If you’ve spent more than five minutes in the Five Nights at Freddy’s fandom, you know the scream. Markiplier leaning into his mic, eyes wide, yelling about a pixelated golden bear chomping down on a child’s head. It’s iconic. It’s a meme. It’s also, weirdly enough, usually wrong. People constantly mix up the fnaf bite of 87 with the event shown in the fourth game, and honestly, that’s where the headache starts for anyone trying to piece together the Scott Cawthon timeline.
The fnaf bite of 87 isn't just a throwaway line of dialogue from a creepy phone call. It’s the foundational mystery that turned a small indie horror game into a global powerhouse. When Phone Guy mentioned it in the first game, he did it so casually. "They used to be allowed to walk around during the day, too. But then there was the Bite of '87." Just like that, the lore exploded.
Why does a fictional injury to a frontal lobe matter so much in 2026? Because it represents the moment the franchise shifted from a simple "survive the night" game to a complex, decade-long detective story.
The Incident That Changed Freddy Fazbear’s Forever
Let’s get the facts straight. The fnaf bite of 87 took place at the "New and Improved" Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza—the setting of the second game. This is a crucial distinction. We know this because of the paycheck at the end of Five Nights at Freddy's 2, which is dated 1987. The animatronics in this location were the shiny "Toy" versions, equipped with advanced facial recognition software tied into a criminal database. They were supposed to be safer. They weren't.
During a day shift, likely a birthday party, one of these machines snapped. We don't see it happen on screen. We only hear the aftermath. The victim survived, which is the most gruesome part of the whole thing. Imagine losing your entire frontal lobe and staying alive. The human brain is resilient, but the PR for a family pizzeria is not.
Who Was the Victim?
Most fans point to Jeremy Fitzgerald. He’s the night guard you play as for the first six nights of the second game. On Night 6, Phone Guy tells him he’s being moved to the day shift for one last event—a birthday party. He’s told to stay close to the animatronics and make sure they don't hurt anyone.
He followed orders. He stayed close.
Then he disappeared from the story.
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It makes the most sense. If Jeremy was the one standing right in the "splash zone" of a malfunctioning animatronic's jaw, he’s the prime candidate. However, some still argue it could have been a nameless child, though the narrative weight usually lands on the guy who was specifically told to wear his uniform and stay near the bots.
Mangle vs. Withered Freddy: The Culprit Debate
For years, the community has argued over who actually did it. If you look at the "Toy" animatronics, Mangle is the obvious suspect. Look at its jaw. It’s huge, unhinged, and swings from the ceiling, making it perfectly positioned to take a bite out of someone’s head from above. Plus, Mangle’s static-filled jumpscare aims directly for the player's forehead.
But then you have the Withered animatronics. They were stored in the back, but they were active. Could a Withered Freddy or Bonnie have done it? Unlikely. The point of the fnaf bite of 87 was that it happened during the day, in front of everyone, involving the bots that were supposed to be "safe."
- Mangle: Highly likely. The design is literally a "take apart and put back together" attraction. It’s broken, glitchy, and aggressive.
- Toy Chica: A dark horse candidate. In Ultimate Custom Night, she has a line asking "Where's my beak? Lodged in your forehead, of course." It’s a bit on the nose.
- Toy Freddy: Too bulky, too slow.
The Great Confusion: 1983 vs. 1987
This is the part that trips everyone up. In Five Nights at Freddy's 4, we see a very clear, very graphic scene of Fredbear crushing a child's head. For years, people screamed "Bite of 87!"
They were wrong.
That was the Bite of '83. We know this because of a tiny Easter egg on a television in a minigame that says "Fredbear and Friends: 1983." Scott Cawthon, the creator, basically had to clarify this because the community was eating itself alive trying to make the math work. The fnaf bite of 87 involved a Toy animatronic at the FNAF 2 location. The Bite of '83 involved a Springlock suit at Fredbear's Family Diner.
It’s confusing. I get it. But the distinction is vital for the timeline. The '83 bite led to the closure of the original diner. The '87 bite led to the Toy animatronics being scrapped and the pizzaria's "free roam" mode being disabled during the day.
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The Science of the Frontal Lobe
Phone Guy specifically mentions that the victim lost their frontal lobe. This isn't just a random body part Scott picked out of a hat. The frontal lobe is the part of the brain that handles personality, decision-making, and motor function.
In the real world, the most famous case of frontal lobe damage is Phineas Gage. A metal rod went through his head, and while he lived, his personality changed completely. By mentioning the frontal lobe, FNAF moved from a "ghost story" to something with a weird, clinical horror edge. It implies the victim was left as a shell—alive, but not really there anymore.
Why the Bite Matters for SEO and Lore Seekers
When people search for the fnaf bite of 87, they aren't just looking for a date. They're looking for the "Why." Why did the animatronics start acting up?
The prevailing theory is that the facial recognition software was tampered with. Or, more likely in the world of FNAF, the souls of the murdered children were beginning to influence the machines. The Toy animatronics weren't just malfunctioning; they were becoming defensive. They saw adults—especially guards in uniform—as threats.
Expert Nuance: The "Save Them" Minigame
If you want to understand the context of 1987, you have to look at the "Save Them" minigame. It shows dead children scattered around the FNAF 2 location. This implies that another set of murders happened right before the bite.
William Afton, the series' main antagonist, was likely active at this location. If he used a spare suit to kill more kids, the animatronics' programming would have been on high alert. They weren't just "glitching." They were hunting for a killer. Jeremy Fitzgerald, wearing the same uniform as Afton, was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that Foxy did it. Because Foxy is "out of order" in the first game, everyone assumed he was the biter. His jaw is broken and hangs loose. It fits the vibe.
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But Foxy wasn't even at the 1987 location in a functional capacity. He was "Withered Foxy," sitting in Parts and Service. While he could have come out, the game heavily implies the newer models were the ones on stage and interacting with the public. Foxy’s "Out of Order" sign in FNAF 1 is more likely due to general wear and tear or a different incident entirely.
Practical Insights for Fans and Theorists
If you're trying to map out the FNAF timeline, do not start with the Bite of '87. It's a pivot point, not a starting point.
- Verify the Location: Always check the animatronic models. If they are "Toy" models, it’s 1987. If they are "Springlocks," it’s earlier.
- Watch the Paychecks: Scott uses the dates on the checks to anchor the lore.
- Ignore the Memes: Markiplier’s reaction is legendary, but remember he was reacting to the 1983 incident. Don't let the "Was that the bite of 87?!" meme cloud the actual evidence.
The fnaf bite of 87 remains one of the most effective pieces of world-building in gaming history. With a single sentence, Scott Cawthon turned a horror game about jump-scaring robots into a tragic saga about corporate negligence and supernatural revenge.
To dive deeper into the timeline, your best bet is to replay Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and pay close attention to the phone calls on Night 5 and 6. The tension is palpable. You can hear the panic in Phone Guy's voice as he realizes the "safest" pizzeria on earth is about to become a crime scene.
Check the "Custom Night" settings in FNAF 2 as well. If you set the AI levels to 1-9-8-7, you get an immediate jumpscare from Golden Freddy. This was Scott’s way of trolling fans who thought there was a secret ending, but it also solidified that specific year as the most cursed date in the franchise's history.
Keep your eyes on the official ScottGames updates or the latest Blumhouse movie news. The lore is constantly being reframed, but the tragedy of 1987 is a fixed point that isn't going anywhere.