William Afton (Five Nights at Freddy's)

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Villain Overview Synopsis Gallery

Evil-doer
Full Name	William Afton
Alias	In-series: The Purple Guy Springtrap Scraptrap Mr. Afton Spring Bonnie Fredbear Plush (implied) Daddy Man (game files) Bill A. (possibly) Toxic Springtrap (Wasteland skin) Flaming Springtrap (Sizzling Summer skin) Clown Springtrap (Dark Circus skin) Curse (Ancient Equinox skin) By fans: Purple Man Pink Guy/Man Orange Guy (possibly) The Killer The Murderer Salvage Springtrap The Man Behind the Slaughter Vincent Hybrid Salvage Golden Bonnie Peepaw Willy (mistakenly) Psychic Friend Fredbear (possibly) Toxictrap (Toxic skin) Flametrap (Flaming skin) Clowntrap (Clown skin) Cursetrap (Curse skin)
Origin	Five Nights at Freddy's
Occupation	Serial killer Formerly: Robotics engineer and technician Entrepreneur Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Fredbear's Family Diner, Fazbear Entertainment and Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Founder and owner of Circus Baby's Pizza World and Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental Founder and CEO of Afton Robotics, LLC Security guard and technician at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza
Powers / Skills	As a human: Genius-level intellect Master of manipulation Physical strength Murder methology Excellent stealth Expertise in chemistry Mechanical engineering Business management As Springtrap: Undead physiology Bionic physiology Nigh-immortality Enhanced durability Hallucination inducement (possibly)
Hobby	Kidnapping and murdering children. Experimenting with animatronics and Remnant.
Goals	Kill as many children as possible across numerous Fazbear Entertainment establishments without getting caught (temporarily succeeded). Shut down everything related to Fazbear Entertainment (presumably; temporarily succeeded). Use the Funtime Animatronics to kill children so he can experiment with Remnant. Kill Michael by sending him down to Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental to free Elizabeth (both temporarily succeeded). Destroy the original four animatronics (succeeded). Scare the ghosts of his victims away by using the Spring Bonnie suit (failed). Kill Michael Afton (indirectly succeeded). Continue with his killing sprees alongside his daughter (failed).
Crimes	Serial child murder Filicide by proxy Mutilation Incrimination Kidnapping Corruption Endangerment Corpse desecration Child neglect Psychological abuse Sabotage Conspiracy Vandalism Child abuse Unlawful imprisonment Torture Stalking Unethical experimentation Implied: Canicide Animal cruelty Soul theft Property damage Identity fraud Perjury Uxoricide by proxy (presumably unintentionally)
Type of Villain	Undead Serial Killer

“	I always come back!	„
	~ William Afton's most famous quote.

“	You may not recognize me at first, but I assure you, it's still me.	„
	~ William Afton to his son, Michael.

“	Bittersweet... but fitting.	„
	~ William Afton accepting what he has become.

William Afton, also known as the Purple Guy among other names, is the main antagonist of the ScottGames era of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise.

He is the former co-founder of Fazbear Entertainment, the business partner of Henry Emily and the father of Michael Afton, Elizabeth Afton and the Crying Child. He helped Henry establish Fredbear's Family Diner and Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, as well as managing the establishments while Henry built the animatronic mascots. Despite being a successful businessman, Afton led a double life as a serial killer who murdered many children across several Freddy Fazbear's Pizza locations in the 1980s, including Henry's own daughter, Charlotte. At one point in his life, he founded Afton Robotics, LLC and created the Funtime animatronics, which were made to capture and kill children.

Sometime after 1993, after making the fatal mistake of destroying the classic animatronics and accidentally freeing the ghosts of his victims, Afton attempted to protect himself with the old, withered Spring Bonnie suit, the same used for his murders. However, the suit's spring-lock mechanisms failed and its suppressed endoskeleton fatally skewered him, transforming him into the undead human-animatronic hybrid, Springtrap. Thirty years later, after narrowly surviving the fire that destroyed the building he was moved to, he would presumably repair himself and become Scraptrap. He was then lured to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Place by Henry, where he would attempt to kill Michael with the help of his daughter and creations, only to be burnt by Henry alongside everyone else remaining in the pizzeria. He would then be tortured by the vengeful spirit of one of his past victims, Cassidy, who refuses to move on so they could torment him forevermore. As of now, it's unknown if Afton's torture ever stopped and he was put down for good, or if he's still being tortured.

However, Afton's legacy would continue through the Mimic, an AI that mimics anything it sees and eventually became obsessed with recreating his crimes with the help of its brainwashed servant, Vanny.

He was voiced by PJ Heywood, who also voiced his aforementioned son, Michael.

Appearance

“	They didn't... recognize me at first but then, they thought I was you.	„
	~ Michael Afton to his father, confirming that the two look similar.

