The iconic indie horror franchise Five Nights at Freddy's is full of terrifying moments that have stuck with fans even years after each game's release. This series has slowly grown from a small indie game to a giant franchise, with each game bringing players to a new location with new animatronics. Since the release of the first game in 2014, the series has been providing many scares with its countless memorable moments through numerous inputs.
Common tense atmosphere, terrifying robots and countless unpredictable jumpsuitsA lot of things helped put this indie franchise on the map. With each new addition to the series, there is always something incredibly memorable that lingers in players' memories even after they turn the game off. While there are so many iconic moments throughout the FNAF franchise, there are only a few that can truly be considered the scariest.
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FNAF 1 Golden Freddy Jumpscare
The original Jumpscare to crash the game
When the first FNAF game was released, one of the biggest and most unexpected scares the player could experience was absolutely Golden Freddy. This golden bear animatronic would suddenly appear in the player's office even if all the doors were closed, giving them a jumpscare before causing the game to crash. Combined with the repeatedly flashing words “it’s me,” it was a moment that undoubtedly scared countless people the first time they experienced it.
While this moment is incredibly iconic, it's fairly easy to avoid once the player understands how it triggers. Once they know that Golden Freddy will appear after coming across the posters with his face, they can easily turn the camera to make it disappear as soon as he shows up at the office. Regardless, this initial scare is still incredibly iconic in the eyes of many fans and hasn't been forgotten even years later.
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Stuck looking for help
Trapped in a game by a killer
VR Help Wanted It was a unique game seriesbecause it not only allowed the player revive numerous icons FNAF virtual reality gamesbut it also introduced many new features for players to discover. The most important new character introduced was Glitchtrap, who was revealed to be the soul of infamous assassin William Afton roaming the game as a malicious AI.
If the player manages to find all the tapes and other secrets, they will be able to experience the Trapped ending. This scene has the player finding themselves in a small room with a metal door covered in numerous handprints and scratches. Interacting with the door causes Glitchtrap to walk through it, silencing the player before leaving them alone to their fate. While it's a simple enough moment, the implication that Glitchtrap is now able to move around freely while the player remains trapped inside the game is a horrifying thought that stays with them even after the game ends.
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Moondrop's first appearance in security breach
The daycare attendant hides a secret
FNAF: security breach introduced many new animatronics, including the duo who run the daycare center known as Sundrop and Moondrop. What makes Moondrop's first appearance in the game particularly frightening is Sun's frantic screams about warning the player to keep the lights on, before he falls over and his personality completely changes. Although Sundrop is known to be very friendly and cheerful, Moondrop is shown to be very menacing, complete with a husky, disturbing voice.
The scares in Security breach don't stop after this initial revelation, as Moondrop then proceeds to chase the player through the daycare while they look for generators to turn the power back on. The player is forced to wander in the dark, passing through narrow playground corridors, never knowing if Moondrop is just around the corner. Combining the fear of the dark with the fear of monsters makes this moment incredibly iconic and terrifying throughout the franchise.
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FNAF 4 Animatronic Cabinet
Beware of monsters in the closet
The biggest reason for this FNAF 4 is so effective at scaring players simply because it takes away the typical safety of a child's room and turns it into a dangerous area. The player is forced to crawl around the room, closing doors and turning on their flashlight to prevent dangerous animatronics from entering. By far one of the most surprising moments in this game is finding Foxy looking at them in the child's closet.
This moment is particularly scary because plays on that common childhood fear to find monsters hidden inside the closet. This forces players to face an old fear as they come face to face with a horrific animatronic that wants to jump out and kill them. Although the moments are brief, they are very effective at scaring the player, making them nervous every time they try to check the closet at night.
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Ballora Gallery and Funtime Auditorium
Avoiding animatronics in completely dark rooms
There are several cases in FNAF: Sister Location where the player needs to go through the animatronic rooms to progress, and Ballora and Funtime Foxy's Rooms are equally scary. Ballora's room forces the player to slowly walk through a pitch-black room, relying only on their sound sense to detect when Bellora is nearby, and forcing them to stay absolutely still to avoid being detected. The Funtime Auditorium, in turn, provides the player with a beacon to learn about the environment, avoiding the animatronic fox at all costs.
