A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) original Freddy Krueger glove is up for auction

November 9th will mark the thirty-ninth anniversary of the release of writer/director Wes Craven‘s classic A Nightmare on Elm Street – and on that same day, a fan with a large amount of money to spare is going to find themselves the owner of (parts of) an original Freddy Krueger glove that was used during the production of both A Nightmare on Elm Street and A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge! The glove is up for auction on PropstoreAuction.com with an opening bid of £100,000 and is expected to go for a price somewhere in the range of £200,000 to £400,000. The auction ends on November 9th.

Here’s the information on the glove. Note that the metal pieces on the glove (including the blade fingers) are the original element, and have been placed on a replica leather glove: Freddy Krueger’s (Robert Englund) screen-matched hero metal glove armour and razor blade fingers, with an original hand-drawn design schematic, from Wes Craven’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street and Jack Sholder’s sequel A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge. The glove armour and razor blade fingers screen-match to multiple shots in the seminal, genre-defining A Nightmare on Elm Street film, as well as multiple shots and publicity photos from the sequel. The original designer Jim Doyle and fabricator Lou Carlucci of this unforgettable piece have confirmed that this was the sole hero glove with metal blades fabricated for the original film and re-used in the sequel; two stunt gloves with plastic blades were also created. This piece was also utilised as a reference to production on the third Nightmare film, but the original leather glove element of the piece was lost to time and additional paintwork (since removed) was applied. The original metalwork is currently presented on a replica leather glove.

The backplate, finger-stalls, and infamous “razor blades” (blades are unsharpened) are all original, and have several unique characteristics that distinguish them from gloves made for later films. Jim Doyle attached the stainless steel “razor” blades to the finger stalls with silver braze, as he wanted them to be especially strong. The blades on later gloves were typically attached with softer standard lead solder. The silver braze also had a nicer aesthetic and patina. Fabricator Carlucci had to tackle a core challenge of making the metal finger covers work practically, so the glove was capable of full range of motion; this process of trial-and-error left several indicators on the interior of the metal components that distinguish it as the original (in addition to the on-screen matches), such as an uneven semi-circle cut on the middle finger.

The silver braze solder seams, simulating welded seams, are unique and screen match to many close-up shots in both the original film and the sequel. The metalwork was cleaned up for the production of the sequel, with the red colouring visible on the fingertips in the first film largely removed. Some rivets were also replaced at that time. The metal armour and blades were originally held onto the leather glove’s fingers with a series of rings. These rings were later removed, possibly during production on the third film, though remnants of them are still visible on the armature’s interior. Replica rings have been lightly tacked into the finger interiors to allow the metalwork to be displayed on a replica leather work glove, as the original leather glove is no longer present.

Of special note is the index-finger blade, which is cut and re-welded just past the end of the fingertip. This was done for a deleted scene in the original film in which the index-finger blade is broken off of the glove. The re-attachment and accompanying weld are visible in many images from the sequel.

This is the original, first-ever hero version of what is now one of the most recognizable film props in the history of the horror genre. Accompanying it is Mechanical Special Effects Coordinator Jim Doyle’s original hand-drawn schematic for the iconic glove, rendered in pencil and ink on graph paper with a Doyle Enterprises stamp, which was approved by director Craven before fabrication began; a Letter of Authenticity from both Carlucci and Doyle confirming that this glove is the only metal-bladed hero glove made for the film; and a second Letter of Authenticity from Doyle for the schematic. The glove’s metal elements exhibit some scuffing and discolouration from use and age, and the schematic exhibits creasing, smudging, and edge wear.

In A Nightmare on Elm Street, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger, a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams — which, in turn, kills them in reality. After investigating the phenomenon, Nancy begins to suspect that a dark secret kept by her and her friends’ parents may be the key to unraveling the mystery, but can Nancy and her boyfriend Glen solve the puzzle before it’s too late?

The film stars Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Amanda Wyss, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, and Nick Corri, with Robert Englund as the iconic Freddy Krueger.

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