Top 10 Scariest Animatronics in the Five Nights at Freddy's Games

The Five Nights at Freddy's series has delivered some of the most terrifying animatronics in gaming history. From creepy designs to unpredictable jump scares, these robotic nightmares are designed to keep you on edge. Some stalk you from the shadows, while others charge straight at you with no warning. The worst ones don't just look terrifying. They mess with your mind, making you question what's real and what's not.

With so many animatronics spread across multiple games, the question is: which ones are the scariest? Some are disturbing because of their backstory, while others are pure nightmare fuel thanks to their unsettling appearances and aggressive behavior. Maybe you fear the silent ones that suddenly appear out of nowhere, or maybe it's the ones that never stop hunting you down.

This list is all about ranking the most terrifying animatronics in Five Nights at Freddy's, and your votes decide who deserves the top spots.

1. The Puppet

   

   The Puppet, also commonly known as The Marionette, is an animatronic and the main antagonist of Five Nights at Freddy's 2. He stays in the Prize Corner. Jeremy Fitzgerald and Fritz Smith must wind up a music box to keep him at bay, or he will attack the player if the box winds down.

   Okay, she's my second favorite character (next to Toy Bonnie), but when you get that screen where you're Freddy on stage, she's just following your gaze wherever you go. It's terrifying.

   However, I feel bad that she was the creator of the robots' daughter. Her soul was forced to live on in the Puppet. Considering the neglect shown by the other children in the cake minigame and how her father just replaced her with the robot version of her without searching for her actual body, she has a right to be angry.

   Puppet's face is creepy. The way she is smiling and her eyes are all black is even creepier. If she could laugh, I bet it could be even creepier. Maybe I am scared of her because I have a fear of clones? You know me. Puppet is my least favorite. I'm sorry, but an opinion is an opinion.

2. Bonnie

   

   Bonnie is one of the four main antagonists in the horror video game Five Nights at Freddy's, released in 2014. He is an animatronic rabbit and plays guitar in the Freddy Fazbear's Pizza house band. Bonnie appears in various forms throughout the game's sequels and spin-offs.

   His eyes that steal your soul, his lack of eyebrows, and the unshakeable feeling he knows who's watching him make Bonnie particularly unsettling. Unlike the other animatronics, which look stereotypically scary with dark circles and dead expressions, Bonnie appears as though he would relish listening to your innards squish out of your suit.

   He was less scary in FNaF 2 without a face, but with his original face, he's much more terrifying. It's a shame he didn't appear in FNaF 3, even as a hallucination. That might have been a mercy, though. I'll have nightmares for weeks.

   The first time I saw him, he was pretty scary, but the more I followed the game, I got accustomed to him and the rest. But yeah, he does seem quite scary. I mean, even the creator himself admitted he was scared of him.

   But there's still one question left unsolved... Why do people find it creepy that Bonnie has no eyebrows, or even anyone without them for that matter?

3. Springtrap

   

   In my mind, Springtrap is the scariest of the bunch. Firstly, because I can't seem to escape the fact there's a dead guy inside the animatronic. There's also the fact that he occasionally appears to be possessed by the aforementioned dead guy. This is suggested by the fact that, in spite of his sometimes twitchy movements, the way he moves the rest of the time is almost too human. Look up "uncanny valley" if you need an explanation.

   However, I'd say the possession idea is something of a best-case scenario, as the alternative is that Purple Guy is somehow still alive inside, just about. And that seems so much creepier to me.

   Springtrap is the scariest to me because his movements are erratic. He has times when he is extremely twitchy, most likely due to the faulty spring locks inside of him. It always reminds me that there is a dead body inside that thing.

   Then there are times when he moves very smoothly and calmly, like when he goes for the kill, as if he premeditated your death and is relishing every second of it.

   Springtrap is just simply unnerving.

4. Golden Freddy

   

   Golden Freddy is one of the primary antagonists in the video game Five Nights at Freddy's. He appears as a ghost-like, yellow version of Freddy Fazbear and is known for his unpredictable appearances in the game. His mysterious nature has made him a fan-favorite among players of the series.

   For me, Nightmare is the scariest. He has transparent black skin, visible endoskeleton pieces, and those eyes. They are so wide, bloodshot, and gleeful you can see your own nightmares inside them. But the worst thing is, he enjoys it.

   Nightmare laughs, as if he thinks it's just a big game, and he knows you can't escape anyway because even if you survive him, real life will eat you instead. His teeth are matted with red, and occasionally you can see them dripping with blood.

   The jumpscare is just petrifying because instead of a clear death, you don't know what he will do to you, as it takes you to the Warning screen. He just stares at you, and that radio static sounds like joy, like pleasure from the kill.

   Yeah, Nightmare is scary.

