Undated Film Still Handout from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Pictured: Freddy Krueger. Freddy Krueger is a character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He first appeared in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as the spirit of a serial killer who uses a gloved hand with razors to kill his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the real world as well.