Human

Since William Afton is only ever seen while alive in some of the flashback minigames, it is hard to pin down his exact appearance. In these minigames, he is represented as a lanky man with a long neck and a tall frame as tall as the animatronics (sometimes taller), he also has a large and sadistic smile. His sprite color always ranges from various tones of purple depending on the minigame, although he was pink in two minigames and possibly orange in one. It is worth noting that he appears purple because he's simply hiding in the shadows, not because he's actually purple. Judging from the appearance of his decayed corpse as Springtrap and Scraptrap as well as his appearance the Fruity Maze minigame, he appears to have pale gray eyes with white glowing pupils that illuminate in shadows. Afton was once depicted as wearing a yellow accessory on his chest, presumably a security badge. It has been speculated that the reason for this is that he may have been masquerading as security guard in the second Freddy Fazbear's Pizza location in 1987. The minigame "SAVE THEM" and some phone calls from Five Nights at Freddy's 2 heavily support this.

A businessman-style man seen in the cutscenes for Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, who may be William.

The only confirmed aspect of his appearance is that he has a cleft chin, as shown with his decayed corpse inside of Springtrap in Five Nights at Freddy's 3 and Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator. This has led to some speculation, as Fazbear Entertainment is represented by a man dressed in a purple (and in some cases, orange) suit and hat in various cutscenes of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, a man who also has a cleft chin. Whether or not this man actually is William has not been confirmed, but it is possible due to them both supposedly having cleft chins, being represented by the color purple, and possibly orange.

In Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, a yellow figure appears in the "Midnight Motorist" minigame. This figure is theorized to be William, who was recolored to presumably avoid confusion due to Michael's decayed zombie sprite color being the same as his father's.

Judging by the fact they both share the same body type, eye color and personality it's heavily implied that William has the same appearance as his novel counterpart. This could mean the William has dark brown messy hair like his two sons, pale saggy skin, pointy eyebrows and a defined jawline.

Springtrap/Spring Bonnie

William dying in the suit

Thirty years after his death, Afton's flayed corpse still wears the withering Spring Bonnie suit, unable to take it off. Now known by the name Springtrap, the suit has decayed to a sickly olive color and the many holes and tears expose parts of the rusted metal endoskeleton. His mouth has rotted into a permanent wide grin, the teeth being chipped and yellowing. His human-like eyes are a pale gray and he's missing the top half of his right ear, as well as the casing on his feet.

Rare boot-up screens for the game show glimpses of Afton's almost mummified skull inside of Springtrap's mask. His mouth has been permanently speared open by metal rods and his eyes are organic, the spring-locks stabbed into his eyelids and holding them open in a gruesome fashion. What appears to be human innards can also be seen wrapped around the endoskeleton through a large hole in the torso.

Prior to its withering, the Spring Bonnie suit was an optimized version of the Bonnie the Bunny animatronic, only with golden yellow fabric fur and a spring-lock endoskeleton. Judging by posters in Security Breach, the animatronic also wore a purple bow tie and had violet eyes.

Skins

In Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery, he was given four skins named Toxic Springtrap, Flaming Springtrap, Clown Springtrap, and simply Curse respectively. Toxic Springtrap is covered in purple veins and pustules, Flaming Springtrap is simply on fire, Clown Springtrap is wearing a red and black clown outfit that gives the impression of obesity and wields an over sized hammer, and Curse is a blue-colored Springtrap with Aztec-inspired armor and blue-feathers across his body, jaguar-like markings on his hands (which also show claws), pelvis, and legs, and wields a golden shield.

Scraptrap

In Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, Springtrap has been damaged even further from the fire that consumed Fazbear's Fright. Now known as Scraptrap, what was left of the blood-stained endoskeleton is now just his rotten flesh and bones remaining. His mummified head has also turned pale. He seems to have attempted to repair himself with parts of another Spring Bonnie suit, but his suit's ears have deteriorated to the point that only his left stub remains and part of his left arm is missing, a sharp bone knife replacing it.

Personality

“	I-It's only now that I understand the depth of the depravity of this... creature, this monster that I unwillingly helped to create. As if what he had already done wasn't enough, he found a new way to desecrate, to humiliate, to destroy. As if the suffering wasn't enough, the loss of innocence, the loss of everything to so many people. Small souls trapped in prisons of my making now set to new purpose and used in ways I never thought imaginable. He lured them all back. Back to a familiar place. Back with familiar tricks. He brought them all together.	„
	~ Henry calling out William in his secret recording.

Afton smiles, knowing Foxy the Pirate is about to see the bodies of the five children he murdered.

William Afton is the textbook definition of evil. He is nothing but a sadistic, ruthless, sociopathic, remorseless man who is described as a creature and a monster rather than a human. Afton takes great pride and pleasure in taking the lives of innocent people (mainly children), so much so he cracks a wide, sadistic smile during his machinations, and to make him even more terrifying, he barely raises his voice and maintains his calm, poetic composure, treating his horrific actions as disturbingly casual. Afton even enjoys toying with his victims and gets off on tormenting them to the point he even exaggerates that he is sustained by fear. It’s implied that William’s bloodlust is so great that it overcomes his rational thinking and causes him to take unnecessary risks to satiate it, like going to Freddy’s Fazbear’s Pizza Place just to kill a few more kids even though it was likely a trap, and even unnecessarily staying in Fazbear Fright just to kill the night guard. Afton is also shown to be arrogant and egotistical, bragging about his construct Circus Baby and her many advanced features, as well as believing nothing can truly stop him by boasting that he "Always Comes Back."