5. Mangle

   

   Mangle is a character introduced in the video game Five Nights at Freddy's 2. Mangle is a disassembled animatronic fox with a yellow right eye and an empty left eye socket. Their broken appearance and erratic movements make them one of the more unsettling animatronics in the series.

   Though the other animatronics are all creepy in their own ways, Mangle would have been scary even before he was ripped apart by toddlers. Now he's just a convoluted, spider-like thing with two heads that is able to travel along the ceiling like a spider. Considering that his jump scare is extremely unpredictable, it's a wonder how he is deemed less scary than Bonnie and Foxy.

   Sure, my first jump scare by Bonnie in FNaF 1 did make me and my brother scream, but Mangle has given me more heart attacks than any other. She has no timer for her jump scare. She can stick to the ceiling at 1 AM and attack you at 4 AM. You're almost never ready for it.

   And her design is straight-up crazy. I always wanted an animatronic like this. I really don't see why everyone is scared of Foxy. Mangle destroys Foxy in this list.

6. Foxy

   

   Foxy is one of the main antagonists in the video game Five Nights at Freddy's. He is an animatronic pirate fox who hides in Pirate Cove and moves quickly toward the player. Foxy appears in various forms throughout the game's sequels and spin-offs.

   In my opinion, Foxy is by far the scariest of all the animatronics. He is fast, creepy, and always out to kill the night guard. In Joy of Creation, he always creeps right behind you with his flashing white and red eyes. He is different from the other animatronics, which makes him even more deadly.

   He does not go easy on you, as he forces you to check on him and his curtain in the first game to stop him from sprinting down the hall at an abnormal speed and then poking his creepy face into your office, letting out an ear-splitting shriek. Never underestimate Foxy the Pirate, because he will just keep on surprising you.

7. Withered Bonnie

   

   When I played FNaF 2, Withered Bonnie was such a pain to deal with, and he also terrified me. When he toggles the lights, it makes me a little baffled when he enters the office. One time, I was playing the custom night on FNaF 2, and I only had the toy animatronics selected, but for some odd reason, Withered Bonnie still came out and jump-scared me at 5:58 AM, even though I did not have him selected for the custom night.

   That kind of creeps me out.

   This one actually scares me. Luckily, it's rare and just an Easter egg. Eyeless Bonnie is the normal Bonnie (you know, the less weird-looking one with purple fur), but with black eyes that cover some parts other than his face.

8. Withered Chica

   

   Definitely the creepiest animatronic for me in the entire franchise. It's not her behavior but her appearance that's so disturbing. The soulless stare from her browless eyes, combined with the oversized eye sockets and the loose, giant beak, are already terrifying.

   But then, there are also those stretched-out, handless arms exposing massive wires, which were once covered by her now-missing hands and somehow remind me of veins. That's what I call nightmare fuel!

   Withered Chica really creeps me out and scares me. Something about her appearance, especially her face and her broken arms, really scares me. She has an extremely threatening demeanor and looks like a living killing machine. Her soulless eyes are terrifying.

   I definitely can't stand to look at her for very long.

9. Freddy Fazbear

   

   Freddy Fazbear (originally known as Freddybear, as seen in the Kickstarter) is one of the four main antagonists of Five Nights at Freddy's. He later appears in various forms across the succeeding games. Freddy is a haunted animatronic bear who plays a central role in the franchise's horror-themed narrative... read more

   In every game, his jump scares are terrifying and always scare me. In the first game, when the power goes out, the screen goes dark, his face glows, and his jingle is played. Then, if you're unlucky enough and just miss out on finishing the night, he will jump scare you!

   Also, he has another jump scare in the first game where he creeps into the office (when you're normally trying to find him or someone else) and then from behind gets in front of the night guard, eyeless (with just a tiny white dot) and jump scares you from really close up!

   Out of all the jump scares in the first game, Freddy's is the scariest. It's so unexpected. Not the power outage, but from night three and onward. I have figured out a strategy to keep him on the stage, but there is no denying that I almost needed to buy a new pair of pants before I figured it out.

10. Nightmare Fredbear

    

    Nightmare Fredbear is a character in Five Nights at Freddy's 4, appearing in Night 5 and replacing the four previous enemies. He is depicted as the most terrifying animatronic imagined by the child protagonist, following a traumatic incident in which the child is bitten by Fredbear.... read more

    Okay, this is self-explanatory. Seeing him on a camera would be fine with me if there were any in FNaF 4. But since there are not, seeing him right outside makes your skin crawl with his scary teeth and him staring into your soul.

    I'd say all the FNaF 4 animatronics are scary, with the exception of Nightmare Freddy, which takes the cake for me. This guy has two sets of teeth: one on his head, with an endoskeleton in the middle, and another set on the body.

    Honestly, I've never played this game, but I've seen images of it.

