Sumith Prasad
Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza is an abandoned pizzeria and entertainment center in Peacock/Universal Pictures’ horror film ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s.’ The place got shut down when the remains of several children were discovered inside the animatronic mascots of the pizzeria, hidden by serial killer William Afton. Ever since the deaths, the restaurant becomes a murder ring for Afton and the animatronics which are under his control. Since the country is home to several haunted establishments, we couldn’t help but wonder whether the pizzeria has a real-life counterpart.
Scott Cawthon’s Fictional Restaurant
Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza is a fictional restaurant conceived by Scott Cawthon, who co-wrote the film, for his eponymous video game series, which serves as the source material for the horror drama. Cawthon was inspired by a particular hate comment, directed at his resource-management game ‘Chipper & Sons Lumber Co.,’ to conceive the restaurant filled with terrifying animatronics. The resource-management game features a cheerful beaver as its protagonist. When someone commented that the beaver was “like a scary animatronic,” the game developer realized that he could do better.
Cawthon then set out to make “something a lot scarier” than the beaver, which led to the creation of Freddy and company, the mascots of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Since the entertainment center is a suitable stage for having a group of animatronics, the game developer might have decided to choose the same as the principal setting of his game. He believed that every kid was scared of animatronics, including himself when he was a child, which inspired him to frame the video game series’ narrative.
Although the place is fictional, it reminds us of ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese’s. Like Freddy’s, both of these restaurant-entertainment center chains use a lot of animatronics as a means of entertainment. Billy Bob of ShowBiz and the namesake mascot of Chuck E. Cheese’s are similar to Freddy Fazbear, who lead the group of animatronics at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Cawthon then added the elements of murder and possession into the fictional restaurant to conceive the perfect setting for his game series. Ever since the game became a huge success, the fictional pizzeria and the mascots became a part of the popular culture.
The costumes of Freddy and company became a common sight in Halloween celebrations. Furthermore, boards of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza began to appear in a handful of spots across the country to celebrate the games. Even though several ardent admirers of the game series have tried to connect the famed pizzeria to a real one, it doesn’t have a real-life counterpart.
Read More: Five Nights at Freddy’s Post-Credits Voice, Explained: Who Says Come Find Me?
