A Nightmare on Elm Street: Suffer the Children

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A Nightmare on Elm Street: Suffer the Children
ANoES Suffer the Children.png
Author David Bishop
LanguageEnglish
SeriesA Nightmare on Elm Street
Release number
1
GenreHorror
Publisher Black Flame
Publication date
26 April 2005
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages416
ISBN 9781844161720
OCLC 61259479
Followed by A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dreamspawn  

A Nightmare on Elm Street: Suffer the Children is a 2005 British horror novel written by David Bishop and published by Black Flame. [1] [2] A tie-in to the Nightmare on Elm Street series of American horror films, it is the first in a series of five Nightmare on Elm Street novels published by Black Flame and involves a group of teenagers who, after taking part in an anti-insomnia drug trial, find themselves being terrorized by supernatural killer Freddy Krueger. [3]

Contents

Plot

Alexandra Marie Corwin, a teenager with a history of self-harm brought on by her father abandoning her, has moved to Springwood, Ohio, with her mother, Joyce. The Corwins' new home, 1428 Elm Street, once belonged to Freddy Krueger, a serial child rapist and killer who, after being burned to death by angry parents, now haunts the Dream World. Alex begins having nightmares about Freddy, including at school, with an outburst she has in class landing her in detention with Peter O'Mahoney, an oft-bullied nerd who is being beaten by his father; Christopher Harris, an African American athlete whose father is constantly pressuring him to succeed; Heather Sutherland, a bulimic beauty queen whose alcoholic mother is living vicariously through her; Lloyd Reeves, a stoner and drug dealer; and Katherine Walker, a rebellious goth whose parents are devout Christians. Lloyd convinces the others to skip school the next day to participate in a paid anti-insomnia drug trial being held at the nearby Katja Institute.

During the trial, Freddy attacks the teens in their dreams, mutilating Lloyd severely enough that he falls into a coma after being rushed to Springwood General Hospital. Afterward, the other teens discover Freddy used the experimental drug to grant them supernatural powers, which he demands they use to kill people in his name, telling them, "You kill for me, or I will kill you." As the quintet tries to resist Freddy, Alex and Peter become romantically involved, as do Chris and Heather, despite their fears of racist backlash from Chris's respectability politics-obsessed father, Gideon, and Heather's "white trash" mother, Tammy. After Freddy murders Kat, one of the remaining four teens betrays the others and gives in to Freddy's demands, killing Peter's father, Chris's family, and Heather. These murders empower Freddy enough that he is able to use Lloyd's body as a conduit to physically manifest in Springwood General. As Freddy butchers the hospital's patients and staff, attracting police attention, he is confronted by Alex, Chris, and Peter. Freddy kills Chris, and Alex accidentally stabs Peter, who dies while expressing remorse over being the one who sided with Freddy. Alex is knocked out by Freddy and, in the Dream World, encounters Lloyd, who implores her to mercy kill him while he distracts Freddy. Alex wakes up and stabs Lloyd's body before being subdued by Sheriff Williams. With Peter and Lloyd dead and no longer able to act as his anchors in the waking world, Freddy is once again relegated to the Dream World.

Springwood officials suppress Freddy's involvement in the murders as part of a cover-up in which all of the deaths are blamed on Alex. Alex, having become catatonic after suffering a psychotic break, is judged unfit to stand trial and confined indefinitely to Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital. Freddy briefly possesses an orderly in order to visit Alex, who is revealed to be pregnant with Freddy's son, the result of Alex losing her virginity to Peter while Peter was secretly possessed by Freddy.

Publication

After Black Flame acquired the license to produce tie-in novels to New Line Cinema's Nightmare on Elm Street  series of horror films, author David Bishop submitted a pitch for Suffer the Children to Black Flame in September 2003 and, eight months later, was contracted to write a 95,000-word novel by the company after the pitch was approved by New Line Cinema. [4] [5]  Bishop's influences for the story included the 1980 Stephen King novel  Firestarter  and the script for an unproduced Nightmare on Elm Street sequel written by Peter Jackson. [6]  Bishop initially struggled with the writing process, having compared the synopsis he wrote for Suffer the Children to "the instructions of a confused dyslexic with Tourette's Syndrome after too many beers." [5]

Bishop plotted a sequel to the novel, titled House of 100 Maniacs, which would have seen the return of Alex Corwin, the protagonist of Suffer the Children. [4]  Bishop submitted a proposal for House of 100 Maniacs to Black Flame and New Line Cinema, but the book went unpublished; [6]  Bishop posted the outline for House of 100 Maniacs on his personal blog in November 2006. [7]

