it is borrowing pages from the Upside Down. This week, an eerie natural event over Brazil did exactly that, setting the internet buzzing with sci-fi comparisons.

And for a moment, it felt like Vecna had found a new playground.

A viral post shared by the X account @jameswebb_nasa drew global attention after showcasing haunting red flashes appearing above thunderstorms in southern Brazil. The phenomenon, described as glowing red bursts high above storm clouds, immediately sparked confusion online. Even Netflix Brasil leaned into the moment, playfully nodding to Stranger Things by compenting on the visuals that looked something straight out of the show’s otherworldly universe.

The images and video were captured on December 27, 2025, by photographer Gabriel Zaparolli along the northern coast of Santa Catarina, following intense storm activity in the region. The account’s name led many to assume the footage was linked to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. But despite the cosmic framing, the flashes were not coming from space. And they were not supernatural either.

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The truth, while less fictional, is no less fascinating. It appears to be finale fever, making Stranger Things fans spot strange things everywhere.

What photographer Gabriel Zaparolli captured were red sprites, a rare atmospheric phenomenon formally classified as transient luminous events. Unlike regular lightning, red sprites occur far above thunderstorms, typically between 50 and 90 kilometers above Earth’s surface, well into the mesosphere.These brief, millisecond-long flashes are triggered by powerful lightning strikes below, releasing electrical energy upward instead of toward the ground. 

They are often reddish in color due to interactions with nitrogen in the upper atmosphere, sprites can take on jellyfish-like or columnar shapes, adding to their eerie appearance. The footage also reportedly shows secondary phenomena known as trolls, faint luminous jets that appear shortly after sprites. While rarely seen with the eye, advances in low-light camera technology have made it possible for photographers to document these fleeting events more clearly than ever before.

While the visuals may echo Stranger Things, the red flashes over Brazil are a reminder that Earth still has mysteries capable of rivaling fiction. Sometimes, science is strange enough on its own.

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What do you think? Purely science, or the closest real-world glimpse of the Upside Down yet? Share your thoughts.