Springtrap first appeared as the main animatronic antagonist in Five Nights at Freddy's 3, released in 2015 by Scott Cawthon. Fan-made hoax designs and edited images of the character circulated widely in the community before and after the game's launch, inspiring alternate versions like Hoax Springtrap. The scream clip attached to this version spread through soundboards, YouTube edits, and Roblox and Discord communities, where short horror sounds are reused for jumpscares. It remains popular because the character is instantly recognisable to fans and the shriek signals a scare without any setup.