Horror film legend Wes Craven dies at 76

Wes Craven, the director of iconic horror films such as "Scream" and the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series, died Sunday aged 76, his family said.

Craven, whose Freddie Krueger character terrified generations of moviegoers around the globe, had battled brain cancer.

"It is with deep sadness we inform you that Wes Craven passed," his family said in a statement.

"Craven was surrounded by love, in the presence of his family at his Los Angeles home."

He presided over eight "Nightmare on Elm Street" films, and in the 1980s directed some episodes of the revival "Twilight Zone" series.

"Today the world lost a great man, my friend and mentor, Wes Craven. My heart goes out to his family," actress Courteney Cox, who appeared in Craven's four "Scream" movies, wrote on Twitter.

Ohio native Craven, who once taught English, had a graduate degree in philosophy and writing.

"Thank you for being the kindest man, the gentlest man, and one of the smartest men I've known. Please say there's a plot twist," actress Rose McGowan, a "Scream" veteran, said on Twitter.