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Scrap Baby

    

    Imagine turning the corner and seeing this guy on the ground, leaning against the wall. You think nothing of it but still find it a bit creepy. You continue down the path, but then you hear ramping behind you. You turn around and discover that the thing is now chasing you! You dash down the hall as fast as you can.

    You finally reach your office and put your key in with shaky hands. You swing the door open, and you see that someone else is in your office. You ask them who they are, but they just turn around. You see that it was the thing chasing you earlier!

    Finally, an animatronic that's actually freaky. I mean, she was a staggering 7.2 feet tall and was designed to kill children to help Afton's sick scheme, with a razor-sharp claw to easily murder and stuff a child's body into her stomach to be stored. This version of her isn't any better, with a giant lobster claw and protruding wires.

12. ?

    Molten Freddy

    

    Why is this even a character? It is just a pile of wires with a broken head attached.

    Whatever. The point is, he's scary.

    Dear God, the fact that he moves around without much of an endoskeleton is just... HOW?!

The Contenders

13. Nightmarionne

    

    Nightmarionne is a character from Five Nights at Freddy's 4 who appears in the Halloween downloadable content released on October 31. In this DLC, Nightmarionne replaces Nightmare in Nightmare Mode and Night 8. The character also appears in Ultimate Custom Night and is a nightmarish version of the Marionette... read more

    Okay, so this is the only puppet I like a bit less than the rest because the teeth are really weird-looking. They are way too small to look normal on her face, so she looks like a piranha. And, oh my, she absolutely freaking loves to be difficult, annoying, and flipping hard.

    Really, I love the Puppet. There's so much story, and it makes the game better! But hey, this one just freaks me out. The body looks like a skeleton, and then, from that picture being cut off, it looks like it has horse hooves.

    But still, the way its head is just tilted scares me, like it's trying to look into your soul and find your secrets. After I saw this, I decided that the Puppet would take its place behind Bonnie.

14. Nightmare

    

    Nightmare is an antagonist in Five Nights at Freddy's 4 and one of the seven nightmare animatronics, or ten if the Halloween Edition animatronics and Plushtrap are included. He appears as the shadowy incarnation of Nightmare Fredbear. Nightmare serves as the final antagonist in the game, presenting... read more

    Nightmare is the scariest, hands down. Here are my reasons:

    First, the scariest animatronic would have to appear in the fourth game, which I believe is the scariest game in the series.

    Second, it would need eyes that stare into your soul.

    Third, it would probably come out of nowhere when you least expect it.

    Fourth, it would have to be some type of ghost.

    Fifth, the scariest animatronic would probably be the last one you encounter, since the games get scarier as they go on.

    Sixth, it would need to have the scariest jumpscare.

    Nightmare has all of these qualities, so those are my reasons for thinking it is the scariest.

    I mean, his name is Nightmare, and even the shadow seems to fear him, despite him essentially being made of shadows. And regarding what someone else said about joking around to make him less scary, well, I played FNaF 4 one time and started hyperventilating before anything even happened.

    The night with Nightmare just made it worse. I can't imagine being Chris. I'm surprised Chris even made it through the first night without having a heart attack. I feel bad for the guy.

15. Phantom Balloon Boy

    

    When I first played Five Nights at Freddy's 3, I looked at the camera on the second night, and his face was there. I didn't know what it was, and I just sat there waiting for him to go away.

    I finally closed the game out and was like, What the heck?!

    So creepy! I think the creepiest thing is the eyes, and they say they are the windows of your soul. So, that means he has a creepy soul.

    Those eyes, just staring at me, are so incredibly creepy.

    I bet if anyone recorded themselves playing FNaF 3, they wouldn't say that he's not scary at all. It's just so unexpected since in the first game, he just takes your batteries. So creepy and weird.

16. Phantom Foxy

    

    Phantom Foxy is an antagonist in Five Nights at Freddy's 3, a horror game developed by Scott Cawthon. He is a phantom version of Foxy the Pirate Fox and appears as a hallucination. Phantom Foxy disrupts gameplay by appearing suddenly and distorting the player's view, adding to the tension of the game... read more

    I find all phantom animatronics creepy, and Phantom Foxy is no exception. Kinda reminds me of Withered Foxy but actually scary.

    Not that high on my list though (not that I have one).

    He might be everyone's favorite, but that phantom version of him almost scared me to death. And to make matters worse, he's missing an arm.

    Poor Foxy!

    I was on the phone once playing FNAF 3. I put down the monitor, went to the left to check for Springtrap, and Phantom Foxy jumpscared me. I screamed so loud, and the caller was like, "What happened?" So I said, "I'm playing FNAF," and the caller was like, "Oh, okay. Makes sense."

17. Chica

    

    Chica was super scary in almost all the FNAF games, except for 4. In FNAF 1, the way Chica looks at the camera next to the girls' bathroom is super horrifying! I would never use the bathroom in Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. And her eyes... something about them just scares the hell out of me.

