“Power down and welcome to the circus”— the circus that is the world of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNaF). The intricate, sometimes disturbing story of FNaF begins with a man, his friend and a family diner. The success of Fredbear’s Family Diner led founders William Afton and Henry Emily to bigger business ventures: the famous Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Here, fan-favorite original animatronics Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy take the spotlight. On the outside, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza seems like your run-of-the-mill, cheap and tacky family pizza parlor with slightly creepy mascots. However, something more sinister is taking place behind the scenes. Behind the masks of the animatronics lies the souls of missing children lured and killed by William Afton. These killings represent only the beginning of William Afton’s torment. To some, it may be hard to fathom that such a popular franchise adored by many children could be so disturbing. However, for many fans of FNaF, this is their favorite part. Many devoted followers have found themselves engrossed in the eerie lore of this pizza parlor.
“I love the horror aspect of [the lore],” Grace Vipparthi (10) said. “It’s dark and weird and uncomfortable, but just enough. I’m a horror fan so I like that it’s gruesome and creepy. That aspect makes it exciting and different from other games.”
Many fans found their start in the franchise by exploring the games. The first and most well-known game, “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” transports the readers into the point of view of a security officer working the night shift at the third location of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. This game focuses on the possessed animatronics and their hunt to find another soul to take control of an animatronic suit. Following the release of the first game on Aug. 8, 2014, the franchise reached worldwide popularity. This boom in engagement paved the way for many more games and expanded storylines. As of 2023, there are 20 games in the franchise: 10 main games, six spin-offs and four “troll games” or fake variations of the real game. These games expand upon the original storyline and explore new paths, allowing readers to further immerse themselves in this haunting world.
“My favorite game was definitely Sister Location,” Larsen Thompson (9) said. “It kind of veered off from the original story but it was still super fun to play. The second one is also really good too.”
On Oct. 28, the iconic horror game that has captivated fans for years finally reached the big screen. The “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie takes place at the beloved Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and retells the first game’s plot. The movie blended elements of the source material with expanded lore that was fresh to fans.
“It had its own elements while also staying true to the original storyline,” Thompson said. “I liked that they went off story a little bit. It made the movie more enjoyable, less predictable.”
While FNaF was categorized as a horror movie, instead of constant jump scares and gore, the movie focused more on expanding the lore of the franchise. This change left some viewers disappointed in the lack of horror efforts, while many dedicated fans felt the movie did its job of adding to the FNaF world. Others felt the movie had too many subplots for such a simple movie concept.
“It’s unexpected,” Vipparthi said. “They made it more into the children’s perspective. It was a new point of view. I think that aspect was missing from the game because they were so focused on William Afton.”
The FNaF franchise has kept its fans grasping for more since the release of the first game nine years ago. Many have turned to other platforms such as Wiki pages and YouTube to share their knowledge and admiration for the franchise with others who share the same interest. Fans’ love for the franchise has not faltered throughout each installment of the series. The FNaF franchise, despite its age, does not seem to be slowing down in popularity and it does not appear it will anytime soon.
“I played the games a lot growing up,” Thompson said. “I love watching people play the games on YouTube and I enjoy watching videos about people explaining the lore. I could watch them for hours. I still even watch it now, it never gets old to me.”
