Easter Eggs (Skyrim)

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

Alice in Wonderland

 * When Sheogorath is first encountered, he is conducting a tea party in the middle of a forest, which is referencing the Mad Hatter (a fellow madman)'s tea parties.

Beowulf (Norse Myth)

 * High Hrothgar is a reference to the character Hrothgar from the epic poem "Beowulf". He was a real Danish king who reigned in the early sixth century, who also appears in the legend of Beowulf and Grendel.

The Bourne Series

 * The Black Briar clan in Riften may be an allude to the Bourne series of books and movies. This theory is reinforced by the fact that one of the game's voice actors - playing Delphine - was Joan Allen, who starred in the second and third Bourne films.

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.
 * When meeting Sheogorath at the tea party, one of his guesses as to who sent you is "Stanley the Grapefruit", a reference to "Stanley the Watermelon" from "Adventure Time".

Choose Your Own Adventure

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

Hellraiser

 * 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.

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.
 * The priest worshipping Talos in Whiterun shares many similarities to Confessor Cromwell in Megaton, Fallout 3.
 * When entering the dwemer ruin to find the elder scroll, there is a skooma addicted khajit who upon noticing you calls you a smoothskin, which is a refernce to the ghouls name for un-radiated humans in the Fallout universe.
 * Nazir from the Dark Brotherhood quests has the same voice actor as Three Dog from Fallout 3.
 * The book Mixed Unit Tactics is a reference to the skill book in Fallout 3.(Edit: It appeared in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion prior to appearing in Fallout 3)

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 Hangover

 * The quest A Night to Remember could be an allusion to first The Hangover movie in that you wake up after a night of heavy drinking, not knowing where you are, and having to follow your footsteps back through all of Skyrim learning you stole a prize goat off a farm, were planning to get married to a girl you met that night, and that you trashed a shrine.

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 Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". (the horseman event occurs even without doing the "missing in action" quest)
 * Encountered him at Hamvir's rest during the day. Just sits on his horse looking towards the graves. Waited for a few hours but he didnt do anything.
 * Rarely rides along the path near Haemar's Shame towards Helgen.
 * Rides along a path North East of Battle-born farm.
 * Followed him south from Solitude all the way to Hamvir's Rest where he vanished. Some skeletons and a draugr appeared and I killed them. Decent amount of loot in a locked chest next to the Draugr's coffin. He spoke to me as we arrived at Hamvir's Rest saying, "Such an abrupt ending to our little game," and then "Finality," before he vanished.
 * Found him near Wolfskull Cave and followed him to Dustman's Cairn. There were 3 Skeletons and a Draugr's Coffin and a nice chest next to it. Though the Horseman said "Such an abrupt ending to our little game," a little after Rorikstead, which was no where close to the destination.

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 random sword above the water, which is a reference to the lady in the lake in the legend of King Arthur, (possibly random, since I came across the same scenario outside of Whiterun).

Let The Right One In

 * 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 Håkan who has a relationship with Eli.

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, the first time this has appeared in the series. (Most definitely a jibe insult considering Bethesda's lawsuit against Mojang for their unreleased game titled "Scrolls".) (or a nod of apology to notch and mojang in general up for debate)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

 * During Roggvir's execution, he yells "Get on with it!". This is possibly a reference to the Castle Anthrax scene.
 * When fighting, people occasionally yell, "It's just a scratch!" The Black Knight responds with "'Tis but a scratch" after his arm is cut off.

Pac Man

 * In Endon's house in Markarth, there is a shelf where Garlic, Glow Dust, Sliced Goat Cheese, and a Slaugterfish egg are arranged to resemble Pac-Man eating several pac-dots.

Poltergeist



 * After completing the mission The House of Horrors, the chairs in the kitchen are stacked on the table. This is like the chairs seen in the movie "Poltergeist".

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 a reference to the scene where Lone 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

 * Inside Bleakcoast Cave, 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.
 * The same reference appeared in Bloodmoon.
 * 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. Which is a reference to how Han Solo always says that throughout the original trilogy.

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 Troll is also unlootable.

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.

Acquisitions, Inc.

 * The Embershard Mine is named very similarly to the Ambershard clan, family rivals of Scott Kurtz' character Binwin Bronzebottom in the Acquisitions, Inc. Dungeons & Dragon campaign which was recorded and released as a podcast by Wizards of the Coast. In a further reference, a notebook discovered next to the body of a dead slave miner refers to "bronze bottom" caps used in the supports for the mine.

Red Dwarf

 * If you choose Khajiit as your starting race, you will be referred to as "The cat". This is also the name of one of the main characters in the T.V Series Red Dwarf. If this is intentional or just a coincidence is up for discussion.

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 (eg. Legionnaire and Legate).
 * The quest Blood on the Ice is most likely a Jack the Ripper reference. Three young women murdered, of which the latest victim has a hole on her back, where the kidney is located.

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 III: Morrowind

 * Some Guard NPC's comment "Let me guess - someone stole your sweetroll....", this is a clear reference to Fallout 3 where the bully(named Butch DeLoria) 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.
 * During the quest The Cure For Madness in the ice cave portion of the quest, you encounter a unique ice troll named Udefrykte which is a reference to The Udyfrykte from Bloodmoon who bears a similar appearance and is also found in a similar location though their names are spelled slightly different. The Udyfrykte in turn is likely a reference to Grendel in the epic Beowulf.
 * When wandering in the walled in cities (i.e. Whiterun, Markarth, Solitude, etc.) you might hear some of the music played in Morrowind.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

 * Lucien Lachance returns in Ghost form when you obtain the power "Summon Spectral Assassin".
 * Later on in the Dark Brotherhood questline, you get the chance to summon and ride the immortal black horse Shadowmere. Also a quest reward horse from Oblivions Dark Brotherhood questline. Lucien Lachance, if summoned will instantly confirm the connection by saying "Ahh, Shadowmere, my old friend.".
 * 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. Sinderion, the quest NPC from Oblivion, is also found dead in his field laboratory along with his journal, and one of the rewards for the quest is Sinderion's Serendipity, which gives you a 25% chance of crafting a second potion.
 * The Bust of the Gray Fox can be found in the Mercer Frey's house Riftweald Manor 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. This giant mudcrab can be found in a small pond directly southeast from Gjulkar's Monument. 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 Cheydinhall Sanctuary, which the player is responsible for.
 * 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, where the curator of the museum will give you a quest to retrieve the pieces of Mehrunes' Razor. There are also mutiple items related to the Mythic Dawn cult from Oblivion.