Red Dead Redemption 2 Easter Eggs: Find all secrets

This guide to Easter Eggs in Red Dead Redemption 2 tells you among other things how to find the following secrets:

  • The Ghost Train, Braithwaite's Secret, The Witch House & The Ghost Town
  • References to Red Dead Redemption 1 & Undead Nightmare
  • Aliens & UFO sightings

In the open world of Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games has hidden all sorts of secrets - so-called Easter Eggs - some of which refer to other movies or video games.

In addition to this secret guide, we'll also show you: where to find trappers in RDR2, how to change your horse in RDR2, where to play poker or blackjack in RDR2, all the dinosaur bone locations in R DR2 and everything about legendary fish & animals in RDR2.

All tips are of course valid for the PC version of RDR2 released on November 05, 2019.

Attention, spoilers about Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Redemptionfollow !

Table of contents

The wackiest Easter Eggs in Red Dead Redemption 2

Before we really get started, we once again issue spoiler warnings. Both for the story of Red Dead Redemption 2 and for the plot of Red Dead Red emption. In the following, we will highlight all Easter Eggs that we could find and - if possible - put them into a larger context.

Easter Egg 1: Letter to Bonnie MacFarlane

Everyone who has played Red Dead Redemption is certainly familiar with this character. She plays an important role especially at the beginning, giving shelter to John Marston after he was injured by Bill Williamson. In Red Dead Redemption 2 you'll learn more about her past thanks to a letter.

In the random encounter "Wreck", Arthur Morgan stumbles upon a wrecked boat, a corpse and this very letter. In our case, it occurred halfway from Van Horn to Annesburg. The writing reveals that the deceased man had a passionate relationship with Bonnie MacFarlane.

Letter to Bonnie MacFarlane

In it, he promises her, among other things, to be a good husband and father. His goal was to return as a rich man and thus win over Bonnie's father Drew MacFarlane. However, this Easter Egg tells you that his plan came to a tragic end.

Easter Egg 2: Cover of Red Dead Redemption

We already pointed this out in our analysis of the second gameplay trailer. Strictly speaking, we're referring to a scene from that clip, but for us it's close enough to the game.

Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to show you the cool comparison image between Arthur Morgan and John Marston below. That wouldn't help anyone, would it?

Easter Egg 3: Charles Kinnear from Red Dead Redemption

This find represents another foreshadowing of Red Dead Redemption. During the side mission "Daedalus and Son", John Marston meets the inventor Charles Kinnear. The latter asks him to get materials to finish his flying machine.

Arthur Morgan holds his gun just like John Marston on the cover of Red Dead Redemption.

A flying device made by Charles Kinnear

A similar device - which even has his name on it - lies destroyed in the Cholla Springs region of New Austin. Aim for the east of theOdd Fellow's Restcemetery to find this Easter Egg. By the way: You can also find a cigarette picture with his name and one of his flying machines. Here you can find the cigarette picture guide for RDR2.

Easter Egg 4: Seth Briars & Undead Nightmare in RDR2

Another allusion to Red Dead Redemption and its expansion "Undead Nightmare". South of Thieve's Landing, on the riverbank near the Manteca Falls waterfall, you stumble upon a shack. This is where the grave robber Seth Briars lived in the aforementioned zombie expansion.

On a clothesline in front of it hangs a white top, which reminded us strongly of Seth's. To show you exactly what we mean, we've juxtaposed the Easter Egg with a picture of the character in the gallery below.

Easter Egg 5: Find the ghost train in RDR 2

Go at night near the northern border of Lemoyne - more precisely to the tracks near the old mill. Now keep your eyes and ears open as soon as you hear the puffing of a train, but nothing can be seen far and wide.

Confrontation of the Easter Egg with Seth Briars

This Red Dead Redemption 2 secret is quite hard to find, as it is (unsurprisingly for a ghost train) completely transparent is. However, if you're walking the rails in the dark, hearing train noises and your horse is going crazy, you've come to the right place. Keep clicking to see a gameplay clip from the Reddit internet forum that shows the ghost train.

