Life in Stardew Valley is often idyllic and peaceful. Farming away the days, befriending the locals, raising some barnyard animals — seems simple enough. But Stardew Valley is a much more complicated game than the average farm simulator. There's a level of depth in this game that one can't truly begin to experience before the first few hundred hours playing.
Throughout your first couple of years in Pelican Town, you might start to notice that there are some weird phenomena and unexplained happenings. Stardew is full of mysteries, from the light-hearted questions to the dark secrets. Here are some of the mysteries in Stardew Valley that still haven't been adequately solved.
Updated on May 26, 2021 by Michael Christopher: Stardew Valley is home to many strange, weird, and mysterious phenomena. With a new massive update released recently, more and more players are getting into the game, and some new mysteries were also added, so we've refreshed this list.
14 What Was in the Strange Capsule?
There are many different things that can happen on your farm while you sleep. Meteorites can make impact, a fairy can show up and make your crops grow, the Witch may grant you a Void Egg, and much more. One of the weirdest occurrences is the arrival of the Strange Capsule.
Every night after the first year, there's a very, very small chance for this object of unknown origin to show up on your farm, if there's an empty tile for it to spawn. You can move it, and the description reads "There's something fleshy bobbing around in the fluid..." which is already concerning.
However, once three days have passed since its arrival, the Strange Capsule is mysteriously broken and no longer has anything inside of it. After this, there's a 1% chance that you'll see a strange dark creature at the bus stop or in town.
13 Creepy Children
It's always been a bit strange that you can "dismiss" children in Stardew Valley. By bringing a Prismatic Shard to the Shrine of Selfishness, you can turn your children into doves, removing them from your game — or so you might think.
After you've dismissed any of your children, you might receive a phonecall that has an "otherworldly voice" that says "YOU HAVE FORSAKEN US." If you have the standard farm layout, you can watch TV on Fall 26 and choose an option called "???" An Ancient Doll will appear and say "You've brought this upon yourself... now I'm free... Hee hee hee!" and come out of the TV like the Ring. On the Four-Corners Farm, you can fish up an Ancient Doll when fishing, too.
After this, whenever you visit the Dark Shrine of Selfishness, there will be an Ancient Doll that attacks you. Is all of this strangeness from your children, or is it some being punishing you for dismissing them?
12 The Sea Monster
This strange phenomenon is fairly straightforward, but it's still shrouded in mystery nonetheless. When you're down on the docks at the Beach, there's a very rare chance that a strange creature will appear in the water, poking its head out. You can't interact with it in any way, and after a moment it swims off. What is this creature?
When watching Krobus' 14 heart event, you'll see the creature, though it's not as fascinating as when it appears randomly, because it always shows up during this cutscene.
11 Marnie and Lewis
The mystery here is more of a question. It's no secret (at least to the player) that Marnie and Mayor Lewis are having an affaire de cœur in secret.
But, why can't they go public with their relationship? They're both consenting adults, neither one of them is married as far as we know, and they're very bad at keeping their trysts secret. Lewis mentions that it could undermine his authority, but... why? There are like, two dozen people in this town, it probably wouldn't be that big of a deal.
10 Strange Sounds
Picture this: you're walking through Cindersap Forest, headed for the river. You're going to get some fishing done while it rains. As you're reeling in fish after fish and enjoying the soft noise of rain on the water, you start to hear a weird voice calling out, seemingly in pain.
The noises don't seem to have a source and apparently happen in several places around the valley. Are they the spirits of the dead? Are the noises just the wind howling through the trees? There doesn't seem to be an answer.
9 Bizarre Statues
There's a lost book that can be found and returned to the library in town. In it, there is a long list of gibberish words that have no apparent meaning. However, if you take the first letter of each word, they spell out some items and locations.
What this new list is telling you to do is take the respective items to the empty boxes in the specified locations. If you do, you'll be rewarded with three strange statues. What these figures are supposed to be, or where they came from, is still a mystery.
