Here at MGR Gaming “We Know” just how much everyone loves a little bit of a creep-factor
Skyrim is easily the most popular installment of The Elder Scrolls series and with about 273 quests – 346 if you include DLCs – this is a treasure that will keep you busy for quite some time. Mind you, these totals are excluding the “infinite” Radiant quests that were set up as Todd Howard stated “The vibe of the game is that it’s something that you can play forever”, a never-ending stream of randomly generated quests as you progress.
Skyrim is very obviously not a horror-genre game, so although in a general consensus these might not be seen as genuinely creepy, we are going based on Skyrim-level creepage… So, grab a sweetroll and a mug of mead, cozy up by the hearth, and take a look at this list of some of the creepiest quests in Skyrim.
Laid to Rest
Quest Activation: Speak to Jonna of Moorside Inn in Morthal.
With the burning down of Hroggars’ house which resulted in the death of his wife and child, an air of suspicion arose as Hroggar became involved with one, Alva, the following day. However, Alva merely wanted to enthrall Hroggar to keep him as the guardian of her coffin while she lingered in the town, gathering most to become underlings of Movarth and otherwise using the rest as a sustainable food source.
Embarking on this quest will lead you to a game of hide and seek with the ghost of Hroggars daughter and uncovering that Laelette, a servant of Alva, set the house alight. You will go on to find Movarth, the vampire master who is first mentioned in the book “Immortal Blood” (which can be found in TES Oblivion, TES Skyrim & TES Online) as well as his coven.
Waking Nightmare
Quest Activation: Speak to Erandur at Windpeak Inn in Dawnstar.
The Skull of Corruption is a dream-dependant Daedric staff artifact, unlike its antecedent in Oblivion. This dream-manipulating artifact appropriately belongs to the Daedric Prince, Vaermina.
Vaermina the Dreamweaver influences all realms of dreams; nightmares, evil omens, stealing memories, psychological terror & torment, and dreams.
The population of Dawnstar have all been suffering the same terrible nightmares and restless sleep and Erandur, Priest of Mara and former priest of Vaermina, seeks to release the city of Vaerminas’ grip by destroying the Skull of Corruption.
Sovngarde
Quest Activation: Quest begins after entering the portal of the main story quest, The World-Eaters Eyrie.
Ordinarily, Sovngarde is the afterlife sanctuary for the Nordic and Atmoran warriors, however, it has become refuge for The World Eater himself, Alduin.
Alduin has blanketed Sovngarde in a dense, eerie mist wherein he lurks, waiting to devour the souls of unsuspecting valiant warriors that are caught wandering aimlessly about, in order to build up his own strength.
Unless you use the Clear Skies shout, you will be wandering about just the same as the helpless souls, while hearing the distant, looming roars of Alduin.
The Whispering Door
Quest Activation: A rumour from The Bannered Mare in Whiterun (only available from level 20 and completed quest Dragon Rising)
You are tasked with investigating the strange turn of Jarl Balgruufs children. His youngest son, Nelkir, has become unpleasant, “dark” if you will, he is vulgar and just plain mean.
After managing to crack this dark shell that Nelkir has developed, it is revealed that the Whispering Lady is the instigator. Once you make a turn by the old door in the basement of Dragonsreach, it will be discovered that the Whispering Lady is none other than Daedric Prince, Mephala.
Mephalas’ influences include obfuscating mortals, sex, lies, secrets, and murder. You are told that you, the Dragonborn, are more worthy than Nelkir which leads on for you to find the Ebony Blade and in order for it to be restored to its former strength, you need to make a choice of killing someone who trusts you, thus charging the blade with the blood of deceit.
The Heart of Dibella
Quest Activation: Speak to Degaine in Markarth or go straight to breaking into the Inner Sanctum.
Basically, the creep factor of this quest comes down to it revolving around kidnapping a female child to be the leader of a Coitus Cult.
Once you’ve encountered Mother Hamal you will be tasked with bringing in the next Sybil of Dibella.
The Sybil of Dibella is a prophetess for the Goddess herself and leader of the Cult of Dibella. Dibella is basically another version of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love & sexual desires, and is one of the Nine Divines. Dibella’s fields include art, music, beauty, and love, her various cults consist of arts & aesthetics, devotion to women, and devotion to the more erotic standards.
