Freddy Krueger

Freddy Krueger is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as a disfigured serial killer who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the waking world as well. However, whenever he is put into the real world, he has normal human vulnerability. Krueger was created by Wes Craven, and had been consistently portrayed by Robert Englund since his first appearance. In the 2010 remake he was portrayed by Academy Award-nominee Jackie Earle Haley.

Freddy is a vengeful spirit who attacks his victims from within their dreams. He is commonly identified by his burned, disfigured face, red-and-dark-green striped sweater, brown fedora, and trademark metal-clawed brown leather glove on his right hand. Wizard magazine rated him the 14th greatest villain, the British television channel Sky2 listed him 8th, and the American Film Institute ranked him 40th on its "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains" list.

Robert Englund has said many times that he feels the character represents neglect, particularly that suffered by children. The character also more broadly represents subconscious fears. For example, Englund is on record as saying that in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Freddy represents the main character's repressed homosexual desires.

In 2010, Freddy won an award for Best Villain (or Most Vile Villain) at the Scream Awards.