8 Sandy's Identity
After gaining access to the desert, the farmer can meet a very kind and interesting woman named Sandy, who operates the Oasis store. She's very fond of the valley and the villagers, and will often mention how much she misses it. If you invite her to a movie, she'll be very happy to visit the valley for a day.
Sandy also mentions that her real name is not Sandy, but it's just good for business. But, who is this mystery woman? She implies that she once lived in the valley, and she seems to be friends with Emily. But, there is a distinct lack of further information concerning her.
7 Ancient Fruit
Most of the crops in Stardew Valley exist in real life, such as parsnips, garlic, and strawberries. But there are some that only exist in-game, like the Sweet Gem Berry and Ancient Fruit. The latter is a very profitable crop, selling for a significant amount of cash in its base form, and truly making bank when turned into wine.
If this fruit is apparently so in-demand, what does it taste like? Its in-game description just says that it's been "dormant for eons." This strange blue fruit must be the best-tasting food in the world, considering how crazy its buyers seem to be for it.
6 Galaxy Sword
The Prismatic Shards are some of the most valuable minerals in the game. They're extremely rare and used for a few different purposes, so getting your hands on one is something most players try to do as soon as possible. One particularly important usage of them is to obtain what is arguably the best weapon in the game, the Galaxy Sword.
Simply take a Prismatic Shard to the desert and stand between the three pillars, then the sword will appear. But, where does it come from? It seems to just magically appear in your inventory. It's still a mystery.
5 Abigail's Father
This is a classic. It's heavily implied through a few dialogue options that Pierre is not actually Abigail's father. Rather, Rasmodius the wizard seems to have some connection to Caroline and Abigail that might be an extra-marital affair. All four members of this romantic entanglement seem to have something to say about it.
Pierre wonders if Abigail is truly his daughter, Abigail points out how her hair is purple (just like the wizard's), and perhaps most incriminating, the wizard says he has reason to believe one of the villagers is his daughter. This mystery is yet to be truly solved, but we have enough evidence to place our bets.
4 Junimos
As the player helps rebuild the community center (if they choose that over JojaMart's membership option), they'll interact with little forest spirits called junimos. These little creatures help rebuild parts of town and provide help to the player in different ways. Once you've completed the community center, you can also add a junimo hut to your farm and they'll collect crops that are ready for harvest.
But, what are the junimos? They look like little apples or candles, but it's not clear or ever explained what exactly they're supposed to resemble. Can the other villagers see them? We may never know.
3 Hat Mouse
In the southern portion of Cindersnap Forest, the player might notice a rundown abandoned house. After acquiring an achievement for the first time, a small mouse will take up residence in the structure and begin selling hats. For different achievements, the mouse's stock will increase to include other hats.
Where does this creature come from, and why does it sell hats? Where does it get the hats? These things have no explanation, and the mouse has no dialogue options. Now, if only you could repair its house in the same way that you build one for Pam and Penny...
2 Pierre's Stash
After reaching a six-heart level with Pierre, you can trigger his relevant heart event cutscene. He'll find you rooting around in his shelves and finding a "stash," which he'll ask you to keep a secret. You can choose to keep it to yourself, or you can scold him for keeping secrets from his wife.
But, what is the stash? Substances of ill repute? Perhaps some choice adult literature? Maybe Pierre has some secret Joja merch that would make him a traitor to his own cause. He also admits that he likes to sing opera when nobody is around. Maybe the stash is something related to his love for the genre?
1 Secret Notes
After triggering the cutscene with the "Shadow Guy" to unlock the secret notes, the player will begin to find them in various places (some of which are a bit strange). Some of these notes are pages from the villagers' diaries, some are given clear authors, and others are even signed.
But, some of the notes have no obvious author. For example, Secret Note #13 tells the player to search in a bush. Secret Note #15 gives the player the passcode to the Mermaid Show puzzle. Who wrote these mysterious notes, and why do they want the player to have this information?