Secrets of A Nightmare On Elm Street
Symbols
I have a long relationship with Freddy...even before the film came out!
A few years before the film had been made I drew a picture of a guy wearing a red and green striped jumper. He wore a wide brimmed hat and had a metal claw on his right hand. There were no burns I have to point out. I had no notion of who this guy was I had just pieced him together from bits from comics and films.
Years later I saw ELM ST(anagram of MELTS)and recognised the design.
But there's more. A few years earlier I had a really scary dream about a bald man with a truly evil face who wore a black jumper with a roll neck. He came at me and transformed himself by stretching his fingers and nose down to the ground. This all took place in a weird place that was red like fire.
I told my older sister about this man and she said that she had dreamt about him too! The film was out by then but we had never seen it or heard of it. We were too young. When I saw the film and saw the bit where Freddy stretched his arms out I thought back to the dream and his elongated fingers. So before I had seen the film I had already drawn Freddy and had encountered a scary guy who had the ability to enter people's dreams.
Anyway I became very interested in ELM ST. And I started to notice things. In one scene Glen is driving his car and his number plate is visible. OGR BO5. To me it looked like OGRE BOSS. I came to the notion that Glen was behind it all. HE was the OGRE BOSS. Years later I saw SCREAM also by Craven. And the female hero has a boyfriend who is a clone of Jonny Depp. Skeet Ulrich. He also used to enter his girlfriend's bedroom by climbing a trellis, like Glen. It turns out that Skeet is the main villain in SCREAM. Was Craven saying something?
At some point I found out about a God called Tawsi Melek. He is a major figure in the Yezidi religion. The Yezidi are persecuted by Muslims because they believe Melek is satan. In the belief system of the Yezidi Tawsi Melek is one of the first beings to be created and is a kind of angel. In one story God told him to never bow to anyone. God created Adam and Eve and he asked the angels to bow to them. Tawsi wouldn't. He was following orders.It turns out it was a test to see how faithful he was. In Islam their devil Iblis is also asked to bow to Adam and Eve but refused to. He was banished from Heaven and became a devil. So Tawsi is a kind of devil. In one account he saw the flames of hell and wept until the fires were put out. I learned of all this and thought of Krueger. Tawsi Melek means Peacock King.
I watched ELM ST and noticed something. When Tina is killed by Freddy, on the wall behind her bed are TWO PEACOCKS. Coincidence? Maybe not. This room was the set that was able to spin so Tina is seen to be on the ceiling. So everything in the room was put there deliberatley.
Interesting. Peacocks are colourful. So is Freddy with his jumper. Peacocks spread out their tails. Freddy spreads out his arms.
Interesingly MELEK means king. And sounds like Molech which also means king. Both associated with fire. People sacrificed children to Molech. And they died in fire.
On the Wikipedia page for A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET it states that it's creator, Wes Craven, was inspired by eastern religions. I wonder if Tawsi Melek came to his attention.
So Tina had a symbol of evil on her wall and ended up dead. Nancy has two symbols of good protecting her.
When Freddy is pushing through the wall above where Nancy is sleeping the cross falls on the bed. The cover on the bed happens to be another symbol of Christianity. It is a NETwork of overlapping circles. Two overlapping circles are called the 'vesica pisces' and are of course related to fish. The number 153 relates to this symbol and is mentioned in a scene in the bible regarding the capture of fish. Read this explanation I found on the web...
"Also in John, Jesus miraculously helped his disciples catch a large number of fish at the Sea of Galilee -- 153, to be precise (John 21 : 11). In the aretalogy written by Porphyry, the great mathematician Pythagoras also performed this supernatural feat. Further, the Pythagoreans regarded 153 as a sacred number due to its use in a mathematical ratio called "the measure of the fish," which produces the mystical symbol of the vesica pisces -- the intersection of two circles which yields a fish-like shape. This "sign of the fish" is, of course, still widely used today as a symbol of Christianity (Freke/Gandy, 39)"
"I will make you fishers of men" Jesus once said..
