A lost part of Elm Street history has finally been unearthed.

What you may not know about the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is that it *almost* spawned a reality competition series in the wake of Freddy vs. Jason. Titled “A Nightmare on Elm Street: Real Nightmares,” the show was designed to force contestants to face down their most terrifying nightmares, and CBS hired none other than Robert Englund to host!

Each episode was to focus on three contestants, each tasked with overcoming their greatest fear.

So why have you never heard of this particular reality show? While six episodes were shot back in 2004, CBS ultimately pulled the plug on the whole thing when they allegedly decided that it was just too similar to “Fear Factor.” All of the footage was filed away, never to be seen or heard from again.

Well over 10 years later, none of that footage has ever surfaced, but a handful of behind the scenes photos from the production recently did. The website Halloween Love brought these to our attention, which is fitting because it was on Halloween Love that I wrote up an article about “Real Nightmares” back in 2014!

The photos from the unaired series come courtesy of Annette Sharp, a contestant who wrote about her experience for HubPages. As she explains, she responded to a casting call that led to her being summoned to the set, where she was forced to confront her fear of heights. And though her “big break on TV” never actually aired, Sharp says that the experience actually did help her overcome that crippling fear.

“After the show, I was a wreck. Every time I saw a building with a fire escape my hands shook and became cold & clammy,” she wrote. “But there’s an upside to this. My over-all fear of heights diminished to the point that I was actually able to climb the open staircase at the college library! Before, I was never able to go up the stairs to the book store. It was a complete disaster. The day I walked into the store, stepped onto the first step and walked to the top with ease, I knew it was worth it all!!!”

Check out Annette’s “Real Nightmares” set photos below!