Five Nights at Freddy‘s (FNAF) has captured the imaginations of horror game fans everywhere with its disturbing animatronics, jumpscares, and complex lore spanning multiple games. Trying to piece together the full story can be confusing, but this article will break down the key parts of FNAF‘s twisted mythology.
The Murders That Started It All
The lore begins with two men – Henry and William Afton. They start a successful pizzeria together featuring kid-friendly animatronic mascots. But Afton hides a dark secret – he is a sadistic killer who begins murdering children and hiding their bodies inside the animatronic suits.
The first victim is Henry‘s daughter Charlie, whose soul goes on to possess an animatronic called The Puppet. Afton then kills five more children, stuffing their bodies into Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and Golden Freddy suits. These brutal murders trigger the dark and supernatural events that follow.
Afton‘s Experiments with Remnant
As seen in later games, William Afton discovers a supernatural substance called "Remnant" that has strange properties – it traps souls and can reanimate the dead. Afton starts experimenting with it, devising cruel ways to keep murdering children while using Remnant to achieve a form of immortality.
He creates the deadly Circus Baby animatronic that entices then kills small children. The soul of his daughter Elizabeth ends up trapped in Circus Baby. He sends his son Michael to free her, beginning Michael‘s own nightmarish journey.
Michael‘s Quest for Revenge
After being tricked into getting killed by the animatronic Ennard, Michael‘s body reforms itself due to Remnant and he is reborn as an undead entity. Consumed with finding his father William Afton to get revenge, Michael pursues him across multiple games.
He follows Circus Baby and the other murderous animatronics who have formed the gestalt entity Ennard. Eventually Ennard splits apart and Baby ejects the others into the sewers, going her own way.
Michael continues hunting for his father, working as a night guard at various pizzerias associated with Afton along the way before finally confronting him.
Afton‘s Eventual Fate
In FNAF 3, it‘s revealed William Afton returned to one of the old pizzerias and put on a rotten Spring Bonnie suit in an attempt to hide from the vengeful souls of the children he killed years ago. But the suit malfunctions and crushes him nearly to death, leaving him in extreme agony kept alive only by Remnant.
He returns as the gruesome undead rabbit creature Springtrap. After weeks of stalking and implicit murder, Springtrap is seemingly burned for good in a fire that destroys the horror attraction he was held in.
But as later games prove, fire cannot stop Afton either. He returns as part digital virus, part corporeal zombie, infecting computer systems and passing his consciousness into unwitting followers like Vanessa. He takes on the mantle of "Vanny" while plotting his ultimate revenge in the digital realm.
The End (For Now)
FNAF pioneer Henry eventually executes an elaborate plan to destroy the remaining animatronics and free the souls of the dead children. He lures the last murderbots along with Michael and William Afton into a fake pizzeria before igniting it, burning everything inside to ash. This seems to be the end of William Afton and his evil creations.
But the latest game shows William‘s evil found new life in the digital world. His fate remains uncertain – an apropos ending for a villain obsessed with achieving immortality through any means necessary. The lore continues to evolve with each new installment, showing just how difficult it is to defeat someone with William Afton‘s unique brand of obsessive cruelty.
Unraveling thecomplex threads of Five Nights at Freddys‘ lore is no easy task, but Crog‘s excellent video provides a solid foundation. This article aimed to summarize and expand on the key story beats in an easy-to-understand way for both new and existing fans. Let me know in the comments if you have any other lingering questions!