Jesus appears to his disciples after his death(symbolised in ELM ST by the cross falling onto the bed-into the sleep of death) and he directs them the better way to catch fish. Here is the relevant passage from the bible...
John 21:1-11
1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tibe'ri-as; and he revealed himself in this way.
2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'a-el of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zeb'edee, and two others of his disciples were together.
3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you."
They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5 Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No."
6 He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish.
7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and sprang into the sea.
8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught."
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus directs them to cast their net over the RIGHT side of the boat. The RIGHT side is symbolic of good in the bible and elsewhere. Indeed the left hand is, as you know called SINISTER. Freddy wears his claw on his right hand and says of it "THIS is God." A moment of blasphemy?
"The net was not torn". The wall warped by Freddy was not torn. Nancy's bedclothes were not torn. She was not attacked by Freddy.
The circles on the bed are arranged in a net. Like the net that caught the fish. Here her bedclothes symbolise salvation and protection. What do we do when we are afraid in bed? We pull them over our heads. We also traditionally pray by the side of our beds.
There's more confirmation of this vesica pisces when Nancy gets out of bed and we see her nightshirt. It has the number 11 on it. Verse 11 of John 21 is where the 153 fish are mentioned.
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
There's more. In one scene in ELM ST we see Glen's parents. Nancy is trying to phone Glen but his parents won't put him through. His father cuts the call dead. Around his neck is a chain with a large golden upright triangle. The alchemical symbol of FIRE. Are Glen's parents also involved in burning Freddy to death? I think that is the idea.
It doesn't end there. It gets weird here. The name Krueger means different things according to what area of Germany it is used in. One meaning is someone who makes pots. As we would call a POTTER. As in Harry Potter? The name Frederick means peaceful ruler.
Both Harry and Freddy have prominent scars on their heads. Both survive death. Both are magical. Harry's school colours are yellow and red. In the first script for ELM ST Freddy's jumper is yellow and red. Harry wears glasses. In the opening scene of ELM ST we see Freddy making his claw. We see a table covered in random items. One is a pair of thick rimmed glasses. Maybe they are to protect the eyes from sparks. Maybe not. Go and see the film and decide for yourself. Freddy works and maybe lives in his boiler room. Harry sleeps under the stairs. Symbolically underground?
Harry isn't an evil killer but he contains a bit of evil in the form of Voldermort's evil soul. I think Harry Potter is a positive view of Krueger.
When I figured it out I did an internet search for Freddy Krueger+Harry Potter. I found nothing. Except a picture. The picture was one half Freddy's face and the other half Harry's face. Weird. Who made it? Go and look for it.
Maybe this is just a coincidence but before the Potter books and films came out I dreamt of them. I saw a huge gothic building and a gang of kids with special powers and owls were in the dream too. In the dream I became aware that this dream showed the "best films ever". The films and books have earned Rowling billions. But maybe the Star Wars films are more popular. I don't know.
I recently looked into the symbology of elm trees. I found this...
"In Celtic mythology, too, elm trees were associated with the Underworld. They had a special affinity with elves who guarded the burial mounds, their dead and the associated passage into the Underworld."
"Elm’s connection with death does not end there, as its wood is traditionally used to make coffins.The wood’s durability underground may have played a part in this choice. Perhaps people who knew elms well were reminded of their own mortality when remembering the elm’s reputation for dropping large boughs without warning on otherwise still, warm days. This led to the old saying “Elm hateth man, and waiteth.”"
"In spite of elm’s associations with death and the Underworld, people also looked to this tree for medicinal cures. The inner bark was chewed or boiled into a liquor to treat colds and sore throats, while the boiled bark was also used to treat burns."
One last mystery. Nancy is sent to a clinic to be tested. The doctor in charge is played by Charles Fleischer. His only ever other famous role was as the voice of Roger Rabbit. On the wall behind him is an unlikely looking poster for a clinic. A streetcar. It appears to also show two cartoonish people in animal suits.
