Is Nancy’s house from the original ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ real?

Back in August, I made a note to myself to find out where the houses from some of my favorite horror movies were located. Among them was the house from A Nightmare on Elm Street. “The house,” of course, being the iconic one from the original movie. Nancy’s house.

Amazingly, I’d never wondered about it before. It was a shocking epiphany similar to the one I had when author Priscilla Bettis got me wondering if Friday the 13th was inspired by a true story. (Which ended up leading to the first serialized season on the Haunt Jaunts podcast, Haunting American True Crimes.)

Because I’d never wondered such a thing, could I still really consider myself a diehard fan or count it as one of my favorite horror movies?

Who knows? But I was curious if Nancy’s house was real or just part of a studio’s neighborhood backlot. I didn’t look into it right away, though.

The Nightmare on Elm Street Collection

However, I was reminded I wanted to earlier this week when I settled down to enjoy a little TV break and discovered HBO Max’s a Nightmare on Elm Street collection.

To my streaming heart’s delight, they have every Freddy Kruger movie in the series, from the original 1984 film that launched the franchise to Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Freddy vs. Jason, and the 2010 A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot.

Side note: HBO Max actually has quite a lot of horror movies. I was probably remiss not including them on the list of streaming options for horror fans.

Because the original is my favorite and I hadn’t watched it in a while, I settled upon it. As soon as I saw Nancy’s house, I again wondered, “Is it real?”

Nancy’s House

It didn’t look like part of a backlot. It looked like a real neighborhood. If that was the case, where was Nancy’s house located then?

Well, the Universe helped my lazy butt out and dropped the answer straight in my lap —er, laptop. The only effort I put forth was opening Twitter this morning.

That’s when I saw a Tweet from @SassySledgehmmr with a link to an article on Deadline: “‘A Nightmare on Elm Street House’ For Sale – But Price Not Slashed.” (And kudos to author Bruce Haring if he also crafted that clever headline.)

Nancy’s house is very real, but not located in Springwood, Ohio, like it is in the movie. Nor is it located on Elm Street. Although, part of its address is real. In the movie, it’s 1428 Elm Street. The real address is 1428 North Genesee Avenue in Los Angeles, California.

The Listing for Nancy’s House

As its listing on Zillow says, “Cinephiles will immediately recognize Wes Craven’s iconic Elm Street facade.”

Apparently, this listing is fresh as of October 20, 2021. It doesn’t have the red front door, nor does the inside look anything like it does in the film. But the modern 3-bedroom, 5-bath, 2,700 sq. ft. home boasts a lot of space and modern touches, in addition to a pool and a detached guest house.

And the asking price? $3,250,000.

I always think I would like to own a haunted house, but now that I know Nancy’s house is real? And has a guest house, pool, and is surrounded by citrus trees in a walkable neighborhood? This is my actual dream home! Nightmares featuring Freddy would even be welcome!

Check-In

Which house from a horror movie would you like to really live in?

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.