On the surface, many can be forgiven for thinking that The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is a light-hearted fantasy role playing game, with magic spells, flying dragons, and young children frolicking in the streets of Whiterun. Of course, the game is violent as well, but sometimes there are elements which are much darker than the battles and civil war that make up much of the main storyline. Skyrim is creepier and more macabre than some may give it credit for. One user discovered this when they stumbled upon a scene which can only be described as disturbing.
Uploading a screenshot to Reddit, one user was able to show a rather dark image that tells a morbid tale of death and ritualistic burial that sometimes belies the perhaps more fantastical elements of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. The screenshot shows a series of mummified corpses on the ground inside Forelhost. Only these aren't adult corpses. According to the user's post title, they are the mummified remains of children. There appear to be five in total, with a note the user found which seemingly gives some background to the scene.
Those who are familiar with the game will likely be familiar with the ancient Nordic tomb of Forelhost. Within Skyrim, Nordic tombs are often the sight of lost shouts that players can collect. These crumbling burial locations are often a little creepy, particularly for newer players at lower levels, and seeing corpses is nothing unusual. But seeing the corpses of young nippers, wrapped up and mummified, will arguably leave a bit of a sour taste in many player's mouths.
Forelhost is also the location of one of the Dragon Priests, particularly Rahgot, a cult leader from the 140th years of the first era who committed mass suicide. Given the dark nature of this Priest, it's entirely possible that mummifying children was par for the course for this cult. Whatever depraved secrets are hidden within these ancient tombs, clearly what the Reddit user saw was disturbing enough that they needed to tell the world about it.
For a game which does not allow players to kill children, although there is a mod which will allow Skyrim players to control children NPCs, the site of mummified kids shows Bethesda is sometimes keen to show its more ghoulish side. It opens up questions about how much darker the game can get and whether any new disturbing content will be discovered down the line.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is out now for PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Source: Reddit