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Five Nights at Freddy's has an extremely vague backstory, and with such a huge following of fans, it's only expected that many theories about the game's confusing history and events would spawn. Amongst these theories, there are also rumors, most of which are false and have since been proven wrong. In an effort to keep all of these ideas in one spot, this page will be maintained as regularly as possible to keep up-to-date on any new ideas or discoveries.
The following are fan-generated theories with evidence to back them up that attempt to explain certain aspects of the game. None of these theories have been confirmed and should not be accepted as canon.
Phone Guy's Death[]
One of the most hot-topic debates in the fandom is the mysterious death of Phone Guy. The lack of information surrounding his death has made room for intense speculation. On Night 4, the player receive your usual recording from Phone Guy. He states that he "won't be around to send you more messages" after this night. In the background, a banging sound can be heard, as if someone or something was banging on the door. As the phone call comes to an end, the Toreador March jingle can be heard, followed by a strange moan, and then the call cuts off into static.
What We Know[]
The screech heard in the recording can be assumed to be Phone Guy's during his death.
As Foxy is the only animatronic who bangs on the doors, it is likely he caused the banging in the recording, suggesting that he was present at the time of the murder.
Freddy Fazbear is the only animatronic who plays the Toreador March, establishing that he must have had something to do with the killing. This, however, does not establish that Freddy himself was the killer.
The moan heard near the end of the call is one of the noises that Bonnie and Chica make whenever they are in The Office, meaning at least one of them must have been involved in Phone Guy's death.
Who Killed Phone Guy?[]
The phone call itself revealed very little about the perpetrator, and instead revealed many contradicitons. It is safe to assume that, during his shifts, Phone Guy operates using the same mechanics as the player. In order for the situations within the phone call to occur, the following conditions need to be met:
Phone Guy needed to have the left door closed. The banging sound implies that Foxy was at the door.
Freddy needed to be involved in some way, and he needed to be in a situation where he would play his jingle. The only time Freddy plays his jingle is when he's in the kitchen or when the power goes out.
Chica or Bonnie needed to be inside the Office, which means that one of the doors had to be open. If Foxy was banging on the door, then it would be impossible for Bonnie to get in because Bonnie never appears in the West Hall if Foxy is at the door.
Assuming these conditions, there are a few possible ways that Phone Guy could have died following regular game mechanics. Most fans believe one of the following happened:
Freddy snuck into the room while Phone Guy was looking at the monitor and killed him. While this works easily in theory, there are quite a few flaws with it. First off, Phone Guy noticed Freddy's jingle before getting killed. Freddy never plays his jingle before killing the player unless the power goes out. If one assumes that the power did go out, there's another flaw. There is no sound of the power going out heard on the phone call (a loud hum always sounds when the power goes out). Even then, if the power did go out, the call would have cut off much earlier, before Phone Guy dies. However, the call goes all the way through until the screech. It's possible that Phone Guy recorded his messages using a battery-operated machine. However, battery-operated recording devices do not ring like a telephone when being played back. The only possible way that Freddy could have played his jingle and immediately after killed the Phone Guy without the power going out would be if Freddy was in the Kitchen and immediately teleported to the Office. However, the jingle was loud enough to be heard on the call, so Freddy couldn't have been far away when it started playing.
The power went out and Phone Guy was killed by Freddy. This seems to be the most logical, as it's the only situation where Freddy will play his jingle and then immediately kill the player. However, there's no sound of the power going out beforehand and there's still the issue with the phone-like device not cutting the call off.
Foxy got into the room and killed the Phone Guy. For this to happen, the Phone Guy could have opened the door after Foxy left and Foxy could have quickly ran back in and killed him. However, this situation normally only occurs when Foxy's A.I. level is very high, which is usually only possible on the Custom Night. The power also could have gone out and Foxy could have gotten inside as he was at the door. However, Foxy leaves the door immediately after arriving and wouldn't be there if the power went out a few seconds later. Also, Freddy is the only animatronic that attacks when the power goes out. Finally, Freddy's jingle playing right before the screech makes it seem like Foxy had no real responsibility in killing him, as the two cannot attack at the same time.
