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Since the release of the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game in 2014, the FNAF franchise has blown up into a massive fictional universe that expands beyond the realm of gaming alone. Developer Scott Cawthon has collaborated with several different authors and artists to publish a huge collection of FNAF books that add their own characters, locations, and bone-chilling secrets to the series’ lore.
In addition to official guides that will help you survive the games’ night shifts, Cawthon has penned plenty of short stories and novels that invite FNAF fans and horror enthusiasts to dive deep into the twisted horrors of Fazbear Entertainment.
Much like the FNAF games, most of the FNAF books tell the frightening tales of killer animatronics and the spirits, AI, and other vengeful entities that bring them to life. However, while the games maintain a consistent (if not cryptic) canon, the books get creative with the premise, characters, and themes of FNAF to tell stories that otherwise wouldn’t fit into the established lore of the series.
In short, there are a lot of shared elements between the books and the games, but the books exist in their own continuities and are often inconsistent with the lore of the games.
Bottom Line:
The Five Nights at Freddy’s novel trilogy was the first set of FNAF books written, following the story of Charlie Emily with an alternative version of the events that took place in the games. Graphic novel versions of the trilogy’s books were published between 2019-2021.
The Fazbear Frights series, on the other hand, is a 12-book anthology series of novella-length stories that explore concepts from every corner of the FNAF universe. So far, four official guide books have been published as well, offering gameplay tips, Easter eggs, and fan theories about the series’ lore.
More FNAF books are currently in the works, including the Tales from the Pizzaplex series, two Fazbear Frights graphic novel collections, a Security Breach guide, and an official character encyclopedia.
The FNAF Books At A Glance
FNAF Novel Trilogy
FNAF: The Silver Eyes (2015)
FNAF: The Twisted Ones (2017)
FNAF: The Fourth Closet (2018)
Fazbear Frights
Fazbear Frights #1: Into the Pit (2019)
Fazbear Frights #2: Fetch (2020)
Fazbear Frights #3: 1:35AM (2020)
Fazbear Frights #4: Step Closer (2020)
Fazbear Frights #5: Bunny Call (2020)
Fazbear Frights #6: Blackbird (2020)
Fazbear Frights #7: The Cliffs (2021)
Fazbear Frights #8: Gumdrop Angel (2021)
Fazbear Frights #9: The Puppet Carver (2021)
Fazbear Frights #10: Friendly Face (2021)
Fazbear Frights #11: Prankster (2021)
Fazbear Frights #12: Felix the Shark (2022)
Official Guides & Activity Books
Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Freddy Files (2017)
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Survival Logbook (2017)
Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Freddy Files: Updated Edition (2019)
Official Five Nights at Freddy’s Coloring Book (2021)
Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Freddy Files: Ultimate Edition (2021)
Official How To Draw Five Nights at Freddy’s (2022)
Graphic Novels
FNAF: The Silver Eyes: The Graphic Novel (2019)
FNAF: The Twisted Ones: The Graphic Novel (2021)
FNAF: The Fourth Closet: The Graphic Novel (2021)
Upcoming Books & Release Dates
FNAF: Tales from the Pizzaplex #1: Lally’s Game (July 19, 2022)
FNAF: Tales from the Pizzaplex #2: Happs (August 30, 2022)
Fazbear Frights: Graphic Novel Collection #1 (September 6, 2022)
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach Files (September 20, 2022)
FNAF: Tales from the Pizzaplex #3: Somniphobia (November 1, 2022)
FNAF: Tales from the Pizzaplex #4 (December 27, 2022)
Five Nights at Freddy’s Character Encyclopedia (January 3, 2023)
FNAF: Tales from the Pizzaplex #5 (March 7, 2023)
Fazbear Frights: Graphic Novel Collection #2 (March 7, 2023)
Five Nights at Freddy’s Novel Trilogy
The Five Nights at Freddy’s novel trilogy follows the story of Charlie Emily as she and her friends uncover the secrets of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria 10 years after the murders of five children occurred inside.
Charlie’s father, Henry Emily, was the co-founder and creator of the restaurant’s animatronics, and her childhood friend Michael Brooks was among the victims, compelling Charlie and the rest of her friends to relentlessly pursue the truth as more and more mysteries begin to unfold. The books incorporate a lot of the themes, characters, and lore of the FNAF games, but ultimately tell their own story that diverges from the games’ canon.
In the games, Charlie Emily was the first victim, causing her soul to possess the Puppet/Marionette introduced in FNAF 2. Since the books follow her teenage years and young adulthood, it’s safe to say the games and the books don’t share a timeline. Scott Cawthon has stated that the two timelines weren’t meant to fit together or solve each other’s mysteries, and the books were intended to tell their own story.
Still, Cawthon considers the books to be canon since they exist within the FNAF universe, just in a separate continuity from the games. As such, some fans use plot points and concepts from the books to create theories about the games and the overarching lore of the franchise as a whole.