The House of Horrors
Quest Activation: Speak to Tyranus outside the abandoned house in Markarth.
This quest follows a more “haunted house” path once you enter the abandoned house with Tyranus.
As you make your way into the basement, Tyranus exclaims that this is the Daedric Prince, Molag Bal, and at this point, you will be given an instruction by the Daedra and objects will begin flying about, the room will shake and the lights will dim. Upon carrying out the instruction you will make your way to his alter, become entrapped, and given another task to help carry out revenge on Molag Bal’s rival, Boethiah. You will need to track down a priest of Boethiah and lure him back to Molag Bal’s altar so that his spirit can be broken and submits himself to Molag Bal.
Molag Bal is the Daedric Prince of mortals’ enslavement, domination, God of Schemes, creator of Vampires and Xivkyn and also goes by titles such as King of Rape and Harvester of Souls.
Blood on the Ice
Quest Activation: Come across a murder scene in the evening hours while in Windhelm, a guard will approach the player.
A series of murders has been taking place in the city of Windhelm, each of the victims being young women.
As you investigate it becomes clear that these murders are more than just a pastime and the victims seem to have unusual lacerations on them that could only be made with ancient embalming tools.
You will go on to investigate the crime scene of a manor where there will be a number of items to check but the most intriguing part will be the discovery of a room filled with more “Butcher fliers”, a Butcher’s journal, a skull-carved amulet and a hidden room which contains another Butchers journal, the remains of another corpse and an altar for necromancy work.
This quest sends the player on a bit of a wild goose chase as the culprit is not the initial person that comes across as guilty.
Whispers in the Dark
Quest Activation: Need to be a part of the Dark Brotherhood, transpires after quest Mourning Never Comes.
Here you get tasked with eavesdropping on Cicero, the seemingly high-strung and odd little jester of the Dark Brotherhood, who also happens to be the Keeper of the Night Mothers sarcophagus. Astrid has suspicions of Cicero with his odd behaviour of frantically whispering to someone in the Night Chamber, which she fears could be conspiracies against the Brotherhood.
In order to accomplish the task at hand, the Dragonborn has to sneak into the Night Mothers’ casket and endure an all-too-cozy embrace with the mummified Mother until Cicero finally makes his entrance and starts with his frantic rambles. It becomes clear that Cicero has been speaking to Lady Death all along, but while this is going on, the Night Mother starts communicating with the player directly, clarifying that you are the Listener.
Eventually, you will reveal yourself to Cicero, there will be an initial commotion and Astrid will barge in and this is where things will start to take a slightly different turn for the Dark Brotherhood.
The Taste of Death
Quest Activation: Speak to Brother Verulus in Understone Keep by the entrance to Hall of the Dead in Markarth.
Originally this quest starts out with the player has to inspect the Hall of the Dead and find out what is the cause of the defilement to the honoured dead. Once inside things will lead you onto a much different path where you can end up becoming a part of a cannibalistic cult for the Daedric Prince, Namira.
Inevitably it is the Dragonborn who must lure an unsuspecting meal, Verulus, to the cave of the cult where he will be laid on the altar of Namira and you will be requested to feast on this very fresh meat. This pleases Namira and opens up the option to continue the game as a cannibal with the Ring of Namira.
You can, of course, betray the cannibals which happen to be citizens that you know, but where’s the fun in that?
Castle Volkihar
Quest Activation: This isn’t necessarily a specific quest but involves a whole bunch of quests, specifically if you team up with the Volkihar clan.
Led by Lord Harkon, the father of Serana, the Volkihar Clan are a faction of vampires.
Seeing as though this massive, ancient castle is home to a clan of vampires, one can expect to see goblets of blood, platters of human flesh, death hounds, vampire cattle (human servants) as quick-access food sources, and even a whole “cattle” farm in the depths of the castle. You will find the Bloodstone Chalice room, some comfy coffins for daylight slumber, of course, there will be dungeons, and last but certainly not least, Volkihar Cathedral, where there is an altar to Molag Bal with an everlasting flow of blood.
For lovers of blood and vampirism, this is certainly a sight to see.