Chica snuck into the room and killed him. It's possible that while Phone Guy had the door shut from Foxy attacking, he was looking at the monitor, at the kitchen. If Freddy was in there at this moment, his jingle would have been playing, which would have been loud enough to be caught on the call. During this time, Chica could have made it inside the Office, where she played her groaning sound. The Phone Guy could have noticed this and immediately dropped his monitor, which would have killed him.
If one assumes that the Phone Guy was not operating by in-game mechanics, the most plausible theory is simply that all the animatronics attacked him at the same time. This theory is plausible because the player hear vocal cues from all animatronics before Phone Guy dies (Foxy banging on the door, Freddy's song, and Bonnie/Chica's groaning).
Since the only source of evidence surrounding Phone Guy's death is a non-visual phone call, there is really no way to confirm what exactly happened to him before he died. His death will be surrounded in pure speculation until Scott decides to shed more light on it.
Foxy Caused The Bite of '87[]
The Bite of '87 (presumed to be 1987) occurred in which an animatronic bit someone and they, in turn, lost the frontal lobe of their brain. While not explicitly stated, it is assumed Foxy is the cause of this. The reason for this assumption is Foxy being a decommissioned animatronic. Foxy himself has fallen into disrepair over the years and Pirate Cove is listed as "Out of Order." Theory states that after The Bite of '87, Pirate Cove was shut down to avoid further injuries. Other evidence includes Foxy's damaged jaw (which always seems to hang open), which could most likely be damaged from someone attempting to pry him off of whoever he bit.
Where is Phone Guy's Body?[]
As Phone Guy states the animtronics will likely "forcefully stuff [the player] inside a Freddy Fazbear suit" if caught by the animtronics, it can be assumed that when Phone Guy asked the player to "go into the back room", he likely meant "find my body." This could possibly be how Mike was fired. "Tampering with the animatronics" could mean, checking the suits to find the body, "General Unprofessionalism" could be screaming when finding the body, and "odor," could be the body itself rotting.
Chica's Suit[]
Chica's 3rd frame when her head twitches on cam 04. A second set of teeth is clearly visible.
By far the most popular theory is that Phone Guy was stuffed into Chica's suit when he was caught. The reasoning for this is that in certain poses when Chica opens her mouth, one can see an extra set of teeth inside her mouth. Judging by Phone Guy's call on the first night, the only human remains to see the light of day after putting the suit head on would be your eyes and teeth. However, Chica's second set of teeth look unrealistic and are most likely from her endoskeleton. Additionally, Chica already has an endoskeleton inside of her, soit wouldn't make sense for the animatronics to stuff a human inside of her.
Another reason people think that Phone Guy is inside of Chica is because she makes raspy, human-like groaning noises when she is inside of the Office. However, Bonnie makes these noises also. However, a logical explanation for this would be that their artificial voice boxes (since they're singing animatronics, they most likely have one) are malfunctioning and need to be repaired. Considering that the company is rather stingy and wouldn't jump at the idea of hiring a repairman, and that the animatronics been singing these songs non-stop for 20+ years, it makes sense that their voice boxes would get damaged from repeated use.
Golden Freddy's Suit[]
Another popular theory is that Phone Guy was stuffed into the Golden Freddy suit. This seems plausible, as when Golden Freddy appears in the Office, he takes the position of a slumped over corpse. Adding to it, an endoskeleton cannot be seen inside Golden Freddy, especially since he has no eyes. This also lines up with the fact that Golden Freddy is a Freddy Fazbear suit, making it a very likely candidate to be stuffed with a security guard.
