Skyrim is one of the most popular open-world games of all time, and with good reason. The base game alone has hundreds of hidden locations to uncover, and the numerous DLCs and remasters in the game's ten-year lifespan have only added more.
Skyrim contains references to the real world, such as the East Empire Company being a clear analog to the East India Company, as well as callbacks to previous Elder Scrolls games with locations and characters. But perhaps the most fun bits of hidden content in Skyrim are the cultural references. Whether to other video games, other pieces of pop culture, or even figures from folklore or mythology, easter eggs make exploring Skyrim's hidden corners even more worthwhile.
10 The Notched Pickaxe At The Throat Of The World
Tucked away at the top of the highest mountain in all Tamriel is a hidden reference to another video game giant; Minecraft. The Notched Pickaxe, named for Minecraft creator Notch, looks like any of the game's other pickaxes.
However, the pickaxe carries an enchantment that deals extra shock damage on a hit and raises the user's Smithing skill by 5. Smithing is the skill used for all Skyrim's crafting, so it's the perfect enchantment to reflect the popular block-based game.
9 The Three Billy Goats Gruff And Their Troll Adversary
Near Hag Rock Redoubt, in the southwestern portion of Skyrim, there is a bridge with a dead troll underneath. When the player first visits this area, two goats will be waiting at one end of the bridge while a third crosses to join them.
This humorous reference to the fairy tale of the three billy goats gruff is a great example of how Skyrim's designers use the game's assets and creatures to reference another story without breaking the immersion of the game.
8 The Headless Horseman Stalks The Roads At Night
Between the hours of 10 pm and 4 am, a ghostly rider on a spectral steed can spawn randomly on the roads of Skyrim, armed with a battleaxe and missing his head. He is not aggressive, cannot be harmed, and plays no role in any quests.
The horseman is most obviously a reference to Washington Irving's 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but headless riders are found in several other mythologies as well. The Irish dullahan is a much more malevolent headless spirit than Skyrim's, as it is known to wield a whip made from a human spine and can kill by simply speaking its victim's name.
7 Arthurian Legends Can Be Found Across Skyrim
Several allusions to the legendary king of Britain are scattered through Skyrim, most of them having to do with swords. South of Broken Tower Redoubt is a cave known as Rebel's Cairn, where a steel sword can be found in a stone, referencing the sword a young Arthur pulled from a stone and anvil to prove his right to rule.
The location is used in the Legend of Red Eagle quest, which concerns a legendary hero to the Forsworn and his magical sword, another potential reference to King Arthur and his famous Excalibur.
6 Players Can Find A Cheesy Pac-Man In Markarth
Any Dragonborn looking to offload some illegal goods in Markarth can visit Endon after finishing the Silver Lining Thieves Guild quest. He will function as a fence and can be found wandering the streets of Markarth with his daughter.
If players follow him home, however, a fun easter egg can be found. In the back of his house, there is a shelf containing a sliced wheel of cheese, a row of garlic, and some glow dust arranged to imitate Pac-Man eating a line of dots.
5 Fight The Pied Piper Beneath The Black-Briar Meadery
During the quest Dampened Spirits, the Dragonborn is tasked with sabotaging a rival of the Black-Briar Meadery by poisoning their production line. In order to infiltrate the place, the player offers to clear the Honingbrew Meadery's basement of its pest problem.
The pests in question are a nest of skeevers, led by a seemingly mad mage named Hamelyn. This rat-obsessed mage is an obvious reference to the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a german folktale about a rat-catcher able to charm the creatures with his musical abilities.
4 A Portal 2 Reference Is Hidden Right Towards The End Of The Game
The Nord temple of Skuldafn contains a hidden reference to the popular puzzle game Portal 2, specifically that game's antagonist. In a small room off the word wall, a potato can be found in a fireplace with a creme tart and three sticks of charcoal attached, resembling the potato body GLaDOS is confined to for part of Portal 2.
It's one of Skyrim's best-hidden references, a testament to the designers' dedication to hiding things in every tiny corner.
3 A Miller In Ivarstead Is A Star Trek Reference
Temba Wide-Arm can be found operating a mill in Ivarstead, and she is one of the most unassuming cultural references in the game. Many of the other references in Skyrim stand out as something to be noticed, even if the player doesn't recognize why.
Temba, however, is unlikely to raise eyebrows from anyone who doesn't know Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the episode Darmok, Picard must converse with an alien in a language constructed from metaphors. One of the alien's phrases, a metaphor for giving or receiving a gift, is "Temba, his arms wide."
2 The Star Wars Reference In Bleakcoast Cave
South-east of Winterhold is the frigid Bleakcoast Cave. A questline for the Companions can lead the player here, but it's not a hard place to simply stumble upon the cave either. Inside the cave, a skeleton is hanging from the ceiling, partially frozen in ice.
Nearby, an enchanted sword lays on the floor of the cave. The cave's resident, a frost troll, completes the homage to the wampa attack scene in Empire Strikes Back. Clearly, the skeleton in question didn't have access to the Telekinesis spell.
1 Star Crossed Lovers Allude To Romeo And Juliet
There are multiple references to one of the most famous Shakespeare plays in Skyrim. A small alcove in The Reach contains a pair of skeletons with a bottle of poison and a dagger lying between them, echoing Romeo and Juliet's final scene where the young lovers tragically commit suicide. Another allusion to the play can be found in the character of Jon Battle-Born of Whiterun.
The Battle-Born and Gray-Mane families are famously feuding, just like the Capulets and Montagues. Reading a letter found on Jon's person reveals he is in love with a young woman from the opposing family, Olfina Gray-Mane.
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