15 things about Furby that creeped us out
When Furby first hit toy shelves in 1998, it seemed like the perfect companion for kids everywhere. This furry, owl-like robot promised to be your interactive friend, learning English and responding to your every word.
But somewhere between the midnight chatter and those unblinking stares, America’s hottest toy became something far more sinister in our collective imagination. What started as innocent fun quickly turned into a bunch of scary stories that still freak people out today.
Those Predator Eyes
Furbys had forward-facing eyes that reminded people of hunters, making our brains think of danger from way back when seeing a hunter meant trouble. Unlike most cute animals with eyes on the sides of their heads, Furbys stared straight at you with a look that felt more hawk than hamster.
The 2012 model made things worse by adding LCD eyes that could move around more, making their stare even more creepy.
They Never Shut Up
Many found the Furby annoying because it chattered continually – it had no off button, and as long as the batteries remained charged, the toy continued to talk, and talk, and talk. Parents quickly discovered that shoving them in closets didn’t help either.
These chatty creatures would break the silence at the worst possible moments, often in the middle of the night when everyone was trying to sleep.
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The NSA Actually Banned Them
On January 13, 1999, the National Security Agency banned Furbies from coming onto NSA property because they worried these toys might record and repeat secret information. Government workers really thought these $30 toys could be fancy spy gadgets.
Papers that came out recently show NSA employees talking about the toy’s ‘smart computer chip inside’ and worrying that workers might talk about secret stuff around them.
They Seemed to Learn Too Well
When your alien-like pet suddenly started talking English after only knowing gibberish, it was easy to think it was alive and watching you. Kids would swear their Furby picked up new words from talks around the house, even though the toys were really set up ahead of time to slowly show English phrases.
The trick was so good that spy agencies took it seriously.
Midnight Demon Voices
People reported hearing demonic, gravelly voices coming from their Furbys – not the sound of batteries running out, but seriously disturbing sounds that would wake them up at night. One military member described their Furby speaking in a demonic voice and saying ‘Hello, son. I missed you’ before they ‘cleansed it with fire’ in a burn pit.
These stories spread like wildfire across online forums.
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The Uncanny Valley Effect
Furbys landed right in that weird spot where they looked kind of human with their talking and facial moves, but not human enough, making people feel really uneasy. Their babbling ‘Furbish’ talk sounded like baby sounds, creating fake familiarity that made people uncomfortable.
Like other almost-human things, their features made people more uncomfortable instead of charmed.
They Moved Without Batteries
Owners said their Furbys would start up without power, with some saying their toys turned on in the middle of the night whispering words no owner had taught them. These reports became so common that they started urban legends about haunted toys.
While probably explained by leftover electrical charges or people’s imagination, the stories stuck around and got more wild over time.
Government Agencies Feared Them
The Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, VA also banned the bug-eyed toy for safety reasons, with security people told to grab any Furbys they saw and question the owners. The FAA got worried Furbys could mess with flight equipment, suggesting they not be turned on when planes were below 10,000 feet.
Having several agencies treat a kids’ toy as a real threat only made their creepy reputation worse.
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The Bomb Squad Incident
In one weird case, a woman in Waldorf, Maryland called the sheriff’s office about a strange package that kept beeping and humming on her front porch. Too scared to open it, deputies called the bomb squad, who found a Furby inside.
This incident perfectly showed how these innocent toys had become things people genuinely feared in American homes.
They Supposedly Swore
In 2000, a Walmart in Pennsylvania reportedly pulled Furbys from shelves after parents complained the toys were swearing, and reports came up again in 2014 of a Furby in Wales using bad words. While toy makers insisted people were hearing wrong when the toys said things like ‘Hug me,’ parents stayed convinced their kids’ toys had learned curse words.
The idea that pre-set toys could learn swear words felt both impossible and scarily believable.
Gremlins Comparisons
People quickly saw that Furbys looked a lot like Gizmo from Joe Dante’s Gremlins, and admitted they were somehow just as scary. The similarities weren’t by accident – both had big eyes, fuzzy bodies, and an otherworldly look.
Fans noticed creepy similarities that started theories about hidden dark sides, with the comparison sparking conspiracy theories about their true nature.
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You Could Turn Them Evil
Furby fans quickly figured out that you could make the AI evil by doing things like over-feeding the Furby (holding your finger in its mouth) and pulling its tail, which would turn on what was called ‘The Viking’ personality. Among young girls, everyone knew that if you ‘overfed’ your Furby by sticking your finger in its mouth and rubbing its belly, it would go crazy.
The fact that you could purposely corrupt your innocent pet felt deeply creepy.
They Talked to Each Other
If you put two or more Furbys together, they talked with each other – they sang and chatted together, one would sing a lullaby and others would fall asleep, and if one sneezed, so did the others. This behavior suggested they were more aware and could talk to each other beyond simple programming.
Parents watched in horror as their kids’ toys seemed to develop their own social network.
False Fur Fears
The U.S. Humane Society reportedly put out a press release in 1999 claiming Furbys were made with dog and cat fur, with DNA testing supposedly proving that green and purple Furbys had real cat and dog hair to make them more realistic. While this turned out to be false, the rumor spread everywhere and added another layer of disgust to an already controversial toy.
The idea that cute pets might be made from real pets was horrifying enough to stick.
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Still Haunting Us Today
The 2023 indie game ‘Five Nights at Furbies’ went viral, making their scary image even stronger, while TikTok’s ‘haunted’ filters got over 500 million views. For 80% of Generation Z, Furbys mean horror – a far cry from their 1990s roots.
Artists now use them in weird art pieces with melted faces or extra limbs, treating them as canvases for our shared unease rather than toys. Even today, these fuzzy robots keep changing from beloved friends into symbols of tech anxiety and childhood fears that won’t go away.
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