ELM Treat: A Victim Or Villain

I think A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is so popular because of its inventive antagonist; A villain that terrorizes victims in an inescapable world where the victim has little to no power.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was inspired by reportedly true events. Wes Craven read and clipped articles from the L.A. Times about a young man who died during a nightmare. The young man and his family had come out of a relocation camp in Southeast Asia and were living in California. He would have these severe nightmares to the point of staying awake as much as possible; he would spit out prescription sleeping pills when his parents weren’t looking, and he kept a coffee pot in his bedroom closet. The article went on to say his dad brought him to his room after he fell asleep on the couch watching tv, thinking he was finally sleeping peacefully the family went to bed. Later that night they were awoken by him screaming and thrashing around and before they got him, he was dead. An autopsy later showed there was no sign of why he died. The inspiration from this event launched one of the most popular horror series and notorious movie slashers.
The essence of Freddy’s character was inspired by an experience Wes Craven had when he was a little boy. Wes heard a man walking outside of his bedroom window
Tina begins to describe the man in her dreams; it reminds Nancy of a dream she had and they realize the dreamt about the same man. While laying in bed that night Rod tells Tina he's also been having nightmares, but hints he doesn’t want to talk about it and they both go to sleep. While asleep, Tina is begins to dream and is stalked by the badly burned man. This time, he catches and kills her. Her struggles wake up Rod who watches Tina get viciously slashed by the four blades. Because Rod was the only one in the same room as Tina, he is suspected of the murder and is arrested the next