Man Behind Slaughter

2019Catchphrase / image macro / video editsemi-active

Also known as: The Man Behind the Slaughter · Purple Guy Meme · TMBS

"The Man Behind the Slaughter" is a meme based on a lyric from The Living Tombstone's 2014 Five Nights at Freddy's fan song "It's Been So Long." The phrase refers to the game's antagonist William Afton (Purple Guy), and the meme took off in late 2019 through ironic edits and captioned images that reference the character in absurd or out-of-context ways. It became a viral format across iFunny, Instagram, and Twitter in early 2020.

fnaf memesindie horror game memessong remix memes2020 memesifunny memes

Overview

The Man Behind the Slaughter meme revolves around the lyric "the man behind the slaughter" from The Living Tombstone's "It's Been So Long," a fan song based on Five Nights at Freddy's 23. The phrase describes William Afton, the fictional serial killer also known as Purple Guy who serves as the main antagonist of the FNAF franchise. In meme form, people apply the phrase to random characters, people, or situations, often coloring them purple or pairing them with the song's chorus. The humor comes from the dramatic weight of the phrase being applied to something completely mundane or unrelated3.

On December 4th, 2014, Israeli musician The Living Tombstone uploaded "It's Been So Long" to YouTube, a song written from the perspective of a grieving mother whose child was killed by William Afton3. The chorus includes the now-iconic line describing Afton as "the man behind the slaughter." The video picked up over 92 million views across six years3.

The song sat untouched by meme culture for five years. On December 31st, 2019, Instagram user hd_chungles posted a recaptioned webcomic edit built around the song's lyrics3. That post pulled in over 173,000 views and 20,000 likes within three months, kicking off the format3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Instagram (meme format), YouTube (source song)
Key People
hd_chungles, The Living Tombstone
Date
2019

On December 4th, 2014, Israeli musician The Living Tombstone uploaded "It's Been So Long" to YouTube, a song written from the perspective of a grieving mother whose child was killed by William Afton3. The chorus includes the now-iconic line describing Afton as "the man behind the slaughter." The video picked up over 92 million views across six years3.

The song sat untouched by meme culture for five years. On December 31st, 2019, Instagram user hd_chungles posted a recaptioned webcomic edit built around the song's lyrics3. That post pulled in over 173,000 views and 20,000 likes within three months, kicking off the format3.

How It Spread

The meme spread quickly in January 2020 through reposts on Twitter, Instagram, and iFunny3. On January 8th, 2020, YouTuber The Acid Muskitears uploaded a recaptioned webcomic edit that reached over 342,000 views in three months3. Six days later, iFunny user CoasterCrusader posted a Barnacle Boy's Sulfur Vision edit referencing the lyric, mixing SpongeBob and FNAF humor3.

The format didn't hit peak virality until March 2020. The timing lined up with early COVID-19 lockdowns, when internet meme output surged across platforms. On March 7th, 2020, iFunny user TheEliteDidNothingWrong posted a GIF caption version that earned over 430 smiles in three weeks3. On March 12th, iFunny user RemingtonV2 created a PogChamp edit that hit over 3,000 smiles in two weeks3. The meme's simple formula made it easy to remix: take anything, color it purple (or don't), slap on the phrase or the song, and the joke works1.

The format found particular traction in FNAF fan communities and shitposting circles, where the dramatic tone of the original song clashed with ironic, low-effort edits. Urban Dictionary entries for the meme consist almost entirely of the full song lyrics pasted verbatim, reflecting how deeply the phrase embedded itself in internet culture as a recognizable reference1.

Platforms

RedditTwitterTikTokInstagram

Timeline

2020

Man Behind Slaughter first appears online

2020

Gains traction on social media

2021

Reaches peak popularity

2022-01-01

Man Behind Slaughter reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

2023-01-01

Brands and companies started using Man Behind Slaughter in marketing

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The Man Behind the Slaughter meme typically follows one of a few patterns:

1

Purple filter edit: Take an image or video of any person or character, apply a purple color filter, and caption it with "the man behind the slaughter" or play the song over it.

