A/N and disclaimer: Ah, a revised first chapter. I'm trying to flesh it out as I get the inspiration and time. I own nothing but the characters of Julie, Doug, Jay, Beverly, and Joseph. The rest (Freddy, and the whole Nightmare on Elm Street universe) belong to Wes Craven. And I'm not making an money with this. I'm simply writing for the pleasure of writing.

"It's haunted, you know."

"What?" Julie turned to look at the stranger. He seemed youngish, perhaps around her age of 24 and was walking a small brown spaniel. He gestured to the broken down house that she had been staring at with his free hand.

"It's haunted. You'd do best to stay away from it."

"Who died here?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.

He shook his head. "It's not who died here. It's who lived here." She opened her mouth to ask another question but he cut her off. "Don't ask anything else. It's best that people forget." Then he turned and continued to walk down the street, almost hurrying away. Julie stared after him for a long moment, then sighed and pushed a stray bit of red hair back behind her ear. "Okay...," she said to herself. "Strange people here."

Julie turned back to study the boarded-up house. Haunted houses had always been a favorite mystery of hers and this one had caught her eye immediately. The strangest thing was that she could have sworn that she had seen this house before, in good condition. Even though the day was warm she gave a slight shiver. This place seemed vaguely familiar though she had just moved here two days ago. She walked up the sidewalk and pulled at the vines covering the house number. "1428," she breathed softly. "What secrets do you hold?"

Julie wondered if the restless nights were beginning to affect her thinking. Since the night before she and her Mom and come here her dreams had been...well...almost erotic. That in itself was quite odd since she usually dreamt of rather unimportant, daily things. The other strange thing was that she remembered them quite clearly. The man who had been in her dreams had not been what most would call handsome but she remembered his face and especially his eyes. She rather enjoyed dreaming of him. The only problem was that she woke in the morning still quite tired and reaching for a person that she had never met.

Finally she glanced at her watch and headed back down the sidewalk toward her new home. On the way she passed a street sign and glanced up only to make sure she was headed in the right direction. She was the newest resident on Elm Street.

"Mom, I'm home!" Julie called as she walked in the door. Boxes were piled everywhere. She cringed remembering that she was supposed to have unpacked a few already this morning and instead and been out exploring the neighborhood. A clanging sound from the back of the house caught her attention. She heard her mom's voice swearing for a few moments before calling out to her.

"I'm in the kitchen!"

Julie headed for the kitchen, weaving her way in and out of boxes. Finally she saw her mother, Beverly, sitting on the floor unpacking a box of pots and pans. "Well, I'm back."

"Anything interesting? Library? Stores?"

Julie grinned. "I found a haunted house."

He mother sighed. "Another one?"

"Hey, can I help it if every town has one?"

Beverly pulled a pot out of the box. "No, but you don't have to investigate each one. You could just leave it be."

Julie leaned against the wall. "My research doesn't hurt anyone or anything."

"So far the only the thing suffering is your love life."

"Mother!"

Beverly put a pan under the counter and grinned. "Hey, I just say what I see." She reached back into the box. "And I haven't seen a special man in your life for quite some time."

"It's not my fault no one has any interest in my research." She looked out the window, thinking about the man in her recent dreams. "Besides, I've got a feeling about this one. It's gonna turn up something interesting." She paused. "Well, I'm gonna go set up my computer. Call me if you need me." Julie turned and started to walk out.

"Oh, Julie!"

Julie poked her head back into the kitchen. "What?"

"Doug and Jay called. They said they'll be here tomorrow."

"Great!"

Beverly shook her head. "I can't believe you convinced them to come out from California just to help out."

Julie shrugged. "Hey, friends are friends no matter where you go. Besides, they can help me with my research."

"Enough with the haunted house!" She pointed out into the house. "Go unpack some boxes."

Julie saluted and left.