Dream Walking

Consciousness in the nightmare; the only weapon that can stop Freddy Krueger.

Dream Walking is a power demonstrated by Kristen Parker, who is able to enter a dream where she finds herself in front of the Elm Street House. In this dream state, she interacts with children playing outside and follows a little girl into the house's basement, where a furnace lights up revealing skulls and screams. When the girl says "daddy's home," Kristen is chased by Freddy Krueger, who attempts to slash her with his glove before she manages to escape.

Quick Facts

Nature

Supernatural Ability; Psychic Phenomenon

Primary users

Nancy Thompson
Quentin Smith
Kristen Parker

First appearance

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Affiliation

Elm Street Survivors; Resistance

Requirement

Extreme Mental Focus and Lucidity

Status

Active but Rare

Lore & Background

The film's premise revolving around Krueger, an undead child killer who murders teenagers through their dreams. It mentions that Nancy Thompson falls asleep in class and dreams of being chased in a boiler room, and later falls asleep in a bathtub where she is nearly drowned by the man. Nancy relies on caffeine to stay awake and invites Glen to watch her as she sleeps. In her nightmare, she sees Krueger preparing to kill Rod Lane before he turns his attention to her. Krueger was burned alive by parents seeking vigilante justice after being released on a technicality for killing 20 children. It states Nancy realizes Krueger targeted her and her friends because their parents were accomplices.

Reader's Guide

She relies on caffeine to stay awake and invites Glen to watch over her as she sleeps. In one instance, Nancy grabs the man's fedora with the name "Fred Krueger" written in it and pulls it into the real world. Later, she rigs booby traps in her house to lure Krueger out of her nightmare and into the real world. Krueger is fueled by his victims' fear, leading Nancy to calmly turn her back on him, causing him to evaporate. No instructions on maintaining lucidity or training for dream manipulation are present.

Did You Know?

Make-up artist David B. Miller designed Krueger's disfigured face based on photographs of burn victims obtained from the UCLA Medical Center.
Robert Shaye has two uncredited roles as broadcasters for local television news and KRGR Radio station.
Wes Craven chose to make Krueger's sweater red and green after reading a 1982 Scientific American article stating these colors are the most clashing to the human retina.