FNAF Puppet – lore, versions, and appearances

The FNAF Puppet is one of the scariest characters in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but there’s more to this mime-like marionette than meets the eye.

FNAF Puppet: Three versions of the FNAF Puppet (security, classic, and phantom) outlined in white and pasted on a blurred background of the FNAF 2 office.

Don’t let that music box run out of power unless you want a visit from FNAF’s Puppet. A black and white marionette puppet with hollow eyes, a wide smile, and tears streaming down its face, the Puppet is certainly a creepy sight to behold. But underneath that mask, there’s a lot more going on than just sadness and rage.

Five Nights at Freddy’s has a huge well of lore to explore, and we’re here to help you during your deep dives. We’ve got guides to some of the series’ most important characters like FNAF Freddy, FNAF Chica, FNAF Foxy, and FNAF Vanessa. Or if you fancy preparing yourself to relive the scares, check out our list of all the FNAF jumpscares or our guide to the FNAF movie.

FNAF Puppet: A screenshot of the Puppet jumpscare from Night 7 of FNAF 2.

Who is FNAF’s Puppet?

The FNAF Puppet, also known as the Marionette and the Security Puppet, is one of the main antagonists in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. As well as checking the security cameras to keep track of the roaming animatronics, the security guard has to continually wind up a music box to keep the Puppet from attacking.

Although the Puppet acts as an antagonist in FNAF 2, its later appearances show that it has a more heroic side and wants to protect children from falling victim to the same fate as it did.

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Who is the spirit possessing FNAF’s Puppet?

Based on various clues from the books and games in the FNAF franchise, we’ve come to the conclusion that the spirit possessing FNAF’s Puppet is Charlotte Emily. Charlotte was Henry Emily’s daughter and his business partner William Afton’s first victim. We learn from the minigames that somehow someone locked Charlotte out of the restaurant and that’s how William found her and killed her before dumping her body next to the bins behind the establishment.

You can see Charlotte crying outside the restaurant before her untimely death which many people think is why the Puppet’s mask has bluish-purple streaks coming from its eyes that look like tears. It’s clear from Henry’s final speech in Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator that he also believes in the trapping of his daughter’s soul is inside the Puppet, as he went so far as to lure the Puppet to this final location and capture it using Lefty, the malfunctioning black bear that looks suspiciously like FNAF’s Freddy.

FNAF Puppet: A screenshot from the Security Puppet minigame showing the security puppet heading towards the window where Charlotte is trapped outside in the rain.

He says, “I should have known you wouldn’t be content to disappear, not my daughter. I couldn’t save you then, so let me save you now. It’s time to rest, for you, and for those you have carried in your arms.” The final line of this speech refers to the souls of the missing children that the Puppet carried into the animatronics and looked after in the previous locations.

What is the FNAF Puppet’s personality?

In FNAF 2, the Puppet is aggressive and intent on attacking and murdering the security guard. However, in later minigames we see a more heroic side of the Puppet, shepherding the souls of the missing children and helping them to seek revenge.

Technically, before Charlotte’s spirit possessed the Puppet, it had no personality of its own as it was simply a puppet rather than an animatronic. Henry Emily says in Pizzeria Simulator that it’s in his daughter’s nature to protect the innocent, further connecting the Puppet and Charlotte in the lore.

What are the different FNAF Puppet versions?

The Puppet is one of the few major Five Nights at Freddy’s characters that doesn’t have a huge variety of versions, but there are still some notable ones for you to know.

FNAF Puppet: The classic Puppet design outlined in white and pasted on a blurred FNAF 2 office background.

The Puppet

This is the first incarnation of the Puppet we see in the games, appearing in FNAF 2 as a jumpscare triggered by letting the music box run out.

FNAF Puppet: The phantom Puppet outlined in white and pasted on a blurred FNAF 2 office background.

Phantom Puppet

The Phantom Puppet is a hallucination of a burnt Puppet that you encounter in FNAF 3 when working in the Fazbear Frights attraction. Its eyes are lit up, unlike the original version.

FNAF Puppet: The security puppet in a purple and red present box with strings holding its arms up outlined in white and pasted on a blurred FNAF 2 office background.

Security Puppet

The Security Puppet first appears in Pizzeria Simulator but is likely the original form of the Puppet that Charlotte goes on to possess. The intention behind the design was to keep children safe inside the restaurant by warning their parents if they got too close to the door. You can play the Security Puppet minigame during set up which reveals the story of Charlotte’s murder and the Security Puppet’s possession.

FNAF Puppet: The Nightmarionne from Ultimate Custom Night outlined in white and pasted on a blurred FNAF 2 office background.

Nightmarionne

This gangly guy is a nightmare version of the Puppet that you encounter in Ultimate Custom Night as one of the nightmare antagonists.

FNAF Puppet: Lefty the bear animatronic with a broken eye, black fur and red accessories outlined in white and pasted on a blurred background of the FNAF 2 office.

Lefty

While he’s technically not the Puppet, Lefty exists in Pizzeria Simulator to lure and capture it. Henry Emily designed Lefty for this express purpose as he believed it would help to free his daughter’s soul.

FNAF Puppet games

Here’s a list of the games featuring FNAF’s Puppet as a major character:

  • Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
  • Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator
  • Ultimate Custom Night
  • Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted

That’s everything you need to know about FNAF’s Puppet. If you fancy giving a different creepy game a go, check out our guides to Poppy Playtime Chapter 1, Poppy Playtime Huggy Wuggy, Poppy Playtime Mommy Long Legs, and Poppy Playtime Boxy Boo.