Both moments are very effective with their scares due to the great tension that both scenarios cause for the player. However, while Ballora's Gallery can be fairly easy to access as long as the player is careful to listen, the Funtime Auditorium can be quite frustrating at times. Despite this, it's undeniable that players will be scared as they struggle to get through these rooms without being detected.
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Collection room and end of Sister Location
The player's body is assumed
The end of FNAF Sister Location is particularly disturbing mainly due to the amount of build-up before the big reveal. The player finds himself in a large room, facing a large, menacing contraption with no clear idea of its purpose. Only halfway through Baby's monologue does it become clear that the machine that was previously used to scoop ice cream will now be used to scoop ice cream. remove the inside of the playerand they can't do anything when the machine finally activates.
Afterwards, the player sees a shot of their character's body slowly advancing towards a mirror with their body shrouded in shadows. Although everything seems normal at first, it's not until her eyes open that it becomes clear that his body became inhabited by one of the animatronics. The idea of some strange entity taking control of someone's body is a horrifying thought, which makes the final scene incredibly disturbing, even after the game is over.
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The Bite of 83
A horrible, tragic and iconic incident in the franchise
An incredibly iconic moment from the end of FNAF 4this scene depicts a rather frightening moment that many fans were hoping to learn more about during the years leading up to its release. The scene itself shows a crying child being carried by his older brother and his few friends towards the animatronic Fredbear. The player can only watch helplessly as the child is carried into Fredbear's mouth, before your head is suddenly crushed by its jaws.
What makes this moment particularly frightening is how shocking the scene itself is. Although no blood and gore are shownthe sight of a child's head being crushed by an animatronic's jaws is enough to conjure horrific images of what it could actually look like in real life. The silent transition back to the main menu just forces the player to process everything they've seen, letting the initial terror really sink in moments later.
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The death of the phone guy
Losing the player's only companion
Phone Guy has been an iconic character since the beginning of the franchise, despite never being seen in the games. Being the first voice the player hears upon starting the first two games, it serves as a helpful guide that ensures that all necessary information is provided at the beginning of each night.
On the fourth night of FNAF 1however, the player is unable to do anything like Phone Guy is captured and killed by the animatronics in the middle of a call. The fact that there are no visuals to accompany the audio only serves to heighten the sense of discomfort and horror the player feels in that moment, as they can only imagine what Phone Guy endured before his death. The player is only left with a lingering sense of dread as they are forced to continue alone for the remaining nights while mourning the loss of their helpful guide.
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Hiding from Springtrap
Tension-filled moments straight out of a horror movie
In the well is the last entry in FNAF franchise, and there are several moments that are equally horrible. Most of the scares throughout the game come from the tense moments where the player is forced to hide from Springtrapbe it inside a closet, under the bed or even inside a Golden Freddy suit. As Springtrap pursues protagonist Oswald, the player must ensure they are not discovered by moving out of Springtrap's sight, ensuring other creatures do not reveal their presence, and even holding their breath.
What makes these moments particularly disturbing is the sheer amount of detail put into the game's pixel art. Springtrap looks absolutely terrifying in every case, moving like an unsettling beast that stalks its prey at every turn. Combined with the use of first-person camera perspective In these moments, the player feels as if Springtrap is not hunting Oswald, but rather them, thus increasing the tension.
The Horrifying Sight of a Murderer's Decaying Corpse
THE FNAF The franchise has often avoided showing blood unless it's in the 8-bit minigames, so the main menu's secret images in FNAF 3 It came as a shock to countless people when they were found. The multiple horrific images show William Afton's decomposing corpse trapped in the springlock suit, screaming and trying to tear it away. Such detailed and horrific images had never been seen before. Five Nights at Freddy's franchise up to this point, making his appearance the most disturbing moment in the entire franchise.