A/N and disclaimer: As promised here is the longer chapter that the interlude didn't quite fit at the beginning of. I don't own Freddy or any of the NOES universe. The only things that are mine are Julie, Doug, Jay, Beverly, Joseph and this particular scenario. Enjoy.

"No! Now get out!"

The trio hurried out of the third store they'd been in. Everyone had sent them away with a mixture of anger and fear. They walked down the street, a little dejected.

"He's insistent that we find him. Do you think he's a spirit trying to communicate with you?" Jay asked.

"Maybe. But I've never had one come through so clear."

"And this is the first one that you're found attractive," Doug grinned.

"That has nothing to do with it!" she replied, blushing. Suddenly Julie pointed to a building. "Let's try in there." She reached into her pocket. "How much money do you guys have?" They pooled together their cash and found it added up to about thirty dollars. She took it and put it in her pocket. "Come on," she said and dragged them into the bar.

Julie looked around and then walked up to the bar. "Excuse me," she said, smiling.

The bartender smiled back and walked over. "What can I get for you?"

"Just a glass of water for now. But maybe you can help me. I'm looking for someone who's lived here for a long time. I just moved here a couple of days ago and would like to talk about the history of the town." Julie smiled her best innocent smile.

The man nodded and pointed to a man sitting at a table by himself. "Joseph over there, he's lived here all his life. Spends most of his time in here. But if you want to know history, he's the guy to ask." He handed her a glass of water.

"Thanks," she said, taking it. "Come on, guys." Doug and Jay followed her over to Joseph's table. "Hi there," she said cheerfully. "I was told that you might be able to help me."

Joseph looked up at her and a slow smile crossed his face. Then he noticed Doug and Jay behind her and his smile faded a little. "What do you want with me?"

"First let me buy you a drink. What are you drinking?"

"Vodka."

Julie handed Doug some money. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all." He took it and walked up to the bar.

Julie and Jay sat down. "We were told you know the history of this town," Jay said.

"I ought to. Lived here all my life." He finished his drink and eyed the one Doug was bringing back. "What do you want to know?" he asked, taking the drink from Doug.

Julie waited until Doug pulled up a chair and joined them. "We were curious about the boiler room fire in '67." Julie watched him carefully, expecting to be thrown out. But Joseph leaned back and took a drink.

"No one's asked about that in a long time. Better that way. But he's been gone a long time. I don't think it'll hurt to tell you."

Julie took a sip of water and watched him closely. Joseph set down his glass and looked off into the distance. "It was right after Freddy was acquitted. Someone forgot to sign a search warrant in the right place and so they let him go." He took a drink. "He disappeared right after that but a bunch of folks, mainly from Elm Street tracked him down to that boiler room."

She gasped. "They didn't--?"

Joseph nodded. "They went in while he was asleep and doused the place with gasoline. Then they threw in a match."

Doug spoke up in horror. "They burned him alive?"

"Yep. Then when it was over Lt. Thompson took the remains and hid them so no one could ever prove they'd done it." He finished the drink and raised an eyebrow at Julie. She nodded and handed Jay money. Jay headed for the bar. "Talk to any of the folks that did it and they'll tell you that was the end of it."

"But?" she asked.

"But talk to the kids and they know something different. It started when Thompson's girl, Nancy, was in high school. There were three unexplained deaths, friends of hers who all lived on Elm Street. I spoke to Nancy once, asking her what she thought." Jay came over with the new drink and handed it to Joseph. "Thanks. She told me that Freddy Krueger was killing them in their dreams." He sighed. "I think she expected me to deny it. But I've seen some strange shit over the years. It was the only explanation. For six years it was quiet. I began to wonder if maybe she had just dreamed it up." He took a long drink. "Then there were a bunch of suicides and attempts. A number of kids were hospitalized at the old asylum. All from Elm Street. I talked to three of them when they got out."

"Freddy was back," Jay said.

Joseph nodded. "Four of the kids died right there in the asylum. Nancy was an intern there at the time. She told them how to fight Freddy. But in the end she died too. Supposedly one of the doctors got Thompson to show him where Freddy's remains were hidden. They buried him and consecrated him, hoping that his soul would rest. And it did for a year and a half."

"How do you know all this?" Doug interrupted.

Joseph smiled a wry smile. "I suppose because I'm the only one who would listen to them and not try to tell them it wasn't real. And because I saw him once in my dreams too."

Julie spoke up. "Horribly burned with a dirty brown hat and a red and green sweater."

"You've seen him too?" Joseph looked scared.

"Just a reflection in a mirror."

"Then you need to know the rest of the story." He took another drink. "A year and a half later all three survivors died. Then three more kids. One girl had been given the ability to pull people into her dreams. Freddy used her to get to the other kids. She tried to kill him. All the trapped souls were released. She and her new boyfriend both survived. Then came graduation. The girl began to have strange dreams about an asylum and a nun named Amanda Krueger. The night of graduation her boyfriend was in an accident. But she claimed Freddy had done it while she was awake. It was then she realized that she was pregnant."

"He was using the baby's dreams," Julie breathed.

"Exactly. Two more kids died until she released Amanda's trapped spirit to fight Freddy. But even at the end he was trying to claw his way out. Now this last bit I'm not sure about since I've only heard second hand about it."

"Go ahead," Jay said, leaning forward.

"Supposedly his daughter grew up and came back here for some reason. He used her to get out of Springwood. She fought him, brought him into our reality and supposedly killed him. But like I said, I'm not sure about that. I don't think he'll ever really die. Evil never does."

Julie closed her eyes and leaned back. "What happened at the asylum with Amanda?"

Joseph finished his drink. "She was locked in with the inmates over the holidays. They kept her hidden for days. They say she was raped hundreds of times. When the staff finally found her she was barely clinging to life. And she too was pregnant. They say she had the baby there and gave him up for adoption. The year after the fire she supposedly killed herself."

"Talk about a ghost story," Jay said, shaking his head.

"Do you know anything about him before he was burned? Like what happened to his wife?" Doug asked.

"They say he killed her and hid the body. But they never had any proof. It wasn't till they took his daughter away that he really began to murder the children. I guess it was revenge of sorts." He paused and looked at her curiously. "How did you find out about him?"

Julie opened her eyes. "I've been to house 1428. I found some things with his name on them."

Joseph's eyes narrowed. "That shouldn't be possible. He wasn't the last one that lived there. The Thompsons lived there after him. If anything you should have found some of their old things."

Julie reached into her pocket and pulled out the picture. "I also found this."

He examined the photograph for a minute, "That's the Kruegers. How it got there I don't know. Did you find anything else strange?"

"A child's bedroom with toys and drawings on the wall, some bills, and locks on all the cellar doors."

"Sounds like someone went through a lot of trouble to put those things in your path."

Doug leaned over. "Who might have done it?"

Joseph shrugged and leaned back. "I don't have a clue. No one around here wants to remember him anymore."

"Can you tell us anything else?" Julie asked.

"Just to warn you. If he comes back you should get away from here. He can't get to you outside of Springwood. At least, that's what they tell me. And be careful, if you die in those dreams it's for real."

"Let me buy you another drink as a thank you," Julie said, standing. Joseph smiled.

"Hey, for another drink I'll sit up and beg."

A/N: This was an interesting bit to write since I had to summarize the entire series into one quick story. Just so you are aware of how I view the series: NOES 2 does not exist in my universe. I like to think of NOES 6 as rumor for the most part. New Nightmare only happened in the real world so it doesn't count and this was thought of long before FvJ so that doesn't exist in my canon either. I hope that clears things up.