Golden Freddy is a Hallucination[]
Because Mike Schidt already has other hallucinations seen in the game, looking at Golden Freddy's poster then looking into the Office might cause the image of Golden Freddy to stick in his head and cause him to think an animatronic has entered. Along with this, when looking at Golden Freddy, hallucinations increase. And finally, when Golden Freddy attacks, the jumpscare doesn't look like him attacking but more like one of the hallucinations when they flash on the screen. However, this theory was later proven to be false after the second game's release, as Golden Freddy's A.I. can be tampered with in FNaF 2's Custom Night, meaning he is a real physical animatronic.
Furthermore,at the end of the Night 4 phone call in FNaF 1, a low pitched version of the normal jumpscare sound can be heard. This sound effect also plays when Golden Freddy jumpscares the player, suggesting that it belonged to him. If he was a hallucination,there would be no way that his scream could have been recorded.
Nathan Dunlap Murders Parallel[]
On December 14th, 1993, Nathan Dunlap murdered Colleen O'Connor, Benjamin Grant, Sylvia Crowell, and Marge Kohlberg at a Chuck E. Cheese in Aurora, Colorado. After hiding in the restaurant after hours, Dunlap used a small caliber handgun to kill four out of the five employees working that night, injuring the fifth, Bobby Stevens. He then raided the building's safe and left but was caught within hours and convicted using security footage and testimony from the survivor.[1]
Freddy Fazbear's Pizza is a similar establishment to Chuck E. Cheese, and the time period is roughly the same, likely being 1991 and 1996, which easily encompasses 1993. (For information on how the year for the game is obtained, see the Mike Schmidt Trivia.) Additionally, the location of the victims and Dunlap roughly correspond with the animatronics themselves.
This corrolation could suggest that Mike Schmidt is the murderer. However, it goes one step further by claiming that Mike Schmidt is actually a death row inmate and Five Nights at Freddy's plays out in his nightmares. This explains why, no matter what happens, he leaves safely at 6 AM. Not to mention, his nightmares involve him being attacked by his victims, taunted by the survivor, and he's forced to watch the same camera feed that ultimately robbed him of his freedom. And once he survives one week, he's left to relive it over and over again.
Rumors[]
These are fan-made rumors that have turned out to be false. None of these are to be accepted as canon as they were made in an attempt to prove something that wasn't in existence in the game, have no evidence, or were made to attempt to trick the fanbase.
1/9/8/7 on Custom Night[]
The biggest rumor about the game was that setting the A.I. levels on the Custom Night screen to 1/9/8/7 would reveal a secret ending to the game. Despite numerous people playing the night with those settings and showing that there was only one ending, many people believed completing the night with these settings would unlock an ending where Mike is not fired. This rumor was disproved after Update 1.3, which added the Golden Freddy kill-screen to the game whenever this code was entered. There is still no alternate ending to the Custom Night, aside from gaining a third star after completing 4/20 Mode.
0/6/6/6 or 6/6/6/6 on Custom Night[]
It was rumored that entering either 0/6/6/6 or 6/6/6/6 on the Custom Night screen would enable the Kitchen camera. However, this has been proven false, as there are no images files for the Kitchen within the game.
Sparky the Dog[]
The photoshopped picture of Sparky in-game.
Sparky the Dog was a fan-made animatronic that was stated to appear on the Backstage camera. He was created by Tumblr users kodiabear and nyugen. He was described as a dog-like animatronic with a missing arm. Some claimed he was "non-violent" and would not attack the player, only occasionally appearing in the doorway to Backstage. He is completely fan-made and is not in the game, as no files for him exist. The only image of him is a photoshopped image released by his creator. The creator also claimed that Sparky is fake in this post.
Pirated/Torrented Death[]
Supposedly, if FNaF 1 is pirated from a specific torrent site, the player will get jumpscared by Freddy every time they try to close the game, as a way for Scott Cawthon to "punish" those who didn't pay for the full version of the game. A similar trick was pulled by Greenheart Games.
