Before Freddy Krueger haunted dreams on Elm Street, a real-life nightmare plagued Hmong refugees—young men mysteriously dying in their sleep, a terrifying phenomenon that remains unexplained to this day.

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IN THIS EPISODE: Children dying in their sleep while having terrible nightmares. It’s not just a movie plot from a Wes Craven film – it really happened, and inspired the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. (The Terrifying True Syndrome That Inspired A Nightmare on Elm Street) *** We’re used to seeing someone on television or in movies die from a gunshot or stabbing, knowing they were just pretending – that the gun was using blanks, or the knife was using a retractable blade. But what we don’t often hear are the times that those prop weapons end up killing someone for real. (Death By Movie Prop) *** How can a little girl disappear in a big crowd of people with no one seeing anything? Was it a case of stranger danger or did someone she know betray her trust? We’ll look at the case of Beverly Rose Potts who went missing in 1951, never to be seen again. (Peril in the Park for Beverly Potts) *** Part medicine, part honey, part cannibalism… who or what was the mellified man? (The Mellified Man) *** They say that tragedy can change a person forever… and that couldn’t be more true for one man who went from being considered lucky, to becoming deranged after a horrible accident, (The Hidden Wounds of Mr. Schultz) *** Famous last words. Humphrey Bogart said, “I should have never switched from Scotch to martinis.” Winston Churchill’s last words were simply, “I’m bored with it all.” But sometimes what a person says on their deathbed can be shocking or outlandish – even if they aren’t a celebrity. We’ll look at a few unexpected deathbed moments. (Deathbed Moments)

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Disclaimer and Lead-In
00:00:57.978 = Show Open
00:03:35.464 = The Terrifying True Syndrome That Inspired The Creation of Freddy Krueger
00:11:44.934 = Death By Movie Prop
00:18:05.927 = Peril In The Park For Beverly Potts
00:33:09.271 = The Mellified Man
00:40:10.025 = The Hidden Wounds of Mr. Schultz
00:45:26.081 = Deathbed Moments
00:55:36.657 = Show Close

SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
Episode Page at WeirdDarkness.com: https://weirddarkness.com/NightmareOnElmStreet
“The Terrifying True Syndrome That Inspired The Creation of Freddy Krueger” by Thad Morgan for History.com:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/37xp3v22 (“1..2..Freddy’s Coming For You” by Remix Maniacs:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhKRXHnYqN4)
“Peril in the Park for Beverly Potts” by Crystal Dawn for LostNFoundBlogs.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/x7yuy3kh
“Death By Movie Prop” written by Juliet Bennet Rylah for Graveyard Shift: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/59rx9j2z
“The Mellified Man” by Bipin Dimri for Historic Mysteries: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yz2k5kw5
“The Hidden Wounds of Mr. Schultz” by Kathi Kresol for Haunted Rockford: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3m8mnpy2
“Deathbed Moments” by Mike Lawrence for ListVerse: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/24rppfx5
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Originally aired: September 27, 2021
TRANSCRIPT: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/45hj3enr