Rockstar has always loved putting obscure, mysterious, and sometimes downright creepy Easter eggs in its open worlds. As the most ambitious open-world game the studio has created to date,Red Dead Redemption 2was no exception to this. Spread all acrossRDR2’s five statesare mysteries hidden throughout the wilderness that range from humorous Easter eggs to downright bone-chilling mysteries that may or may not get any sort of resolution.
West Elizabeth stands uniquely among the regions ofRed Dead Redemption 2as it’s the only state in the game that Arthur can onlypartiallyexplore. New Austin is closed off to the player until they assume control of John in the epilogue, but portions of West Elizabeth are accessible as soon as the gang leaves the mountains in Chapter 1. Despite this, West Elizabeth is chock-full of secrets and mysteries that most players might have missed in their initial playthrough of Rockstar’s title.
7Giant Skeleton
From Goliath to Paul Bunyan, stories of massive humanoid creatures have been a folklore staple for as long as humans have been telling stories. And it seems Rockstar picked up on this and worked a giant into the game. Or at least what was once a giant.
The giant, not to be confused with thegiant living in a cave in Ambarino, has long since died, and his skeletal remains are located near the top of Mount Shann. The remains seem to be a reference to various digitally altered photos of alleged giant burial sites that have periodically gone viral since the earliest days of the internet. These pictures have fueled conspiracy theories claiming that giants have been secretly walking among humans since ancient times.
6Pagan Ritual Site
Red Dead Redemption 2is no stranger to occult activity. In thedeep dive into Lemoyne’s mysteries, it’s heavily implied that the ghost town Pleasance died off due to cult activity. And it seems shady activity continues into the far reaches of West Elizabeth.
Just northwest of the Owanjila Lake, basically on the very farthest border of the map, is an incredibly gory scene that is undeniable evidence of cult activity. Human and animal remains, strange stone obelisks, and unidentified symbols are telltale signs that something incredibly dark happened here. The player can take the animal skull mask as their own to wear, but no further clues are given as to the culprits behind the murder. Perhaps thePleasance cult had a much further graspthan anyone would care to admit.
5Mysterious Obelisk
The ritual site is not the only evidence of cult activity on Mount Shann. Just a short distance north of the gory scene is a massive, carved stone obelisk that’s definitely out of placein the untamed wilds of West Elizabeth.
There’s no concrete explanation in-game for what the obelisk is or who exactly put it there, but given its proximity toRDR2’s ritual site, it’s safe to say the two are somehow related. The only clue to the backstory of this mysterious pylon is a carving on the base that reads “Hora Fugit, Ne Tardes.” That roughly translates to “The Hour Flees, Don’t be Late.” The date next to the carving is 1771, which means that whatever group is responsible for the strange activity going on inRed Dead Redemption 2has been in play for more than 100 years.
4Flying Machine Wreckage
Anyone who knows anything about American history will be able to confirm that the Wright Brothers famously achieved the first documented successful flight in December of 1903. But it seems as though one ambitious adventurer tried their hand at an attempt a few years prior. Sadly, it looks like they came up short.
Along the northern stretch of the Little Creek River, players can find the broken and charred remains of one early aviator and their destroyed flying machine. Like most of the West Elizabeth secrets, this is just a one-and-done bit of environmental storytelling, but the player can come up with their own story for whatever happened there.
3The Devil Cave
Just northwest of Mount Shann is the entrance to an unassuming cave. It’s super easy to miss and, from the outside, there’s nothing particularly enticing about it. But players that venture inside will meet one of the strangest,most out-there NPCs inRed Dead Redemption 2.
One must venture far enough into the cave and an unseen voice will demand the player turn and leave. These calls will continue until the speaker outright claims to be the devil himself. When this last-ditch effort also fails to scare the player off, the NPC will reveal himself; he’s just a lonesome hermit who desperately wants to be left alone. The player can’t interact with him further as he’s up on a ledge, but the creepy atmosphere of the cave andhis claims of being Satan himselfmake this one of the more memorable encounters in the game.
2Stuffed Gorilla
A lot of the mysteries and open-worldeaster eggs inRed Dead Redemption 2are creepyor intentionally unsettling. Others are just strange in a way that leaves players scratching their heads for hours or even days later. The stuffed gorilla of Mount Shann is one such case.
The taxidermied great ape is found in a shattered shipping crate, giving the implication that it was an art piece that got lost in transit. But it begs the question of where it was going and who was buying it. There is a taxidermist in Big Valley, so the gorilla is likely one of his products lost on its way to a buyer. Why Rockstar chose a gorilla specifically is currently unknown, but it’s likely a loose and cheeky nod to the studio’s storied history ofBigfoot-related easter eggsin its games.
1Native American Burial Grounds
TheWapiti people play a key role in the story ofRed Dead Redemption 2and the tribe’s burial grounds can be found in a clearing in West Elizabeth. Native burial grounds have had an unfortunate media history, often being represented as something ominous or frightening in films likePet SemataryorPoltergeist, so it’s a refreshing take from Rockstar that the Wapiti’s hallowed grounds are a peaceful, contemplative place.
The site features a cross made of small rocks, surrounded by a circle of larger stones. At the center lies theunique Stone Hatchet weapon. Around the circle, skulls of humans and animals are mounted on poles adorned with trinkets like feathers, colored rope, and antlers. Scattered wooden scaffolding draped in animal hides completes the scene.
Red Dead Redemption 2
WHERE TO PLAY
America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.
