Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF) is a horror game franchise created by Scott Cawthon, a Christian developer who has donated millions to Christian causes. The franchise depicts haunted animatronic animals at a children's pizza restaurant as vessels for the souls of murdered children. Despite its creator's Christian faith, the content raises significant concerns for discerning families.
FNAF was created by Scott Cawthon, who is publicly Christian and has donated millions to Republican political candidates and Christian causes. When he was doxxed in 2021 for his political donations, the Christian gaming community largely rallied to his defense. His faith is not in question. But the content of the games he made is a separate question from his personal character.
The FNAF franchise centers on a serial child murderer (William Afton/Purple Guy) who kills children and whose victims' souls are trapped in animatronic suits. The gameplay involves surviving encounters with these possessed animatronics through jumpscares. The horror is genuinely frightening — it has caused anxiety disorders and sleep problems in younger children who were allowed to play it before they were ready.
The spiritual framework — souls of murdered children trapped in physical objects, unable to rest — draws from a dark spiritual worldview that Christians may find uncomfortable regardless of the fictional framing. This is not fantasy magic like Zelda or Mario. It is a horror universe built around death, demonic possession, and the restless dead.
FNAF games are rated T (Teen). The franchise became enormously popular with children ages 8-12 largely through YouTube let's plays. This is a serious mismatch — the content is designed to terrify adults and is genuinely too disturbing for the age range that consumed it most. Christian parents should be aware that their child's interest in FNAF likely came from YouTube exposure before they were old enough to assess it.
Older teenagers (16+) who can distinguish fiction from reality and engage horror as a genre with maturity may engage FNAF without the same harm as younger children. The content concern remains (dark spiritual framework, murdered children's souls), but the psychological harm from jumpscares is lower for mature audiences. 28/100 — Caution rather than Avoid, reflecting the developer's Christian character and the fictional framing.
For more detail, see Common Sense Media FNAF review.
Children's media shapes formation in ways adult media does not — children are not yet equipped with the critical distance to evaluate what they're consuming. The question is not just "is this harmful?" but "what is this teaching?" GodlyScore evaluates children's content with heightened sensitivity to family depiction, LGBT normalization, spiritual content, and whether the overall tone encourages virtue or passivity. Score: 28/100 Caution.
See our Christian TV Reviews hub for similar content evaluated with the same framework. Common Sense Media provides detailed age-by-age content guidance.
Five Nights at Freddy's (2023, Universal/Blumhouse) is based on Scott Cawthon's massively popular indie video game series (2014-present) beloved by millions of teenagers and young adults. The film follows Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), who takes a job as overnight security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza — a defunct 1980s family restaurant. The animatronic animal mascots are possessed by the souls of children murdered at the location and become deadly at night.
Horror/violence: Moderate by horror film standards. Jump scares, animatronic violence, some deaths. Tamer than most PG-13 action-adventure films in actual gore. The film is rated PG-13.
Language: Mild — PG-13 standard, no strong profanity.
Sexual content: None.
Supernatural/soul possession: The central premise involves souls of murdered children possessing animatronic robots — a supernatural premise that parents should discuss with children. The souls are depicted with some sympathy (they are victims), but soul possession as a horror mechanic has spiritual dimensions worth parental conversation.
Five Nights at Freddy's is tame by horror film standards — its PG-13 rating is appropriate and it is considerably less disturbing than most adult horror. For Christian families with teenagers who are fans of the games: appropriate for 15+ with parental conversation about the soul-possession premise. Not appropriate for young children despite the colorful game aesthetic. Compare with A Quiet Place for horror with stronger values themes. See our Christian TV Reviews hub. Plugged In and Common Sense Media review it in detail.
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