Freddy Krueger

REAL NAME:

His full name is Frederick Charles Krueger. He is best known however as Freddy. He was also nicknamed “The Springwood Slasher”.

ORIGINS/RESIDES IN:

He was born and resided in Springwood, Ohio.

BACK STORY:

He was born in 1942 and died in 1968.His mother, Amanda Krueger, was a nun who worked in Westin Hills mental hospital, caring for the inmates. Over the Christmas holiday, she was accidently locked inside and was gang raped by a group of inmates. This is how he became known as “the bastard son of 100 maniacs”. She then gave him up for adoption. As a child, he displayed sociopathic behaviour. He was adopted by an abusive alcoholic called Mr Underwood who taught him all about torture and self-inflicting pain. Freddy eventually kills him. He then goes on to marry a woman called Loretta, they have a daughter called Katherine and he leads a seemingly normal life until his murderous nature comes back. He murders 20 children from 1963 to 1966. Originally he was supposed to have been portrayed as a child molester but this was changed into him being a child murderer. He murdered his wife after she found out and his daughter told the police. He was arrested and put on trial, but due to a technicality, he was released. When his mother, who had been keeping tabs on him, found out, she killed herself. The parents of his victims set his house on fire. In his dying moments, the dream demons came and offered him immortality in exchange for being their agent, which he accepted. His daughter was adopted and her name changed to Maggie Burroughs.

ENEMY(S):

Nancy Thompson is his main protagonist. He also tries to kill all of the children of the parents who killed him. He also kills others for no apparent reason.

CREATED BY:

He was created by Wes Craven. He says that his inspiration came from a series of reports on mysterious deaths. All of the victims had had recurring nightmares and had died in their sleep.

APPEARS IN:

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Freddy VS Jason, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

PORTRAYED BY:

He was portrayed by Robert Englund from the very beginning until the 2010 remake where he was then portrayed by Jackie Earle Haley.

APPEARANCE:

He wears a striped red and green sweater, loose black trousers (brown in the original film), worn working boots and a dark brown fedora. He is also equipped with his infamous bladed glove. He is scared and burned and has no hair (due to the fact that he was burned alive). His blood is that of a dark oily colour (greenish in hue when he is in the dream world).  

HEIGHT:

He is about 5”9

PERSONALITY:

Apart from the fact that he is an evil, knife wielding, immortal psychopath, he is well known for being extremely witty and having a very sarcastic sense of humour. He obviously began as someone that people hated but as time (and the movies) went on, he became more comedic. He even began dressing up in some of the films. It seems that his immortality gave him a bit of a funny bone as opposed to when he was his former human self.

FAVOURITE WEAPON:

A bladed leather glove which he uses to kill his victims whilst they are dreaming.

FAMOUS LINE/QUOTE:

“Come to Freddy!”

 

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you. Three, four, you better lock your door. Five, six, grab a crucifix. Seven, eight, you better stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again"

ANY OTHER MEDIA:

In the late 80’s he had his own show, Freddy’s Nightmares, in which he told a tale in each episode. He starred in a few but the series was not too much about him. He has also featured in Robot Chicken, Family Guy, The Simpsons and DC Follies. He also appeared in the music video for “A Nightmare On My Street” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. At the end of Jason Goes To Hell, you see Freddy’s hand reaching out for Jason’s mask, this is the set up for Freddy VS Jason. He also has a range of his own comics and graphic novels, even making an appearance in Mortal Kombat.

POPULARITY:

Due to his comedic yet psychopathic behaviour, it’s not hard to see how he has become so famous. When the film first emerged, it was one of the scariest things that people had ever witnessed; this strange demon like man who had the ability to kill you within your dreams. It’s no surprise that insomnia was on a rise during this period. After a while, it’s as though people actually began to warm to him, hence why his character became more comedic. Even when Wes Craven released the new nightmare, making him appear how he originally wanted him, he was still a firm favourite with the fans. This is one character who can actually do no wrong.