Dream Theory

This theory is debunked!The following theory was debunked either by Scott, one of the games, or by the books, and thus shouldn't be considered canon "Perhaps some things are best left forgotten."

## Dream

Theory

The Bite Victim should've known better than to eat that three-cheese Freddy-Bake™ pizza before going to bed...

### Source

Game Theory: FNAF, The Clue that SOLVES Five Nights at Freddy's!

**Dream Theory** was the popular theory that the first 4 FNAF games, with the exception of the FNAF4 mini games, were the dreams of the Crying Child.

## Evidence

* During a Game Theory livestream, Scott posted clues on Scottgames.com that would help uncover FNAF 4's story.
	+ The clue "In the FNaF4 minigame, why would the tiny toy chica be missing her beak?" was interpreted to mean the toy animatronics were imagined by the Crying Child after seeing the tiny toy Chica on the playground without her beak.
	+ The clue "What is seen in the shadows is easily misunderstood in the mind of a child." was interpreted to mean the Crying Child thought he saw someone being stuffed into an animatronic suit, which would explain the purple guy.
		- It also explains why purple guy is purple, as the Crying Child only saw him in the shadows.
	+ The clue "Four games. One story." was given in response to MatPat of Game Theory believing FNAF 2 did not actually happen. This clue has been interpreted to mean that all 4 games were the dreams of the Crying Child, who then dies in the hospital after the Bite of '83.
	+ This article documents the timestamps the hints were discovered and discussed, as well as the context surrounding them.

"In the FNaF4 minigame, why would the tiny toy chica be missing her beak?"“What is seen in shadows is easily misunderstood in the mind of a child.”“Four games. One story.”
* A Mangle tear-apart toy is seen in the pink bedroom in the FNAF4 mini game house. This could explain why Mangle looks the way it does in FNAF 2, despite it looking dangerous for toddlers to play with.
* The Crying Child has plushies of the four classic animatronics and Fredbear in his bedroom, which would explain why FNAF 1 has those four characters and why they are made of softer materials, as opposed to the plastic look of the toy animatronics, who would be inspired by the toys at the playground.
	+ Golden Freddy would be explained by the Crying Child's Fredbear plushie.
	+ FNAF1 would have also been inspired by the Fredbear & Friends show, which features the classics as well as Fredbear, the stand in for Golden Freddy.
* The animatronics not being washed and smelling bad may be in reference to the Crying Child using his plushies too much.
* Foxy being out of order would be because the Foxy plushie is missing his head.
* Foxy's jumpscare would be explained by the Crying Child's older brother popping out from behind objects and scaring him with the Foxy mask on.
* Golden Freddy's teleporting can be explained by the Crying Child's Fredbear plushie, who may be imaginary, appearing and disappearing at will.
* The recurring phone calls and fans in the FNAF offices would be explained by the toy phone and purple fan seen during the gameplay of FNAF4.
* Someone working at Freddy's despite it being dangerous, the firing of the night guards due to odor, and the weird ways the player accesses the FNAF 3 mini games could all be explained by FNAF 1-3 being created from the imagination of a child.
* Springtrap's and Plushtrap's design would be inspired by the finger trap puppet the girl holds outside of Fredbear's.
	+ The plushie leaning left may have inspired Withered Bonnie, who also leans to the left.
* The girl on the playground with her arms sticking out could be the inspiration for Withered Chica.[1]
* The animatronics stuffing people into suits would come from the rumor spread by the orange pigtailed girl in the Night 3 FNAF 4 mini game.
* The random endoskeletons and robotic parts throughout the games can be explained by the Crying Child being trapped in the parts and service room.
* Balloon Boy would be inspired by the round kid holding a balloon seen in the Night 3 FNAF 4 mini game.
* Shadow Freddy and RWQFSFASXC can be explained by the shadows projected onto the wall by Fredbear and Spring Bonnie.
* The Puppet could have been imagined as a representation of the Crying Child, due to the striped attire, tears, and the similar poses seen in the FNAF3 and FNAF4 mini games.
* The windows seen in the FNAF3 Mangle's Quest mini game may refer to the window seen in the Fun with Plushtrap mini game from FNAF4.
	+ Both windows have a similar frame and show it is nighttime outside.
* The Happiest Day mini game in FNAF3 could be based on a memory from the Crying Child's birthday at Fredbear's, based on their similar layouts.
* The FNAF1 phone call can sometimes be heard during the FNAF4 gameplay, which could be explained by it all being part of the Crying Child's nightmares.
* The clock the player can hear at the end of each night in FNAF 1-3 is that of a grandfather clock, which would be explained by the Crying Child having a grandfather clock in his house.
	+ The FNAF4 player wakes up at 6AM, the time each night in FNAF 1-3 ends. But instead of a grandfather clock, an alarm clock is heard, since the Crying Child would be in a hospital. This is indicated by the flowers, pills, and IV drip that can be seen occasionally next to the bed during the FNAF4 gameplay.
* In a steam post on August 24, 2015, Scott said "I guess most people assumed that I filled the game with random easter eggs this time. I didn't."
	+ Since Scott didnt intend for there to be random easter eggs throughout the game, the explanations for the "easter eggs" could be that they all come from the imagination and experiences of the Crying Child.

