Foxy Running in 'Five Nights at Freddy's' Is a Sure Sign of Trouble Ahead

With a live-action movie set for Halloween 2023, folks are talking about Five Nights at Freddy's once more. The popular horror game franchise kicked off in 2014, having been created by controversial video game developer Scott Cawthon. The first game in the series puts players in the role of a newly-hired security guard at the fictional Freddy Fazbear's Pizza entertainment restaurant. Here, they must survive at least five nights against the restaurant's monsters.

The animatronic mascot characters that populate the restaurant seemingly come to life at night under mysterious circumstances in order to commit acts of violence against anyone who happens to be in the restaurant during their waking hours, including the new security guard. Players must use the facility's cameras and their office security doors to keep track of the monsters and avoid getting caught by them.

One of the hardest animatronics to avoid is Foxy, who can run down the hall in no time.

The first FNaF game pits players against four different animatronic characters. There's the titular Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy the Pirate.

As a given night progresses in the game, players are tasked with keeping track of each character's movements via the camera feeds. If a character gets too close, players must close the doors to the security room to prevent them from entering and attacking them. Getting attacked even once by any character will result in a Game Over.

For the most part, the animatronics movements are random. They can approach from either side of the security room and can be blocked off even at close range. Foxy, however, is unique in his movements. He typically emerges from the far end of the restaurant in Pirate's Cove and gives very little warning as to when he'll try to attack the player. Whereas the other animatronics will approach slowly and gradually, Foxy will dash in a beeline straight to the office.

There are a couple of telltale signs to avoid him attacking you, including the sound of rushing footsteps and brief footage of him sprinting down the West Hall, giving the player mere seconds to close the door to prevent him from entering.

As far as the first game goes, Foxy is the only antagonist with this kind of behavior, leading players to wonder why Foxy runs down the hall the way that he does. Fans have come up with all sorts of theories.

In the FNaF subreddit, folks suggest that it has to do with Scott Cawthon's creative process. One person believes that Foxy's movements are simply meant to add more variety and strategy for the player to utilize.

Others suggested that lore was at play, positing that Foxy's aggressive nature as indicated by the in-game mythology gave rise to his particular method of attack.

The story behind the original FNaF's most formidable opponent is subject to some debate to this day.

Five Nights at Freddy's is available on all major gaming platforms.