She was the first. That’s a heavy title to carry in a series as convoluted and terrifying as this one. Honestly, when people talk about the lore of Scott Cawthon’s massive indie horror success, they usually get lost in the weeds of Michael Afton’s identity or the exact date of the Bite of '87. But if you want to understand the soul of the series—the actual human cost—you have to look at Five Nights at Freddy's Susie. She isn't just another name on a list of missing children. She’s the proof that William Afton wasn't just a "purple guy" sprite; he was a manipulator who knew exactly how to break a child's heart before he took their life.
Susie represents the bridge between the vague ghost stories of the first game and the deeply personal tragedies we see later on.
Most players first really "met" her through the Fruity Maze mini-game in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator. It’s a bright, neon-colored distraction that hides something truly grim. You're playing a simple arcade game, collecting fruit, and then things start to rot. The dog starts appearing. Blood starts appearing. And then, there’s the man in the Spring Bonnie suit standing behind the girl in the reflection. It’s one of the few times the series stops being "spooky" and starts being genuinely upsetting because it’s so grounded in a child's vulnerability.
The Tragedy of the Dog and the Yellow Suit
The thing about Five Nights at Freddy's Susie is that her death wasn't just a random snatch-and-grab. It was targeted. According to the lore established across the games and reinforced in the Fazbear Frights books—specifically the story "Coming Home"—Susie had a dog that she loved dearly. That dog died. We don't know exactly how, though some fans speculate Afton might have even been responsible for that, too, just to set his trap.
Afton, wearing the Spring Bonnie suit, approached her. He didn't use force. He used kindness, or at least a twisted version of it.
"He's not really dead," the voice told her. "He's over here."
Imagine being a grieving child and having a giant, friendly-looking cartoon character tell you that your lost pet is alive and waiting for you. You’d follow him anywhere. She did. She followed him into the back room, and she never came out. This is why Susie is widely accepted as the soul inhabiting Chica the Chicken. It gives Chica’s constant wandering and her "I was the first, I have seen everything" line (from Ultimate Custom Night) a chilling weight. She saw the other four die. She watched the cycle begin.
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Why Susie Matters More Than the Other Missing Children
It sounds harsh, but for a long time, the Missing Children's Incident (MCI) was just a group of five victims. They were a plot point. But Susie was the one Scott Cawthon decided to humanize first. By giving her a face—curly blonde hair, a pink dress, and a red bow—and a specific backstory involving her pet, the stakes shifted. It wasn't just about haunted robots anymore. It was about the destruction of innocence.
You see this reflected in the Five Nights at Freddy's movie as well. While the movie takes some liberties with the timeline and specific character names, the essence of the "girl in the pink" remains a focal point. It’s a narrative anchor.
The "Coming Home" Connection
If you really want to get into the weeds, look at the Fazbear Frights series. In the story "Coming Home," we get a much more intimate look at Susie’s afterlife. It’s different from the games, sure, but it captures her essence perfectly. She’s depicted as a girl who can’t quite move on, tethered to her family’s home while her physical form remains trapped inside Chica at the pizzeria. It’s a rare moment where the franchise looks at the grief of the families left behind. Her sister, Samantha, can feel her presence. It’s a ghost story that feels more like a tragedy than a slasher flick.
It also clarifies a few things about her personality:
- She was artistic.
- She was incredibly close to her family.
- She possessed a sense of "lostness" that the other spirits, who were often driven purely by rage, didn't always show.
Deciphering the "I Was the First" Mystery
There is a lot of debate in the FNaF community about who died first: Susie or Charlotte Emily (the Puppet). When Withered Chica says, "I was the first, I have seen everything," in Ultimate Custom Night, it sent the theorists into a tailspin.
Basically, the consensus is that Susie was the first victim of the Missing Children's Incident—the group of five who were lured into the back room. Charlotte was murdered outside the restaurant earlier, but Susie was the first to be taken by the "man in the suit." This distinction matters because it makes Susie the witness. She is the one who saw the rest of the horror unfold. She saw Fritz, Jeremy, Gabriel, and Cassidy meet their ends.