Easter Egg 6: Ghost in the swamp - Agnes Dowd

Who is riding through the swamp of Lemoyne so late? Maybe you? If you hear a woman's voice lamenting her suffering, you will almost certainly come across this ghostly apparition.

The woman in the white dress is called Agnes Dowd, and her story is divided into six different sections. Stay especially attentive, because at some points Arthur Morgan doesn't even recognize her with the naked eye - although she haunts around.

To see the ghost woman, visit the area around the word "Blue" in the Blue Water Marsh writing starting in Chapter 2 (between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. each time). Note, however, that you can't pass your next ghost sighting until 48 hours (in-game time) after the previous one. By the way, the ghost of Agnes Dowd is one of the special characters.

Easter Egg 7: The Walking Dead reference & ghost town

Rick Grimes staggers towards a chained door in the destroyed hospital during the first episode of the zombie series. This bears the (handwritten) inscription "Don't open, dead inside". In German, this means something like "Don't open, death lurks inside".

Shortly thereafter, the door opens a crack, from which zombies stretch their undead fingers towards Rick Grimes. The corresponding Easter Egg in Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn't go that far, but the letters "Stay out!Plague" ("Stay out Plague") on a barn door are very reminiscent of this scene from The Walking Dead.

You'll spot this building above the "O" of the lettering "Lemoyne." The barn is located within the abandoned settlement called Pleasance. Possibly the owners of the barn even meant the Night Folk, which is the subject of the next Easter Egg.

Easter Egg 8: Nite Folk - Zombies in the swamp

Strictly speaking, this is an enemy gang in Red Dead Redemption - called "NightFolk" (Nite Folk in the game). However, these contemporaries come along like the undead, who want to get at you in Bayou Nwa or Bluewater Marsh.

If you notice a hanged man, a frightened horse or a crying woman in the marshes of Lemoyne at night (between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.), the Nite Folk are certainly not far away. After a few of these encounters, the stranger mission "A good night for it" activates. In it, you'll help a man whose home has been occupied by the Night People reclaim his home.

Easter Egg 9: Find a tiny church on the map

About where the Night People are very active in the dark - above the "N" of the lettering "Bayou Nwa" on the map - is a very small church. Arthur Morgan looks like a giant compared to it.

One of the sceneries you will face before an attack of the night people.

Extremely small church (Arthur for scale)

Its interior is also shrunk. Possibly the building came into contact with the shrink ray of Red Dead Redemption 2's next secret?

Easter Egg 10: UFO sightings - Aliens in RDR2

You'll get a visit from outer space if you head to the small body of water just northeast of the Heartland Overflow in New Hanover. North of the Emerald Ranch there is a remote hut full of skeletons. It's best to check it out at night.

On the one hand, the creepy atmosphere then matches the eerie picture that presents itself to you. On the other hand, you don't have to wait long for the first UFO. It threw its green light through the broken roof of the hut between 1 and 2 o'clock in the morning.

Before you move on, take the letter from the table behind which a skeleton is sitting. This gives clues to the second UFO sighting: this one occurs around 2 a.m. on the summit of Mount Shann.

This mountain is located north of the town of Strawberry, in the Big Valley of West Elizabeth. Climb all the way to the top and have your binoculars ready.

Easter Egg 11: Meteor House & Crater

Sticking with the space theme, in far northern New Hanover - near Brandywine Drop - you'll discover two secrets in Red Dead Redemption 2. To the west of the waterfall lies the Meteor House. At first, the shack seems very nondescript, but when Arthur Morgan enters it, he sees several corpses.

Our two UFO sightings in Red Dead Redemption 2 so far

The dead inhabitants of the meteor house

Arthur is standing in the middle of the meteor crater.

The reason for this is a meteor that has killed the people living in it. A little further west, appropriately enough, lies a meteor crater. Descend into the pit to collect a very special item.