Most notably, perhaps, the novels portray William Afton experimenting on the animatronics by melting them down and extracting a metallic liquid that is capable of possessing both inanimate objects and living beings, which FNAF players may recognize as Remnant—a crucial element of the lore that was first alluded to in FNAF 6.
Additionally, the second and third books introduce a technology that can change a person’s perception and cause them to hallucinate, which has led to several fan theories about whether the Nightmare animatronics in FNAF 4 really exist, are intentionally-caused hallucinations, or if they truly are nothing more than nightmares.
As a huge fan of both the FNAF games and horror literature, I thought the trilogy did an amazing job of capturing what makes FNAF so compelling. I was a bit skeptical at first to see how a game series that builds tension primarily with jumpscares and environmental storytelling could be adapted into the written word, but the books effectively highlight the thematic horror of FNAF by leaning into the human element of the series.
The games allow players to piece a lot of the story and lore together from a distance, but the books put readers directly in the heads of the characters as they deal with both the trauma of the past as well as the horrors that unfold in the present. I recommend them not just for FNAF fans, but for horror lovers that enjoy tropes like possession, fates worse than death, and the pursuit of truth at any cost.
FNAF: The Silver Eyes – Charlie Emily and her friends return to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria on the 10-year anniversary of the murders that occurred within, determined to discover the truth.
FNAF: The Twisted Ones – The truth of the murders has been revealed, but something even more sinister is now hunting Charlie, and her own perplexing behavior leaves her desperate for answers.
FNAF: The Fourth Closet – After Charlie miraculously survives the hunt, a new pizzeria opens in town, and Charlie’s friends reluctantly team up once more to investigate a new set of kidnappings—and unravel the mystery of what really happened to Charlie.
Fazbear Frights
Fazbear Frights is an anthology series of 12 books, each containing three novella-length stories as well as an epilogue that tells a small part of an overarching story. The stories explore a wide variety of concepts introduced throughout the FNAF franchise, allowing Scott Cawthon and the authors he collaborated with to get creative with many different aspects of the series.
As a result, it’s unclear whether some, all, or none of the stories take place within the same continuities as the games or novels. However, Cawthon has suggested that it’s possible to use the Fazbear Frights stories to piece the answers to some of the franchise’s unsolved mysteries.
For example, stories from Bunny Call and Blackbird heavily imply that William Afton did not die after the fire in FNAF 6, but was instead kept alive by a “shadow child” and forced to suffer nightmares. Not only would this explain how Afton managed to survive to appear in future games, but it also connects to the fan theory that Afton could be the player character of Ultimate Custom Night being punished by his victims.
The Fazbear Frights books feature several of the franchise’s infamous animatronics and pizzerias, as well as some new characters and settings that are unique to the anthology series. Additionally, some of the stories seem to overlap with one another, while others stand alone.
While the epilogues (called Stitchwraith Stingers) construct an overarching plot about an entity known as the Stitchwraith, several other stories within the series seem to connect to this timeline as well, weaving a complex web that makes the series worth reading and rereading.
Into the Pit – features Into the Pit, To Be Beautiful, and Count the Ways.
Fetch – features Fetch, Lonely Freddy, and Out of Stock.
1:35 A.M. – features 1:35 A.M., Room for One More, and The New Kid
Step Closer – features Step Closer, Dance with Me, and Coming Home.
Bunny Call – features Bunny Call, In the Flesh, and The Man in Room 1280.
Blackbird – features Blackbird, The Real Jake, and Hide-and-Seek.
The Cliffs – features The Cliffs, The Breaking Wheel, and He Told Me Everything.
Gumdrop Angel – features Gumdrop Angel, Sergio’s Lucky Day, and What We Found.
The Puppet Carver – features The Puppet Carver, Jump for Tickets, and Pizza Kit.
Friendly Face – features Friendly Face, Sea Bonnies, and Together Forever.
Prankster – features Prankster, Kids at Play, and Find Player Two!
Felix the Shark – features Felix the Shark, The Scoop, and You’re the Band.
Official Guides & Activity Books
Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Freddy Files is a series of official guidebooks created to help players survive the games’ night shifts and discuss popular fan theories about the franchise. The first guidebook, simply titled The Freddy Files, covers FNAF 1-5 as well as the content from The Silver Eyes and The Twisted Ones.
The Updated Edition includes the same information as The Freddy Files, but it expands the guide to cover FNAF 6 and Ultimate Custom Night in addition to the book content from The Fourth Closet and The Survival Logbook. The Ultimate Edition expands the guide even further to cover Help Wanted, Curse of Dreadbear, Special Delivery, the Fazbear Frights series, and the graphic novel adaptations of the novel trilogy.
The Five Nights at Freddy’s: Survival Logbook, on the other hand, is presented as more of an activity book than a guide. As the crossed-out name on the cover suggests, the book is designed to look like a logbook for new security officers during their first week on the job at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.
