Scott Cawthon knows how to mess with our heads. It's been years since the cryptic teasers for Five Nights at Freddy's 4 started appearing on his website, yet the phrase fnaf was it me still haunts the comment sections of theory videos. You remember the site, right? Just a black screen, a terrifyingly detailed animatronic, and that bright red text that looked like it was dripping blood.
It wasn't just a marketing gimmick. It was a riddle.
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When people search for fnaf was it me, they aren't just looking for a nostalgia trip. They’re trying to solve the "Bite of '87" or maybe the "Bite of '83." It depends on which side of the lore fence you sit on. Honestly, the confusion started because Scott decided to pivot. For a long time, we all thought the fourth game would finally show us who took a chunk out of a security guard's frontal lobe in 1987. Then the game dropped, and suddenly we were looking at a kid in 1983.
Confused? You should be. Everyone was.
The Nightmare Teasers and the Red Text
Back in 2015, the community was obsessed. Every time Scott updated his site, we’d download the image and crank the brightness up in Photoshop. Usually, there was a hidden "NIGHTMARE" or a "7" tucked away in the shadows. But the fnaf was it me text was different because it appeared on different teasers for different characters.
Nightmare Bonnie had it. Nightmare Foxy had it.
Even Nightmare Fredbear joined in, though his was arguably the most chilling because of the massive teeth in his stomach. The phrase felt like a confession. Or a dare. It was Scott’s way of asking the community to point the finger. Who was responsible for the tragedy that defined the series? If you look at the source code of the website during that era, "87" was everywhere. It felt like a lock. A guarantee.
Then came the "Was it him?" and "Or me?" variations.
This shifted the perspective. It wasn't just one animatronic claiming credit; it was a competition of horrors. By the time we saw Nightmare Chica with her multiple rows of teeth, the phrase had morphed into a central pillar of the FNAF 4 hype train. We weren't just playing a game; we were participating in a digital scavenger hunt where the prize was a piece of a story that felt like it was slipping through our fingers.
Why the "Bite of 87" Theory Eventually Folded
For years, the fandom blamed Foxy. It made sense! He was out of order in the first game. His jaw was hanging loose. He had the sharpest teeth. When the teaser for Nightmare Foxy dropped with the fnaf was it me caption, the internet basically screamed "I KNEW IT!" in unison.
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But Scott is a master of the subversion.
The "Bite of '87" happened at the Five Nights at Freddy's 2 location. We know this because Phone Guy mentions it in the first game as a past event, and the second game is a prequel set in 1987. But FNAF 4 showed us a child’s bedroom and a diner. This was Fredbear’s Family Diner. We saw the "Bite of '83" happen to the Crying Child.
This creates a massive lore rift.
If the fnaf was it me teasers were referring to the Bite of '87, then why did the game focus on a totally different incident four years earlier? Some theorists, like MatPat from Game Theory, spent months trying to reconcile these dates. The reality is likely that Scott changed his mind during development or used the "87" hype to lead us toward a deeper, more personal tragedy involving the Afton family. It's frustrating. It's brilliant. It's basically FNAF in a nutshell.
Nightmare Fredbear and the Identity Crisis
Look closely at Nightmare Fredbear. Out of all the characters associated with fnaf was it me, he is the most significant. He represents the origin. In the minigames, he is the one whose jaws close on the Crying Child’s head because of a "prank" gone wrong.
Was it him? Technically, yes.
But was it the animatronic or was it the brother wearing the Foxy mask? That's where the phrase gets deeper. It's not just about the physical act of biting; it's about the guilt. If we view the Nightmares as manifestations of the brother's trauma (Michael Afton), then the question "Was it me?" takes on a much more human, much more depressing meaning. He's asking if he's the monster.
- The Culprit: Fredbear (Physical).
- The Catalyst: Michael Afton (Action).
- The Victim: The Crying Child.
The red text wasn't just spooky font choice. It represented the bleeding heart of a story about a broken family. When you see that phrase now, you shouldn't just think about jump scares. Think about the fact that Scott managed to turn a simple mystery about a robot bite into a multi-generational saga of murder and regret.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Teasers
A lot of casual fans think the teasers were just random. They weren't. Scott used the metadata and the source code to talk to us. While the image showed fnaf was it me, the code often contained a series of "8"s and "7"s.
People also forget about the "Out of Order" sign.
In the original game, Foxy’s sign was a huge clue. When Nightmare Foxy’s teaser appeared, his tongue was a literal flickering flame. Some thought it was a hint toward the "Burning of Fazbear’s Fright" from the third game. But no, it was just Scott leaning into the "Nightmare" aesthetic. The most important thing to remember is that these teasers were meant to be misleading. They were designed to make us look at the wrong year so the 1983 reveal would land harder.
It worked. Maybe too well. To this day, you’ll find fans arguing in Reddit threads about whether the Bite of '87 has even been shown on screen. (Hint: It probably hasn't, at least not in the way we expected).
The Legacy of the Phrase in Modern FNAF
Even in the newer games like Security Breach or the Help Wanted VR experience, the echoes of the Nightmare era remain. The phrase fnaf was it me set a precedent for how the community interacts with the creator. We don't just wait for trailers; we analyze pixels.
We saw this again with the Ruin DLC.
The mystery of "The Mimic" or the identity of "Cassie’s Dad" follows the same breadcrumb trail that began with those red-lettered questions. Scott realized that giving a direct answer is never as satisfying as asking a haunting question. The "Was it me?" era was the peak of this philosophy. It turned a niche indie horror game into a global phenomenon because it made the audience feel like detectives.
Actionable Steps for Lore Enthusiasts
If you’re trying to piece together the timeline yourself, don't just take the teasers at face value. You have to look at the context of when they were released.
- Check the Wayback Machine: Look at https://www.google.com/search?q=Scottgames.com snapshots from April to July 2015. You can see the progression of the "Was it me?" text and how it changed for each character.
- Compare the Teeth: Notice that Nightmare Chica and Nightmare Fredbear have rows of teeth that shouldn't exist on a standard animatronic. This suggests the "me" in the question might not be a physical robot, but a dream version.
- Watch the 1983 vs 1987 Debates: Familiarize yourself with the "Two Bites" theory. It’s the only way to make sense of why the teasers screamed 1987 while the game screamed 1983.
- Analyze the Color Palette: The red used in the "Was it me?" text matches the "Old Man Consequences" red and the "Five Nights at Freddy's 4" logo. It’s a specific visual cue for the end of the "Afton" trilogy.
The mystery of fnaf was it me might never get a 100% confirmed, developer-signed answer, but that's the point. It’s a ghost in the machine. It’s a reminder that in the world of Freddy Fazbear, the truth is usually buried under several layers of static and shadow. Stop looking for a single name and start looking at the tragedy as a whole. That's where the real story lives.
To get the full picture, re-examine the FNAF 4 minigames and pay close attention to the colors of the text bubbles. Each color represents a different speaker, and often, the "Was it me?" sentiment is echoed in the final dialogue before the screen goes black. The answers aren't in the jump scares; they're in the silence that follows.
Fact Check: The "Bite of '87" was first mentioned by Phone Guy on Night 1 of the original Five Nights at Freddy's. The teaser images featuring the phrase "Was it me?" were officially released on https://www.google.com/search?q=Scottgames.com leading up to the release of Five Nights at Freddy's 4 in 2015. Confirmed animatronics featuring this text included Nightmare Bonnie, Nightmare Foxy, and Nightmare Chica.