“	He's not really dead. He is over here. Follow me.	„
	~ William manipulating Susie to lure her to her death.

Despite his monstrous behaviour and nature, Afton is known to be extremely intelligent and articulate, knowing how to manipulate people to his advantage by toying with their emotions as well as putting on a kind, well-meaning facade. He wore the Spring Bonnie suit and pretended to be a benevolent mascot to trick various children into following him to the safe room to be killed; one child, in particular, was a little girl named Susie, who was heartbroken over her dog's death. Afton tricked her into thinking the dog was still alive to lure her to her death. He also tricked a little boy named Rory, whom he was experimenting on, into staying in his controlled environment by claiming he wouldn’t be able to function in the outside world after being trapped for ten years. He even pretended that all he wanted was Rory’s best interest by keeping him safe and cared for, but of course, this was a huge lie. It’s also implied that he even tricked his business partner Henry into thinking he was a good person, as it took him years before he finally understood William’s utter depravity. This isn't even counting the fact that he is a genius engineer who has designed the technologically advanced Funtime animatronics.

“	Although for one of you, the darkest pit of Hell has opened to swallow you whole, so don't keep the Devil waiting, old friend.	„
	~ Henry to William.

Despite William’s arrogance and sadism, there is one thing he is implied to fear above all else: death. This is in full display when he cowers in absolute terror when confronted by the ghosts of his victims and even gets desperate enough to hide in the old and withered Spring Bonnie suit despite the high chance it could kill him (which it did). It’s even implied he begged Henry and or Michael for help when he was burning to death despite the fact he was their worst enemy. Henry even implies that the reason Afton is so afraid of death is because, deep down, he knows that if there is a Hell, the darkest pit of it will swallow him whole for his unspeakable atrocities. Ultimately, at his core, William is nothing more than a pathetic coward who is afraid of facing the same dread and pain he inflicts on others.

“	Daddy, just once let me go play with her! She's so pretty and shiny! Didn't you make her just for me?	„
	~ Elizabeth to her dad, William.

To make Afton even worse, he was arguably a terrible father. He felt little to no affection for his own kids, having neglected and clearly ignored his younger son’s emotional turmoil and relentless bullying from his older brother Michael and was even implied to be an alcoholic and abusive towards his kids. Speaking of Michael, he seemingly saw him as nothing more than a disposable pawn, sending him on a suicide mission to Circus Baby’s Entertainment and Rental to free his sister's soul, a mission which ended with his death and reanimation as a hollow living corpse. Essentially condemning Michael to a fate worse than death. He was even willing to outright kill Michael when he opposed him in Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator, and can even callously claim that his death was "Bittersweet but Fitting."

The only somewhat positive relationship he had was with his daughter Elizabeth, instructing her to stay away from Circus Baby as he programmed the animatronic to be homicidal toward children, and he wanted Michael to save her from the confines of the Rental Facility. However, it is heavily implied that William’s care for Elizabeth was never genuine, and she was a convenient tool for his goals. He was never explicitly shown to have remorse for Elizabeth’s death, and he even covered it up as a gas leak to save face. Afton also took no real precautions to protect his daughter from Baby besides verbally deterring her, and when she was killed by the animatronic and her soul haunted it, he abandoned her in the rental facility where she was tortured and mistreated for years until Afton finally told Michael to save her. It’s implied that Afton manipulated, corrupted and gaslighted Elizabeth into becoming just as bloodthirsty as him to continue his dark legacy. Even in alternate continuities like the novels and film, William is established to be an abusive father regardless. The novel version of William physically and emotionally abused his version of Elizabeth while the film version of Afton coerced and tried to kill his daughter Vanessa when she defied him. Ultimately, Afton is truly and utterly heartless and only cares for himself and only himself.

To this day, Afton’s backstory and reason for becoming the monstrous killer he was is unknown. Some believe he was driven by the grief of an unknown tragedy (often thought to be the loss of his family), a selfish goal for immortality, or he was just a sick and twisted monster who enjoyed making people suffer. Judging by the evidence, it’s most likely the latter two.

Relationships

† means that the character is deceased/destroyed (in case of animatronics). †? means that the character's fate is currently unclear or unknown.

Family Unnamed Wife †? - Wife Michael Afton † - Son Elizabeth Afton † - Daughter Unnamed younger son † - Son Counterparts William Afton and his undead Springtrap form have various counterparts throughout the series: William Afton (Novel Trilogy) † - Alternate version of Afton in the novel trilogy by Kira Breed-Wrisley, also cursed into Springtrap but later removed the suit and rejected the identity. William Afton (Fazbear Frights) † - A version of Afton from the Fazbear Frights novel series. Interestingly, this version never became Springtrap, but something much worse; He's also a mere pawn of an entity much worse than he is. Spring Bonnie (Fazbear Frights) † - An organic version of the suit William used to commit his murders. Springtrap (Fazbear Frights) - A recurring antagonist throughout the Fazbear Frights series. Not connected to the other version of William in the novel series. The Mimic - An advanced AI that replicates Afton's murders and was initially mistaken for him.

