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Was the Iconic ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ House Used Years Prior in ‘Halloween’?

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Photo Credit: Sean Clark

Just when you think you already know everything there is to know about the original Halloween, little tidbits have a way of coming to the surface that completely surprise even the most knowledgeable Halloween fanatics–even 40 years later.

Convention king and Horrors Hallowed Grounds host Sean Clark made a post to his personal Facebook page last autumn and it’s been on my mind ever since. He was fortunate enough to snap a few pics of his visit inside the original Nightmare on Elm Street house when it was for sale back in 2006–before the property was sold, gutted, and completely modernized. 

Now, it’s important to note that the iconic green-roofed house as seen in the original Nightmare was mainly only used for exterior shots. Aside from a few shots of Nancy’s bedroom, the interiors were filmed at an entirely different location. 

As Sean toured around the inside of the Elm Street house, he began to get a sense that the interior of the home seemed rather… familiar. But it didn’t click until he was looking back at the photos he had taken, and noticed the large wooden rocking horse sitting in the living room. He had seen that horse and this living room in a movie–but it wasn’t Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street.

It was Carpenter’s Halloween

Need a refresher? In the extended television cut of Halloween, there is a scene of Laurie fresh out of the shower, getting ready for babysitting. She rushes down the stairs to answer the phone, and in that shot you can catch a glimpse of the horse.

Take a look at Sean’s photos taken inside the Elm Street house:

Photo Credit: Sean Clark

Photo Credit: Sean Clark

See the horse by the front door? Now, look at the screen grabs from Halloween:

That’s the same horse and layout! Even the window drapes and door frame are identical.

Not convinced? Take a look at this comparison featuring P.J. Soles’ Lynda.

Sean’s photo inside Elm Street house:

Photo Credit: Sean Clark

Halloween screen grab:

Again, the window drapes and railing are exactly the same in both photos.

Oh, and that’s not all. Carpenter utilized the location to his full advantage and even used an upstairs bedroom to stand-in as Annie’s room. But not just any bedroom–Nancy’s bedroom! Ya know, the one with the window she looked out of in Elm Street. Those same windows can be seen in Annie’s bedroom scene.

Take a look at the side by side below:

Photo Credit: Sean Clark

Sean also recalls that the owner of the Elm Street house had a piece of paper signed by Jamie Lee Curtis–providing further evidence that the Halloween crew must have filmed there.

[Related] Robert Englund Reveals That He Worked On the Set of ‘Halloween’ 1978

While it can’t be 100% confirmed, the evidence is pretty substantial, and the filming locations for both flicks aren’t far from each other, so it’s totally possible. What do you think? Is that the same house? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks to Sean Clark for the images and the story.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on October 28, 2019.

Lover of horror movies, ghosts, and all Halloween candy. Entertainment writer also seen in Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and more.

Movies

Do ‘Ready or Not’ and ‘Abigail’ Take Place in the Same Universe? Did You Spot This Connection?

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Abigail trailer

Both extremely bloody cat-and-mouse chases through massive mansions, Radio Silence’s horror movies Ready or Not and Abigail (now playing in theaters!) are certainly cut from the same cloth, but do they actually take place within a shared universe? It was a question the filmmakers were asked, and their response suggests that the answer to that question is YES.

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff asked the question of Radio Silence filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who co-directed both 2019’s Ready or Not and this year’s Abigail. As they point out, an Easter egg nestled within Abigail confirms a shared universe connection.

Bettinelli-Olpin tells Collider, “There is a portrait in the background of one of the scenes [in Abigail] of Henry Czerny’s [character from Ready or Not].” Gillet chimes in to clarify, “It would be a grandfather. A great, great, great, great grandfather [of Czerny’s character].”

Bettinelli-Olpin adds, “There is a little bit of a tied universe to Ready or Not within the movie.”

ready or not abigail

Actor Henry Czerny played the character Tony Le Domas in Radio Silence’s crowd-pleasing hit Ready or Not, the owner of the Le Domas Gaming Dominion and patriarch of the Le Domas family. The film centers on the Le Domas family’s deal with the devil to build their fortune, which Samara Weaving’s character Grace of course finds herself paying the price for.

If the Le Domas family exists in the world of Abigail, as the aforementioned portrait suggests, then that would indeed indicate that both films exist within the same bloody universe!

And it would seem there’s a deeper connection between the Le Domas family and the Lazar crime family introduced in Abigail. Have fun playing around with that idea. We know you will!

We’ll get you started. Is it possible that Abigail’s father is Mr. Le Bail from Ready or Not…?

In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”

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