Never Meet Your Heroes… Except Sometimes
The old saying goes: never meet your heroes.
Most of the time, that statement turns out to be true — but there are always exceptions.
Fortunately for me, Robert Englund and his wife Nancy are one of those exceptions.
The Birth of a Horror Fan
Back in 2004, I started and ran a horror store that sold all kinds of horror movie merchandise. As a lifelong horror fan since early childhood, owning a horror shop was a dream come true.
Freddy Krueger was one of my earliest introductions to horror when I was about eight years old. One of my older neighbours brought over a VHS copy of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and I was instantly hooked — terrified, adrenaline-filled, and unable to look away.
Freddy Mania in the 80s
I still remember being mesmerized by the giant cardboard display for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors at the video rental store.
Growing up in Canada in the 80s, it felt like Freddy Krueger was everywhere.
And of all the horror icons before and after, Robert Englund has always been the one most inseparably tied to his role. No one embodies a horror character the way Robert embodies Freddy.
Why Freddy Was Different
Freddy wasn’t just scary — the concept was terrifying. You could die in your sleep. Everyone needs to sleep, which means everyone is vulnerable. That idea alone set Freddy apart.
But what truly made Freddy unforgettable was the personality behind the monster — the swagger, the dark humour, the charismatic evil. Beneath the burned skin was a theatrical, taunting, almost rock-star energy that only Robert Englund could deliver.
To me, no one will ever replace him. His portrayal is iconic and irreplaceable.
The Pinball Machine, The Shop, and a Chance Connection
When I had my store in the early 2000s, I even had the Freddy Krueger pinball machine in the back, along with several Sideshow Collectibles figures from the franchise.
By some amazing stroke of luck, I got in touch with Nancy Englund, Robert’s wife. We exchanged emails, and I sent her pictures of the shop and the pinball machine. She told me they actually owned the same machine at home — and even offered to have Robert sign mine if I shipped the backglass to them.
I never got the chance to follow through, as I had to sell the machine and close the shop to cover debts.
But I did mail them a couple of Freddy figures, and Robert signed them and sent them back to me — something I will always treasure.
A Star on the Walk of Fame — Long Overdue
So it brings me a ton of joy to see Robert finally receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — a star that is beyond well-deserved by a true icon of the horror genre, and one of my childhood heroes.
In a genre where not every legend lives up to the myth, Robert Englund absolutely does.
Congratulations, Robert.
