A Farmer Who Married His Sheep
This rather amusing easter egg can be found on a farm on New Hanover territory just below the letter A on the map. Inside the leftmost barn here, you can find a dead man with his pants down and a sheep wearing a pink ribbon which implies that the sheep’s owner decided to take their relationship to the next level. You can get a Gold Wedding Ring upon examining the dead sheep.
A Woman In A Barrel
At the foot of Donner Falls near Bacchus Bridge, you can find a corpse of a woman in a barrel who seems to have fallen from the top of the falls. Upon inspection, Arthur will jot this down on his journal. It is believed that this is a reference to Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. It may also be a reference to the river scene in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, wherein Bilbo and company escaped from the Wood-elves and orcs riding empty wine barrels.
Aztec Mask
This easter egg can be found on Saint Denis. When you go to the Fence, in one of the shelves just behind the register, you can find an Aztec Mask. This is a nod to the expansion of the original Red Dead Redemption, Undead Nightmare as the Aztec Mask is the one that started the zombie outbreak.
Aztec Symbols: Undead Nightmare Hidden Message
If you investigate Blackwater during or after the Epilogue of the game, you can come across Aztec glyph writings on different areas of the town that conveys a hidden message. Inspect these writings so John will sketch the Aztec symbols on his journal. Here are their locations:
- On the Animal Feed and Farm Supply store just across the stables, climb the ladder on the right side of the store and check the roof to see the glyph writing
- Enter through the alleyway between the Saloon and Mrs. Wilson’s Confectionery Shop and you can find another glyph writing on the wall
- Check the building the on the southeast corner of the town across the barber shop and enter the dead end alleyway and you can see the glyph writing on the right side wall
- Just across that same building facing north, you can check another glyph writing on the wall when you enter the dark alleyway behind it. It is between the Blackwater Tobacconist shop and the general merchandise store
- Above the Sherrif’s Office and the Clothing Store, you can see the glyph writing engraved on the very top of the front wall
- On the northern side of the pier, you can find the glyph writing engraved on one of the pylons underneath
These symbols are actually the first 5 Aztec symbols from the Aztec calendar called Tōnalpōhualli. If we convert the symbols to numbers 1 to 5, rearrange them and use Polybius square to decipher the code, you can get the following hidden message:
Blessed are the peacemakers Ayauhteotl
The hidden message is a reference to the original Red Dead Redemption game, particularly to its expansion, Undead Nightmare. Ayauhteotl is the Aztec Goddess that John meets as a woman in Undead Nightmare. The phrase “Blessed are the peacemakers” is inscribed to John Marston’s grave at the end of the game.
Bear Jump Scare
At Big Valley in the territory of Western Elizabeth, just northeast of the letter W on the map, there is a shack in which when you enter, the game will switch into cutscene mode as a bear inside growls back at you. It will attack you right off the bat and you can only fight it back with a knife.
Bigfoot/Sasquatch Skeleton
On your way to the top of Mt. Shann to see the UFO sighting easter egg, you’ll come across a huge skeleton on the mountain trail that is clearly not human. This will be added to Arthur’s journal as well.
This is a nod to the Bigfoot sighting in Grand Theft Auto V and the Bigfoot hunting mission in Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare.
Canis Canem Edit
This easter egg can only be seen after doing a side mission and a main story mission: “The Noblest of Men and a Woman” and “A Fine Night of Debauchery” respectively. The first side mission can be done some time in Chapter 2 in the town of Valentine but the second one can only be fully completed some time after Chapter 4 in the story in Saint Denis.
To start the first side mission “The Noblest of Men and a Woman”, you have to talk to Theodore Levin and Jim “Boy” Calloway located at the bar in Keane’s Saloon at the east side of Valentine. Jim will require you to take out several ex-gunslingers all over the world:
- Flaco Hernandez – can be located at a remote cabin near Cairn Lake, southeast of Colter
- Emmet Granger – can be located at a small homestead east of Flatneck Station, south of Horseshoe Overlook camp.
- Black Belle – can be located at a cabin in Bluewater Marsh north of Saint Denis
- Billy Midnight – you can trigger the scene with Billy Midnight if you talk to the clerk at the Rhodes train station. Interact with him and press X/A (for PS4 and X1 respectively) to ask the relevant questions. After this conversation, a train will arrive at the station. Hop aboard this train and enter the bar car to trigger the scene with Billy Midnight.
