Robert Englund Reveals His Own Freddy Krueger Nightmare That Still Scares Him: 'I Can Literally See It' (Exclusive)

Robert Englund isn’t immune to a Freddy Krueger nightmare. 

The actor, 76, who first played the child killer in 1984’s Nightmare on Elm Street, reveals to PEOPLE that he has his own Freddy Krueger nightmare that still scares him.

Englund said the nightmare is based on an “uncomfortable moment” he had while in costume filming the first movie in the horror franchise, and happened after he had taken a nap. 

“I don't have any Nightmare on Elm Street nightmares except for a brief, sort of uncomfortable moment that can get to me once in a while. I still see it in my mind's eye when I'm sleeping,” Englund recalls to PEOPLE while promoting his new documentary Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story.

“It's not really a nightmare of any duration. But when I made the first film and I was new to the makeup and very early on to the film, we were working nights and I was in the makeup, and I had very carefully rolled up a towel like a Japanese pillow to take a nap," he continues.

"It was like 4:00 a.m. in the morning, and I didn't want to roll on my side and ruin the makeup. So I put this little towel under my head and I was in my sweater, the Freddy sweater and boots and pants. I had the lights dimmed down on a dimmer switch, the makeup lights around my makeup mirror in my little humble honey wagon.”

Englund continues, “The assistant director banged on the door, ‘Mr. Englund, Mr. Englund, we're going to try to get this shot with Heather [Langenkamp].’ And I sort of sat upright and I caught this movement in the half lit mirror across from the bed I was lying on. And there in forced perspective, in the half light, in the dimmed down bulbs of my makeup mirror sat this burned old bald man. It was like some surreal Marx Brothers movie for a moment. And I literally forgot that I was in makeup. I was in that moment when you first wake up and you're kind of semi-conscious. I was a little bit disoriented.” 

Admitting the terrifying moment is now “seared” in his memory, Englund explains, “I can close my eyes right now as I'm talking to you, and I can literally see it."

"And it scared me because I was so disoriented. I wasn't quite awake yet. I was semi-conscious. And I do on occasion, for whatever reason, return to that moment. And I recognize it as an experience, not a nightmare, but it does come to me sometimes at night. So that's as close to a sort of Freddy nightmare as I have.”

The horror classic, directed by Wes Craven, also starred John Saxon, Heather Langenkamp and Johnny Depp in his feature film debut as Glen Lantz. It tells the story of a group doomed teenagers who Krueger tortures and kills in their sleep as revenge against their parents who burned him alive.

In 2018, Langenkamp, 58, praised Englund for his impact on the movie industry as the iconic character. 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories

"I think he's probably the best advocate for how important Freddy is in our horror community, how Freddy Krueger changed the genre to be this incredible juggernaut of money-making for Hollywood,” Langenkamp told Entertainment Weekly. “I do believe that Robert Englund and all the '80s monsters really changed film history and I think they deserve even more recognition than they get.”

Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story is available to stream on Digital.