"The Cupcake is a Camera"[]
It's rumored that the cupcake in the Office is a camera. The evidence for this is that the monitors on The Office desk seem to switch on and broadcast any attack on Mike Schmidt. However, this is easily proven false, as seen in this gif. The monitors clearly show something from inside the room. And if you look, each monitor shows a different angle. If the cupcake really were a camera, they would show the same angle. But they don't. In fact, they show angles impossible for the cupcake to see from its position facing forward on the OTHER side of the room from Foxy. This suggests that the monitors simply reflect the attack rather than display it. However, why they don't reflect anything until an attack happens is unknown.
Surprise Bonnie Screen[]
Twitcher KennyXii encountering the Bonnie screen.
A rumor that's been gaining attention is one where, upon opening the game, the eyeless hallucination of Bonnie will appear and stare at the player. Information about how this occurs is unknown and seems to be random. Some reports say it lasts for just a few seconds and some say it can last for several minutes. Some even say that Bonnie's eyes start to slowly turn white. And further still, some say it can occur on death as well. With the inconsistencies in the reports and the only evidence being screen shots which can easily be manipulated, if at all, the rumor seems rather unlikely. However, despite the conflicting reports, at least some form of this has been proven true, including the death screen.
Theories[]
The following are fan-generated theories with evidence to back them up that attempt to explain certain aspects of the game. None of these theories have been confirmed and should not be accepted as canon.
Jeremy Is The Bite of '87 Victim[]
One very popular theory is that Jeremy Fitzgerald is the victim of the much-debated Bite of '87. On Night 6, Phone Guy says, "Uh, we have one more event scheduled for tomorrow, a birthday. You'll be on day shift, wear your uniform, stay close to the animatronics, make sure they don't hurt anyone, okay?" This leads people to believe that Jeremy did as he was told and, having stayed close to the animatronics, wound up being attacked and bitten by one of them.
Supporting this theory is the fact that the animatronic characters had been acting strangely recently, having been possibly tampered with. "But the characters have been acting very unusual, almost aggressive towards the staff. They interact with the kids just fine, but when they encounter an adult, they just...stare," Phone Guy says, which may imply that Jeremy, being so close to the animatronics, could have easily made him a target.
Fritz Smith is the Phone Guy[]
Another very popular theory is that the night guard for Night 7 - Fritz Smith, according to his termination slip - is actually the Phone Guy himself. Supporters of this theory point out that Phone Guy offers to take Jeremy's shift at night, while Jeremy fills in for the newly-available day shift; Jeremy works on Night 6, so Night 7 theoretically would be the very next night.
On the other hand, Phone Guy states on Night 6's call that they have "one more event scheduled" before the restaurant is forced to close due to an incident, and that he himself would take over the night shift "when the place eventually opens again." This implies that Phone Guy did not begin working the night shift immediately, but rather would begin if and when the pizzeria reopened. It is even possible that there was no guard necessary for that night at all, if the pizzeria closed up that very day - especially if The Bite of '87 occurred during the birthday party, causing a premature shutdown of the establishment.
Furthermore, Fritz's notice of termination states, "First day on the job? Really?!?!" which likely rules out Phone Guy as he has obviously worked for much longer than just one day - unless management considered his first night shift as his first day as it would have been his first time working that particular task.
It is also possible that Night 7 is simply not considered canon, much like the Custom Night from the first game, rendering the identity of Fritz Smith irrelevant to the story at large.
Rumors[]
These are fan-made rumors that have turned out to be false. None of these are to be accepted as canon as they were made in an attempt to prove something that wasn't in existence in the game or were made to attempt to trick the fanbase.
Man In The Main Hall[]
It was rumored via a YouTube video that a shadow of a man could be seen in the Main Hall. In the video, when the Monitor was flipped to the Main Hall, the player would see a shadowy man standing in the middle of the hall, wearing what seems to be a security badge. Upon seeing this mysterious shadow, Phone Guy's call becomes garbled for a split second before returning to normal, as if the appearance of the "man" glitched the audio.
