Ep. 152: Deadly Dreams

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. ________________________________________ Connect with us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/aintitscary Twitter: @aintitscary Instagram: @aintitscary Patreon: www.patreon.com/aintitscary Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/aint-it-scary?ref_id=27696 ___________________________________________ Thank you to our sponsors: Neuro Gum - Get up to 30% off your order of Neuro Gum at tryneurogum.com/aintitscary! Magic Mind - Get up to 56% off your subscription and 20% off your first order with our code SCARYSC2020 at MagicMind.co/aintitscary! MANSCAPED - Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code SCARYSQUAD at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod BetterHelp - Special offer for Ain’t it Scary? listeners: Get 10% off your first month at www.betterhelp.com/aintitscary Audible - Get a FREE audiobook and 30-Day Free Trial at www.audibletrial.com/aintitscary BarkBox - Enjoy a FREE month of BarkBox on us when you sign up for a 6 or 12-month BarkBox subscription! Visit www.barkbox.com/aintitscary for more details Hunt a Killer - Receive 20% off your first Hunt a Killer subscription box at www.huntakiller.com with the code SCARYSQUAD at checkout!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices