The house at 18 Elm St., in Potsdam, before it was demolished last week.This past week, the town of Potsdam demolished the old Dewey Mansion, an 1890s-era house that some claim may have inspired the movie franchise "A Nightmare on Elm Street." There — at 18 Elm St. — former Clarkson College professor Wes Craven in 1968 filmed a short horror movie with some of his students. Vacant for many years, the structure fell apart. The town bought it. In recent months, more than 8,000 people signed a Facebook petition requesting it be saved, even though Craven himself, in Hollywood, says he doesn't recall it playing a role in the creation of Freddy Krueger, the fictional monster in "Nightmare." Deputy Potsdam town supervisor Rollin Beattie, 71, spoke with Post-Standard staff writer Hart Seely.
When did the "Nightmare house" become an issue?
Well, we bought it from a guy who had taken everything out of it, gutted it. There was nothing left but the shell. He wanted to sell it, I guess, because he needed the money. We were looking for a spot for our town hall, and this became the ideal location, because it’s right downtown. ...
After we bought it, it sat there for about a year. When people found we were going to tear it down, that’s when all this historical preservation part started. Trouble is, by that time, there was just no saving it.
Robert Englund played Freddy Krueger in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movies.How bad was it? You ever go in there?
Oh, yeah. Everything was gone. It would have cost a million dollars or so to put it back the way it was.
Floorboards rotted? Walls out?
Everything. A lot of damage.
Ever seen the movie?
I’ve seen parts of it on TV.
Was it a source of pride or discussion in Potsdam?
It wasn’t much that I knew of until it came to the point that we were going to tear it down. That’s when it all came out that it was supposed to be based on “Nightmare on Elm Street.”
The house is on Elm Street, right?
Yeah, it’s on Elm Street, all right.
Did anybody ever contact Wes Craven?
I think people did from Potsdam in the last six months.
Too late?
By that time, it was too late.
How controversial a decision was this?
Well, on the board, it wasn’t a real controversy. We had spent the money and we wanted to do it. The board members were all in favor of tearing it down.
Were there protests, people speaking out against it?
People came to the board meetings about it. But by the time they got around to coming, our interests were to tear it down. It was just too late.
Rollin BeattieNobody likes to see an old house get torn down.
You’re right about that.
Why did the house fall into so much disrepair? What happened?
Well, apparently, whoever owned it at various times just let it all go. Nobody had any interest in it.
It was right in the middle of Potsdam?
Right across from the post office.
And it's gone?
It’s all in a pile.
Are people coming by to look at it?
There were people there yesterday.
How do you feel now that it's over?
Well, nobody likes to tear down something that has a lot of history to it. But at some point, you have to move on. There comes a time when you have to do things, whether you like it or not.
What's the sense of it today?
There are a few people, as far as I can tell, who are sad about it.
Toward the end, the house must have been pretty creepy.
Well, yeah. It was. It was a good place only for the squirrels and the raccoon. There was a raccoon staying in there. He ran out of the building yesterday.
The ghost of Freddie Krueger, maybe?
The ghost of Freddie Krueger.
Will Potsdam ever promote itself as "The Birthplace of Freddie Krueger?"
I don't know (laughs). Maybe they'll put up a plaque.
By the way, Freddie Krueger's not showing up in your dreams, right?
Nope.
If you ever dream about a guy walking down an alley, scraping his razor fingers on the wall ...
Then I’ll be ready to run to the high country.