Allies Henry Emily † (formerly) - Best friend Michael Afton † (formerly) - Son Fazbear Entertainment (formerly) Afton Robotics, LLC (formerly) Elizabeth Afton † - Daughter Funtime Freddy and Bon-Bon - Creations Funtime Foxy † - Creation Ballora † - Creation Ennard/Molten Freddy (formerly) - Hybrid of his creations Nightmare Freddy - Creation Nightmare Bonnie - Creation Nightmare Chica - Creation Nightmare Foxy - Creation Shadow Freddy - Accomplice (possibly) Phantom Animatronics †? - Creations (possibly) Enemies Henry Emily † - Former best friend/Killer Michael Afton † - Son/Attempted victim Fazbear's Fright Nightguard †? - Attempted victim The Puppet † - First victim The Missing Children † - Victims Freddy Fazbear † - Victim Bonnie the Bunny † - Victim Chica the Chicken † - Victim Foxy the Pirate † - Victim Golden Freddy † - Victim/Torturer Toy Freddy † - Victim Toy Bonnie † - Victim Toy Chica † - Victim Mangle † - Victim Balloon Boy † - Victim Old Man Consequences UCN animatronics - Torturers

Quotes

Said by William

Five Nights at Freddy's 2

“	You can't.	„
	~ William Afton's first line in the series as he attacks Freddy Fazbear, telling him and the Puppet that they can't save his victims.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location

“	She can dance, she can sing. She's equipped with a built-in helium tank for inflating balloons right at her fingertips. She can take song requests. She can even dispense ice cream.	„
	~ William Afton talking about Baby in the opening of Sister Location.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator

“	He is not really dead... He is over here. Follow me...	„
	~ William Afton luring Susie to her death.

“	What a deceptive calling. I knew it was a lie, the moment I heard it, obviously, but it is intriguing nonetheless...	„
	~ Scraptrap being aware of Henry's plan.

“	Fascinating... what they have become.	„
	~ Scraptrap after killing the player, most likely mentioning the Funtime animatronics or his victims.

“	How can I resist, a promise, such as this...	„
	~ Scraptrap after killing the player, mentioning Henry calling him.

“	That was easier than I thought it would be.	„
	~ Scraptrap after killing the player.

Ultimate Custom Night

“	(Unknown: Presumably either declaring his hate for Michael and/or Henry, or calling Michael for help.)	„
	~ William screaming from some unknown place as his voice slowly becomes quieter.

Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery

“	Suffer now, like all who stood before me!	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	You. Will. Fear. ME.	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	Hide if you want. It did not save the others. It will not save you.	„
	~ Afton as Springtrap.

“	I am here to claim what is left of you.	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	You will not be spared. You will not be saved.	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	Let's see how many times you can be pulled apart, and put back together again.	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	It is not your flesh that sustains me... it is your fear!	„
	~ William explaining the source of his power.

“	Your fear... will consume you.	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	Got you! Hahahahaha!	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	It.. is... time.	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	Your time... is up!	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	I can taste the fear in your breath.	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	I will make you suffer, suffer like so many of the others.	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	And now, you are mine.	„
	~ Springtrap.

“	I'm... back...	„
	~ Springtrap.

Tales from the Pizzaplex #8: B7-2

“	You’re safe here, Rory. This is your home. You’ve been watched over here. You’ve never been abandoned. Never left alone. All these years, you’ve been cared for. Because you’re special, Rory, and you deserve to live in this special place. Safe and secure. Never alone.	„
	~ William to Rory.

Other

“	I am still here.	„
	~ Springtrap on a teaser.

“	I remain.	„
	~ A message hidden in the source code of the same teaser.

Referring to William

“	Kids vanish at local pizzeria - bodies not found. Two local children were reportedly lured into a back room during the late hours of operation at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza on the night of June 26th. While video surveliance [sic] identified the man responsible and led to his capture the following morning, the children themselves were never found are presumed dead. Police think that the suspect dressed as a company mascot to earn the children's trust.	„
	~ One of the newspapers, as well as the first mention of Afton in the series.

“	Five children reported missing. Suspect convicted. Five children are now linked to the incident at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where a man dressed as a cartoon mascot lured them into a back room. While the suspect has been charged, the bodies themselves were never found. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has been fighting an uphill battle ever since to convince families to return to the pizzeria. "It's a tragedy."	„
	~ A newspaper about the original pizzeria from the first game.

“	He will come back. He always does. We have a place for him.	„
	~ A message talking about Springtrap in the Five Nights at Freddy's 3 trailer.

“	But I have an even better surprise for you, and you're not gonna believe this: We found one. A real one. Uh-oh-uh gotta go man- uh, well-well look, i-it's in there somewhere, I'm-I'm sure you'll see it.	„
	~ Phone Dude about Springtrap.