However, the book itself has been previously owned by a guard named Mike, who fans have speculated is Michael Afton, Mike Schmidt (the night guard from FNAF 1), or both, potentially proving the theory that Mike Schmidt is Michael Afton.
The Survival Logbook is full of hidden secrets, lore, and clues to piece together some of the franchise’s mysteries. Not only did Mike leave his own entries and doodles in red pen (including a sketch of the Exotic Butters from FNAF 5 and Nightmare Fredbear from FNAF 4, which suggest that he really is Michael Afton), but two spirits seem to haunt the book as well and speak directly to Mike.
Cassidy, the child who haunts Golden Freddy, speaks through faded text that appears throughout the book. Another spirit who is thought to be the Crying Child seems to respond to Cassidy by altering the book’s text.
The name Cassidy was originally discovered with a code hidden in the logbook, and fans speculate that the Crying Child’s name could be hidden inside as well. Only the letters “E,” “V,” and “A” have been found so far, so some fans believe that the Crying Child’s name might be Evan.
In addition to the official guides and the Survival Logbook, the Official Five Nights at Freddy’s Coloring Book and the Official Five Nights at Freddy’s: How To Draw book are also available.
Graphic Novels
The FNAF novel trilogy has been adapted into graphic novel format, adding three additional books to the FNAF franchise’s extensive library. The Silver Eyes: The Graphic Novel was released in 2019, followed by The Twisted Ones: The Graphic Novel and The Fourth Closet: The Graphic Novel in 2021.
Overall, the graphic novels do a good job of retelling the story with visual elements, though some moments and scenes were not included, presumably to prevent the graphic novels from becoming too large.
However, some fans have criticized the graphic novels for feeling rushed, which I think is a valid critique. If you’re a fan of graphic novels and comics, I recommend reading the novel trilogy to get a clear picture of the story and reading the graphic novels to enjoy the visuals and layout. There are some really phenomenal panels in these adaptations, so I’d still say they’re worth the read, especially for graphic novel enthusiasts.
Upcoming Releases
Fortunately for FNAF fans, there are plenty more books scheduled for release this year and next. With the conclusion of the Fazbear Frights series, a new anthology series titled Tales from the Pizzaplex will take its place starting July 19, 2022.
Like Fazbear Frights, each installment of Tales from the Pizzaplex will feature three novella-length stories, though these tales will presumably draw inspiration from FNAF: Security Breach. So far, only the first three books have been titled, including Lally’s Game, Happs, and Somniphobia, though the untitled fourth and fifth installments have been announced as well.
With the release of FNAF: Security Breach, The Freddy Files guide series is also due for an update, and FNAF: The Security Breach Files is scheduled to hit the shelves on September 20, 2022. Unlike the previous guides, The Security Breach Files will focus solely on Security Breach and won’t cover any of the series’ previous content.
While the Fazbear Frights series has reached an official conclusion, two graphic novel adaptations are scheduled for release in September 2022 and March 2023. Fazbear Frights: Graphic Novel Collection #1 will feature Into the Pit, To Be Beautiful, and Out of Stock.
Fazbear Frights: Graphic Novel Collection #2 includes Fetch, Room for One More, and The New Kid. The order of the stories included in the graphic novel collections will be different than the order in which they were originally presented.
FNAF Books Guide: Conclusion
Question: How many FNAF books are there in total?
Answer: In total, there have been 24 official FNAF books released so far. That includes 3 novels, 12 Fazbear Frights anthologies, 3 official guides, 3 activity books, and 3 graphic novels. As of now, 9 more FNAF books are scheduled for publication, which will bring the grand total to 33 by March 2023.
Question: In what order should I read the FNAF books?
Answer: Like most trilogies, the FNAF novels tell one continuous story and should be read in order. The Fazbear Frights, on the other hand, tell separate stories that don’t necessarily connect, but I’d recommend reading the books in the order they were published if you’re planning on following the Stitchwraith storyline in the epilogues. Aside from that, the rest of the books and guides can be read in almost any order, and it’s not necessary to read one series of books before getting into another.
Question: Should I play the FNAF games before reading the books?
Answer: Personally, I think playing at least one or two FNAF games strengthens the impact of the books’ themes and imagery, which makes them a lot more fun to read. However, the novel trilogy and Fazbear Frights stories are compelling in and of themselves, and it’s not necessary to play the games to understand the plots or relate to the characters. Still, if you’re just starting to get into the FNAF franchise or are curious about the story, I’d recommend starting with the games as an entry point and getting into the books from there.
Question: Are the FNAF books appropriate for kids?
Answer: In general, the 12+ rating on the FNAF books is a good guideline for readers and their guardians. While a lot of the stories told in the books feature kids and teens as their protagonists, the themes and use of horror can be scary for younger kids. The books also contain some violent and potentially disturbing content, though the violence isn’t particularly graphic. The reading level is definitely suitable for preteens, and the language and grammar make the books easy and enjoyable to read.