What was the Bite of ’87 in ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s?’

If you haven’t heard of Five Nights at Freddy’s — or FNAF for short — within the last decade, it’s safe to say you’ve been living under a rock. In an IGM interview, FNAF creator Scott Cawthon stated that the idea for the horror franchise stemmed from a resoundingly negative reaction to his previous game, the family-friendly Chipper & Sons Lumber Co., where players claimed that the main character Tyke (a beaver’s son) resembled “a scary animatronic animal,” and reviewer Jim Sterling called the game “unintentionally terrifying.” From a fateful slip-up with Cawthon’s questionable character models, FNAF was born.

Five Nights at Freddy’s follows a security guard who takes the night shift at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza (think Chuck E. Cheese), a family-friendly pizzeria named after its mascot, Freddy Fazbear. Assuming the role of the night-time employee, players must survive each night with limited power, all while keeping the sentient and hostile animatronics that roam the restaurant at bay.

An explanation for the game’s lore eventually reveals itself through voice recordings, minigames, and Easter eggs. But there’s one significant incident that isn’t too clear — the infamous Bite of ’87.

The Bite of 87 Explained

As the name suggests, the Bite of ’87 was an incident that occurred in 1987 at the second Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and it was briefly mentioned by Phone Guy, a former Freddy Fazbear’s employee who aids the protagonists with ominous tips and forewarnings. There’s plenty of speculation, but the identities of both the victim and the animatronic involved are unknown, but the Bite of ’87 supposedly resulted in the victim losing their frontal lobe and miraculously surviving.

The newsworthy incident attributed to the company’s reputation downfall, resulting in a major drop in business at the chain restaurant’s many locations.

In a last-ditch effort to prevent the Bite of ’87 from repeating itself, management made it so that the animatronics were no longer allowed to wander around the building during the day, and their free-roaming mode was limited to nighttime. This decision is quite possibly the driving force behind the game’s overall premise.

A similar incident would be the Bite of ’83, wherein a young child is bullied by older kids into “giving Freddy Fazbear a kiss.” This results in him being pushed into Freddy’s gaping jaw, only for the animatronic to clamp down on his head, crushing it.

Bite of ’87 Theories

With how horrific and significant the Bite of ’87 plotline is, it’s no surprise that many have been left wondering which character is responsible for it. There has been no official confirmation as to who it was, perhaps to continue the conversation and generate continued interest in the franchise as fans hope to learn the truth one day. In the meantime, fans have taken it upon themselves to generate a number of well-constructed theories as to who could be the culprit.

Foxy

FNAF fans have long speculated that Foxy is the animatronic responsible for the Bite of ’87, given his sharp and serrated teeth. In Foxy’s domain, known as Pirate Cove, there’s a sign that reads “Sorry! Out of Order,” implying that Foxy fell into disrepair following the incident and was put out of commission. Foxy’s jaw also hangs loosely, suggesting that considerable force might have disjointed it. However, Foxy is cleared of suspicion in the second game, when it’s proven that he was most likely getting repairs when the bite took place.

Freddy

Some other fans speculate that Freddy Fazbear himself was responsible; on the ‘Rules’ board located in the East Hall in the original game, one of the rules listed states, “Don’t touch Freddy.” It’s possible that this rule may have been enacted after the Bite of ’87. There’s also some analysis of Freddy’s face that highlights handprints, suggesting that someone may have struggled against him at some point. This was disproven in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, however, when Freddy is seen wearing a different, print-less mask.

Mangle

Finally, some players believe that Mangle was responsible for the Bite of ’87. This theory seems the most plausible, since Mangle’s jumpscare animation sees it swinging down from above, jaws open wide, and biting the player in the head — right around where the frontal lobe would be located. The lore also states that Mangle was designed to be dismantled repeatedly as a “take apart and put back together” attraction for children, so there’s a motive for Mangle to be vengeful against youngsters specifically.

There’s many more stories behind the Bite of ’87, but no one knows the truth. In fact, it’s never confirmed whether the victim is a child or not, so it could very well be an adult. We’ll keep theorizing regardless.