Frankly, the news that a screenwriter had been hired to pen the latest installment in a horror franchise would not normally merit much attention.(Other than from the writer's agent and immediate family.) But when we're talking Wesley Strick and A Nightmare on Elm Street, my curiosity soared.

New Line Cinema has hired Strick to create their new version of Nightmare, according to The Hollywood Reporter. One of his first credits was as co-writer of Arachnophobia, Frank Marshall's clever creature feature, followed by Martin Scorsese's heavy-handed remake of Cape Fear, and later Mike Nichols' post-modern Wolf. His other credits include Final Analysis, The Saint, The Glass House and Doom.

While it's always tricky to assign credit or blame based solely on screen credits, I think it's safe to say that Strick has a distinct track record: complex psychological tension, sarcastic humor, and mucho macho boom boom (to coin a phrase for his uber-male characters). I'm not saying that all of these elements succeed in every movie he's had a hand in writing, but I am hopeful that Strick can come up with a fresh twist on Freddy Krueger.

The new Nightmare will retain the high school setting and "delve deeper in the psychology of nightmares and Krueger himself. The plan is to have a dark tone." If the plan is also to forget about a PG-13 rating, so much the better. New Line aims to release the film in time for the 25th anniversary of the original -- which would be November 2009.

With Halloween right around the corner, there's nothing more appropriate than purchasing a prop from a horror movie. What better costume than one actually used in a film? What better haunted house than one featured on screen? There are probably a ton of auctions and sales out there for these kinds of things, and I already pointed you folks in the direction of those houses from A Nightmare on Elm Street and In Cold Blood, either (or both) of which could be yours. Now, our friends over at Autoblog have some info about eBay auctions for some famous cars from your favorite horror films. There are three of them up for grabs: the 1958 Fury from Christine; the Dodge van from the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; and the Cadillac Eldorado used in The Devil's Rejects (and The Bad News Bears).

The seller is the Volo Auto Museum, and they have a few non-horror movie cars available too, including the one from Wayne's World and one ridiculous boat used in The Flintstones. But since this season calls for frights, you should be thinking more about the three horror vehicles. Imagine one of them (or all) parked in front of your new Freddy Krueger house? I'm sure your neighbor would think twice about letting their dog poop on your front lawn.

I bet there are some real hardcore fans of A Nightmare on Elm Street who bought a house on Elm Street in their own town just to have that association. But if they wanted to be a REAL hardcore fan, they'd get a place on N. Genesee Avenue. More specifically, they'd get the place at 1428 N. Genesee Avenue in Los Angeles. For those of us who don't know everything Freddy Krueger, that address is the location of the house used in the Nightmare films, otherwise known as "Nancy's house." It has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a pool and a fireplace. And it is selling for just under $2 million. The ad for the home says it's a bit of a fixer (must be all the damage from Freddy) but "with some work this could be your Family Dream House." Right. Because the kids are really going to love living there. Of course, there are some twisted people out there, and I can envision a fan-couple moving in with their young daughters, who they make play jump rope on the front walkway.

As for anyone looking for a creepy home with a little more space, there's also the Clutter Home in Holcomb, Kansas. This home is available through a private auction and has the added creepiness factor of actually being a multiple murder site. Yes, I think it was featured in In Cold Blood (but maybe not in Capote or Infamous). However more than being a movie location, it's where the Clutter family were killed in the middle of the night by Perry Smith and Richard Hickcock. This "beautiful" property has 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and, "ample space for the children to work on 4-H projects and school activities."

Whichever of these you choose, you should start packing right away, because with Halloween right around the corner, you'll definitely want to do something extra scary for the trick-or-treaters (actually, the Clutter home probably isn't a popular trick-or-treat stop unless the Holcomb kids have good legs and not much interest in filling their candy bags).

Big fan of Freddy Krueger but way too young to have enjoyed his debut on the silver screen? (How I envy you.) Well here's some good news: On September 20th & 21st, Wes Craven's original A Nightmare on Elm Street just might be playing at a multiplex near you, complete with a brand-new digital upgrade AND a little featurette called "Freddy's Best Kills."

These screenings are, of course, promotional events for New Line's upcoming Elm Street Special Edition (which streets on September 26th), but if you're a horror fan who really enjoys the moviegoing experience, I highly recommend you buy a ticket or two. (DVDs are awesome and all, but there's nothing like seeing Freddy on the big screen!)

I've already snagged a pair of tickets to a Philadelphia screening, despite the fact that, yes, I was in attendance during Freddy's first opening weekend way back in 1984. That scene where Fred's arms get all stretched out and elongated ... yeah, that gave me nightmares for about a week. Plus, hey, it's a chance to see Johnny Depp's cinematic debut -- right before he gets sucked into Freddy's hell-bed!

So you thought that after buying that 8-disc mega-huge DVD set a few years back that you were done giving Freddy Krueger your DVD dollars? Well, HA to that, says New Line Cinema, who'll soon be offering us an all-new Infinifilm Edition of Wes Craven's original A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Boasting new documentaries, featurettes, and the cinematicus-interruptus goodness that is Infinifilm, the new-fangled Elm Street DVD will hit the shelves on September 26th. No word on the sequels just yet, but if sales are good, you just know you'll be forking out another 16 bucks when The Dream Child: Infinifilm shows up. Us horror fans are so damn loyal it makes the studio marketing brigades just drool out loud.

Also in New Line news, as Martha reported back in April, the Final Destination 3 DVD will allow you to jumble the movie up and watch it in whatever order you wish, a new feature that must just freakin' thrill the MPEG to no end.

OK, I shouldn't make jokes about this story, because a guy was actually stabbed by a fruitcake wearing a Freddy Krueger outfit ... and when I say "outfit," I mean the glove too. Yeah, the glove that has knives for fingers. A West Coast moron strapped one of those on, wandered onto Hollywood Boulevard, and stabbed some poor tourist with it.

The AP reports that some silly pseudo-Fred (aka Joseph Zachary, aged 25) stabbed a 37-year-old man just down the street from Grauman's Chinese Theater before getting booked, arrested, and justifiably humiliated. There's really not much of a story here, but it's still slightly more entertaining than Part 5: The Dream Child.

Watch Wes Craven get sued for this.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who hangs in the horror end of the movie pool, but New Line is apparently gearing up to give us an all-new Freddy Krueger misadventure. No, not another sequel or an odd little experiment like New Nightmare -- but a prequel that plans to cover the back-story of the pre-dead Freddy Krueger, his unseemly relationship with numerous small children, and the neighborhood parents who strike back ... thereby creating an undead boogeyman who'll haunt them for the next 8 movies.

Those never-slumbering horror geeks at BD.com got word recently that a director has been chosen for this project, an admired and established filmmaker who is certainly no stranger to scary cinema. And that director is ... John McNaughton, the filmmaker who debuted with the undeniably creepy Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer before moving on to crime dramas (Mad Dog & Glory), pulpy sex thrillers (Wild Things), and comedies so bad they never saw a stateside theatrical release (Speaking of Sex). No word yet on screenwriters, release dates, or cast additions, but McNaughton and Robert Englund (Krueger, Fred Krueger) are apparently already on board.

So ... Jason and Freddy do battle in their combo movie, and then each of the beloved slashers get their own "origin story" prequel. Smart move, if only from a "squeezing the last drops of blood from two popular franchises" perspective.