Join Emily Zarka, Ph.D. on a journey to discover humans’ unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature and film.
Curated by: Storied (119 videos)
Mascot horror twists cheerful childhood icons into unsettling threats. Let’s look at how Five Nights at Freddy’s sparked a wave of creepy mascots, fan-made worlds, corporate irony, and horror reboots of nostalgic characters. #FNAF For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive. ***** PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateStoried ***** Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka Creative Director: David Schulte Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Executive Producer: Dr. Emily Zarka Producer: Thomas Fernandes Editor/Animator: P.W. Shelton Illustrator: Sam Streed Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing Additional Footage: Shutterstock Music: APM Music Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monstrumpbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bibliography Brey, Betsy. “Five Nights at Fan Games: Feminism, Fan Labor, and Five Nights at Freddy’s.” Indie Games in the Digital Age, edited by Cynthia Wang and M.J. Clarke. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020. pp. 72-95. Edwards, Ben. “Robots, Pizza, and Sensory Overload: The Chuck E. Cheese Origin Story.” FastCompany, 31 May, 2017. Fanzo, Justin, et al. Slender Man is Coming. Utah State University Press, edited by Lynne S. McNeill and Trevor J. Blank, 2018. Ivory, James D. “A Brief History of Video Games.” The Video Game Debate: Unravelling the Physical, Social, and Psychological Effects of Video Games, edited by Rachel Kowert, and Thorsten Quandt, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015. Ji, Yujie, and Yizuan Zhao. “Follow the Purple Bunny: A Brief Analysis of Five Nights at Freddy’s Narrative.” Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, vol. 664, 2022, pp. 153-158. Pyke, Teagan, and Ida Martine Gard Rysjedal. “Scary Business: Mascot Horror as Product and Reflection of Platformisation.” DiGRA Conference Publication, 2025. Toniolo, Francesco. “Evolution of the YouTube Personas Related to Survival Horror Games.” Persona Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, 2020, pp. 54-68.