In 2006, Black Flame reprinted Suffer the Children as part of Ripped From a Dream: A Nightmare on Elm Street Omnibus, a compilation that included  Dreamspawn and Protégé , the two subsequent Nightmare on Elm Street novels published by Black Flame. [8]

Reception

In a dual review of Suffer the Children and its successor, Dreamspawn , he wrote for Science Fiction Chronicle , Don D'Ammassa concluded, "I wasn't really surprised by anything in either book, but both are quite suspenseful and do a good job of capturing the atmosphere of their inspiration." [9] Writing for The Boar , Reece Goodall criticized the book for having "very predictable" kills and expressed frustration over the cliffhanger ending, but found the novel to be an otherwise "solid read" with "generally good" characterization and a "well-written" Freddy Krueger. [10] In a review written for Rue Morgue , Joel Harley felt the book's characters were "well-drawn and distinct" and that the novel was "a faithful working" of the source material, but also opined that the dream sequences being so "grounded" was "a missed opportunity in the limitless budget afforded by the medium" and that, when it came to Freddy Krueger, author David Bishop struggled "to find the character's voice" even if he did succeed "in making Freddy scary again." [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i> (franchise) American supernatural slasher franchise

A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American supernatural slasher media franchise consisting of nine films, a television series, novels, comic books, and various other media. The franchise began with the film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), written and directed by Wes Craven. The overall plot of the franchise centers around the fictional character Fred "Freddy" Krueger, the apparition of a former child killer who was burned alive by the vengeful parents of his victims, who returns from the grave to terrorize and kill the teenage residents of the fictional Springwood, Ohio in their dreams. Craven returned to the franchise to co-script the second sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), and to write/direct Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). The films collectively grossed $472 million at the box office worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddy Krueger</span> Horror film character

Freddy Krueger is the antagonist of the A Nightmare on Elm Street horror film franchise. Created by Wes Craven, he made his debut in Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as the malevolent spirit of a child killer who had been burned to death by his victims' parents after evading prison. Krueger goes on to murder his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the real world as well. In the dream world, he is a powerful force and seemingly invulnerable. However, whenever Freddy is pulled back into the real world, he has normal human vulnerabilities and can be destroyed. He is commonly identified by his burned, disfigured face, dirty red-and-green-striped sweater and brown fedora, and trademark metal-clawed, brown leather, right hand glove. This glove was the product of Krueger's own imagination, having welded the blades himself before using it to murder many of his victims, both in the real and dream worlds. Over the course of the film series, Freddy has battled several reoccurring survivors including Nancy Thompson and Alice Johnson. The character was consistently portrayed by Robert Englund in the original film series as well as in the television spin-off Freddy's Nightmares.

<i>Wes Cravens New Nightmare</i> 1994 film by Wes Craven

Wes Craven's New Nightmare is a 1994 American meta supernatural horror film written and directed by Wes Craven, creator of 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street. A standalone film and the seventh installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, it is not part of the same continuity as previous films, instead portraying Freddy Krueger as a fictional movie villain who invades the real world and haunts the cast and crew involved in the making of the films about him. In the film, Freddy is depicted as closer to what Craven originally intended, being much more menacing and less comical, with an updated attire and appearance. The film stars Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Miko Hughes, and John Saxon.

<i>Freddys Nightmares</i> American horror anthology television series (1988–1990)

Freddy's Nightmares is an American horror anthology television series that aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series, each episode is introduced by Freddy Krueger and features two different stories. Eight episodes throughout the series actually feature Freddy Krueger as the main antagonist. The pilot episode, directed by Tobe Hooper, begins with Krueger's prosecution on child-murdering charges.

<i>Freddys Dead: The Final Nightmare</i> 1991 film by Rachel Talalay

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is a 1991 American slasher film and the sixth film in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. It is a sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child and was originally intended to be the final installment of the series; Wes Craven's New Nightmare was released three years later but takes place outside the series canon. A canonical crossover/sequel, Freddy vs. Jason, was released in 2003. This was New Line Cinema's first 3D film release.

<i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i> 1984 American slasher film by Wes Craven

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, and Johnny Depp in his film debut. The film's plot concerns a group of teenagers who are targeted by Krueger, an undead child killer who can murder people through their dreams, as retribution against their parents who burned him alive.

