From Storied.
Mascot horror twists cheerful childhood icons into unsettling threats. Let’s look at how Five Nights at Freddy’s sparked a wave of creepy mascots, fan-made worlds, corporate irony, and horror reboots of nostalgic characters. #FNAF
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Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Creative Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Executive Producer: Dr. Emily Zarka
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Editor/Animator: P.W. Shelton
Illustrator: Sam Streed
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
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Music: APM Music
Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
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Bibliography
Brey, Betsy. “Five Nights at Fan Games: Feminism, Fan Labor, and Five Nights at Freddy’s.” Indie Games in the Digital Age, edited by Cynthia Wang and M.J. Clarke. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020. pp. 72-95.
Edwards, Ben. “Robots, Pizza, and Sensory Overload: The Chuck E. Cheese Origin Story.” FastCompany, 31 May, 2017.
Fanzo, Justin, et al. Slender Man is Coming. Utah State University Press, edited by Lynne S. McNeill and Trevor J. Blank, 2018.
Ivory, James D. “A Brief History of Video Games.” The Video Game Debate: Unravelling the Physical, Social, and Psychological Effects of Video Games, edited by Rachel Kowert, and Thorsten Quandt, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015.
Ji, Yujie, and Yizuan Zhao. “Follow the Purple Bunny: A Brief Analysis of Five Nights at Freddy’s Narrative.” Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, vol. 664, 2022, pp. 153-158.
Pyke, Teagan, and Ida Martine Gard Rysjedal. “Scary Business: Mascot Horror as Product and Reflection of Platformisation.” DiGRA Conference Publication, 2025.
Toniolo, Francesco. “Evolution of the YouTube Personas Related to Survival Horror Games.” Persona Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, 2020, pp. 54-68.
