the true story of five nights at freddy's

Nathan Dunlap Murders Parallel

On October 23, 2014, Youtube channel The Game Theorists posted a video with a compelling theory about Five Nights at Freddy's. In the video, narrator MatPat describes how the game parallels the murders committed by one Nathan Dunlap in a Chuck E. Cheese on December 14, 1993 in Aurora, Colorado. The gist of the story is as follows: Dunlap was fired from the restaurant five months prior due to a disagreement on his hours. On the night of the attack, he hid in the restrooms until the restaurant was emptied out, save for four employees (Colleen O'Connor, Benjamin Grant, Sylvia Crowell, and Bobby Stevens) and night manager (Marge Kohlberg). When executing his attack, Dunlap used a small caliber handgun to kill O'Connor, Grant, and Crowell, all of whom were cleaning the dining/game area. He then proceeded to the kitchen, where he shot Stevens in the jaw. However, unknown to Dunlap, Stevens was still alive and simply playing dead in hopes that Dunlap would not finish the job. Dunlap left the kitchen and entered the back office where Kohlberg was. After having her open the safe, Dunlap shot her as well, raided the safe, and left. Dunlap was caught within hours and convicted using security footage and testimony from Stevens.

There are many parallels that run between this story and the game. They may be coincidental, but there are a fair many.

- Setting

The setting for the murders was a Chuck E. Cheese in December of 1993. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza is very clearly an establishment similar in theme to a Chuck E. Cheese. As far as the year goes, the setting for the game is most likely between 1991 and 1996, which easily encompasses 1993. (For information on how the year for the game is obtained, see the Mike Schmidt Trivia.)

- Animatronics

More interesting is the parallels between the victims and the animatronics themselves.

When considering the Supply Closet, it's a rather odd room in that it seems fairly pointless. It's a small room that only Bonnie can enter and has nothing inside other than floor cleaning material. This is linked to Benjamin Grant, who was vacuuming the floors when he was murdered.

Sylvia Crowell was the closest victim to the bathroom and was cleaning the salad bar when attacked. This link's Chica's "Let's Eat" motto and her path by the restrooms to Crowell.

Foxy is linked to Marge Kohlberg as both are sequestered off from the rest in the back of the restaurant. Kohlberg being the night manager would make her a more aggressive person, translating to Foxy's aggressive behavior.

The only victim to not have a strong correlation is Colleen O'Connor, who would be tied to Freddy. However, after passing through the Dining Area, Freddy hides in the women's restroom. This could be a nod to Colleen being a woman, but more likely would be a nod to Dunlap hiding in the bathrooms before his attack.

Golden Freddy himself is an enigma for the animatronics but plays a part in this theory as well, correlating to Bobby Stevens. Golden Freddy has a tendency to show up unexpectedly and appears in the limp, slumped over position. The positioning could be reference to Stevens playing dead after getting shot. As for Golden Freddy's surprising appearances, it relates to Stevens unexpectedly being alive, to Dunlap's surprise, and being the final nail in the coffin for the killer.

- Result

The result of this theory is that Mike Schmidt is the murderer. However, it goes one step further by claiming that Mike Schmidt is actually a death row inmate and Five Nights at Freddy's plays out in his nightmares. This explains why, no matter what happens, he leaves safely at 6 AM. Not to mention, his nightmares involve him being attacked by his victims, taunted by the survivor, and he's forced to watch the same camera feed that ultimately robbed him of his freedom. And once he survives one week, he's left to relive it over and over again.

Rumors

These are fan-made rumors that have turned out to be false. None of these are to be accepted as canon as they were made in an attempt to prove something that wasn't in existence in the game or were made to attempt to trick the fanbase.