Fazbear Frights
Five Nights at Freddy’s
So this whole Five Nights at Freddy’s thing can be a touch confusing. At least I was confused when I first started figuring all the different threads out. Because let me tell you, there are several.
It’s really my nephew’s fault. He decided at an early age that he was into the creepy and spooky. His mother however is a big chicken and was just not going to deal with it. Needless to say, he was bummed out. That’s where I decided to step in.
Fazbear Frights
Since most of my friends are in what we call “the murder corner” (they like the horror and the true crime and forcing me out of my comfort zone) I offered to look the games and content over… without realizing just how much there was.
The video games are only the tip of the animatronic iceberg, as I found out the fun way. There were books, comics, theories, guides, and merch everywhere. But it was a lot like those clown tricks where you pull the handkerchief out of their pocket and it goes on and on and on…
So after many YouTube videos and game crash courses I am here and more than a little too in to it. The lore is deep and I have a need to figure out the secrets. So I started reading the books just to make sure there was nothing hidden in all the stories.
As it turns out there are more than one book series as well. I finished the Fazbear Frights series but now there are the Tales from the Pizzaplex. They can all be a bit confusing with everything form the lore floating around as well. Each book (from the Frights series) has three short stories as well as an overarching story that goes on throughout the series.
But, at least as far as I can tell on the Fazbear Frights series, they aren’t necessarily canon to the video game universe. Back in 2019, Scott Cawthon stated that the series would have “three different short stories with unique characters and plot lines, some connected directly to the games, and some not.” Some are directly involved others we’re just going to go with the ever-popular multiverse theory.
Trigger Warnings
This is a horror series. It is marketed towards kids and the like but it is pretty serious horror and you want to make sure that whoever is picking these up is prepared at least on some level. This list is for the series as a whole so some may not be present in all books.
- Body dysphoria
- Blood
- Dieting
- Child death
- Child murder
- Gore
- Murder
- Wounds
- Fatphobia
- Foster care (past)
- Illness
- Infertility (implied)
- Insomnia
- Mental breakdown
- Parental abandonment (past)
- Fire (burns)
- Hospital
- Ableist slur used (spaz)
- Emesis
- Murder of animal
- Parent death (past)
- Spiders
- Ableism (unchallenged including Sp-slur)
- Cancer
- Dieting
- Domestic abuse (past)
- Car crash
- Homeless
- Poverty
- Serial killer (mentioned)
- Stealing
- Vivisection
- Culture appropriation
*There may be spoilers in this review. I will try to avoid major spoilers but some may need to be brought up to be discussed.
Setting
So this series takes place after the events of the Five Nights at Freddy’s game Ultimate Custom Night. There are all sorts of theories and thoughts on just how canon the books are within the story and lore of the games themselves. After reading all of them, there wasn’t too much that really had to do with secrets from the game. They do take place in parallel universes though so they help world-build and add to the story.
That being said they are scattered across what seems to be mostly America or a version of it in another universe. Almost all are in a modern setting with flashbacks or allusions to past decades. There are a lot of 80s. It’s a vibe.
Genre
- Horror
- Mystery
- Sci-Fi
- Story Collection
- Juvenile
- Video Games
- Thriller
Thoughts
I might go back and do mini reviews on all of these but right this moment I am still just riding the wave of having read them all.
Some were exactly how I expected it to go, especially after watching the game play and seeing the lore. I was not prepared to bawl my eyes out. There were a few that were written in a way that I sincerely could not hold back the tears, like Step Closer‘s “Coming Home.” Maybe it’s my sister feelings but, man, that one just hit me right in the tragedy.
There were a few that were more grotesque than I was prepared for, especially since the franchise is marketed more towards kids. There is some serious body and psychological horror in these slim little books and a part of me still hasn’t forgiven them for what now lives in my head rent free. Looking at you, “Room For One More” and “The Breaking Wheel.”
The writing style is pretty simplistic which works to its advantage in some cases, especially the stories that are from the perspectives of younger kids, but could be a little distracting. Sometimes I caught myself getting distracted and fixated on details that really had no relevance to the greater story and that worked against the experience.
There was a running story line at the end of each book that focused on the Stitch Wraith and could be very engaging especially when it started to reveal who was involved. Sometimes it could drag but it felt very game relevant at the same time.
Feelings
It is not for the faint of heart or the overly sensitive. A lot of kids I know are very into them but sometimes I get a little concerned about what the takeaway is for them. My nephew and I were talking about it and horror in general and I was trying to explain to him that some of these things just won’t land until you’ve been to a funeral. Death to a kid who hasn’t had any experience with it can have little to no impact. It’s easy to be callous and lose empathy for what’s going on in the story. Maybe I’m overthinking things but I get a little worried when eight year olds are playing FNAF or watching something Attack on Titan and not really getting the loss and the struggle happening in front of them.
I do think it is an intriguing series. The premise is dark but there are some very human moments that really hit home. It’s a weird thing to recommend being so dark on one hand and so kiddish on the other but there is definitely a niche for it. If you like the games these are worth the read.