2

Webcomic recaption: Replace dialogue in an existing webcomic with lyrics from "It's Been So Long," building toward the chorus line.

3

Reaction/reveal format: Set up a mundane or absurd scenario, then reveal someone as "the man behind the slaughter" as the punchline.

4

GIF captions: Overlay the phrase on unrelated GIFs for ironic effect.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The meme helped push The Living Tombstone's "It's Been So Long" back into relevance years after its original release, driving new waves of listens on YouTube and Spotify3. It also contributed to the broader trend of FNAF memes becoming mainstream internet humor beyond the game's dedicated fanbase. The format's 2020 surge aligned with a period of intense meme production during early pandemic lockdowns, giving it extra fuel.

Fun Facts

The Living Tombstone's original video accumulated over 92 million views before the meme even started, meaning the song was already a massive hit with FNAF fans long before ironic meme culture found it3.

The meme lay dormant for five full years between the song's 2014 release and its first meme use on December 31st, 20193.

William Afton's purple sprite is so iconic that simply coloring anything purple can invoke the meme without any text at all3.

iFunny played an unusually large role in this meme's spread, serving as a primary platform alongside Instagram and Twitter3.

Derivatives & Variations

Purple filter edits:

Any image given a purple tint and captioned with the phrase, one of the most common variations[3].

PogChamp crossover:

RemingtonV2's iFunny edit merged the Twitch emote with the FNAF reference[3].

Barnacle Boy's Sulfur Vision edit:

CoasterCrusader combined SpongeBob's purple-tinted Sulfur Vision gag with the Man Behind the Slaughter phrase[3].

Song lyric copypasta:

The full lyrics of "It's Been So Long" became a copypasta in their own right, pasted in comment sections and Urban Dictionary definitions[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

Man Behind Slaughter

2019Catchphrase / image macro / video editsemi-active

Also known as: The Man Behind the Slaughter · Purple Guy Meme · TMBS

"The Man Behind the Slaughter" is a meme based on a lyric from The Living Tombstone's 2014 Five Nights at Freddy's fan song "It's Been So Long." The phrase refers to the game's antagonist William Afton (Purple Guy), and the meme took off in late 2019 through ironic edits and captioned images that reference the character in absurd or out-of-context ways. It became a viral format across iFunny, Instagram, and Twitter in early 2020.

fnaf memes indie horror game memes song remix memes 2020 memes ifunny memes

Overview

The Man Behind the Slaughter meme revolves around the lyric "the man behind the slaughter" from The Living Tombstone's "It's Been So Long," a fan song based on Five Nights at Freddy's 23. The phrase describes William Afton, the fictional serial killer also known as Purple Guy who serves as the main antagonist of the FNAF franchise. In meme form, people apply the phrase to random characters, people, or situations, often coloring them purple or pairing them with the song's chorus. The humor comes from the dramatic weight of the phrase being applied to something completely mundane or unrelated3.

On December 4th, 2014, Israeli musician The Living Tombstone uploaded "It's Been So Long" to YouTube, a song written from the perspective of a grieving mother whose child was killed by William Afton3. The chorus includes the now-iconic line describing Afton as "the man behind the slaughter." The video picked up over 92 million views across six years3.

The song sat untouched by meme culture for five years. On December 31st, 2019, Instagram user hd_chungles posted a recaptioned webcomic edit built around the song's lyrics3. That post pulled in over 173,000 views and 20,000 likes within three months, kicking off the format3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Instagram (meme format), YouTube (source song)
Key People
hd_chungles, The Living Tombstone
Date
2019

On December 4th, 2014, Israeli musician The Living Tombstone uploaded "It's Been So Long" to YouTube, a song written from the perspective of a grieving mother whose child was killed by William Afton3. The chorus includes the now-iconic line describing Afton as "the man behind the slaughter." The video picked up over 92 million views across six years3.