Easter Egg 12: Reference to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings

Since the keyword "Brandywine Drop" has already been mentioned, we'll add this note right after it. Possibly the name of the waterfall alludes to a river from the fantasy epic.

In Grizzlies East, east of Donner Falls, you'll also find a cottage embedded in the mountain, which could also be in the Shire - in Hobbingen, to be precise.

Easter Egg 13: Hardly a Rockstar Games title without Bigfoot

This mystical creature already got fans of GTA 5 excited. In Red Dead Redemption 2, Arthur Morgan comes across an oversized skeleton that could be an allusion to Bigfoot. The remains are located in the southeast of Mount Shann directly on the first "T" of the "West Elizabeth" lettering.

Easter Egg 14: Friendship with a sad giant

At another place in the north you can make friends with a creature that has entrenched itself in a cave. You won't be able to see him, but according to his own statement he is very big. So big, in fact, that he doesn't want to leave his cave or he'll fear for his life. To talk to him, you must first have studied 30 species of animals and then ride east of the Indian reservation to the river. Follow the birds there and you will find the giant's cave.

Easter Egg 15: Mutant in Red Dead Redemption 2

Moving on, you'll find yet another strange creature in an abandoned house west of Van Horn. At first glance, there's no way into the building, but you'll quickly notice a smashed window above the porch.

Here, apparently, lie the mortal remains of a Bigfoot.

This is how you get to the abandoned house and the man-made mutant in Red Dead Redemption 2.

The man-made mutant in Red Dead Redemption 2

Use the cart to the left of it to climb onto the roof of the terrace. After that, Arthur just has to hop through the window to get the human-made mutant in the gallery below. In the gallery below you can find the scary hybrid creature as well as a marker of the right way to get there.

Easter Egg 16: Location of the devil's cave

Things also get spooky in a hidden tunnel, the walls of which are decorated with reddish murals. Follow the main passage to meet the devil. Or - well - at least make the acquaintance of a man who would prefer to be the devil.

In fact, this underground place is even outside the map of Red Dead Redemption 2. To do this, travel to the bulge of the map near the Little Creek River (West Elizabeth). Feel free to return a few days later, because the mysterious man - who is one of the special characters in RDR2 - has something more to tell you.

Easter Egg 17: Pagan ritual & whale bones

The next stops on our Easter Egg tour are in the same region of West Elizabeth, but a little further south on the western shore of Lake Owanjila. Surrounded by strange signs as well as a stone circle, an impaled corpse stands in the middle of the forest.

The devilish cave hermit

Very hidden location of the Devil's Cave in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Heathen ritual & location of the ram skull mask

The whale bones in West Elizabeth

She wears a ram skull mask that Arthur Morgan can take to hide his true identity during raids. Not far from it, you'll discover more mortal remains, this time a whale skeleton.

Easter Egg 18: Faces in trees

Also at Lake Owanjila, more precisely on its western shore, there is a group of trees in a circle. What's particularly unusual about it - each of these trunks has strange faces carved into it. Maybe they have something to do with the marked trees in the southwest of Annesburg?

Easter Egg 19: Find serial killers on the map

Since the Pagan Ritual has reminded us of these nastily dressed corpses, we now shed light on the deeds of a serial killer. We stumbled across the first lifeless body, displayed in the style of the "Hannibal" series, south of Valentine and west of Citadel Rock.

The next grisly scene is south of Wallace Station, where the Little Creek River flows toward the Dakota River. The final "crime scene" is found by Arthur Morgan west of the Braithwaite homestead in Lemoyne by a conspicuous tree.

In the middle of the wilderness, these faces stare back at you from trees.

One of the serial killer victims, at each of these crime scenes Arthur Morgan finds a map fragment.

At each of these three locations you'll discover - apart from gruesomely mangled bodies - a piece of a map. Once you've gathered their three pieces, the document will lead you to a hidden cabin west of Valentine. Have fun with the finale of this side quest in Red Dead Redemption 2!

