Each day this week we're going to bring you a look inside Robert Englund's (A Nightmare on Elm Street series) new book, Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams, which is available at booksellers now.

Today we have an intro for the book written by A Nightmare on Elm Street Director Wes Craven. See below for the full book excerpt and be sure to stop by each day this week for more. And don't forget to check out Robert Englund in FEARnet's latest original series, Fear Clinc.

INTRODUCTION BY WES CRAVEN

I first met Robert Englund while casting for the actor to play my arch villain, Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street. At that time, I didn’t know exactly what Freddy would look like, or sound like, or even act like. I just knew I wanted him to be evil, and smart. The Devil’s not stupid. That’s what makes him scary.

I was leaning toward finding someone old. An old, evil man who delighted in the torment of children—reveled in the destruction of innocence itself. And he needed to be physically intimidating, of course.

So I was looking at old stunt men.

It wasn’t working out very well. I was discovering that stuntmen were not particularly drawn to being cruel, nor did they get enthusiastic much about taking delight in murdering children. Same for older men. They, like the stuntmen, had seen a lot of life, knew how fragile it was, and just couldn’t put themselves into such a state of mind. Too uncomfortable.

Then in walked Robert.

I’d seen him in his role of Willie, the friendly alien in the television movie V, and in the subsequent mini-series of the same name. A nice, sympathetic alien, with twinkling eyes and an earnest, almost shy personality. And Robert pretty much looked like that. Friendly, chatty, brimming with humor and energy. That’s not Freddy Krueger, I told myself inwardly. He’s too nice. And young.

But what overwhelmed my doubts was Robert’s enthusiasm for the role, his unabashed eagerness to play someone really evil. He saw the role, and the script as a whole, pretty much as I saw it, as some kind of black comedy, and as the telling of a story about iconic figures locked in the eternal human struggle between good and evil—a modern myth, disguised as a scare-thepants-off-you horror movie. Robert got it.

And he got the role.

What followed was pure pleasure on my part, and pure hard work on Robert’s. For openers, Freddy wasn’t a man without dermatological problems. In his past incarnation, while still on earth, he’d been burned alive by the equivalent of a lynch mob, and was horribly scarred. The mask of scar tissue would give him both the power of the typically masked villain—like Jason, and Michael Myers, and a multitude of others, but it would also allow him the freedom of expression that a rigid mask would not. Unfortunately for Robert, what that meant was three hours in the makeup chair every morning before he even got a chance to act. And the stuff stayed on all day. Try eating lunch through latex some time. It’s not pleasant.

But once he was on camera, Robert Englund disappeared, and this strange, powerful, wickedly funny and terrifyingly dangerous man emerged: Freddy Krueger. And from that moment on until the makeup was pulled off at day’s end, Freddy ruled the set. Into the basic character I’d invented, Robert poured a host of improvisations—wisecracks and scary stances and poses, and a chilling sort of creeping walk that just made your blood run cold.

It was astonishing to watch, and I knew right away that the picture and the villain that brought it to life was going to be a classic.

But there was another surprising side to Robert as well. The gentle, affable and patient star—and that’s what he quickly became, a star—a man who liked kids and didn’t mind signing endless autographs, or doing other things that took him far out of his way, just to spread happiness their way. I’ll tell you a story.

Once a psychiatrist wrote me. He had a young patient who had heard of Freddy Krueger, and was having nightmares about him. I really wanted to help, so I got in touch with Robert and asked if he would say a few words to the kid into a VidCam. Not only did Robert do that, but he did it while he was being put into, and then out of, his Freddy makeup, describing each step of the way how Freddy was nothing more than latex and glue, and nothing to be worried about.

Shortly after I mailed the tape to the doctor, I received a letter in return. The youngster was not only cured, he wanted to watch a Freddy movie!

Over the years I’ve spent many hours with Robert, especially in foreign cities for film festivals, and have constantly marveled at the scope of his celebrity. He’s recognized everywhere, and the huge grins that spread across people’s faces when they see him are priceless. Robert Englund is one of those rare walking contradictions: scary as heck when he’s working; and delightful, witty, and erudite when he’s not—and he always makes time for the fans who are eager to shake his hand.

So long as he does it without the glove.

Look for more excerpts all this week as we count down to the premiere of Fear Clinic starring Robert Englund next Monday.  For more about Hollywood Monster, visit the book's official site at SimonandSchuster.com.