Freddy Krueger has claimed many victims in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, and here's an accounting of everyone Freddy has killed. In life, Freddy terrorized a quiet suburban town called Springwood, earning the nickname "The Springwood Slasher." That would have been bad enough, but what made Freddy Krueger just that much more abhorrent was that he almost exclusively killed children. There was also the subtle implication in the original series that he was sexually assaulting his victims as well, with that subtext becoming full-on text in the poorly received 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Freddy himself was, of course, the product of his mother being sexually assaulted by a group of criminally insane men after she was accidentally locked inside an asylum, which means his life began on its own awful note, although Freddy Krueger's horrific origin story certainly doesn't excuse his crimes. As has become horror movie legend, Freddy was eventually hunted down by the parents of his victims and burned alive in an act of vigilante justice. Sadly, this only gave Freddy more power, due to his striking of a deal with some ancient dream demons, as revealed by Freddy's Dead.
As silly as the dream demon thing is, the long and short of it is that Freddy had the ability to target people at their most vulnerable, while they're asleep. That said, he's actually killed quite a few people in the waking world over the course of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, more than many would probably expect. Here's a round-up of every confirmed Freddy kill to date, including the original six-movie continuity, the meta spinoff Wes Craven's New Nightmare, the Freddy vs. Jason crossover, the 2010 remake, and the Freddy's Nightmares TV show.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Arguably director Wes Craven's best film, the original A Nightmare on Elm Street saw Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) return from the grave in dreams to kill the remaining children of those who burned him to death. His first victim was Tina Gray, who Freddy infamously cut open and dragged along the ceiling, effectively framing her boyfriend Rod Lane for Tina's death. Rod was Freddy's next victim, with Freddy hanging him via bed sheet in jail, making it look like a suicide out of guilt. Freddy gave up trying that tactic when he next killed Nancy's boyfriend Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp), dragging him into his bed and turning him into a literal fountain of blood. Freddy's final kill in his debut film was of Nancy's mother Marge Thompson, who he jumped on while on fire, although the overall death made little sense.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
The infamously weird Nightmare on Elm Street 2 saw Freddy attempt to possess teenager Jesse Walsh, and use him to kill in the real world. Through Jesse, Freddy slashes naked S&M enthusiast Coach Schneider to death in the school shower, then next buries his knife glove into the body of Jesse's friend Ron Grady. After fully taking Jesse (almost played by Michael J. Fox) over, Freddy goes on a rampage at a pool party, stabbing two random party guests, and burning three others alive. Hilariously, one guest tries to talk Freddy down and was, of course, slashed to death for his trouble. That puts Freddy at a confirmed onscreen kill count of 12 after two movies.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
A direct sequel to the original Nightmare on Elm Street, Dream Warriors got Freddy back into top form, targeting teens at a mental hospital. His first victim was Philip Anderson, who, in an absolutely sadistic kill, was turned into a human puppet and forced to jump off a tower to his death. Then came Jennifer Caulfield, who was smashed through a TV, following Freddy's immortal "Welcome to primetime, b*tch!" line. Next was recovering addict Taryn White, with Freddy turning his knives into syringes and overdosing her. Will Stanton, a.k.a. the Wizard Master, was stabbed with Freddy's glove. Freddy's final two kills of the movie were Nancy's dad Donald Thompson (impaled on a car fin), and Nancy herself (stabbed to death).
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Freddy fully morphed into a silly quipster in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, but he was still adept at taking life. Dream Warriors survivors Roland Kincaid, Joey Krusel, and Kristen Parker were first on the menu, being stabbed, drowned in a water bed, and burned alive, respectively. With the original Elm Street children dead, Freddy moved on to smart girl Sheila Kopecky, essentially kissing her to death, although it looked like an asthma attack in the real world. Freddy then had a ridiculous karate battle with new heroine Alice's brother Rick Johnson, ending by Freddy Krueger's knife glove. Freddy's final victim in the film was Debbie Stevens, who he turned into a cockroach and crushed in a disgusting display of practical special effects.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 boasts easily the smallest body count for a movie in the franchise, one of the reasons it's generally not too well-regarded. The three kills themselves are quite inventive, though. First, there's Alice's boyfriend Dan Jordan, who's melded with his motorcycle and caused to die in a car wreck. Greta Gibson gets it the worst, being fed her own insides by Freddy in a chef's hat, in arguably the harshest Freddy Krueger kill ever. The last victim of Nightmare 5 was comic book fan Mark Gray (no relation to Tina), who fought "Super Freddy" inside a comic book, and lost badly. That puts Freddy at a total kill count of 27 so far.
