The Bite of ‘83

You may have read my previous article about Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, but that was very far into the timeline of Scott Cawthon's intricate story. Easter eggs, clues, and theories from fans have transformed FNAF from a mere horror game to a cohesive, captivating narrative. However, it is worth noting that the story is not in chronological order. To better understand the story, players must play the video games in order starting with Five Nights at Freddy's 4. Within the story, this is known as the "Bite of 83."

It all started when two men, William Afton and Henry Emily, decided to start a business. The business consists of a pizza spot where children's parties may be held. The restaurant also includes various animatronic characters. If you are unaware of what an “animatronic” is, they are robots with animal detailing, carrying on with human characteristics. However, the two designed the animatronics to be worn as costumes as well so the employees could interact with the children in a rather creepy manner. As they opened the restaurant to the public, an abundance of people visited, highlighting the restaurant's overall success. But one night, William Afton, a married man with three children, decided to murder four children inside the restaurant. Luring them one by one into a room, he murders them all. If Afton was caught, he would get into big trouble. Mr. Afton would have to find a place to hide the bodies, and he decided to stuff them inside the animatronics. The police arrived, and the restaurant was then shut down. People speculated about where the missing children went.

While it was all coming to plan for William Afton, Henry Emily experienced otherwise. Emily did not realize that Afton was a murderer until later, so they continued running the business. To continue the process of stuffing children inside animatronics, William Afton decided to construct a new robot called "Circus Baby," where she seems more feminine and dispenses ice cream. The robot is programmed to use a gigantic scooper that grabs children when no one is around. While Circus Baby was performing, Elizabeth Afton, the daughter of William Afton, wanted to approach her. However, Afton continuously denied his daughter's request. But one night, when her father wasn't looking, and no one was around, she decided to go up to Circus Baby. The animatronic dispensed some ice cream to lure Elizabeth closer, and she was scooped off her feet. William Afton searched everywhere for Elizabeth but couldn't find her. However, he soon realized where she went. He shut the restaurant down in frustration and denial that his daughter was gone. Afton couldn't bear the pain and wanted the rest of his children, Michael and Evan, to stay away from the restaurant.

Michael was old enough to understand the situation, but Evan was only a young boy. Every time he had a chance, he would visit the pizza place. Luckily, William Afton always knew that Evan was going without his permission. To prevent Evan from leaving his house, William built four more animatronics like the ones in the pizza place, but scarier. That is when the players play Five Nights at Freddy's 4. They play as Evan Afton trying to survive the night until 6 AM from the animatronics, along with Michael scaring him. William thought that the longer this went on, Evan would stop going to the pizza place. It worked profoundly; however, Michael had other ideas. Michael was a horrible brother to Evan. He would bully him because he enjoyed watching his little brother suffer. One night, when it was Evan's birthday, Michael decided to do one final prank, and Evan did not even want to be at the pizza place. He trapped Evan in a storage room, making Evan feel more afraid than ever. Michael and a few of his friends decided to do a prank where they wanted Evan to kiss the bear. They carried Evan towards the animatronic and shoved his head into the mouth of the bear. Since the bear could also be worn as a costume, the animatronics consist of spring locks, which activate the animatronic. To put on the costume, the spring locks must be off. Unfortunately, only Henry and William knew that accidents could happen with the spring locks. Springlock failures can happen when moisture enters the costume, accidentally turning it into an animatronic. Michael started to feel bad over time while watching his brother cry inside the mouth of the bear, so he wanted to take him out, but due to the tears inside the animatronic, the animatronic crushes Evan's frontal lobe.

William was notified right away and rushed into the hospital. While Evan was lying on his death bed, he was in a coma when a new animatronic began popping up that was scarier. That was the additional night to the video game. As soon as the coma was gone, Evan heard voices. First, it was Michael saying his final sorry. Then, his father told him how sad and hurt he was and how understanding the situation Evan was in. He promised someday he would put his son back together. Unfortunately, those were the last words Evan heard before he died, laying there in 1983.

William was frustrated with the business, and Michael could not think straight. So, what would happen with the business? And what would the relationship with his older son be? That story is for another day.