1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street introduced the world to Freddy Krueger, the besweatered slasher who kills teenagers in their dreams. But Wes Craven says he based his most iconic creation on a real-life horror: a plague of young men dying in their sleep, seemingly during nightmares, that hit the U.S. in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

Where did these victims come from? How did they die? What exactly gave Craven the inspiration to create one of the most recognizable horror characters of all time? And is it really possible for a bad dream to kill you? We search for the answers…right after we put on another pot of coffee.

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