“	I-It's only now that I understand the depth of the depravity of this... creature - this monster that I unwillingly helped to create. As if what he had already done wasn't enough, he found a new way to desecrate, to humiliate, to destroy. As if the suffering wasn't enough, the loss of innocence, the loss of everything to so many people. Small souls trapped in prisons of my making now set to new purpose and used in ways I never thought imaginable. He lured them all back. Back to a familiar place. Back with familiar tricks. He brought them all together. Are they still... aware? I hope not. It keeps me awake at night. I could make myself... sleep. But not yet. Not until I undo what he has done and heal this wound - a wound first inflicted on me, but then one that I let bleed out to cause all of this. He set some kind of trap. I don't know what it was, but he led them there again. He overpowered them, again. And he robbed them of the only thing that they had. Again. I don't know how those tiny breaths of life came to inhabit those machines. But they will never find rest now. Not like this. I have to call them all back. All of them. Together in one place.	„
	~ Henry talking about William and promising to end his madness for good.

“	Spring Bonnie was often worn by William Afton, who prided himself on effortlessly performing in the suit. He used the costume to gain the trust of, and ultimately murder, multiple children.	„
	~ William's use of the Spring Bonnie animatronic, as described in Five Nights at Freddy's: The Ultimate Guide.

“	The famous William Afton is the man responsible for the creation of the animatronics we all know and love.	„
	~ An unreleased but canonical "Faz-Fact" about William from FNAF AR

“	Some of the first animatronics built by William Afton featured claw mechanisms that were able to hide away items inside them.	„
	~ Another unreleased "Faz-Fact" about William from FNAF AR.

“	Full of the joins of spring.	„
	~ Quote referring to Springtrap in the Five Nights at Freddy's Official Character Encyclopedia.

“	Basically, it's all his fault.	„
	~ Quote referring to Scraptrap in the Five Nights at Freddy's Official Character Encyclopedia.

“	The suit's kinda holding him together.	„
	~ Another quote referencing Scraptrap in the Five Nights at Freddy's Official Character Encyclopedia.

“	Dude, your brain is showing.	„
	~ Another quote referencing Scraptrap in the Five Nights at Freddy's Official Character Encyclopedia.

