EPISODE · Jul 18, 2026 · 24 MIN
The Nightmare That Inspired Freddy Krueger: The Hmong Sleep Deaths (United States)
from Haunted American History · host Christopher Feinstein
In the early 1980s, healthy young Hmong refugees across the United States began dying in their sleep. They went to bed exhausted and never woke up. Medical examiners found no poison, no disease, and no obvious cause of death. But the victims all shared the same terrifying belief: a malevolent night spirit called the dab tsog had come to crush the life from their bodies. The unexplained deaths became one of modern medicine's greatest mysteries—and inspired a young filmmaker named Wes Craven to create one of horror's most iconic monsters. Tonight, we uncover the heartbreaking true story behind A Nightmare on Elm Street. HAH DISCORD - https://discord.com/invite/bJdbpH3hQm YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedAmericanHistory TikTok - @hah_podcast hauntedamericanhistory.com Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistory LINKS FOR MY DEBUT NOVEL, THE FORGOTTEN BOROUGH Barnes and Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-forgotten-borough-christopher-feinstein/1148274794?ean=9798319693334 AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQPQD68S Ebook GOOGLE: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=S5WCEQAAQBAJ&pli=1 KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-forgotten-borough-2?sId=a10cf8af-5fbd-475e-97c4-76966ec87994&ssId=DX3jihH_5_2bUeP1xoje_ SMASHWORD: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1853316 !! DISTURB ME !! APPLE - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disturb-me/id1841532090 SPOTIFY - https://open.spotify.com/show/3eFv2CKKGwdQa3X2CkwkZ5?si=faOUZ54fT_KG-BaZOBiTiQ YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/@DisturbMePodcast www.disturbmepodcast.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedAmericanHistoryTikTok - @hah_podcasthauntedamericanhistory.comPatreon- https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistoryHAH DISCORD - https://discord.com/invite/bJdbpH3hQm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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In the early 1980s, healthy young Hmong refugees across the United States began dying in their sleep. They went to bed exhausted and never woke up. Medical examiners found no poison, no disease, and no obvious cause of death. But the victims all shared the same terrifying belief: a malevolent night spirit called the dab tsog had come to crush the life from their bodies. The unexplained deaths became one of modern medicine's greatest mysteries—and inspired a young filmmaker named Wes Craven to create one of horror's most iconic monsters. Tonight, we uncover the heartbreaking true story behind A Nightmare on Elm Street.
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The Nightmare That Inspired Freddy Krueger: The Hmong Sleep Deaths (United States)
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