Easter Eggs (Skyrim)

The following are Easter Eggs that appear in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:

(To add to these, please keep them in Alphabetical order)

Alice in Wonderland

 * When Sheogorath is first encountered he is conducting a teaparty in the middle of a forest, which is referencing the Mad Hatter (a fellow madman)'s tea parties. The plate nearest Sheogorath also has a mammoth snout on it, and in the American Mcgee's Alice, and Alice: Madness returns video games snouts serve as collectible items.

Army of Darkness

 * At the beginning of the game when you get off the cart and into Helgen, one of the other prisoners (the one in front) is adamant that he is innocent, "No, I'm not a rebel, you can't do this!" which is a reference to Henry the Red's men in the Army of Darkness, in which one of his men say a similar line and run away, and also get killed by bow and arrow.

Beowulf (Norse Myth)

 * High Hrothgar is a reference to the character Hrothgar from Beowulf. Hrothgar is not an imaginary character from a movie; he was a real Danish king who reigned in the early sixth century, while he appears in the legend of Beowulf and Grendel, he is a completely real person. The name "High Hrothgar" is reference to an ancient nord king who ruled over Skyrim a long time ago, and founded the temple.

The Bourne Series

 * The Black Briar clan in Riften may be an allude to the Bourne series of books and movies.

Cartoon Network

 * Finn's Lute is a reference to the Cartoon Network show, "Adventure Time", in which one of the main characters "Finn" was seen playing a Lute and singing a song about his lute suit.

Choose Your Own Adventure

 * A Choose Your Own Adventure-style book can be found in Kolb and the Dragon.

The Clive Barker Connection

 * In Riften, you can receive a small box called the Lexicon for the quest Unfathomable Depths from an Argonian named From-Deepest-Fathoms, who is more than happy to get rid of it. The Lexicon strongly resembles the Lament Configuration (the puzzle box) from the "Hellraiser" horror movie series.
 * In the lair of the Dark Brotherhood the little girl named Babette is an easter egg to a little girl in the movie "Nightbreed".

Fallout Series

 * In many areas of the game, there are both Ruined Books and Burned Books. This is a reference to all of the books of the same kind in both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.
 * Guards in Various towns will occasionally say "Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll?" This is a running joke in Bethesda games.
 * In Whiterun, the preacher Heimskr may be a reference to a character from the city of Megaton in Fallout 3 who leads a cult that worships an undetonated atomic bomb at the city's center.

Galaxy Quest

 * As you walk into an inn, two people who work there are talking about the smell of the cellar. One says "It smells like a foreign animal was turned inside out, and then exploded!" Clearly a reference to Galaxy Quest.

The Headless Horseman



 * At night on the way to Northwatch Keep for the "Missing in Action" mission, you have a chance of encountering a spectral horseman without a head galloping toward you full tilt. He carries an axe on his back, which is likely a reference to Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. If you follow him, he takes you to Hamvir's Rest where there are several skeletons to fight and a chest which is Master lock pick. It contains several enchanted items.

The Legend of King Arthur

 * If you have found Broken Tower Redoubt, directly south of it there will be a place called Rebel's Cairn where you will find a pile of stones in the front of the cave and there will be a random Sword in the top stone, which is a reference to the sword in the stone in the legend of King Arthur.
 * Slightly Northeast of Bleakwind Basin, there is a pond with a skeletal arm holding a steel sword coming out of it, which is a reference to the lady in the lake in the legend of King Arthur.
 * Dragonsreach in Whiterun may be a reference to the current BBC series of Merlin, which has previously featured a dragon that had been captured and kept in the caves below the castle, which is also part of the background for Dragonsreach.

Let The Right One In Reference

 * Babette, a member of the Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood, is a possible reference to the Swedish book and movie of the same name Let The Right One In, aka Let Me In. Both she and the book's major character Eli were turned into vampires at a young age (Babette 10, Eli 11), and upon first entering the Sanctuary Babette is telling a story of her last contract in which it is heavily alluded that she used her seemingly young age to beguile a pedophile into following her to a dark alley where she completed her contract by killing him. Let the Right One In has a pedophile character named Hakan who has a relationship with Eli.


 * Babette may also allude to Claudia, a child-turned-vampire from The Vampire Chronicles. Claudia is known in Interview with the Vampire to use her age to charm her victims. She also uses a poison of her own making to poison her "dark father" and gashes his throat, both techniques expected of an assassin in the Dark Brotherhood. The creation of her own poisons is also a connection to Babette being an alchemist.

Lord of the Rings

 * In Whiterun, the giant tree there is called the Gildergreen. It is grown from the Eldergleam, the oldest living thing in Skyrim, but is failing. This references the Gondorian capital of Minas Tirith in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, where the legendary White Tree faces a similar fate.
 * The city of Whiterun is also very similar in appearance to Edoras (the capital of Rohan) from the Lord of the Rings.