The song sat untouched by meme culture for five years. On December 31st, 2019, Instagram user hd_chungles posted a recaptioned webcomic edit built around the song's lyrics3. That post pulled in over 173,000 views and 20,000 likes within three months, kicking off the format3.

How It Spread

The meme spread quickly in January 2020 through reposts on Twitter, Instagram, and iFunny3. On January 8th, 2020, YouTuber The Acid Muskitears uploaded a recaptioned webcomic edit that reached over 342,000 views in three months3. Six days later, iFunny user CoasterCrusader posted a Barnacle Boy's Sulfur Vision edit referencing the lyric, mixing SpongeBob and FNAF humor3.

The format didn't hit peak virality until March 2020. The timing lined up with early COVID-19 lockdowns, when internet meme output surged across platforms. On March 7th, 2020, iFunny user TheEliteDidNothingWrong posted a GIF caption version that earned over 430 smiles in three weeks3. On March 12th, iFunny user RemingtonV2 created a PogChamp edit that hit over 3,000 smiles in two weeks3. The meme's simple formula made it easy to remix: take anything, color it purple (or don't), slap on the phrase or the song, and the joke works1.

The format found particular traction in FNAF fan communities and shitposting circles, where the dramatic tone of the original song clashed with ironic, low-effort edits. Urban Dictionary entries for the meme consist almost entirely of the full song lyrics pasted verbatim, reflecting how deeply the phrase embedded itself in internet culture as a recognizable reference1.

Platforms

RedditTwitterTikTokInstagram

Timeline

2020

Man Behind Slaughter first appears online

2020

Gains traction on social media

2021

Reaches peak popularity

2022-01-01

Man Behind Slaughter reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

2023-01-01

Brands and companies started using Man Behind Slaughter in marketing

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The Man Behind the Slaughter meme typically follows one of a few patterns:

1

Purple filter edit: Take an image or video of any person or character, apply a purple color filter, and caption it with "the man behind the slaughter" or play the song over it.

2

Webcomic recaption: Replace dialogue in an existing webcomic with lyrics from "It's Been So Long," building toward the chorus line.

3

Reaction/reveal format: Set up a mundane or absurd scenario, then reveal someone as "the man behind the slaughter" as the punchline.

4

GIF captions: Overlay the phrase on unrelated GIFs for ironic effect.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The meme helped push The Living Tombstone's "It's Been So Long" back into relevance years after its original release, driving new waves of listens on YouTube and Spotify3. It also contributed to the broader trend of FNAF memes becoming mainstream internet humor beyond the game's dedicated fanbase. The format's 2020 surge aligned with a period of intense meme production during early pandemic lockdowns, giving it extra fuel.

Fun Facts

The Living Tombstone's original video accumulated over 92 million views before the meme even started, meaning the song was already a massive hit with FNAF fans long before ironic meme culture found it3.

The meme lay dormant for five full years between the song's 2014 release and its first meme use on December 31st, 20193.

William Afton's purple sprite is so iconic that simply coloring anything purple can invoke the meme without any text at all3.

iFunny played an unusually large role in this meme's spread, serving as a primary platform alongside Instagram and Twitter3.

Derivatives & Variations

Purple filter edits:

Any image given a purple tint and captioned with the phrase, one of the most common variations[3].

PogChamp crossover:

RemingtonV2's iFunny edit merged the Twitch emote with the FNAF reference[3].

Barnacle Boy's Sulfur Vision edit:

CoasterCrusader combined SpongeBob's purple-tinted Sulfur Vision gag with the Man Behind the Slaughter phrase[3].

Song lyric copypasta:

The full lyrics of "It's Been So Long" became a copypasta in their own right, pasted in comment sections and Urban Dictionary definitions[1].

Frequently Asked Questions