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Can you imagine being the first spirit trapped in a heavy, metal animatronic shell, unable to speak, watching your friends get brought into the same room one by one? It’s horrific. It changes how you look at Chica’s behavior in the original 1993 game. She isn't just a monster; she’s a terrified child who has been stuck in a loop for decades.
Visual Cues and the "Red Bow" Identity
The red bow is more than just a design choice. In the Lorekeeper ending of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, we see a series of gravestones. The one in the front, corresponding to the position of Chica, is the one we associate with Susie.
This was later confirmed in the Character Encyclopedia and various other official media. The consistency of her design—the blonde hair and the bow—is rare for a series that loves to change details every five minutes. It’s almost as if Scott Cawthon wanted to make sure we never forgot who she was. She is the face of the victims.
Even in FNaF VR: Help Wanted, the corn maze level and the subtle nods to the "Fruity Maze" girl keep her relevant. She’s the ghost that haunts the periphery of the entire timeline. Honestly, you can't understand Afton's cruelty without understanding how he manipulated her specifically. He didn't just kill her body; he used her love for her dog to lead her to her death. That’s a level of evil that goes beyond just "mad scientist" tropes.
Misconceptions People Have About Susie
People often confuse her with other characters because the FNaF timeline is, frankly, a mess. Let’s clear some stuff up.
First off, Susie is not Elizabeth Afton. They both have blonde hair, yeah, but Elizabeth is the creator’s daughter who gets scooped by Circus Baby. Their stories are totally different. Elizabeth was seeking her father’s approval; Susie was just a kid who wanted her dog back.
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Second, Susie isn't "The One You Should Not Have Killed." That’s generally accepted to be Cassidy (Golden Freddy). Susie is vengeful, sure, but she doesn't seem to have that same level of supernatural control over Afton's "hell" in Ultimate Custom Night. She’s a participant, not the architect.
Lastly, some people think she’s the one who gave the others life. Nope. That’s the Puppet (Charlotte). Susie was the first victim, but Charlotte was the one who "gave gifts, gave life" to the spirits by putting them into the suits. Susie was just the first one to be tucked away into a feathered costume.
How Five Nights at Freddy's Susie Influences the Modern Lore
Even as we move into the Security Breach era and beyond, the echoes of the original victims are still there. The "Blob" (or Tangle) in Security Breach features parts of the original animatronics, including Chica. Whether Susie’s spirit is still in there or if it’s just a "mems" of her remains a hot topic for debate.
But the real impact is thematic. Susie set the template for the "Remnant" experiments. Afton saw that the spirits could inhabit these machines, and Susie was his first successful (and horrific) proof of concept. Every time you see Chica twitch or hear that low, moaning sound she makes in the first game, you’re hearing the remnants of a girl who just wanted to find her puppy.
Actionable Insights for Lore Hunters
If you're trying to piece together the full story of Susie for yourself, don't just stick to the games. The lore is spread across three different mediums. Here is how you should actually track her story down:
- Play Pizzeria Simulator: Specifically, you need to trigger the Fruity Maze secret. You have to finish the game three times, collecting all the items, to see the final, disturbing screen where Afton appears behind her.
- Read "Coming Home": It’s in Fazbear Frights #4: Step Closer. It’s the most "human" Susie has ever been and gives you a much better grasp of her character than a pixelated mini-game ever could.
- Watch the UCN Voice Lines: Listen to Withered Chica’s dialogue in Ultimate Custom Night. Pay attention to the distortion in her voice and the specific phrasing about being "the first."
- Check the Gravestones: Look at the ending of FNaF 6 and compare the layout of the graves to the ending of FNaF 3. The connections between the names and the masks are there if you look closely at the positioning.
The story of Five Nights at Freddy's Susie is a reminder that behind every jump scare in this franchise, there’s a story of a life cut short. She isn't just a mechanic or a jump scare trigger. She’s the heart of the original tragedy. By understanding her, you understand why the community is so obsessed with bringing William Afton down—because he didn't just build robots; he destroyed families, one "missing" dog at a time.