<i>A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors</i> 1987 film by Chuck Russell

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is a 1987 American Supernatural slasher film directed by Chuck Russell in his feature directorial debut. The story was developed by Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner and is the third installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, Larry Fishburne, Priscilla Pointer, Craig Wasson, and Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger. Nancy Thompson, now a psychiatrist, and Kristen, a patient who can bring others into her own dreams, team up with other kids to launch a daring rescue into the dreamland and save a child from Freddy Krueger.

Nancy Thompson (<i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i>) Main character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series

Nancy Thompson is a fictional character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. She first appears in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as a teenager hunted in her dreams by enigmatic serial killer Freddy Krueger. In this film, she was portrayed by Heather Langenkamp—who reprises the role in the sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). Langenkamp later portrayed a fictional version of herself who embodies the role of Nancy in Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). A reimagined version of the character, Nancy Holbrook, is portrayed by Rooney Mara in the 2010 remake.

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Tina Gray (<i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i>) Fictional character

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1428 Elm Street, also known as the Elm Street House, is a fictional residential house and street address in Springwood, Ohio, and is an important location in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, where it has been the home of Nancy Thompson and her mother, later Jesse Walsh and his family, and finally Lori Campbell and her father, throughout the film series. It has also been implied to have been Freddy Krueger's home at some point before the events that take place in the films. It appears in some form in nearly all the films, as well as literature, comic books, toys, and music videos. The house, like Freddy Krueger, Nancy Thompson, Tina Gray, and Kristen Parker, were all conceived by Wes Craven.

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<i>Freddy Kruegers A Nightmare on Elm Street</i>

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<i>A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dreamspawn</i>

A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dreamspawn is a 2005 British horror novel written by Christa Faust and published by Black Flame. A tie-in to the Nightmare on Elm Street series of American horror films, it is the second in a series of five Nightmare on Elm Street novels published by Black Flame and involves a group of high school girls who call fourth and attempt to control supernatural killer Freddy Krueger.

<i>A Nightmare on Elm Street: Protégé</i>

A Nightmare on Elm Street: Protégé is a 2005 British horror novel written by Tim Waggoner and published by Black Flame. A tie-in to the Nightmare on Elm Street series of American horror films, it is the third in a series of five Nightmare on Elm Street novels published by Black Flame and revolves around a teenager named Jerome Starkey as he attempts to prevent himself from falling under the thrall of supernatural killer Freddy Krueger.

<i>A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Dealers</i>

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Dealers is a 2006 British science fiction horror novel written by Jeffrey Thomas and published by Black Flame. A tie-in to the Nightmare on Elm Street series of American horror films, it is the fifth and final installment in a series of five Nightmare on Elm Street novels published by Black Flame and is set in a future where technological advancement has allowed for the recording and reliving of dreams, attracting the attention of supernatural killer Freddy Krueger.

References

  1. ↑ "B-Books Bring Movie Killers to the Written Page". classic-horror.com. Classic-Horror. 6 December 2004. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  2. ↑ Stephen Jones (2006). The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 17 . Constable & Robinson. Introduction: Horror in 2005. ISBN   9781845293154.
  3. ↑ Beverly Baer, ed. (2005). What Do I Read Next? 2005: A Readers Guide to Current Genre Fiction, Volume 2. Gale. p. 241. ISBN   9780787690229.
  4. 1 2 "Exclusive Interview: David Bishop". nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com. Nightmare on Elm Street Companion. 9 September 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  5. 1 2 Bishop, David (29 May 2006). "Making a Rod for Your Own Back". viciousimagery.blogspot.com. Vicious Imagery. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 Bishop, David (12 December 2007). "My Novels #11: Suffer the Children". viciousimagery.blogspot.com. Vicious Imagery. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  7. ↑ Bishop, David (27 November 2006). "The Nightmare That Never Was". viciousimagery.blogspot.com. Vicious Imagery. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  8. ↑ Lott, Rod (17 May 2006). "BL Publishing falls for more WARHAMMER, New Lines". bookgasm.com. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  9. ↑ "Critical Mass by Don D'Ammassa". Science Fiction Chronicle . Vol. 1, no. 261. United States: Warren Lapine. May 2005. p. 31.
  10. ↑ Goodall, Reece (6 November 2020). "The bizarre Elm Street spin-off novels: Ripped from a Dream". theboar.org. The Boar . Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Harley, Joel (3 July 2024). "Tie-In Me Up, Tie-In Me Down: A Nightmare on Elm Street: Suffer the Children Is One of Freddy's Nastiest Nightmares". rue-morgue.com. Rue Morgue . Retrieved 20 July 2024.
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