The action of A Nightmare On Elm Street takes place a generation after the death of Freddy Krueger, but at what age did the slasher villain die? When Wes Craven came up with dream demon Freddy, it’s unlikely the horror legend knew how influential the slasher would be in years to come. Spoofed by everything from Rick & Morty to The Simpsons, the razor-gloved dream invader remains one of horror’s most famous faces.
Freddy’s first appearance, 1984’s A Nightmare On Elm Street, gave the character a brief backstory that went some way to explaining his evil. According to the movie, Freddy was burned alive by the parents of Springwood for killing their kids and swore to wreak vengeance from beyond the grave. Inexplicably, the A Nightmare On Elm Street remake originally opened with the sight of Freddy succumbing to his injuries in hospital, but this was later cut and thus far the franchise has not actually depicted Freddy dying onscreen.
It is just as well the series hasn’t since it turns out A Nightmare On Elm Street’s chronology makes Freddy far younger than a lot of viewers may expect. According to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Freddy was born in 1942 and burned to death in 1968, making him only 26 when he died. However, neither of Freddy’s screen iterations could actually pass for this age, with Robert Englund being 37 at the time of shooting the first film while A Nightmare On Elm Street remake’s Freddy Krueger Jackie Earle Haley was 49.
During the various flashbacks that are strewn throughout the franchise, like those that appear in Freddy's Dead and the later Freddy Vs Jason, the character appeared to be in his 40s or 50s (depending on actor Robert Englund's actual age when he shot those scenes). However, Freddy’s canon backstory says he was born to the nun Amanda Krueger in 1942 and was later burned to death in 1968. It’s hard to picture Freddy being 26 in his brief backstory flashbacks no matter which actor is playing the role, although it is certainly impossible to imagine Haley’s version being less than 30.
However, there is an argument to be made that Freddy’s Dead scenes are unreliable flashbacks, as any glimpses the series has into Freddy’s head are mediated by madness. Freddy is at the very least unhinged and at worst divorced from reality, doubly so because of his status as an immortal supernatural being by the time the sequels take place. As a result, Freddy’s Dead flashbacks could arguably be viewed as a delusional retelling of events rather than a depiction of reality. It’s an imperfect solution, certainly, but one that makes some sense of why A Nightmare On Elm Street’s villain looks over 50 when he supposedly died at barely half that age in canon.