## Problems

* Scott has maintained that the story of FNAF4 has never been solved.
	+ In a steam post on August 24, 2015, Scott Cawthon stated "I released part 4, and somehow.... no one, not a single person, found the pieces. The story remains completely hidden. I guess most people assumed that I filled the game with random easter eggs this time. I didn't. What's in the box? It's the pieces put together. But the bigger question is- would the community accept it that way? The fact that the pieces have remained elusive this time strikes me as incredible, and special, a fitting conclusion in some ways, and because of that, I've decided that maybe some things are best left forgotten, forever."
		- Although this may refer to people believing in Dream Theory, this post was made months before Game Theory's Dream Theory video, which released December 13th, 2015.
		- The importance of the box is highlighted in this post, yet Dream Theory does not have a great explanation for it.
		- "would the community accept it that way?" is sometimes interpreted to mean that the community would not accept Dream Theory, though the rest of the post implies there is more going on in the story.
	+ In an interview with Dawko on August 8th, 2018, Scott reiterated, "4 ended just too mysterious, to the point where you really couldn't, there was no real way to figure out what was going on."
		- This seems to confirm the original story of FNAF4 remained hidden, even after Game Theory's Dream Theory video.
			* Scott again repeats the importance of the box to FNAF4's story, saying "the box really fits into that lore aspect."

* Scott has made fun of Dream Theory on multiple occasions.
	+ In a joke description for Nightmare Freddy in the lead-up to UCN, the description read, "*he appears suddenly in your office holding an alarm clock. You have only a moment to press the button and activate the alarm. If you press the button in time, you will awaken in your bed for ten seconds before falling back asleep and continuing the night.***"**
	+ In the FNAF movie, Mike Schmidt has a book titled "Dream Theory."
		- While this is a reference to Dream Theory, it also hints at what happens later in the film, with Mike reliving his memories through his dreams to find more details about his brother's kidnapping.
* Scott explained in a reddit post that only 1 retcon had been made between FNAF1-SL, and most people had not noticed it. In the same post, he said SL was used to clear up a misconception from FNAF4.
	+ Given Dream Theory's popularity, it does not make sense that the "one retcon" would be making FNAF1-4 real.
	+ The misconception could be in reference to people believing in Dream Theory, and he cleared it up by showing the Private Room in Sister Location, which reveals the FNAF4 bedroom and the Fun with Plushtrap hallway to be real places monitored with cameras.
		- Under TalesGames, this is doubled down on in the Tales from the Pizzaplex story Dittophobia, where we follow a child test subject who has been in the FNAF4 bedroom for a decade.
* It is commonly accepted that FNAF1 takes place ~1993, based on the paycheck Mike Schmidt receives at the end of the game and what would be minimum wage at the time.
	+ Under Dream Theory, it is unclear how the Crying Child would know what the minimum wage for employees in 1993 would be, 10 years after he was bitten.
		- It also also unclear how he would know the minimum wage for employees in 1987, 4 years after he was bitten.
* It is unclear how the Crying Child would think up corporate phone calls in FNAF1-3.
* It is unclear how the Crying Child would imagine the newspaper reports and job listings seen in FNAF1-3.
* In response to MatPat believing that FNAF2 was not real, Scott gave the hint "Four games. One Story."
	+ This can be interpreted to mean that FNAF2 is not fake, and by extension, none of the other games are fake either.
* Under MikeDreamer, Mike is the one having the FNAF4 nightmares.
	+ This would explain details such as the FNAF1 phone calls being played in the background: they would be from Mike's memories of working at Freddy's.

## Related Theories

* BVDreamer

## Conflicting Theories

* BVReceiver
* FreeVictim
* GregBot
* GoldenDuo
* LogbookDuo
* MikeDreamer
* ShatterVictim