Golden Freddy

Golden Freddy is a mysterious, ghost-like entity who takes on the form of a yellow animatronic bear. He plays a prominent role in the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise, although his origins are cryptic and unknown.

Physical Appearance
Golden Freddy appears to be a cross between Freddy and Fredbear with missing eyes. His hat and bow tie appears to be tinted dark blue, as opposed to Freddy's black ones and Fredbear's purple ones, though this may be the result of lighting. Upon closer inspection, a microphone can be seen lying on his right palm, as well as two pinprick white dot-like pupils within his otherwise empty eye sockets.

His paws are facing palms up. It is also possible that there is an endoskeleton in the suit. If one looks at the arms, a few wires and parts of the endoskeleton are visible, which share the same coloration as his accessories, though this may just be cords holding together the separate pieces of his suit. His jaw hangs open and his head is tilted to the right. He is also presented in a sitting, slouched position as if he were deceased.

In the second game, Golden Freddy now takes a form mimicking Withered Freddy's appearance as a unique model of his own. He appears to be in a decrepit state, much like the other withered animatronics, with a missing left ear, and a good deal of damage with loose wires and exposed parts. Also, similar to the other withered animatronics, he now has upper teeth, wires are coming out of his empty sockets and shoulders, and small bits of the suit are faded and ripped. His arms and legs seem darker than the rest of his body. His head is noticeably thinner than Withered Freddy's. He seems to be more visibly clutching his microphone rather than having it lay on his palm. Unlike his form in the first game, he seems much shorter, his pupils are not visible (as he does not seem to have eyes at all), and he appears to have no bow tie, though his lower jaw may be blocking it from view. If one looks closely, he has a black button on his chest, similar to Withered Freddy. His head also seems to be tilting to the left rather than to the right. He seems to have some blood on his suit.

In Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery, his appearance is the same as in the first game, but he is now completely golden, including his teeth, and he is more shiny. He is also seen moving its limbs for the first time in its workshop animation, albeit less fluidly, in contrast to other animatronics, and there does not seem to be an endoskeleton within him, making the cause of its ability to move its limbs unknown.

Theories and Speculation
Golden Freddy's backstory has been the subject of countless speculation, and is considered to be one of the biggest mysteries of the series. Upon his initial discovery, it was generally accepted that Golden Freddy's spirit belonged to one of the five missing children that was tied to the original "Missing Children Incident" (or MCI for short). However, as the series has progressed, this theory (although believed by a vast majority) is no longer the general consensus.

Five Nights at Freddy's 4 introduced an unnamed protagonist (identified as the "Bite Victim"), who is believed and heavily hinted to being the son of William Afton. This character's fate is left unanswered, much like Golden Freddy's backstory, although there are several clues in the series that may suggest his ghost eventually becomes Golden Freddy. This theory, however, is controversial amongst theorists as it seemingly conflicts with the notion that Golden Freddy's spirit is a victim of the MCI.

Theorists have made numerous observations and conclusions surrounding Golden Freddy, including:


 * Golden Freddy is simply a victim of the MCI, not at all connected to the Bite Victim.
 * The character in question is believed by some to be named Cassidy, seemingly discovered in the Five Nights at Freddy's: Survival Logbook through a hidden code. A character by the name of Cassidy also appears in Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet as a victim of the MCI, although she is not connected to Golden Freddy at all.
 * The iterations of Golden Freddy in the original novel trilogy and the Fazbear Frights, Andrew and Michael Brooks are not related to the Bite Victim at all. While these are separate continuities, there is some degree of consistency with characters in the franchise.
 * The Bite Victim is the fifth victim of the MCI. It is important to note that there is no specification as to whether or not all five children died following the incident, so either the Bite Victim hypothetically survived or he did die but was somehow resurrected. While this theory could be considered to be a stretch, it is the only possible way the Bite Victim could be Golden Freddy.
 * This theory is known as either "MCIvictim" or (the more preferred name) "BV5th".
 * In the Five Nights at Freddy's 4 minigames, the Fredbear plush repeatedly mentions the Bite Victim having witnessed something horrific enough to have caused him to be distressed for the entirety of the game. It would explain the child's specific fear of the yellow Springlock Suits, and not the characters themselves.
 * The Curse of Dreadbear DLC for Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted is heavily centered around Five Nights at Freddy's 4, yet there easter eggs are connecting to Golden Freddy.
 * The clock pathway for FNaF World features strong references to the Bite Victim, while also having minigames identical to the hidden ones in Five Nights at Freddy's 3. The hidden minigames in Five Nights at Freddy's 3 lead to Golden Freddy getting his "Happiest Day", once again suggesting a connection between Golden Freddy and the Bite Victim.
 * Furthermore, the "Happiest Day" minigame features a location almost identical to the one seen in Five Nights at Freddy's 4 (where the Bite of '83 occurred). The only difference is that Golden Freddy's spirit replaces the show stage where Fredbear and Spring Bonnie reside.
 * These connections should especially be considered, as Scott Cawthon usually clears up unanswered questions from a game in whatever installment comes next.
 * Both the Bite Victim and MCI victim possess Golden Freddy.
 * This theory is known as either "Goldenboth" or "Goldenduo".
 * The Fazbear Frights epilogues tell the story of the Stitchwraith, an animatronic possessed by two spirits. Jake, a kind little boy who died due to a tumor in his brain, went on to possess a doll named Simon who was created by his caretaker Margie and his father Evan, and Andrew, a victim of the MCI (in the books, not the games) and went on to torment his killer, William Afton, keeping him alive until he ultimately exploded, and used his anger to infect multiple objects including Fetch. It is theorized that Jake is a parallel to the Bite Victim, and Andrew is a parallel to the MCI Victim, presumably named "Cassidy".
 * This theory is also backed up by the Survival Logbook, in which we can see the MCI Victim saying things like "The party was for you", "Does he still talk to you?", "What do you see?" and "Do you have dreams?". And presumably the Bite Victim is responding by altering the text and making it say, "It was for me.", "I can hear sounds.", "I can't see." and "I'm Scared." This same theory was expanded upon and someone used the logbook to presumably find the Bite Victim's name, "Evan".
 * In Five Nights at Freddy's when Golden Freddy appears in your office, Golden Freddy gives off a laugh from a little girl who is the MCI Victim, but Golden Freddy gives off the signs/messages saying "IT'S ME" which comes from the Bite Victim, who is communicating to Michael Afton. (Who in this theory is the older brother or bully from Five Nights at Freddy's 4)
 * In the "Happiest Day" minigame, it's shown that six spirits are put to rest, the child possessing the Puppet (AKA Charlotte Emily) and the spirits possessing Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy (AKA the children murdered in the Missing Children Incident) as well as the spirit possessing Golden Freddy. However, in Ultimate Custom Night it's shown that the Vengeful Spirit is a soul possessing Golden Freddy. It is concluded that the Golden Freddy spirit in the "Happiest Day" minigame is shown to be the Bite Victim as the "Happiest Day" minigame has the same layout as Fredbear's Family Diner in the Five Nights at Freddy's 4 minigames and is the one that's put to rest. The Vengeful Spirit in Ultimate Custom Night is the MCI Victim that was left out in the "Happiest Day" minigame and stayed to torture William Afton in the form of Ultimate Custom Night.
 * It is possible that Yenndo is an endoskeleton version of Golden Freddy, as his behavior in the Custom Night of Sister Location is identical to Golden Freddy's, as well as being associated with the color yellow.