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT involved a plot about streetcars. Look it up.
The name Fleischer means BUTCHER.
Oh, I forgot. When I discovered that Freddy was played by a guy called Robert I started to see the name everywhere connected to horror. IT by Stephen King came out the same year as ELM ST. Pennywise's human name was...Robert Gray. No explanation of why an interdimensional demon who KILLS AND FEEDS OFF KIDS would have such a name.
How about Chucky? He was based on a haunted doll called ROBERT.
Candyman? In the sequel we find out his name. Daniel Robitalle. One definition of that surname is ROBERT CUTS. Look it up.
Who's the creepiest guy in TEXAS CHAINSAW 2? Leatherface? No. The scariest guy is the creep with the metal plate in his head. His name? Robert Sawyer.
How about BOB from TWIN PEAKS? Who possesses a man and forces him to rape and kill his own daughter. Very Freddy.
HALLOWEEN? No Bobs? Myers kills a guy called Bob. He then puts on a sheet and Bob's glasses and pays a visit on Bob's girlfriend. She calls him Bob twice. Bob is a weird guy. In one scene he jokes about ripping the clothes off a child. Go watch it.
In the book of Revelation we have the devil cast out of heaven in the form of a dragon. chapter 13 verse 18 says..."this calls for wisdom.let those who have insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666."
6+6+6= 18. the 18th letter of the alphabet is R FOR ROBERT. Later we find out that the beast is made up of 18 people. So we have three 18's. verse, number 666 and 18 people.
How about THE OMEN? What is the antichrist in that film called? Damien Thorn. No Robert? No, but his adoptive father is called Robert. It is customary for a boy to take his middle name from his father's first name. So his full name is Damien Robert Thorn.
I could go on.
Look up the name Robert on wikipedia. One definition is GODLIKE. Very blasphemous.
Robert is an old name for the devil. Witches would use the name Robin when they conjured the devil. The name Hob is an old name for Satan. Hob is derived from Robert.
There is Robin Goodfellow who's clothes are red and green. He lures people into the woods so they become lost and die. He was once a human and found out about his powers in a dream. His other name is Puck. In Jason Vs Freddy Jason wears his usual hockey goalie mask. What is the aim of a hockey goalie? To stop the PUCK. In the film he stops Freddy(puck).
I found a book in the library years ago dealing with an ancient language(i forget which) I looked up the name Robert in the book. I found ROBET. Which means demon.
Obviously Robert is a common name but so is John. Where is the list of evil people called John? I can only think of the guy in the Jigsaw films and Red John in The Mentalist. Where are the good guys called Robert? There's something evil about that name. It sounds like ROB(steal) and HURT. I wonder why it is so popular. Maybe the devil likes it to be popular. Maybe he influences us with his mind to tell his story. Hence ELM ST.
Nancy is the heroine of the film. The name Nancy stems from Annis. There's an English monster called Black Annis...who has metal claws and kills children. Funny that.
There's one scene in ELM ST that puzzles me. It is near the end and Nancy is dreaming. She finds herself in Freddy's boiler room. She finds his bed and just tucked under a blanket she finds a crucifix. Is it the crucifix from the beginning of the film? Nancy also finds Glen's blood soaked headphones. But he was sucked into the dream world. Freddy never takes Tina's crucifix. Does it actually belong to Freddy? Is this monster a Christian? Who knows. There's more to know here.
Robert Englund, who plays Krueger, was acting in the TV show V at the time of Elm St being made. He plays a good reptilian alien called Willy. Strangely he wore a black glove on his right hand throughout the show because he had his fake human skin peeled off his hand to show he was an alien. They obviously couldn't have his hand covered in special effects for months so they had him wear the glove. Funny that.
Finally. In Hinduism there is a state of mind called Krodha. Which means anger.
Hope you enjoyed this post. If you want to comment here's my email..
dannyswain@hotmail.com