This year marks the 40th Anniversary of one of Horrors most iconic characters.

Growing up, ‘Freddy Kreuger’, was my boogeyman.

His name alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts and minds of people worldwide of all ages. You didn’t even have to see the film to be scared of him, that was how powerful this film became. Not an easy feat I’m sure you’ll agree.

I mean it may not seem like much now but you have to remember that this was a time before we had social media, hell, even the internet. ‘Freddy’ had managed to scare people worldwide without all of that to help it, it was all word of mouth.

I was one of those people that was terrified by the film before I even saw it, as I said ‘Freddy’ was my boogeyman. Just the sight of him was enough to get my heart rate going, never mind my overactive imagination just running wild.

I can still remember being at a sleepover and a friend snuck over a VHS of the film, I was absolutely terrified and when it was finally put into the tape player me and another kid had to leave the room we were that petrifed of what we might see.

This was the ultimate power this film had on people, not just kids but people of all ages, I know some adults who still refuse to watch it. Unfortunately it’s hard to imagine a film having that kind of effect on people in this day and age.

The thing that frightened me the most though was his power to get me in my dreams, and what happened in those dreams really happened to you. As a child who suffered with terrible nightmares already, this was like pouring petrol on to the fire.

‘Freddy Kreuger’ and his terrifying claw-like glove burst into pop culture and was considered an instant commercial success. I mean what other Horror film can you remember that had merchandise aimed at young kids? Who else remembers the ‘Freddy Kreuger’ Spitball?

Thanks to the huge success of “A Nightmare On Elm Street” and it’s character ‘Freddy Kreuger’ New Line Cinema was saved from bankruptcy, the film ended up being nicknamed “The House that Freddy Built.” Not bad for a little unknown Horror film.

Whilst Wes had already some some success with fith films such as “The Last House On The Left”, “The Hills Have Eyes” and even “Deadly Blessing” and “Swamp Thing”. This film brought Wes Craven cemented his name into the Horror icon he’s fondly remembered as.

Wes came up with the idea for the movie from a series of articles about a group of refugees, several of whom died in the throes of horrific nightmares. A young healthy man would have a nightmare, then refuse to sleep for as long as he could. When he finally fell asleep from exhaustion, he awoke screaming, then died. Autopsy results revealed that they had not died from heart failure, but had simply died.

The inspiration for ‘Freddy’ came from several sources in Wes Craven’s childhood. Fred Krueger was a schoolmate of his, who had bullied him for several years. ‘Freddy’s burns came from a man with severe burn scars by whom Craven had once been terrified as a child, and ‘Freddy’s attire was inspired by an alcoholic hobo that Craven saw staring at him through his window one day when he was 10 years old.

Horror fans would fall in love with Robert Englund’s great portrayal of the iconic character (little did they know they’d be seeing plenty more of him) , it also cemented his place in Horror fandom and rightly so. He’s an actor that is still loved by Horror fans.

Of it’s cast though, who would’ve thought it would’ve been Johnny ‘Glen’ Depp that would become the mega star. I mean his death scene was my favourite in this film but I don’t think anyone saw him becoming one of the biggest movie stars.

This was Depp’s feature film debut and he’s not the first actor to get his start in the Horror genre and he certainly won’t be the last. One of the main reasons he was cast was because Wes Craven’s daughter thought he was “dreamy,” and threatened to run away from home if he wasn’t cast in the movie.

There’s always been a debate as to whether ‘Freddy’ was a child molester or not, in the original script, ‘Freddy’ was a child molester. However, the decision was made to change him into being a child murderer to avoid accusations of exploiting a series of child molestations in California.

My only problem I had with the film was the ending, producer Robert Shaye wanted an ending that would leave room for a sequel which is why he have such a confusing and admittely lackluster ending. Luckily it doesn’t ruin what is an amazing film.

As I said earlier, ‘Freddy Kreuger’, was my boogeyman. He wasn’t just my boogeyman though, he became a boogeyman to millions worldwide, 40 years and numerous sequels later he still continues to strike fear into the hearts, minds and dreams of people.