I Always Come Back (FNAF)

Editor's Note: This entry contains spoilers for Five Nights at Freddy's (2023); read at your own caution.

About

I Always Come Back is a catchphrase associated with Five Nights at Freddy's spoken by Springtrap, aka Scraptrap or William Afton, in the 2017 video game Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, referencing the way Springtrap always comes back from the dead. A version of the phrase was first featured in the trailer for Five Nights at Freddy's 3 and popularized in the years following 2017 in memes referencing the fact that Springtrap has died before and come back to life. In October 2023, a scene from the FNAF movie, released that month, went viral, showing Springtrap saying the line.

Origin

On January 26th, 2015, FNAF creator Scott Cawthon uploaded the trailer for FNAF 3 to YouTube,^[1] garnering over 32 million views in eight years (shown below). At one point, the trailer features the captions "He will come back" and "he always does," referring to the game's antagonist William Afton, aka Springtrap. The trailer became the subject of memes shortly after its premiere, with one of the earliest examples being a meme posted to Know Your Meme^[2] by Agentofchaos on March 9th, 2015.

On December 4th, 2017, the FNAF game Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator released. The game features a line of dialogue where Springtrap, now back from the dead in a more dilapidated form known as Scraptrap, says, "I always come back." On December 17th, YouTuber^[3] Father uploaded a compilation of the voice lines, garnering over 247,000 views in six years (shown below).

Spread

The catchphrase and voice line spread over the following years, inspiring memes, fan content and animations referencing it. On March 7th, 2018, YouTuber^[4] Dafne TheWeebGaming posted an animation using it, garnering over 114,000 views in five years (shown below, left). On July 19th, YouTuber^[5] Raidiater posted a similar animation that gained over 4.2 million views in the same span of time (shown below, right).

On May 1st, 2020, Redditor u/Tiger_Torme posted a piece of fan art to /r/fivenightsatfreddys^[6] redrawing the Grant Gustin Next To Oliver Queen's Grave meme, titled, "He always come back!" garnering over 2,300 upvotes in three years. On March 22nd, 2021, YouTuber^[7] Jaze Cinema poosted an animation referencing the phrase, garnering over 2 million views in two years (shown below).

On October 31st, 2022, TikToker^[8] @zenspeedx posted a compilation video of FNAF clips using the audio clip. The video's original sound was used over 6,400 times over the following year, largely in lip dubs by Spanish users and in videos referencing FNAF in various ways (examples shown below).

On March 29th, 2023, actor Matthew Lillard, who plays William Afton in the FNAF movie, posted a selfie on Instagram^[9] with the caption, "I always come back. #FNAF #williamafton #purple #finishstrong," garnering over 353,000 likes in seven months (shown below).

Appearance in the Five Nights at Freddy's Movie

On October 26th, 2023, viewers of the FNAF movie began leaking clips online of a scene in the film where Afton says the line, "I always come back." For example, that day, TikToker^[10] @koomii.i posted a clip of Afton saying the line, garnering over 140,000 views in a day (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References