Take note that you can loot the ex-gunslingers’ bodies for their unique weapons after dueling with them except for Black Belle.
When you return to the saloon in Valentine, ask the bartender where Levin and Calloway headed next. You need to do the main story mission “A Fine Night of Debauchery” first to have access to Grand Korrigan riverboat in Saint Denis which is your next location. This time you’ll be dueling Calloway himself, the last ex-gunslinger.
Loot Calloway’s corpse and you’ll get Calloway’s Revolver for your efforts. Once you go to Maintain Weapon and have a close look at it, you can see the words “Canis Canem Edit” engraved on the barrel.
This is a nod to the game “Bully”, another game by Rockstar Games which was originally released in PAL region as Canis Canem Edit last October 17, 2006.
Civil War Site
To get to this location, head east of Emerald Station to a broken civil war fort called Fort Brennand near Kamassa River. Upon reaching the site, enter the only cabin in the fort where you can find the Panther cigarette card on one of the crates there.
When you go down to the basement, you can find a big chest that contains a Gold Nugget as well as Civil War Report which explains the final events that happened in the abandoned fort.
In this area you can also find a Civil War Knife, a short-ranged melee weapon, on top of a crate. On a corner of this basement, you’ll also find Civil War Hardee Hat.
Conversation with Bigfoot
This easter egg can only be found out after discovering at least 30 animals in the game by holding R1 or RB (for PS4 and X1 respectively) when you see them to add them to your compendium. After doing so, go to a river at Northern Ambarino, just north of Donner Falls. Here you will find strange birds that will fly off as you approach them. Follow the birds until you come across a cave covered by a huge rock. The moment you get here, the Bigfoot inside the cave will start a conversation with you.
You can return here after 3 in-game days to hear another dialogue from Bigfoot. It is possible to enter climb the ledge and enter the cave by falling off the cliff above but there is nothing inside the cave upon entering it. It seems it is designed that you cannot enter the cave while having a conversation with Bigfoot.
Creepy Perverted Stalker
If you roam around southeast of Emerald Station, you’ll meet a creepy guy with a tent and campfire. He will invite you to rest by the campfire. If you inspect his tent you will see several pictures of naked women. If you interact with him, he will tell you a story of a widow living in a cabin north of Annesburg that he is stalking. The widow he is referring to is Charlotte Balfour, whom Arthur teaches how to hunt in one of the stranger side missions in the game.
Devil’s Cave/Cave Hermit
At the far western point of West Elizabeth there is a cave in which there is hermit who claims that he is the devil and he will ask you to go away and leave him alone. After a while he will show himself up on a ledge and he will admit that he is not the devil but he wants to be the devil. After talking he will go back to the innards of the cave. You can interact with him again after three in game days. Doing so several times will reveal that he is just a lonely man with no friends and got rejected by his loved one. He became insane and decided to live alone in a cave.
It is possible to reach the ledge where he is hiding by getting up on a small rock on the right corner near the ledge and doing a running jump. After doing so you can find the cave’s hermit up there but you cannot interact with him or lasso him. He will speak up if you try to point a gun to him but he won’t move or react. If you try hurt him he will instantly die. After doing so you can rob him to get Cocaine Gum.
Donkey Lady
In a place named Two Crows, southwest of Armadillo in New Austin, just under the letters U and S on the map, there is a burned farm in which there is a corpse of what seems to be a woman with a donkey skull tied to a horse mill. Inspecting it closely will make Arthur sketch the strange creature on his journal. This is a reference to the well known glitch in the original Red Dead Redemption game in which there is a woman whom you can ride on like a donkey, thus called “The Donkey Lady”.
Edmund Lowry Jr., The Serial Killer
This easter egg can be found by triggering the stranger mission “American Dreams” in which Arthur is tasked to find a serial killer who dismember body parts of his victims. You have to find 3 murder scenes where he left parts of a map in order to locate his hideout. The details of the mission can be found here.
Once you’ve caught the serial killer, take him to Valentine sheriff office. He will reveal his name, Edmund Lowry Jr. It is believed that this is a nod and a play to the name of Eddie Low, a serial killer from another game, Grand Theft Auto IV made by Rockstar Games as well.
