It's no secret Stranger Things is basically one giant homage to classic Stephen King stories — amongst other '80s movies — but what if it's actually a prequel to a famous King tale?

That's what Reddit user thisshortenough believes. According to this person, the events on Stranger Things directly led to The Mist. It's a surprisingly solid theory and I'm gonna need the Duffer Brothers to confirm it immediately like they did with that Steve/Jean-Ralphio business.

For starters, the timelines add up.

Stranger Things is set in the '80s and The Mist's film adaptation premiered in 2007 set in the present day. (Of course, King's book was first published in 1980, but this theory strictly focuses on the movie.)

Both monsters result from the government opening up a type of alternate dimension and messing with shit they really shouldn't have in the first place.

The Demogorgon from Stranger Things came from the Upside Down, which the government tapped into, while the feds in The Mist worked on the Arrowhead Project, a classified plan that involved exploring other dimensions.

Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is the connection between the two pop culture worlds.

The Reddit user theorizes the slugs Will secretly coughs up into the sink at the end of Season 1 eventually grow up to be the big-ass monsters wreaking havoc in The Mist. Both settings involve dreary, misty weather, which only further seals the deal for Thisshortenough. "The Mist also takes place in a town on the edge of a lake, and given that Will thinks spitting slugs down the drain is a decent way to take care of the problem," the user writes, "it is possible that they have managed to survive and force their way into a cleaner water supply."

Obviously, this theory could easily get flushed down the toilet when Season 2 premieres next year and we find out what the hell was up with those freaky slug monsters/Demogorgon babies, but for now, this is pretty plausible. I mean, King did write on Twitter, "Watching STRANGER THINGS is looking [sic] watching Steve King's Greatest Hits. I mean that in a good way."