The sound comes from One Night at Flumpty's 2, a fan-made horror game inspired by Five Nights at Freddy's in which players survive nights against strange characters, including the owl. When the owl reaches the player, the game plays this abrupt jumpscare sting, much like the classic FNAF jumpscare scream that defined the genre. Clips spread through gameplay videos and fan edits, where the owl became shorthand for a sudden scare. It is still used today because it is short, instantly alarming and easy to drop into horror edits, streams and memes without needing context from the game itself.