Easter Egg 20: Braithwaite's secret in RDR2

Another Easter Egg you'll stumble upon near Braithwaite Manor is called "Braithwaite's Secret." On the grounds of the manor, there is a kind of outhouse on the shore of Flat Iron Lake.

Through a peephole in the shape of a crescent moon, Arthur catches sight of a woman being held captive inside. This is the outcast daughter of the Braithwaites, who stammers incoherent fragments of words to herself.

Easter Egg 21 Fortune Teller & Her Hut

The state of Lemoyne offers a large swampland that is home to a fortune teller. We encountered her at both Bluewater Marsh and Bayou Nwa. If Arthur puts some money in the woman's hand, she tells him the future.

Here the outcast daughter of the Braithwaites ekes out a sad existence.

Possibly Arthur stands here in the dimly lit home of the fortune teller from the swamp.

Apparently she lives in a hut in the western part of Bayou Nwa by a body of water. For the right atmosphere, we recommend stopping by there at night. Like some other characters in this guide, she is also one of the special characters in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Easter Egg 22: Location of the ancient burial ground

Vikings used to bury their dead in this place. You will come across the large grave in the west of Annesburg, shortly after the place where two fords lead through the Kamassa River.

What makes us think it's a Viking burial site? At the altar embedded there you find a Viking axe, which Arthur collects and uses from now on for close combat. This leads us to this assumption.

Easter Egg 23: Snake Hill

To really see this secret, you'll have to switch perspectives in Red Dead Redemption 2 - but switching to first-person perspective isn't enough here. To the west of Van Horn is a dilapidated wooden watchtower.

Arthur in the middle of an ancient burial site

On the snake hill you will find a part of the map for the poison path treasure.

Climb it with Arthur and look down: The mound that stretches before you resembles a snake. That's why it's called Snake Hill. If you have the other two parts, you will find the missing piece of the map for the poison path treasure in RDR2 in the snake's head.

Easter Egg 24: Message from a bygone world

In the very east of the map, still east of Annesburg, someone or something has carved strange runes into a stone. Another encrypted message can be found near Mount Shann, on the first "T" of the West Elizabeth lettering on the map.

Easter Egg 25: Witch House in RDR 2

The eastern part of the Grizzlies holds a particularly interesting cabin. In it, a witch's cauldron bubbles away, from which Arthur Morgan can even drink. Afterwards, his eyes go black and he regains consciousness a good distance from the witch's house.

Mysterious runes on a stone

The bubbling cauldron in the witch's house

If you want to pay a visit to the cranky hut, search the remote mountain region just above the "N" in the word "Ambarino".

Easter Egg 26: Robot

Away from magic - towards modern technology that shouldn't actually exist in Arthur's lifetime. This secret is connected to the Stranger mission "A Clever Boy". You can start it after "The Joys of Civilization" in Chapter 4.

Go to a park in the southwestern part of Saint Denis, where you will meet Marko Dragić. Once you have completed the second part of the side quest "A Clever Boy", a robot will appear on a mountain near Colter in the far north of Ambarino. Additionally, you'll receive "Artificial Intelligence" - one of the many trophies in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Easter Egg 27: Burned-out Ghost Town

Once you get off the beaten path, you'll quickly find abandoned buildings. But this burned-out town (including saloon and prison) stands out especially. Apart from the impressive sight, there are still some items there - in the north of Flatneck Station - like a gold bar in the sheriff's office.

Easter Egg 28: Kaa from the Jungle Book

South of the ghost town Pleasance, which was already mentioned in this Easter Egg Guide to Red Dead Redemption 2, there is a huge (dead) snake hanging in a tree. We interpret it as a reference to her manipulative comrade Kaa from The Jungle Book.

Strange sight on a mountain top: a robot

We stumbled across this burned-out ghost town with Arthur.

This Easter Egg could be a reference to The Jungle Book.

You can find the deceased beast just east of the letter "O" in the lettering "Lemoyne", which stretches across the map of the open game world.

