10 Mysteries You DIDN'T Know Were Solved in Red Dead Redemption 2
Emerald Ranch
During the Spines of America mission with Hosea at Emerald Ranch, Hosea will mention that the ranch owner is a nasty piece of work and keeps his daughter locked under house arrest. You can often see a woman, Miriam Wegner, standing in the second story window. The father Eugene Wegner also gets especially aggressive if you approach the house. If you find the mail cart wreck outside of Fort Wallace, youll discover a letter to Miriam from her cousin, stating she hasnt heard from her and mentions Miriams lover dying in an awful way. Following more clues given by NPCs, you can find a saloon shut down after a gunfight and three bullet holes in the wall. Behind the saloon is a grave for Joshua, stating Accidentally shot as cause of death. Likely this was Miriams lover, killed by her father who then locked her inside to prevent her escape or other possible suitors.
The Old Tomb
South of Roanoke Valley, players can find the Old Tomb, which is modeled after the real-life American Stonehenge. Inside you can find multiple Viking collectibles, leading many to believe this is a mass Viking grave, complete with numerous skeleton remains, but the truth is much more horrific. On the easternmost point of the map, you can find a small monolith with Norse writing which when translated reveals how the Vikings arrived, traded with the natives and left them in peace. However, the writing hidden in the Jormungandr insignia when translated reveals they actually slaughtered the natives and stole their resources, leaving their remains in the tomb. This also explains why the hatchet is left stuck inside one of the skulls which wouldnt make sense if the remains were of the Vikings.
The Mayor of Strawberry
During your many visits to Strawberry, youll often encounter the mayor giving one of his speeches to the townsfolk, while behind his back the residents routinely gossip about his strange behavior. Mayor Timmins claims he left Princeton and moved to Strawberry because his family was unkind to his wife, but no one in Strawberry has ever seen his wife. However, if you loot the Mayor, you can find a letter on him from his sister in which she mentions that the Mayor never married while also referencing an event involving the Mayor and another Professor at Princeton. All this hints that the mayor is gay and had a relationship with a colleague. The only likely candidate in Strawberry is the curator of the citys welcome center who even explains it was the Mayor who convinced him to move to Strawberry. This also explains why the Mayor can often be found hanging around the welcome center.
Limpany
While exploring the world of Red Dead 2, you likely came across a village called Limpany that had burned to the ground. While most simply looted the town of its remaining riches and moved on, there is actually a horrible revelation that can be uncovered if you look deep enough. Scattered around the village you can find multiple barrels of kerosene with Leviticus Cornwalls brand stamped on them. The Van Der Linde gang has multiple run-ins with Cornwall as they routinely steal from him and he proves himself to be a cold, callus businessman. Given the similarities to another incident with an oil derrick that refused to do business with Cornwall, its likely Cornwall ordered the town burned down to scare others into complying with his business demands and left the barrels behind as a message of not only what hes capable of but that hes also untouchable.
The Pagan Ritual Site
Far off the beaten path on the western side of the map, you might have been unlucky enough to come across a grisly ritual site. With multiple insignias scattered around a mutilated corpse, retrieving the Pagan Skull Mask is only the beginning of the mystery. Also, gross. To solve the mystery of the sacrifice, players need to travel to the heartland of the Night Folk, an abandoned town near Lakay where locals fear to tread. On the outskirts of the town, players can find the same symbols scrawled on numerous trees and within the homes, even more ritualistic offerings and scriptures, including a shrunken head. Exploring further, Lakay seems to be the home for a Black Magic group or Night Folk as the locals call them and likely left the remains of one of their rituals out in the wilderness as a warning.
Clawsons Rest
Situated alone north of Valentine, players can find a cottage perched on a hillside that they need to break into to enter. Along with numerous empty cans of food, you can find a letter addressed to the two children of the home from their mother telling them to stay inside and not open the door for any reason while she sets out to track down the men who robbed them and retrieve their money. Unfortunately, its clear the mother never returned, and the children unfortunately ran out of food and starved to death waiting for her. Heading further north with Javier during the mission Home Robbery, if you sneak up on the location near Chez Porter, you can hear two men talking and briefly mentioning how the father killed a woman who came to their farm and buried her in the woods behind the property. Seriously awful, sad stuff.
The Giant
If players are extra adventurous, they can find the remains of what looks like a giants skeleton near the top of Mount Shaun hidden under an alcove. While this discovery doesnt hint that giants are real within the game, it does hint towards an American Folktale about Paul Bunyan, a man known for his enormous size and strength. Alongside the skeleton are the remains of an ox, likely Bunyans longtime ox companion Babe. Legend says Bunyan was killed by a blow to the head and upon investigation, the cause of death is likely the large hole in the side of the skull. A smaller humanoid skeleton nearby was likely the murderer who also died during their altercation. Bunyan isnt the only giant in the game either as players can find another who claims that he is hiding because he would be killed over peoples fear of his enormous size. Likely the same fate that befell Bunyan.
Gertrude Braithwaite
Gertrude Braithwaite and her condition have long been speculated by players who find her locked in an outhouse behind Brathwaite manor. Penelope Braithwaite will mention Gertrude was locked away due to her disfigurement and mental issues, but that might not be the whole story. Gertrude wasnt always like this and appeared to have a relatively normal early life until her condition began, and instead of sending her away for help, her family locked her away. Gertrude will routinely repeat a series of numbers should players wait outside her hut long enough, but to unlock their meaning, you need to travel east to Butcher Creek, a town rumored to suffer from demonic possession. If players manage to locate all the outhouses in the town in the order of Gertrudes numbers, they form a Pentagram. Gertrudes cleft lip and vulgar nature also allude to the possibility that Gertrude isnt crazy, shes been possessed by a demon.
Pleasance
Pleasance is a town long shrouded in mystery with many believing it to have been struck by some kind of mysterious plague based on the painting on the barn. However, it goes much deeper than that. Scrawled throughout the town, players can find messages Ill with Sin and Unclean Sinners, while just outside of town, players can find the remains of an enormous snake in a tree. Considering the towns church is the only one in game without a cross, along with the numerous messages about sin, its most likely the residents of Pleasance were Satanists who worshipped the enormous snake. However, once the surrounding religious residents found out about the town, murdered all ten of the residents and the snake, believing it to be the devil incarnate and left messages as a warning to other possible Satanists. This also explains the towns extremely short time between being settled and abandoned.
Gavin
Guaranteed at some point during your exploration of the Wild West, youve crossed paths with a man named Nigel relentlessly searching for his friend Gavin. He can be encountered all over the map in numerous towns, endlessly calling for Gavin and pleading for anyone to help him find his friend. However, Gavin doesnt appear to be anywhere within the game. But, if players loot Nigel, theyll find a letter amongst his belongings. Within the letter, a childhood friend of Nigels mentions the tragic passing of Nigels father as well as his mothers hope that he would see sense one day and make his father proud by becoming rich in America. Its likely the death of Nigels father forced a split personality within Nigel and created Gavin to help him deal with his grief and make his father proud until he eventually achieved his dreams, and Gavin was no longer needed.
Whats a mystery you solved in the game or hope to one day have answers for? Share your favorite mysteries in the comments.