When Edmund is about to be put to jail, he will try to kill the sheriff by biting him. Save the sheriff by shooting Edmund dead. You will be rewarded with $20 for your efforts.
Encounters With The KKK
You can encounter a group of hooded racists throughout the course of the game, which is an anachronistic parody of the Ku Klux Klan also known as the KKK, a hate organization that only rose in the 1920s. There are three different chance encounters with the group though there are no set locations for these. They usually spawn in wooded areas outside of towns and cities. Here are the encounters with the group:
- The first one can only be encountered at night time, you can see the group in front of a cross while initiating a new member.
- The second encounter can be seen during the day usually around noon time, wherein some members are trying hard to stand a cross up.
- The third encounter happens at night again, wherein several KKK members argue with each other because of the low attendance turn out of members.
You can kill the KKK members though the scenes will end up in a rather hilarious way if you decide not to interrupt them. Killing the KKK members will actually raise your Honor rating, as opposed to killing other people. However, if you let any one of them escape you will still be reported to the authorities which will put a bounty on your head.
Face Sculpture On A Cliff
This easter egg can be located at Ambarino territory, north of Moonstone Pond. Here you can find a face sculpture on a cliff and man who hanged himself on a scaffolding. Upon inspection, Arthur will sketch the scene on his journal.
Feral Man
If there is an easter egg that nods to The Jungle Book’s Kaa, there is also an easter egg that kind of gives a nod to Mowgly. If you head north of Annesburg just by the Roanoke Ridge, you will encounter a grown up feral man or wolf man. He will begin to howl like a wolf when you’re near. Track him to his cave and he will only shout one word “Leave!” and his companion wolves will attack you. If you kill the wolves, the feral man will break down and cry in agony. Take note that killing the wolves and/or the feral man will lower your honor rating.
There is a way to approach the feral man without killing his wolves thus not to lower your honor rating. Once the wolves start attacking you, jump into the water. The wolves will not follow you until you cross to the other side of the creek. Once on the other side, climb a huge rock so the wolves won’t be able to attack you. Use predator baits so the wolves will calm down. Once the wolves stop barking and start sniffing the ground, it is safe to jump off the rock, then you can enter the cave to see the feral man closer. Don’t worry, he will not attack you at this point.
When you enter his cave further, you will find his journal but you won’t be able to pick it up if you didn’t kill his companion wolves. In order to do so, leave the cave for now. On your map, his two wolves are marked red and will attack you when you’re near. Just keep your distance until the red marks disappear from the map. When the red marks disappear then you can return to the cave. This time the feral man will start attacking you with his knife. If you don’t want to lower your honor rating, just use punches to knock him unconscious. After that, you can finally pick up his journal, which narrates his life before he ran away from his family and lived a life in the woods with his companion wolves.
Flying Machines
There are two flying machines that can be found in the game which are connected to Charles Kinnear, a character in a stranger side mission “Daedalus and Son” in the original Red Dead Redemption game. When you watch in one of the theaters in the game, you can watch a show with the title “Wonders of the Age: Manflight” which shows the exploits of Aldus Kinnear in his mission to travel heights and distances with his flying machine. Unfortunately, in one of his attempts to break flight records, his flying machine caught fire upon knocking over a lamp, burning him alive. His sons, Percival and Charles, promised to continue what their father had started. Upon finding the wreckage of their flying machines, you’ll find out that their attempts of flight didn’t go well either.
The first wreckage can be found near a cliff on Big Valley in the West Elizabeth territory just north of the letter W on the map. You’ll find a strange-looking machine which seemed driven by a man and jumped off a cliff to fly with it but didn’t end well. The corpse on the wreckage is believed to be one of the brothers, Percival Kinnear. After investigating it, the following will be added to your journal:
Found the wreckage of a flying machine in the woods. Some would-be Icarus, dead with his dreams.
The second wreckage can be found west of Armadillo in New Austin. The flying machine belongs to Charles Kinnear as printed on the tail of the contraption. Apparently he survived the crash, but years later when he does another flight attempt in Red Dead Redemption 1 he wouldn’t be so lucky. Upon inspection of the crash site, Arthur will jot down the following on his journal:
Found a flying machine. Needless to say, it had crashed.