Easter Egg 29: Find the hearse

Take a good look around near the road north of MacFarlane's Ranch in New Austin. There is a hearse in front of which there are not only two dead horses.

Once you go around it, you'll discover an open coffin and a hanged man on the back. It's hard to say what has happened here.

Easter Egg 30: Face in the rock face

No less mysterious is this place just above Moonstone Pond in the eastern part of the Grizzlies. A corpse is also dangling from a scaffold here, climb up the people next to it and you'll come face to face with a face.

The creepy hearse in New Austin

This face in the rock wall raises questions.

Apparently, the man carved it into the stone and then put an end to his life. Besides an eerie sight, you'll also get a chest that you should have Arthur Morgan open.

Easter Egg 31: Landon Ricketts from Red Dead Redemption

The cigarette pictures in Red Dead Redemption 2 not only refer to Charles Kinnear, but also to Landon Ricketts. The former legendary gunslinger has put other famous gunslingers like the Butcher Brothers (also appear in a cigarette picture) in their graves.

In Red Dead Redemption, among other things, he helps John Marston improve his Dead Eye and gives him a new gun.

Easter Egg 32: The meditating monk

In the Eastern Grizzlies you'll find a meditating monk, but he only ever appears at lunchtime. To visit him, you need to go to the top of the mountain located under the R of Grizzlies on the map. From there, keep to the south and you will find the monk. If he's not there right now, have Arthur set up camp and visit the spot again.

Easter Egg 33: The Mammoth

You can even find a mammoth in the world of Red Dead Redemption 2. Well, at least the remains of one.

Red Dead Redemption 2: Far to the north you will find the remains of a mammoth

To do this, you'll ride into the Western Grizzlies, in the north-northwestern corner of the map. Just north of where Deadboot Creek and Spider Gorge meet, you'll find the giant bones.

Easter Egg 34: The strange man from Red Dead Redemption

The next Easter Egg will be spooky and you will have to close the game 100 bclose the game to experience it completely: Between the N of Lemoyne on the map and the Kamassa River, you'll find a small spit of land with a hut on it. In addition to some obscure items, you'll find a painting there that magically completes itself in the course of the game.

It shows a portrait of the "strange man" from the first Red Dead Redemption. But that's not all: when the painting is finished, you can see the strange man standing behind you in the mirror. However, when you turn around, he is not there.

Easter Egg 35: The Vampire of St. Denis

There is even a vampire in Red Dead Redemption 2. You will meet him if you have found the five messages on the walls of the houses in St. Denis and then go to an alley with a stone archway near the St. Denis Cathedral. But be careful: you will only find the vampire between midnight and 1am and if he attacks you, you should have your shooting iron ready, because he is very strong.

Easter Egg 36: Is there a time traveler?

A side mission in Red Dead Redemption 2 has caused intense speculation in the community: In Geology for Beginners, Arthur meets a man named Francis Sinclair, who asks him to find ten petroglyphs for him. This man uses modern terms that Arthur doesn't understand, and he has a strange birthmark on his face, like the ones worn by the disciples of The Epsilon Program cult in Grand Theft Auto V. When you find all the rock formations and return to Francis, you'll find a woman and a baby with a similar birthmark. She tells you that her husband has passed away. And the name of her baby is Francis.

Easter Egg 37: Arthur Morgan's grave

Finally, we present you the most spoiler-heavy Easter Egg. In order to get the Achievement "Pay Respect", you have to find all the graves of your former companions in the open world of Red Dead Redemption 2.

Among them is the grave of Arthur Morgan. It's pretty well hidden in the east of Donner Falls. A bit below the "I" in the word "Ambarino" you'll see a house marked on the Red Dead Redemption 2 map. Travel there after completing the story of the open-world game to find this Easter Egg.

Guides reveal even more secrets of Red Dead Redemption 2

You can also find a list of all the weapons in RDR2 or a guide to finding a fence in RDR2 here. Our ultimate RDR2 horse guide answers all your questions about the hoofed animals and we also explain how crafting and cooking work in RDR2.

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