Freddy Krueger has been an icon of horror movies and Halloween ever since he appeared in the first Nightmare on Elm Street film in 1984. A Freddy Krueger Halloween costume can be created using a few tips and ideas to create the look of the killer.

Freddy Krueger is the fictional serial killer from the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies. According to a legend in the movie, Freddy was a child murderer known as the Springwood Slasher in the early 1960s who managed to escape prosecution due to a technicality. As a result, the outraged parents of Springwood followed Krueger back to an abandoned boiler room and set the place on fire, burning Freddy alive as their own form of justice.http://nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com/timelinemain.html As a result, Freddy now stalks their children in their dreams.

A Freddy Krueger costume will need to consist of four things:

1. His red and green sweater.
2. His old brown fedora.
3. A burned complexion.
4. The glove with four metallic talons he always wore on his right hand.

• Amazingly, although Freddy's face burned in the fire, his red and green striped sweater has always been unsinged and remarkably blood free. However, finding such a sweater for your costume can be a little tricky (although some costume stores do sell them), which is why you will most likely need to make one. Here's how to do it:

1. Start with a red sweater. If you cannot find one, try to find a light colored sweater and dye it red or use a red sweatshirt.
2. Cover large horizontal stripes on the sweater with masking tape. The tape will help make clean lines.
3. Using fabric paint], dye the uncovered areas green.http://www.familycorner.com/family/kids/crafts/stars_stripes_shirt.shtml Since you are coloring over red, use a lighter shade of green.

• Another method of coloring a red sweater uses duct tape and green spray paint. Duct tape stripes onto the sweater and then spray paint the rest of it.http://www.misinformer.com/archive/2003/10/31/ If you have a red sweater that you don't want to permanently color, get a roll of green duct tape and simply tape stripes onto it. If you're really desperate, you can use a combination of red and green duct tape and make a Freddy sweater out of any color shirt.

• Unless you're recycling an Indiana Jones costume, you probably don't have a fedora lying around. Therefore, you have two options, either to make one or to purchase one. Quality fedoras can be expensive and it may be more within your budget to simply buy a cheap black fedora and color it with brown pastel chalk.http://www.misinformer.com/archive/2003/10/31/

• If you decide to try and make the fedora, there are step-by-step tutorials available on the Internet. The Costumer's Manifesto website provides an excellent, step-by-step guide on how you can make your own fedora out of wool felt.http://www.costumes.org/Advice/costcraftsmanual/tmpjk10.htm

• As explained earlier, Freddy's face is scarred from having been burned in the fire. There are various methods you can use to create this look. Since Krueger is bald, you will also need to either tie your hair back (which will be covered with the hat) or wear a bald wig or an old swim cap.
  1. Combine pink and green face tissue with corn syrup.http://www.allhallowseve.com/makeup/index.html
  2. Ground rouge and charcoal over the top of Vaseline.http://usscouts.org/safety/safeblood.asp
  3. Paint your face with red makeup. Then, coat it with a layer of latex scar material and paint it with more red makeup.http://www.misinformer.com/archive/2003/10/31/
  4. Use unflavored gelatin, vegetable oil, and liquid latex.http://www.hauntyourhome.com/howto/makeup/burns.htm You apply the gelatin to your skin and then cover it with liquid latex for a more realistic appearance.

• While it might be "cool" to have a metal Freddie Krueger glove, it is generally not practical and can be considerably expensive. You can purchase plastic ones. While these do not look very good, they can be enhanced using cardboard covered with aluminum repair tape.http://www.misinformer.com/archive/2003/10/31/ Others have also made the glove entirely out of duct tape.http://www.ducttapeclub.com/ducktivities/gallery.asp?slideshowid=2&DetailID=357

• However, a simpler method to make the gloves may be to use cardboard and paper mache. Paper mache paste is made with flour and water and should be the consistency of a thick soup.http://www.deepcreektimes.com/kids/june2002.html You can use regular flour, but unbleached flour is supposed to work better.http://www.papiermache.co.uk/tutorials/make-a-papier-mache-mask/

• 1. Mix flour and water until it is a little thinner than glue or like a thick soup.http://www.american.edu/IRVINE/jenn/mask.htm
  2. Add about a teaspoon of salt to the mix. The salt will help prevent mold.http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/papermache/a/blpmpastes.htm
  3. You can add a little white glue to make the paste stronger.http://www.deepcreektimes.com/kids/june2002.html
  4. Stir the mixture until you have dissolved most of the lumps.

• Either draw your own blades or use the template provided and cut out four blades from cardboard. Then, cover them with a couple of layers of newspaper dipped in paper mache paste. You can then paint the claws or cover them with aluminum foil tape. Attach them to the glove using tape or paper mache (either before or after you paint them).