Minecraft Reference

 * On the top of The Throat of the World, one can find the Notched Pickaxe in a stone.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

 * During Roggvir's execution, he yells "Get on with it!". This is likely a reference to a scene towards the end of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * When fighting, people occasionally yell "It's just a scratch!" which is a possible reference to the scene with the Black Knight in which his arm is cut off before exclaiming said phrase.

Spaceballs

 * In the Thieves Guild there is a thief named Rune. Speak to him about his name and he will tell you a story that is almost word for word a quote from the scene where Loan Star tells princess Vespa about his pendant.

Star Trek Reference

 * In the village of Ivarstead there is a woman named Temba Wide-Arm. This is a reference to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Darmok, where one of the often-repeated phrases is "Temba, his arms wide."

Star Wars Reference

 * During the Companion quest "Animal Extermination", inside the cave you are sent to, there is a skeleton hanging upside down from the ceiling. Below the skeleton is a glowing sword. This may reference Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back when Luke was caught on Hoth and hung from the cavern ceiling. The sword below would represent his lightsaber. (?Reference Name of Dungeon? "Animal Extermination" is a Radiant Story quest. Location is not always the same.)
 * The same reference appeared in Bloodmoon.
 * When meeting Delphine to get the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, you have the option to say "I was expecting someone taller", a reference to when Luke rescues Leia from the Death Star.
 * The companion Lydia will comment "I have a bad feeling about this..." commonly while exploring the end of a dungeon or approaching a boss fight.

Three Billy Goats Gruff

 * On your way to Hag Rock Redoubt, there is a bridge with a dead troll underneath. If it's your first time visiting, you will witness two goats meeting a third at the end of the bridge then running off together. This is a reference to the children's tale, "Three Billy Goats Gruff," where a troll is defeated by a trio of goats. A similar reference appeared in Oblivion.

The Wheel of Time

 * One of the checkpoints is Mount Althor - complete with a dragon. This may be a reference to Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, born on Dragonmount, from the Wheel of Time.

Historical References

 * The East Empire Company is a branch of Morrowind's East Empire Company in Ebonheart. It is probably a reference to the British East India Company.


 * The Imperial forces of Skyrim take heavy inspiration from the armies of the historical Roman Empire, both in their uniforms and military titles (legionnaire, quaestor, prefect).

M'aiq the Liar

 * M'aiq reappears in Skyrim. He appeared in Morrowind and Oblivion, as an Easter Egg for developers to comment on some of the requested features that were removed or added.

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

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The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

 * Some NPCs in the game comment "Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll." or something along those lines, this is a clear reference to Fallout 3 where the bully at your birthday party demands you hand over your sweetroll that was given to you as a gift. The Fallout event is, in turn, a reference to the character creation process in the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, wherein the player character is asked how they would react to a bully stealing their sweetroll in order to determine the player's class. The stolen sweetroll is thus a long-running Bethesda joke. It can also be found when creating your character in "Daggerfall", the second Elder Scrolls game Bethesda released.
 * Some of the characters, when in combat, occasionally yell "Nerevar guide me", a reference to the hero from Morrowind of whom the Nerevarine is a reincarnation of.
 * Some of the characters (particularly Dunmer human characters (e.g. Dunmer Necromancers) will sometimes say "Filthy N'Wah" in battle, an Easter Egg of a common combat phrase in the game.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

 * Lucien Lachance returns in Ghost form when you obtain the power "Summon Spectral Assassin".
 * Upon finding a Crimson Nirnroot (see bottom of the page) you start a quest named, "A Return to Your Roots" which is a reference to Oblivion's Nirnroot quest.
 * The Bust of the Gray Fox can be found in the blockaded house in Riften.
 * The husk of a giant Mudcrab can be found within the plains surrounding Whiterun, continuing the giant mud crab tradition from prior games. It is, however, very much dead upon discovery, There is also a live giant mudcrab on the small island in Mara's Eye Pond.
 * In the Dark Brotherhood, if you read Cicero's Journal Volume 1, he writes; 27th of Rain's Hand, 4E 187 Completed the Arena contract. I ultimately decided to pose as a starstruck fan, and immediately got into the Grand Champion's good graces. While escorting the arrogant fool through the Great Forest, I slashed his throat and left the corpse for the bears. This is a reference to the Adoring Fan in Oblivion. There is also a reference to the purification of the sanctuary which the player is responsible of.
 * If you fail a persuasion check when first encountering Nelacar in the Azura's Star quest, he says "Right, now tell me the one about the Argonian maid and the lusty baron." This is a reference to the book from the Elder Scrolls series: The Lusty Argonian Maid.
 * If it's a clear day and you're at a high enough elevation along the southern border of Skyrim, you can see the White Gold Tower in Cyrodiil. You may have to use console commands to remove collision and 'fly' up to an elevation high enough to see the tower.
 * A courier will give you a pamphlet about the opening of a museum in Dawnstar, the curator of the museum will give you a quest to retrieve the pieces of Mehrunes' razor which was DLC from Oblivion.