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Five Nights at Freddy’s: 5 Scariest Animatronics, Ranked

Updated on January 1, 2022

I don't know about you, but when I found out I'd be watching over a pizzeria for a few nights a week as a fresh-faced security guard — I was over the moon. Careless of the fact that its animatronics aimlessly wandered with rather sinister intentions, I thought it was great, and possibly the quickest way of snagging a thousand points to bolster my trophy cabinet. But then there it was: the second night on the job. It was all downhill from there. And that platinum I so desperately craved? Well, let's just say it still resides behind the iron bars of Freddy Fazbear's locker.

So, what is it that makes Five Nights at Freddy's so friggin' difficult? Surely, it isn't the gameplay itself, as it's mostly made up of panning a camera around and closing a few doors, right? No, it isn't that, but more the things that you try to keep out of said doors. Freddy's loyal army of robotic followers, all of which have the joint power to render you speechless and leave you running for the hills. It's those furry little critters that make the game so tough. And yet, we can't help but stroll on back, discarding the fact that we've probably suffered fourteen heart attacks already. But which of those furry foes caused the most trauma overall? Well, let's run it from the top. Here are, in our opinion, the five scariest animatronics, ranked.

5. Chica

The yellow-feathered bot, famously referred to as Chica, was hands down one of the most annoying characters in the original Five Nights at Freddy's chapter. Annoying because, well — it killed us more times than we'd probably like to admit. And unlike other foes that would stalk you for a short while before taking the chance to strike — Chica would snap at you at any given moment, giving you that constant fear as you whittled down the hours through dawn.

Like Freddy, as well as all the other animatronics in Fazbear's famous pizza joint, Chica was unintentionally disturbing. The mischievous eyes, the crooked smile, the death glare at point-blank range — it was all there, and then some. Chica was a horrifying obstacle to overcome during those first few nights at Freddy's, and was partly the reason why most of us resorted to rage quitting instead of actually finishing our tenure.

4. Freddy

Being the poster child of the acclaimed franchise, it wouldn't feel right just discarding Fazbear altogether. Okay, so speaking from gameplay experience, the happy-go-lucky host wasn't the biggest burden to overcome. He was, however, a smart cookie that loved to loiter in the worst possible places — and for lengthy periods of time, annoyingly.

Freddy certainly had a knack for tucking himself in the worst possible places, and for enough time to allow your batteries to deplete, or for your insanity to teeter closer and closer to the brink of collapse. Of course, he wasn't the scariest animatronic by a long shot, but he was an admirable asset to the team, and a host we couldn't help but adore. You know, even though he ruined more games than we'd like to give him credit for.

3. Foxy

Unfortunately, I too remember having a mild panic attack thanks to the red-eared fox. In fact, it only seems like yesterday I had my flashlight laced between my fingers with the thing gazing deeply into my soul from a nearby corridor. It was petrifying, truly — made even more horrifying the moment I, of course, failed to hit the switch and engulf him in a blinding cone of light. But then, it was bound to happen at one point, seeing as Foxy had this annoying habit of lingering for a lot longer than the average animatronic.

Anyway, I strongly recall Foxy being one of the most troublesome foes in Freddy's anthology, mainly for the reason mentioned above. The bot had a bad habit of holding an eye on you from afar, which of course meant you had to stare back, but at the cost of having another bot sneak up behind you and hurl you into a heart-wrenching meltdown. He was a decoy, plain and simple. And one thing you came to learn when playing Five Nights at Freddy's, of course, was to never fall for the blasted decoy.

2. Mangle

It wasn't so much the appearance of the chewed up and spat out bot that scared us in Five Nights at Freddy's 2, but more its chilling backstory that players were treated to midway through the game. Mangle, to our absolute surprise, was once a beloved successor to Foxy, who, at the time, was deemed to scary for a younger audience. However, the new and improved Foxy was unfortunately neglected by customers, with parts forever being torn off and pieced back together.

Long story short, the pizzeria staff struggled to find the motivation to rebuild him every day, so instead resorted to using his features for a game, where customers would have to reconstruct it. This earned the bot the new name of Mangle, a collection of patches and wires with a burning hatred for all things living. Of course, being human, and very much alive, that put us in the worst possible place — especially at night.

1. Withered Bonnie

Discarding the nightmare versions of the twisted bots, Withered Bonnie still stands at the pinnacle of the all-time scariest monsters to roam the Five Nights at Freddy's network. Thanks to its spontaneous appearances and ear-splitting shrieks, the patrolling animatronic has induced more minor heart attacks than any other antagonist in the franchise to date.

Bonnie was first introduced in the original entry to the Five Nights at Freddy's domain. The second game, being the prequel, however, included the neglected model, or, better known as Withered Bonnie. Loaded with razor sharp teeth and scarlett red eyes, the tattered drone ended up becoming one of the most instantly recognizable enemies in the chapter, and before long, a staple on the whole franchise.

So, what about you? Let us know you're favourite animatronic from the Five Nights at Freddy's series. You can drop us a comment over on our socials here or down in the comments below.