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
While Freddy's Dead is far from a great movie, it does offer some interesting looks at Freddy's human past, including how he got his powers. These flashbacks also reveal two more confirmed onscreen kills, with Freddy killing his abusive stepfather Mr. Underwood, and strangling his wife Loretta after she discovers his double life. In the film's present, Freddy kills Carlos Rodriguez by magnifying his hearing until his head explodes, then turns Spencer Lewis into a video game, killing him there. Finally, Freddy killed "John Doe," not with his glove, but by causing him to fall onto a bed of spikes, Looney Tunes-style.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
These kills are being noted for completeness' sake, but probably shouldn't be counted on Freddy's kill count, as the ancient entity in Wes Craven's New Nightmare that's doing the killing isn't technically Freddy, it just looks like him. "Freddy" kills four people in New Nightmare, slashing up special effects guys Chuck Wilson and Terry Feinstein, causing Heather Langenkamp's husband Chase Porter to die in a car crash, and snapping babysitter Julie McKenna's neck after dragging her on the ceiling like Tina.
Freddy vs. Jason
While there's lots of death in Freddy vs. Jason, most of the killing is done by Jason. In fact, Freddy only kills one person in the crossover film, which admittedly plays into him turning on Jason later. Freddy sets Mark Davis, the friend of Freddy vs. Jason final girl Lori's boyfriend Will Rollins, on fire, then slashes his face, sending the message that he's back in Springwood. That puts Freddy's onscreen kill count at 33, not counting New Nightmare.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
As much as many Elm Street fans might want to ignore the 2010 A Nightmare on Elm Street remake, it's still technically Freddy Krueger doing the kills, now played by Jackie Earle Haley. Freddy's first kill is Dean Russell, by slit throat. He then moves on to Kris Fowles, who's offed in a manner similar to Tina Gray. Kris' boyfriend Jesse Braun is accused of her murder, and Freddy stabs him to death in jail. Freddy also kills Marcus Yeon by slamming his head into a computer screen. His final kill of the remake is in the last scare, jumping out of a mirror to kill heroine Nancy Holbrook's mom Gwen.
Freddy's Nightmares TV Show
Rounding out Freddy Krueger's kill count is Freddy's Nightmares, the short-lived TV show that premiered in 1988. Freddy mostly just hosted the episodes, but he did sometimes function as the main villain. In the premiere episode "No More Mr. Nice Guy," which retells Freddy's backstory and death, Freddy kills a cop named Lou, the district attorney Michael Deeks, and Tim Blocker, the high-ranking cop who killed him in this version. In "Freddy's Tricks and Treats," Freddy murders Zach, an unethical sleep researcher. In "Sister's Keeper," Freddy torments the twin daughters of Tim Blocker, killing Lisa. In the season 1 finale, "Safe Sex," Freddy kills a teenager named Dana for wanting a goth girl Freddy is possessive of, then later kills the girl herself, named Caitlin.
To start season 2, Freddy takes out a psychiatrist named Brandon Kefler, and a news cameraman named Gary Heath in "Dream Come True." Freddy adds three to his kill count in "Photo Finish," including an FBI agent. In "Dreams That Kill," Freddy slashes tabloid talk show host Charlie Nichols. In the last Freddy's Nightmares episode before cancellation, "It's My Party and You'll Die If I Want You To," Freddy kills seven people, some at his own high school reunion. That leaves Freddy Krueger with an onscreen kill count of 58 in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, 62 if New Nightmare is included.