Hometown: Springwood, Ohio


History:  Frederick Charles Krueger was born in the early 1940s; a direct result of a multiple rape attack on his mother: Amanda Krueger.  Over the Christmas holiday, the practicing nun had been accidentally locked in the tower for the criminally insane at Our Lady of Sorrows asylum in Springwood, Ohio.  For days, the one hundred patients confined there raped her.  Amanda was found afterward, barely alive and now pregnant.  After the incident, Our Lady of Sorrows closed that wing of the hospital and changed its name to Westin Hills psychiatric hospital.

Amanda gave Frederick up for adoption shortly after giving birth.  He was placed with a local man that lived at 1428 Elm Street by the name of Mr. Underwood.  Mr. Underwood referred to Frederick as "Freddy" and would verbally and physically abuse the boy in his drunken stupors. 

By the time Freddy was in elementary school he had begun to display sociopathic behavior by killing small animals.  Other school children often ridiculed him, making him a clear outsider socially.  In his late teens, Freddy proclaimed to have learned the "secret of pain" from self-mutilation and murdered Mr. Underwood.  

Later in adulthood, Fred continued to live in his childhood home at 1428 Elm Street.  He married a woman named Loretta and in 1961 they had a daughter named Kathryn.  Shortly after, a series of gruesome child murders were discovered.  Police were unable to solve the cases and local newspapers dubbed the mysterious killer: The Springwood Slasher.

When Kathryn was six years old, Loretta discovered that down in the basement of the house, Fred had a hidden room where he kept many tools of torture and other macabre items.  Among the assortment:  versions of a workman's glove with four metal talons on the main four fingers, photographs of children, jars with entrails, and more.  When Fred confronted her, Loretta promised she wouldn't tell about what she had found.  Enraged, Krueger strangled her in front of young Kathryn for "snooping in his special work."

Unbeknownst to everyone around him, Fred Krueger was the infamous Springwood Slasher.  Using an ice cream truck to lure his young victims, he was able to kidnap them with ease.  Fred worked as a janitor at the local power plant and in its abandoned boiler room he carried out the vicious murders. 

In 1966, Fred was arrested for the murders of twenty neighborhood children.  Police were prompted into action by a confession from young Kathryn regarding her mother's disappearance.  After Krueger's arrest, Kathryn was placed in the care of adoption services.  Adopted a year later by the Burroughs family, she was given a new name and taken away from Springwood.  Kathryn's records were subsequently sealed to conceal her true identity.    

In 1968, Fred Krueger's high profile trial began and was soon cut short when it was discovered that the search warrant to obtain evidence was not signed correctly.  All evidence for the trial was deemed inadmissible and Krueger was released.  Later that night, a group of grieving and outraged parents formed a mob and tracked Fred back to his lair in the boiler room.  The mob encircled the lair, pouring gasoline around the boiler room and igniting it.  In addition, Molotov cocktails were thrown through the lair's windows - setting its interior ablaze.  The mob stood motionless until Krueger perished in the conflagration. 

While the flames surrounded him, Fred Krueger was approached by three dream demons.  These demons roam the land of the living until they find the most evil soul, and in turn, give them the power to turn dreams into reality.  Krueger accepted their offer to "be forever" as the flames consumed him. 

The parents involved with Krueger's death agreed to keep the incident secret and help erase his existence.  Krueger's remains were taken to Penny Bros. Auto Salvage and hid in the trunk of an old red Cadillac.  In addition, officer Donald Thompson moved his family into the house at 1428 Elm Street.  With Kathryn Krueger already gone from Springwood, all loose ends had been tied up.

Amanda Krueger, who had been following Fred's trial, heard of his release and hanged herself in the tower where she was raped.  Afterward, her body was sealed in the condemned tower and a memorial stone was placed in the Springwood cemetery for Amanda Krueger, her name in Christ: Sister Mary Helena.      

As time passed, the memory of Fred Krueger faded, becoming an urban legend to the children of Springwood.  Neighborhood children made up a nursery rhyme referencing him to jump rope to (1, 2, Freddy's coming for you…) and casually spoke of "Freddy" as a general boogeyman figure - though the reference's origin was lost on them. 

Beginning in the early 1980s, mysterious deaths were reported in the teenage population of Springwood.   The majority of victims reportedly died in their sleep, with accompanying wounds reminiscent of the Springwood Slasher's methods.  The first victims of this epidemic were children of the parents who were involved with Krueger's death.  By the 1990s, the epidemic had spread to all of Springwood's children and teenagers.  Those affected reported a man trying to kill them in their nightmares.  This man wore a red and green sweater, old brown fedora, was horribly burned, and wore a glove on his right hand with four metal talons on the fingers.  The reports of this dream killer were met with skepticism - though it did instill a fear in those who remembered Fred Krueger.  Most parents dismissed the idea that Krueger had returned to take his revenge, believing that the deaths were the result of suicide. 

Unfortunately for the town of Springwood, Krueger had returned.  The dream demons had given Freddy the power to take action and kill within dreams.  Krueger could appear in any form he wanted and could change the dream in any way to achieve his ends.  Physical harm inflicted by Krueger in a dream would carry over to the real world, and absorbing his victim's soul would gain him more power to further influence the line between dreams and reality.  In addition, fear of Krueger's memory would allow him to eventually return in cases of defeat or imprisonment.

Though Freddy was powerful within dreams, he did have limitations and weaknesses.  Krueger's influence extended to Springwood's borders only.  He could also suffer temporary defeats that would leave him powerless for an undetermined amount of time.  If the dreamer had hold of him within the dream and was awakened, Freddy could be physically carried out from that dream and hurt.  Even though Krueger's defeats were numerous, he would eventually resurface and begin killing again.

By the year 2000, Krueger succeeded in murdering all of Springwood's children.  He kept the remaining adults in a mass psychosis and was now powerful enough to manipulate reality (to a limited degree).  In an effort to escape Springwood's borders, Freddy arranged the arrival of his long lost daughter: Kathryn.  Krueger's attempt to unleash his evil upon the world was thwarted by his daughter, resulting in his short-term demise. 

After Freddy's hold over Springwood was broken, the remaining population sought to revitalize it.  As new families began moving in to repopulate the dilapidated town, Freddy returned and began killing again.  This time though, Springwood's parents and officials took immediate action:  All official documents and obituaries referencing Krueger were edited.  Teens that reported dreaming of Freddy were taken to Westin Hills Psychiatric hospital for quarantine, and remaining teens were prescribed the experimental drug: Hypnocyl, to keep from dreaming.  Springwood's efforts to neutralize the fear of Fred Krueger had worked - leaving Freddy powerless and forgotten in the minds of Springwood's new generation of children.

In the late summer of 2003, Krueger returned for a short period.  While he remained trapped in limbo, Freddy was able to view the dreams of supernatural behemoth Jason Voorhees.  In an attempt to escape his prison, Krueger manipulated Voorhees into traveling to Springwood and begin killing on Elm Street.  Freddy hoped that the resulting confusion would instill the fear needed for his resurrection.  Within days of Jason's killing spree, fear that Krueger had returned gripped the small town.  Freddy was now strong enough to return, but deterring the unstoppable Voorhees proved difficult.  A physical clash between the two resulted, which left Krueger defeated and powerless once again. 

Since Freddy confronted Jason Voorhees, his resurgences have been brief and limited in consequence.  Due to Springwood's children either not knowing about or fearing Krueger, he continues to be contained within limbo.