Speculation

• Despite William sparking the downfall of Fazbear Entertainment by murdering many children, his actual motivation for killing kids is still a mystery, though many people assume he did for his own enjoyment or as part of an experiment to create life from the dead.
  • Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator heavily implies the latter, as a blueprint reveals the Scooper's purpose; to transfer remnant, a substance that gives a soul its ability to remain after death, into the animatronics.
    • Although it's heavily implied that William is after remnant so he can become immortal, ironically, the same game goes against it, showing that even after gaining the closest he'll ever have to immortality, he still wants to kill children, although this could be due to William's damaged psyche and having possibly gone mad with power as Springtrap, no longer caring about his original motivation, or simply because he wants to continue with his experiments.
  • Five Nights at Freddy's 4 and Sister Location suggest that William is motivated by the death of the Crying Child, his youngest son, and that his killings are either a targeted revenge scheme against Henry and Fazbear Entertainment for creating the dangerous spring-lock animatronics by taking them out of business for good, harvesting remnant from children to resurrect his son, or both. However, it ultimately depends on which date the Missing Children Incident happened, with there being implications for both 1983 and 1985. That said, Charlie has been confirmed to be Afton's first victim in the franchise.
    • However, there are some disputes as to if any murders committed by William occurred before the Crying Child's death, with some believing that Elizabeth Afton's death came before the Crying Child's. Sister Location states that Circus Baby's opened after Freddy's shut down, but it's unknown if HandUnit is referring to Circus Baby's Pizza World or Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental, or perhaps both. Even if Elizabeth died before the Crying Child, Afton would still lack a solid motivation for his actions as the Funtime animatronics that killed Elizabeth were made to capture and kill children.
• Many fans thought that the theory of Afton possibly speaking via a microphone through the Fredbear Plush to manipulate and emotionally abuse the Crying Child was safely debunked, as in the Night 2 Minigame of Five Nights at Freddy's 4, Afton can be seen helping a worker get into his mascot suit simultaneously while the toy bear speaks to the child, making it seemingly impossible. However, this theory would then be revived by the eighth Tales from the Pizzaplex novel, which revealed that Afton pre records messages to his human experiments in the event of him being preoccupied, making it plausible once more.
  • In the novel series, it is implied that Afton envied what he perceived to be Henry's perfect family and is motivated by jealousy towards Henry to kill Charlie. His motivation for killing other children appears to be in order to create a new family for himself by having them possess the animatronics, and he may have been inspired by seeing Henry use remnant to bring Charlie back to life as an animatronic.
  • Also in the novel series, Afton is confirmed to be stealing life essence from victims and animatronics, experimenting on it to attempt to find the secret to immortality. However, this part of his motivation only came after he found out he was dying from the damage injured in the Spring Bonnie suit, making his actual/original motivations obscured and vague.
  • The Fazbear Frights version of Afton apparently has a never-ending need to inflict pain, implying that he does it out of pure sadism (or alternatively, his motivation to kill out of sadism developed over time during his career as a killer).
  • It had also been implied that the Fazbear Frights Afton genuinely loved his wife and was struck with grief after her death, showing another possible motive for his actions. A later epilogue, however, would soon reveal that it's an entirely new character instead of Afton that lost his wife. Despite this, it's theorized that the absence of William's wife is meant to signify that she's the reason Afton went insane, or that she isn't at all important to the plot.
• It is speculated that the in-universe TV show The Immortal and the Restless that Michael watches between the nights of Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location, where Vlad denies being the father of the baby, is a parallel between the relationship between William and Michael. Vlad shares similarities with William, while the baby has similar looks to his father like Michael is noted to have with his.
• William could have been inspired by:
  • Aaron Fechter, an engineering entrepreneur who created the Showbiz Pizza Place's animatronics. Scott Cawthon actually met Fechter in person.
  • Nathan Dunlap who, after being fired from Chuck E. Cheese, shot four of the five employees fatally and injured the fifth in the 1993 Aurora, Colorado, shooting.
  • This creepypasta, which tells the story of a mascot of Chuck E. Cheese who had severe mental problems and begun thinking that he was the real Chuck E. Cheese. However, he began killing children and using their meat for pizza.
  • Freddy Krueger, due to them both being sadistic child murderers who become more powerful in death.
  • Norman Osborn, due to them both being brilliant scientists, terrible fathers, and they both get stronger when inside a green suit. They also both have children who get almost as evil as them (with Harry becoming the New Goblin, and Elizabeth becoming Circus Baby).
  • The one confirmed inspiration is Hannibal Lecter, but that's only for his voice.
• It is theorized that Toy Chica in her cutscenes in Ultimate Custom Night represents William due to Toy Chica choosing one of her classmates to be her boyfriend, but ends up killing them, while William seems to also choose a child and then kill them.
  • In the last cutscene, Chica is seen under a tree atop a hill, with her bag full of the remains of her victims. The tree seems identical to the tree in the Lorekeeper Ending of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, which is near the graves of the original kids killed by Afton.
• In Ultimate Custom Night, when talking to Old Man Consequences in his secret ending, the background sounds when modified seems to be William's screaming.
• It was theorized that the the Puppet was responsible for Afton possessing Springtrap, similar to how it did for Afton's other victims, in order for William to know what it feels like to be an animatronic. However, UCN and the Fazbear Frights series implies that Golden Freddy is the one that made Afton become Springtrap by forcefully keeping him alive.
• There is no given explanation on why Springtrap had his appearance changed in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, since he would most not been able to have changed the animatronic suit. It's commonly assumed that he tried to repair himself with various animatronics parts from either Fazbear's Fright or Fredbear's Family Diner.
• Many fans believe that in Ultimate Custom Night we can hear Scraptrap's last words as he burns to death. Although it is likely he is begging Michael for help.
• Some fans theorize that Springtrap survived the fire in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator. It is mostly because in the ending screen, the fire is behind Springtrap. Meanwhile, with Scrap Baby and Molten Freddy, the fire is in front of them. This may imply that Springtrap escaped. However, while his survival is confirmed, it's unlikely he managed to escape given that Silver Parasol and Fazbear Entertainment had to get his circuit board and accidentally create Glitchtrap. But with the mimics introduction, this theory is yet to be confirmed.
• The story "What We Found" from the Fazbear Frights implies that William is responsible for the security guard having hallucinations that are the Phantom animatronics.
• It is speculated that Glitchtrap was the suit William Afton used to lure and kill the five children that would go on to possess the animatronics, and not the Spring Bonnie spring-lock suit that he would later die in.
  • It's also possible Glitchtrap was one of the temporary suits mentioned in FNaF 3.
• While it's clear the Mimic is not William, it's still unknown if William is truly dead. The Fazbear Frights novels show that UCN is a nightmare created by Golden Freddy to forcefully keep Afton alive, only to move on, with his absence being the reason for Afton to die and stay dead. Regardless, it's still unknown if William is truly gone (ergo him being dead or simply unconscious after Cassidy/Golden Freddy leaves his nightmares) or if his soul is still lingering around, especially since the Fazbear Frights novels, which includes parallels to the game series, feature Afton returning as a possessed monstrosity made of trash (if only to die again). Thus, it's been speculated that Afton might possibly return one last time for a final showdown before being killed off for good.

