In 1984, Wes Craven unleashed hell on an unsuspecting audience with the premiere of A Nightmare on Elm Street, which brought a supernatural terror to Small Town, USA. 40 years later, Investigation Discovery is set to explore real world horrors that take place on Elm Streets everywhere in the true-crime docuseries The Real Murders on Elm Street.
Per Bloody Disgusting, the six-part series will look to shine a light on suburban crimes that all have one thing in common: their street names. While the events depicted in Craven’s seminal movie are fiction, these horrors are very real, and have lingered in the hearts and minds of those affected by them long after the culprit was caught. Check out the official trailer for The Real Murders on Elm Street below to get a taste of what’s to come.
Produced by Grandma’s House Entertainment, The Real Murders on Elm Street kicks off on September 9 at 9/8c on ID and the streaming service Max with the episode “Killer in the Walls,” which examines the story of convicted killer Daniel LaPlante. Regular ID viewers will recognize it right away, as the story had previously been featured in an episode of Your Worst Nightmare in 2015. Check out the synopsis below.
“When a husband discovers his wife and two children brutally murdered, police begin to suspect the killer is someone they’ve arrested before. One year prior, a disturbed teenager terrorized a family for months by hiding in a most unlikely place.”
The Real Murders on Elm Street is part of a trio of new true-crime docuseries’ presented by Investigation Discovery, with the first being How (Not) to Get Rid of a Body, which premiered on September 4. Also debuting on September 9 will be Cabin in the Woods, which explores crimes that took place at remote locations around the country.
A Nightmare on Elm Street Was Inspired By a True Story
Like The Real Murders on Elm Street, Craven’s 1984 horror movie was itself inspired by a true story. The writer/director got the idea to develop his classic film after reading a series of articles in the Los Angeles Times that were published in the 1970s, which told tales of refugees from Cambodia and Vietnam who were plagued by nightmares that were so bad they did everything they could to stay awake. Unfortunately, many died in their sleep, giving Craven the germ of the idea that would eventually become A Nightmare on Elm Street.
In addition to its plot, Freddy Krueger, the film’s antagonist – who has since become a horror icon – was inspired by someone from Craven’s childhood. Before his death in 2015, he regularly told the story of how, when he was a boy, he was looking out his bedroom window at night and saw an elderly man on the sidewalk outside his home. Relaying the story during the audio commentary on the A Nightmare on Elm Street DVD, Craven said:
“When I looked down there was a man very much like Freddy walking along the sidewalk. He must have sensed that someone was looking at him and stopped and looked right into my face. He scared the living daylights out of me, so I jumped back into the shadows. I waited and waited to hear him walk away. Finally I thought he must have gone, so I stepped back to the window. The guy was not only still looking at me but he thrust his head forward as if to say, ‘Yes, I’m still looking at you.'”
He was able to piece together the stories from the LA Times and his childhood encounter to create what is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror franchises ever made. Though Krueger eventually devolved into a wise-cracking parody of himself in future sequels, some would argue that’s half the fun of him, and what gave him his longevity.
While the future of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise remains in question at the moment, true-crime lovers can check out The Real Murders on Elm Street when it hits ID and Max on September 9.