    In FNAF 2, Withered Chica's appearance in the office is horrifying to even think about! Her arms are all up, with wires dangling from them. And her eyes again... they are so big. And don't forget how wide open her jaw is. Imagine seeing Withered Chica just popping up in front of your desk looking at you like that. Faceless Bonnie is not so scary compared to her, but I still find Faceless Bonnie scary.

18. Ennard

    

    Ennard is a hybrid animatronic composed of the endoskeletons of Circus Baby, Ballora, Funtime Foxy, and Funtime Freddy. Its body is covered with scattered animatronic eyeballs, giving it a disturbing appearance.

    In Sister Location, Ennard uses the Scooper Machine to remove Michael Afton's internal... read more

    Ennard is quite a scary character, especially based on the fact that he uses manipulation and impersonation so frequently to lure you into a false sense of security while he manipulates other animatronics. He is an amalgamation of everything bad and scary, and wants revenge and to escape.

    Much more disturbing than the other SL bots. Funtime Freddy and Foxy are adorable by comparison. Baby doesn't really hit home for me, and Ballora's creepy, but that's it. Ennard threw me for a loop when I first saw him. It's like, WHAT IS THAT?

    This is definitely not worth exotic butters!

19. Phantom Puppet

    

    He stares into your eyes as if he's trying to hypnotize you. He refuses to leave, and you also see him standing in the hall. Even his reflection is present in the puddle. I mean, this thing can teleport.

    This thing makes me think twice about playing FNAF 3's fifth night. It just shoves its entire head onto your screen and summons other animatronics.

    The music that plays when he appears in your face is honestly terrifying.

20. Withered Foxy

    

    All of the Foxy models are disappointing. They're not scary, just lackluster.

    However, this particular Foxy gave me nightmares. One day, I loaded up the game, and there was this creepy picture of his face that scared and disturbed me. It looked like an eyeless Bonnie, but as a fox.

    Okay, why does he have a stretched head with so many teeth? Like, what the hell? And him mixed with Balloon Boy makes the worst combo.

    I guess he's scary because in the first game, all he does is lean in. I guess it's the uncertainty that really scares you.

21. Nightmare Balloon Boy

    

    This is one of the animatronics that I find the scariest. Nightmarionne is the other one that gives me heart palpitations when I get jumpscared by them.

    Creepy!

    If you aren't scared of him, then you are a god, and this should be number one.

    Too many teeth. Hope you don't have some sort of disgust against teeth.

22. Nightmare Freddy

    

    I used to think all the characters were cute, but the rows of teeth kind of got to me. I really liked all of the animatronics until I saw him on the internet. But I just love FNAF games.

    Great job, Scott!

    Freddy was bad enough. You know what? Scratch that. All Freddies are terrible. Scary!

    Eh, I'm not that scared of him, but if this was a real-life situation, I would freak! Well, maybe all of us would for all the animatronics.

23. Nightmare Chica

    

    She's like FNAF 1 Chica but scarier, and I'm honestly already scared of the first one.

    I think that Nightmare Chica is the scariest animatronic in FNAF, way more than Puppet.

    Molten Freddy has multiple rows of teeth.

24. Phantom Chica

    

    If I had to choose a somewhat scary Chica, I'd choose Phantom Chica since in FNaF 3, the hallucinations are the scariest things in the game.

    Still, she's pretty disappointing because all the Chicas are.

    It isn't Chica herself that scares me. It's that face that appears on the arcade game console that really scares me.

    Chica is so scary because of how the camera goes down fast and pow! An ugly duck who looks like it has piles of blood dripping down her face.

    It's horrifying!

25. Phantom Freddy

    

    Phantom Freddy is an antagonist and hallucination in the horror game Five Nights at Freddy's 3, developed by Scott Cawthon. He is a charred and burnt variation of Freddy Fazbear. Unlike other animatronics, he does not cause a game over but can disrupt the player's vision.

    My most favorite and scariest animatronic I have ever known. The way they designed him is like Golden Freddy with an endoskeleton, but with a missing leg. And the way he walks through the hall with the sound echoing, it just gives me shivers. Weird and creepy is a way you can describe him, but it just makes him more epic! I still want to give him a hug even though he looks creepy.

26. Withered Freddy

    

    He bites at your face. I guess if you were actually there as the night guard, and not just playing a game where you are a night guard, he'd be scary. I'm not sure.

    He is so scary. Imagine that hand grabbing you and chewing you to the bone.

    I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Withered Freddy is scary.

27. Funtime Freddy

    

    Funtime Freddy is an animatronic character featured in Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location. He appears on Night 2 in the Breaker Room, on Night 3 during repair in Parts and Services, and again on Night 5 in the Scooping Room.... read more

    Definitely the scariest (and best) character in my opinion. His voice, though, is appalling.

    His psycho voice is scary as hell.