Though much debate was sparked over the legitimacy of the video, this has been proven just a rumor, as the creator of the video has since explained on a follow-up video that the clip was in fact fake.
Purple Chica/Golden Freddy Mishmash[]
Another YouTube video was released during the same time frame by another user, featuring gameplay from FNaF2 but with a supposed "Easter egg". The video starts with a ringing phone, followed by a sudden flash of a dark, purple figure wearing a yellow badge slumped against the wall in The Office in the same place and pose as Golden Freddy. Immediately after this flash of the mysterious figure, the screen cuts to static and the full XSCREAM sound byte from the first game is heard.
This video claimed to reveal the secrets of the Purple Man and the possibility that he is Phone Guy. However, inspection of the video reveals that the slumped figure is simply an edited mash of Golden Freddy with Chica's head, tinted purple. The XSCREAM file is also not present in the game files, making it impossible that it could play in the game at all.
Night 8[]
There have been reports of a "Night 8" option appearing on the main menu in rare cases when continuing from Night 5. This seems to be a glitch in which the text that normally should read "Night 5" inexplicably changes to "Night 8", and can be triggered by scrolling the mouse quickly over the main menu screen, as seen in this video (via Twitch). When the player manages to click the Night it will show the "1st Night" screen as there is no image for the "8th Night". Since there is no data for Night 8 all animatronics and the Puppet are off, except for Foxy due his broken AI. Once the Night is completed the game will hang on the "6 AM Screen" until you close the game. You can view Night 8 being played here to completion.
Another video that surfaced on YouTube shows the player selecting Night 8 and actually being able to load into it, only to be confronted with Golden Freddy already sitting in The Office, making survival virtually impossible. However, this video was made by a user who is known for fake, edited footage, and thus the video cannot be trusted.
While the Night itself is a programming error, the rumor of Night 8 having any sort of significance to the story is proven false. It is explained how the Night comes about by the Reddit user onevsamillion in his post. onevsamillion went into more detail on how this works on this post. This also can occur in FNaF 1 if you do the same actions.
Additionally, this glitch can be used to make the menu read other values, including negative numbers. However, it will not show "Night 0." When completing a night with a negative number, the game will not automatically return to the main menu. Instead, the animated confetti in the background will fall indefinitely.
Balloon Girl[]
On rare occasions, a strangely-colored Balloon Boy will appear under the player's desk in The Office. He doesn't do anything but lurk, and eventually just leaves. Though the model is exactly the same as the normal BB, his colors are shifted, leading some to believe it is a different animatronic altogether. This "special" version of BB was soon dubbed "Balloon Girl", a name then perpetuated on YouTube, causing viewers to catch on and begin to refer to the palette-swapped BB as such.
Since this character doesn't do anything, it is currently impossible to determine why BB appears in this way or how he is triggered. Similarly, without any evidence to support the theory other than the odd colors, there is also no reason to believe it is a separate character from the normal Balloon Boy at all. Thus, he remains officially referred to as Balloon Boy, albeit an altered one, and perhaps even a true hallucination.
Shadow BB[]
In mid-January 2015, a rumor sprung up claiming that someone had found a "Shadow BB" in the mobile version of the game. This supposed special Balloon Boy looks just like Shadow Bonnie, a black silhouette with white dots for eyes and teeth - differing from an earlier rumor claiming a "Shadow BB" existed that looked broken and rusted out. However, there is no gameplay footage of either of these rumored alternate BB's, only images; none of which are actually found in the game's files. Therefore, there is no such Shadow BB in the game, despite how many of the pictures have been circulated, perpetuating the rumors.
STUB This article is a stub, and needs to be expanded on. You can help us out by editing the page to add more information or images. Thank you!
STUB This article is a stub, and needs to be expanded on. You can help us out by editing the page to add more information or images. Thank you!
