FNAF Lore: 1990s- 2023 Summarized
Michael Afton and Ennard (Sister Location) – Late 1990s: In the Sister Location game, you play from the perspective of Michael again, working overnight at an underground storage facility to tend to his father’s creations, which have now turned into rental animatronics. Michael does this in search of more information about what his father was doing, deciding to work parts and service. What Michael doesn’t know is that the animatronics stuck down in this storage facility want a way out, and Circus Baby’s only goal is to leave. Taking care of animatronic maintenance, Michael has several encounters with Circus Baby, still possessed by Elizabeth, until she lures him into a place called the scooping room. Normally used to remove an animatronic endoskeleton for repair, the scooping room is littered with parts of all the animatronics at the Sister Location, until suddenly, Michael’s insides are removed by the scooper. An amalgamation known as Ennard watches from behind the glass, created by scooped insides of every funtime animatronic, all of which now share a hive mind. To escape the building, Ennard crawls into Michael’s skin, leaving the Sister Location. Ennard eventually stops using Michael’s skin as a glove, leaving remnant behind as he makes his escape into the sewers. With this remnant, Michael Afton is unable to die, being kept alive as a walking corpse. It’s important to note that Circus Baby or Elizabeth Afton was not included in Ennard, and after being scooped, she reassembled herself with parts of scrap metal, becoming something called Scrap Baby from there on out. Ennard decides to scavenge parts to try and make it a sustainable animatronic, with the souls of Afton’s victims turning themselves into Molten Freddy, the remainder of Ennard with the consciousness of Freddy/Gabriel in control. Scrap Baby and Molten Freddy will return in FNAF 6.
Springtrap and Fazbear’s Fright (FNAF 3) – 2023: With a nearly thirty year gap in time between events on the timeline, FNAF 3 takes place in 2023, with all of the previous events that were just described being declared “horror legend” or a “folk tale.” An old Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location is now remodeled as a horror attraction called Fazbear’s Fright, meant to give people a scary experience. However, on night 1 of the game, the phone guy tells the player that a real animatronic was found in a walled off back room. This animatronic is no other than Springtrap, AKA William Afton. Yet again, you play as Michael Afton working the security night shift, still curious for more information about his father. The previously mentioned information about how William came to possess Springtrap is introduced in this game as well. After the final night, it is revealed via a newspaper clipping that Fazbear’s Fright had burned to the ground, presumably an attempt by Michael Afton to get rid of his father William in the process. Unfortunately, however, William escapes, left to roam free with the likes of Scrap Baby and Molten Freddy.
The Return of Henry Emily (FNAF 6/Pizzeria Sim) – 2023: Seeing all of this happen, Henry Emily decides to do something about it, opening a new restaurant under the name Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Michael Afton is again hired as security guard, serving as the player character once again. When the restaurant is opened, the animatronics show up behind the restaurant day after day. The animatronics who show up are Scrap Baby, Molten Freddy, Springtrap and a new animatronic named Lefty. Lefty is an animatronic built by Henry Emily himself with the sole purpose of trapping his daughter Charlie’s (The Puppet) soul inside of it so that he can lure her into the restaurant with the rest of them. After the final night of the animatronics trying to kill Michael yet again, Scrap Baby begins talking to Michael directly, before being cut off by Henry Emily himself. Emily’s monologue encourages the animatronics to release their spirits, promising peace for victims of William Afton. In the same monologue, Emily gives hints as to what awaits for William himself, saying “the darkest pit of hell has opened to swallow you whole… so don’t keep the devil waiting, old friend.” The temperature of the restaurant rises as flames slowly engulf the premises, getting rid of all the animatronics for good, as well as killing Michael Afton and Henry Emily in the process.
Conclusion: This is the end of the Five Nights at Freddy’s timeline. A depiction of William Afton’s personal hell can be seen in FNAF Ultimate Custom Night, but it bears little relevance to the events that happen in real life in the FNAF canon. Several games have been published after Ultimate Custom Night, continuing the story, although they act as a newer separate chapter, and it would be doing the first six games a disservice to try and shoehorn in something that bears little relevance to Scott Cawthon’s definitive and complete timeline.
Writer: Dylan Wood
Artist: Tony Molina
