Springwood is a suburban neighborhood located in Springwood County in Ohio. It is located only a short distance from the town of Westin Hills.

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On its surface Springwood appears as an idyllic community with middle-class and upper middle-class families, good schooling, good jobs, and public facilities, but Springwood also harbors a dark and bloody past.

 

In the late 1960s, a sadistic child murderer named Fred Krueger began abducting neighbhorhood children. He would bring them back to a boiler room at the Springwood power plant where he worked. Using a leather glove fitted with razor finger knives, he would have his way with these children, and ultimately kill them. Krueger's reign of terror earned him the sobriquet, "The Springwood Slasher".

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Krueger was eventually captured and put on trial, but due to a legal technicality, the courts were unable to imprison him. The parents of Springwood were outraged, and decided to take matters into their own hands. They tracked Krueger down to his boiler room, locked him inside, and set the place to the torch. Fred Krueger burned to death in the blaze, but this was hardly the end for him. His soul had been chosen by three dream demons to serve as their agent in trying to break down the barriers between the dream world and the real world. Given great power, Freddy Krueger could now haunt people in their darkest nightmares. Whatever torment he caused them in their dreams was reflected in the real world, including their deaths.

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As a dream demon, Freddy now had the power to exact his revenge against those responsible for his death. It was the fear generated by those he visited that gave him his power. He specifically targeted the children of the ones who burned him, most of whom lived on Elm Street. Several teenagers dreamed of Freddy, but few were willing to talk about it at length. Those that did, spoke of a hideously burned man with a dirty hat, a red and green striped sweater and a leather glove fitted with four straight razors.

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Freddy's first major foray into the world of demonic slaughter took place in 1984, when he went after several teenagers who were the children of his killers. Although the people of Springwood had to once again deal with the trauma of unexplained murders, few actually understood what was happening. One of Freddy's potential victims, Nancy Thompson, found a way to defeat him, but refusing to submit to the fear he inspired, and thus robbing him of his power.

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Krueger always found a way to come back however. Throughout the 1980s, he continued to target select teenagers, many of whom were students at Springwood High School. Freddy always had a trick up his sleeve, and would experiment with his powers in innovative ways, even going so far as to take possession of some people.

 

By 1999, the adults of Springwood had become very well aware of exactly who Freddy Krueger, and what influence he had over the dreams of others. To counteract this threat, members of the community determined that making people forget about Krueger would rob him of his power. To this end, they also coordinated with the staff at Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital, to prescribe copious amounts of Hypnocil to their patients, which was a dream suppressant. This tactic proved to be moderately successful and for the next four years, the town of Springwood knew peace.

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FREDDY KRUEGER, FIRST KNOWN VICTIMS

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In the early 1980s, the monstrous dream demon known as Freddy Krueger began tormenting the teenage populace of Elm Street by stalking and killing them in their dreams. Although Krueger was generally successful with each of his victims, one girl in particular, Nancy Thompson, continued to elude him. Freddy decided to go after Nancy by attacking her boyfriend, Glen. Glen was in his bedroom lying down with headphones and a small television resting on his stomach. His mother entered the room and asked him what he was watching. He indicated that Miss Nude America was scheduled to make an appearance on a television program. Mrs. Lantz asked how he was expected to hear what she had to say while wearing headphones, to which Glen responded, "Who cares what she says?" When Nancy called the house hoping to speak to Glen, Mrs. Lantz answered the phone. She asked her what she wanted, but her husband took the phone receiver from her and rudely told Nancy that Glen was asleep and that she would have to call him back later. After hanging up, he told his wife, "You have to be firm with these kids". Shortly thereafter, Glen did in fact fall asleep and was now easy prey for Freddy Krueger. Freddy used his powers to pull Glen into the folds of his bed, leaving behind a dark, gaping hole. Moments later, a violent geyser of blood vomited forth from the bed, covering the walls and ceiling. Mrs. Lantz entered the room, screaming in terror. The police were called in to investigate the crime scene and found the sea of blood had begun leaking through the floorboards into the rooms downstairs. The county coroner was so repulsed by the image that he spent the entire time in the bathroom throwing up. From behind her barred windows across the street, Nancy watched the police and emergency vehicles pull up to the house and knew that Glen was dead.