Trivia

• In the final Custom Night cutscene of Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location, Michael's voice becomes robotic near the end of his dialogue. The franchise's creator, Scott Cawthon, eventually confirmed that Michael's robotic voice was an error, and was unintentional. This error caused debate over whether William or Michael was killed inside Springtrap, until Scott's response to one of MatPat's Five Nights at Freddy's theory videos, as well as the credits of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, confirmed William as the spirit possessing Springtrap.
• When Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted first came out, many fans thought "Glitchtrap" was just a resurrected Afton. It took the Tales from the Pizzaplex books to confirm the two are separate people, and that Glitchtrap's name is actually the Mimic.
• Afton's true identity was widely speculated to be the Phone Guy until Scott debunked it by finally having him speak in Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location, having a completely different voice.
• He has a British accent, with his son and daughter having one as well.
  • However, it's need to say that word Afton is Swedish (meaning "Evening"), which might mean that he's part Swedish.
• Freddy in Space 2 is the only game so far that has absolutely nothing to do with William.
• The fans have often theorized that there are two killers, due to the fact that William had two different sprites with slightly different coloration in Five Nights at Freddy's 2. This was later disproven.
• In March 2020, various memes of William Afton spawned around referencing the Living Tombstone Five Nights at Freddy's 2 song "It's Been So Long" where the then-unnamed murderer was referred to as "The Man Behind the Slaughter". Memes of this will be portrayed referencing the character in one way or another, often by including the line or a parody of the line in the caption, with the character on-screen being purple while the song plays in the background.
• As of version 1.031 of Five Nights at Freddy's 3, Springtrap now makes footsteps and moaning noises when he moves.
  • Some people have assumed that the moaning noise is Afton inside of Springtrap trying to talk. According to the game files, the original sounds are just slowed down alpaca noises.
• Springtrap is named after the trap device of the same name that is used for catching animals during hunting and how he is a Spring-lock suit. This is how he "trapped" Afton inside.
• Occasionally, when Five Nights at Freddy's 3 starts up, one of three images of Springtrap revealing William Afton's mummified corpse inside of him may appear, similarly to the eyeless animatronic screens from the first and second games.
• Springtrap is the first, and so far only, confirmed case of an adult possessing an animatronic instead of a child.
• Before having his name confirmed, the most common name for Springtrap coined by fans was Golden Bonnie, as fans believed that Springtrap was somehow connected to the similar-looking animatronic Golden Freddy, while also retaining a resemblance to Bonnie.
  • Two more common fan-given names were Hybrid and Salvage, for fans believed that Springtrap was made from the parts of dismantled animatronics.
  • Coincidentally, Springtrap is a hybrid, just not the way fans theorized.
  • Another coincidental detail is that Springtrap was salvaged in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator.
• Springtrap is one of the only animatronics with five fingers due to being a wearable suit.
• In a promotional photo for Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location, Circus Baby appears to be smiling at someone off-screen. The figure reflected in her nose looks suspiciously like Springtrap, which led fans to believe he would return in the game. While he was not the main antagonist or even a major character (in his Springtrap form, at least), he did appear in the ending cutscene for the Custom Night's "Golden Freddy" Mode on Very Hard, revealing himself to still be alive after Fazbear's Fright burned down and foreshadowing his return as the main antagonist in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator.
• In Ultimate Custom Night, if Springtrap causes a game over, his moaning from Five Nights at Freddy's 3 will play, while if Scraptrap causes a game over, his "I always come back!" line from Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator will play.
• Strangely, some of the voice lines that Springtrap says in Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery are reminiscent of the voice lines said by some animatronics in Ultimate Custom Night.
  • This is possibly a reference to the fact William Afton is currently stuck in his own personal hell which is Ultimate Custom Night, thus having to hear these voice lines over and over.
• Many fans did not like Scraptrap's design when they first saw him. Because of this, many people referred to him as a peanut or comparing him to Jimmy Neutron because of his forehead.
  • In response, many fans in the community created a meme revolving around the hate towards Scraptrap known as "#JusticeforScraptrap".
• The name Scraptrap has never appeared in the games and was simply a name used by fans to distinguish between the earlier iteration of Springtrap and this one. However, similar to names like Phone Guy and Golden Freddy, the name has since come into use in other official sources such as Five Nights at Freddy's: The Freddy Files and by Scott Cawthon himself.
• In Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location, Springtrap has a slightly different model, missing some parts. This version of Springtrap is called "Dark Springtrap" in the game files and the merch.
  • Fans started joking that Dark Springtrap is Springtrap when he's "extremely angry". This comes from the description of the Dark Springtrap Funko Pop.
• After Clown Springtrap was revealed, fans quickly started jokingly comparing him to Arthur Fleck.
• Springtrap was considered the hardest animatronic to beat in Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery until Golden Freddy was added.
• Whenever William is seen in the games, it is either as some form of Springtrap or in minigames (as Purple Guy). His appearance as a human has only been seen in other continuities, such as the books.
• William Afton in Pizzeria Simulator strongly resembles Spring Bonnie from the Five Nights at Freddy's 4 minigames.
• Interestingly, while salvaging Scraptrap during Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, a heartbeat can be heard. Given that it can be heard only when salvaging him, and the fact that Michael is missing all of his organs, it can be presumed that Afton's heart is still somehow beating.
• It's unknown why his Ancient Equinox skin is simply named Curse instead of Curse Springtrap.
• Michael Afton was sometimes speculated to be the main protagonist of Ultimate Custom Night before it was confirmed to be William.
• Mangle's sprite in the SAVETHEM minigame is named "he was here". The only option for the "he" is William, as he's the only human in the minigame and there is a dead child in the room.
• Before his true name was revealed, he used to be called Vincent or Peter by fans.
• Prior to the release of FNAF 3 and with it the reveal of Spring Bonnie, it was commonly assumed by fans that Afton used the Fredbear (Golden Freddy) suit during his murders.

