Shadow Rat

* Animatronic
* Jumpscare
* Deepscape
* DS Jumpscare

Were you perhaps looking for another shadow animatronic, or one of Shadow Rat's Corporeal forms? See Shadow (Disambiguation), or Rat (Disambiguation) respectively

**Shadow Rat** is the final antagonist of *Five Nights at Candy's 3*. He is a purple shadow-version of Monster Rat. He appears in the Deepscape and in the Shadow Challenge.

## Appearance

Shadow Rat's appearance is similar to that of the Rat from FNAC 2. He has hollow eyes and jagged teeth. Much like the Rat from FNAC 2, Shadow Rat's forehead is stitched together. The sprite of Shadow Rat looks more similar to that of Monster Rat, seeing as how you can see his eyes when he is facing south.

Shadow Rat also has another form only seen in the "Shadow Challenge." The Shadow Challenge only includes Shadow Rat, a purple, shadowy form of the original Monster Rat. He has no pupils, and is much more menacing than the Monster Rat, with a pose more elegant and pronounced than the Monster Rat’s hunched over, beastly nature.

## Behavior

### Deepscape

Shadow Rat will sometimes appear in the "darkness" within the Deepscape if the player walks for long enough. He'll appear as a silhouette just enough to see the outline. If the player runs while Shadow Rat appears on-screen, he'll chase them until he catches them or they reach a "light path" again. It is possible to avoid his detection, as long as they walk *behind* him or pass away from his line of sight. If the player manages to escape to a light path while he chases them, he'll retreat back into the darkness.

### Shadow Challenge

The Shadow Rat of the "Shadow Challenge" behaves exactly the same as the Monster Rat from previous nights, except unbelievably fast when running to the hallway, closet, or dresser, giving next to no time to use the tape recorder. He will distort the tape recorder just like Monster Vinnie and Monster Rat, that is, if the player is able to be quick enough to use the tape recorder properly. He takes much longer to chase under the bed, and will dodge the light much faster, albeit still moving his head in a triangular pattern. If killed by Shadow Rat on the "Shadow Challenge", his jumpscare appears, being an animated still of Shadow Rat's head glitching, similar to that of Nightmare of FNAF 4.

## Strategy (Shadow Challenge)

Shadow Rat's "Shadow Challenge" is an extremely challenging night that puts a more tougher strain on the player. However, it isn't that combat against him is difficult. The difficulty comes in with Shadow Rat's speed. Shadow Rat is the fastest enemy in the game, from going from door-to-door, to moving his head in combat, to going under the bed and popping back up, and even returning after combat is over. It should not be expected to ever have a second without combat in this challenge; the player will be fighting more than they’ll be resting. That being said, here's a few tricks that can be used to get an edge on Shadow Rat:

-As said, Shadow Rat moves the fastest in the game, but as long as they can master Monster Rat’s triangular movement cycle when in combat, then Shadow Rat will be easy enough, as long as the player has fast reflexes to boot.

-Shadow Rat moves instantly to another door when the player shines their light on him. To help keep him at bay for long periods of time, the player must continuously shine their light between the "hallway and dresser," or the "closet and dresser." This way the player can have two of the three locations constantly checked, with the third location saved for if Shadow Rat is in neither of the two locations. The best spot for this is the "closet and dresser," because hitting Shadow Rat by the hallway door when in combat is easier than either of the other two locations.

-Either keep tending to the tape recorder if the player is skilled and fast enough to do so, or completely abandon it. Not only can Shadow Rat distort the tape recorder while under the bed, making hearing his movements to *quickly*  shine the light on him more difficult, but it's also very risky since Shadow Rat moves so quickly. The player must choose their poison and stick to it.

-The trickiest part to beating Shadow Rat is shining the flashlight on his face when he pops out of the bed. The player has literally two seconds to shine on his face. Any more than that and Shadow Rat will attack the player. It is free to try practicing how fast and precise the player can do this process on Night 5 as practice, and once the player feels confident enough, they can try again. This isn't really necessary, though, if the player is already skilled at doing the motion.

## Trivia

* Shadow Rat has many features similar to that of The Rat in FNAC 2, most notably the stitched forehead and the hollow eye sockets.
* Shadow Rat appears to be a hallucination of Mary Schmidt, since the only way to find him is to go to the Deepscape. This is the only place the Shadow Rat is ever found.
	+ Supporting this, in addition to the ambiance played on all nights, Shadow Challenge has sirens blaring distantly, this only seen rarely on Night 5 from among the other nights. The alarms may allude to the incident in which Mary's brother was attacked by The Rat. Shadow Rat could be how Mary envisions the spirit, similar to Nightmare in FNAF4. This is only speculation.
	+ Emil Macko says that Shadow Rat is the Rat himself, haunting Mary's nightmares in a noncorporeal form, much like Shadow Candy.
* Shadow Rat has no visible relations to Shadow Candy from FNAC 2. However, they appear beside each other in the Thank You! screen.
* Shadow Rat's jumpscare from the "Shadow Challenge" is very similar to that of Nightmare and Golden Freddy's jumpscare from the FNaF Series, being an animated still of Shadow Rat's head before exiting to the extras menu. The only difference is that Shadow Rat's jumpscare is animated, while Nightmare and Golden Freddy's jumpscares are not.
* His purple design is likely a reference to William Afton / The Purple guy, who Rat serves as somewhat of a counterpart to. His eyes are even Silver, much like Williams eyes that we see in Springtrap.

## Gallery

Shadow Rat's JumpscareA frame of Shadow Rat's Jumpscare.Shadow Rat jumpscaring the player from the dreamscape/deepscape.Mary encountering Shadow Rat in the Deepscape.Shadow Rat Dodging.Shadow Rat twitching while standing up, being shined with the flashlight.Shadow Rat twitching while kneeling left, being shined with the flashlight.Shadow Rat twitching while kneeling right, being shined with the flashlight.Shadow RAT hiding under the bedShadow RAT peeking from the Closet and returning after being flashed.Shadow RAT peeking from the Dresser and returning after being flashed.Shadow RAT peeking from the Hallway and returning after being flashed.Shadow Rat, along with Shadow Candy, as seen alongside the other animatronics in the Five Nights at Candy's Series.

**Withereds:** Withered Blank • Withered Chester • Withered New Candy • Withered New Cindy • Withered Penguin
**News:** New Candy • New Cindy
**Funtimes:** Funtime Candy • Funtime Cindy
**Forgottens:** Forgotten Candy • Forgotten Cat • Mini Candies
**Wirelock Hybrids:** The Cat • The Rat
**Monsters:** Monster Cat • Monster Rat • Monster Vinnie
**Shadows:** Shadow Candy • Shadow Cat • **Shadow Rat**
**Others:** Dawko Marionette • Lollipop • Markiplier Animatronic • Nightmare Candy • Origami Cat • Phantom Candy • Scribble Netty