External Links

• William Afton on the Pure Evil Wiki
• William Afton on the Five Nights at Freddy's Wiki

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Villains

Mainline Games Animatronics Classic Animatronics Freddy Fazbear | Bonnie the Bunny | Chica the Chicken | Foxy the Pirate | Golden Freddy | The Puppet Toy Animatronics Toy Freddy | Toy Bonnie | Toy Chica | Mangle | Balloon Boy Shadows RWQFSFASXC | Shadow Freddy | XOR Nightmare Animatronics Nightmare Freddy/Freddles | Nightmare Bonnie | Nightmare Chica | Nightmare Foxy | Nightmare Fredbear | Nightmare | Plushtrap | Nightmare Mangle | Nightmare Balloon Boy | Nightmarionne Funtime Animatronics Ennard (Circus Baby, Ballora, Funtime Foxy, Funtime Freddy and Bon-Bon) | Bidybabs | Minireenas | Lolbit | Yenndo | Bonnet | Funtime Chica Scrap Animatronics Scraptrap | Scrap Baby | Molten Freddy Mediocre Melodies Happy Frog | Mr. Hippo | Pigpatch | Nedd Bear | Orville Elephant Rockstar Animatronics Rockstar Freddy | Rockstar Bonnie | Rockstar Chica | Rockstar Foxy | Lefty | Carnie Music Men Music Man | Li'l Music Men | DJ Music Man Glamrock Animatronics Montgomery Gator | Glamrock Chica | Roxanne Wolf | Glamrock Endoskeletons | Headless Freddy Event-Based Animatronics Jack-O-Bonnie | Jack-O-Chica | Dreadbear | Grimm Foxy | Freddy Frostbear | Jack-O-Moon Other Bare Endo | Springtrap | Phantom Animatronics | Dee Dee | The Mimic | Moon | Infected S.T.A.F.F. Bots | Tangle Humans Afton Family William Afton | Elizabeth Afton Other The Missing Children (Gabriel, Jeremy, Susie, Fritz & Cassidy) | Charlotte Emily | Vanny | Orange Guy | Gregory | Bill A. Companies Fazbear Entertainment | Afton Robotics, LLC | Fazbear Funtime Service Other Toy Chica | The Fox | The Dog | Glitchtrap | PlushBabies | 8-Bit Baby | M.X.E.S. Spin-Off Games FNAF World Animdude | Desk Man | Brow Boy | Chipper | Chica's Magic Rainbow | Souldozer | Foxy.EXE | Dee Dee | Scott's Head Freddy in Space 2 L.O.L.Z.H.A.X | Franken-Foxy | High School Chica Bot | Chica Defense Network | Foxbot | Easter Bonnie | Fully Loaded Rabbit | Puppenator | Mariominous | S. Cotton Security Breach: Fury's Rage Dreamgeist | Poison Foxy | Thug Chica | Punk Mangle | Fire Girl | Trap | Marionette | Ice Freddy | VR Sisters | Soulbrawler | Mega Brow | Vanny Freddy in Space 3: Chica in Space Scott Cawthon | Souldozer | Chipper | Felix the Shark | Sea Bonnie | Keytar Surfer | Quiz Master Monty | FAZ-Pilot Gregory Novel Trilogy Animatronics Classic Animatronics Freddy Fazbear | Bonnie the Bunny | Chica the Chicken | Foxy the Pirate Twisted Animatronics Twisted Freddy | Twisted Bonnie | Twisted Foxy | Twisted Wolf Funtime Animatronics Circus Baby | Mangle | New Freddy | Baby Crawlers Afton Family William Afton | Elizabeth Afton Fazbear Frights Animatronics Recurring Funtime Freddy | Fetch | Plushtrap Chaser | Foxy the Pirate | Chica the Chicken | Springtrap | Afton's Amalgamation One-Shot Lonely Freddies | Minireenas | Funtime Foxy | Golden Freddy | Julius's Exoskeleton | Lucky Boy | Felix the Shark Humans Recurring Andrew | William Afton One-Shot Julius | Dominic | Lewis | Dr. Little | Unnamed Drug Dealers Creatures Recurring Eleanor | The Blackbird | Faz-Goo One-Shot Spring Bonnie | Ralpho | Shadow Bonnie | Sea Bonnies | Kids at Play Tales from the Pizzaplex Animatronics The Mimic | Lally | Victoria Snodgrass | Happs | Moondrop Hologram | Frank the Diver | Pizzaplex Ballora | Bobbiedots | Nexie | Nightmare Animatronics Humans DJ Dan | William Afton | Luca | Earl | Ronan and Tate | Martin Copper | Mr. Renner | GGY | Mr. Burrows Other Tiger Rock | The Drowned Girl | Fazcade Monty | B-7 Movie Animatronics Freddy Fazbear | Bonnie the Bunny | Chica the Chicken/Mr. Cupcake | Foxy the Pirate | Golden Freddy Humans William Afton | Jane Schmidt | Max, Jeff, Hank and Carl Fazbear Fanverse One Night at Flumpty's | POPGOES Disambiguation pages Afton | Bonnie the Bunny | Chica the Chicken | Circus Baby | Foxy the Pirate | Freddy Fazbear | Purple Guy