The Witcher 3 can be described in a lot of ways. It can be recounted as a fantastic 3rd person open-world RPG, a shell for players to experience the wonder that is Gwent, or an insanely atmospheric vehicle for people to explore fantasy settings.
But, one thing it does incredibly well that it doesn't get enough credit for is the atmosphere. The Witcher can be so fantastical and also so terrifying within the same play session. The goal today is to talk about the 9 creepiest locations that invoke the same sense of dread and unease as players felt anytime they had to interact with the Crones in Crookback Bog and make some of the most difficult decisions in the game.
10 The Devil By The Well In Hovel
One of the optional quests posted up on the board in White Orchard is called the Devil By The Well and its a fantastic introduction to how grotesque the monsters in this series can be. Geralt is required to travel to an abandoned town named Hovel to take out a Noonwraith, a mysterious and horrifying monster that only appears at Noon. It would make sense to think that this wouldn't be all that creepy in the middle of the day, but the ominous atmosphere of the place and the closeups on the Noonwraith easily make the quest one of the grossest, at least early on.
9 The Phantom Of Eldberg Lighthouse In Skellige
The investigation of the Lighthouse and its keeper Mikkjal is an interesting one. It's another contract and another quest all about ghosts (thank goodness for Specter Oil), but it's just so atmospheric. Whether it's the bodies Geralt keeps finding along the way, the mist that's covering the entire isle, or the story behind why this Penitent decided to haunt Mikkjal, this is easily one of the more well-written sidequests. It's not exactly terrifying, but the whole atmosphere of this journey is unsettling and is just fantastically well made.
8 The Tower of Mice in Velen
The Tower of Mice quest in Witcher 3 is basically mandatory, as it opens the path for romancing Keira Metz and it has such a radical impact on later events in the story. The Tower itself in the middle of Fyke Isle and Geralt can't really avoid going there in any branch of the quest. Fyke Isle is great because it introduces the mechanic of talking to ghosts with Keira's magic lantern as well as plenty of opportunities to fight Ghouls, Drowners, and Rotfiends. This narrative has it all, horror, a mystery, thrilling action, and a bittersweet ending (most likely).
7 Tesham Mutna, The Vampire Estate In Blood And Wine
This next area is actually part of The Witcher 3's fantastic DLC expansion, Blood and Wine. Both it and Heart of Stone added a ton to the Witcher lore and were amazing additions to an already great series. In this quest, called La Cage Au Fou, Geralt is helping out a high Vampire by the name of Regis in order to create the Resonance, and one ingredient requires them to go to an ancient vampire torture prison named Tesham Mutna.
There's a long backstory here involving an ancient vampire known as Khagmar but all the players will see are bodies, ancient vampiric ruins, and cages as far as the eye can see. Tesham Mutna is a horrifying dungeon that treated human prisoners like cattle and reeks of death, and it works fantastically well as a setpiece for this quest.
6 Gaunter O'Dimm's Land of Nightmares
The story of Olgierd Von Everec and Gaunter O'Dimm in the Heart of Stone expansion is by far one of the best in the franchise. Gaunter's charming nature is quite alluring, and it's part of the reason he's the best DLC villain. In any case, the final mission can only end in one of two ones, and the one that includes saving Olgierd involves Geralt going to a Nightmare Wolrd that O'Dimm conjured up. There, he must fight past monsters, confront his worst fears, and solve a riddle with his soul on the line It's a super interesting setpiece that includes new gameplay mechanics and really ties up everything in this expansion quite well.
5 Olgierd von Everec's Abandoned Mansion
Speaking of Olgierd, there's actually a place in this DLC even more unsettling than O'Dimms world, and its the Von Everec Estate. Exploring this estate is part of the "Scenes From a Marriage" main quest that requires Geralt to bring the Iris blade back to Olgierd. This blade gets its name from Olgierds beloved, Iris Von Everec, who has long since passed away and is bound to this world through her love for Olgierd. Exploring this haunted estate puts Geralt in contact with specters, talking animals, and even an interdimensional being known as The Caretaker. And, once he manages to actually get through the house and reach Iris' body, he then has to explore the Painted version of the Estate that her spirit escapes into. It's by far one of the most intricately designed quests in TW3 and its a hell of a tragic story that fans still have tons of questions about.
4 The Trastamara Estate Ruins
The Spotted Wight and her associated quest called "The Hunger Game" are actually also part of Regis's quest and takes place directly before Geralt travels to Tesham Mutna. Basically, the two need a Wight's Brew for their concoction, and Geralt goes to the Trastamara Estate Ruins. This quest is super creepy because of how terrifying Wights are. And, it's also a fantastic example of how Witchers aren't meant to just hunt down whatever monsters they find but can help just as many as they can hunt as long as they take the time out to assist them. We don't want to spoil the quest, but following the right branch will gain Geralt more progress towards the "Playing House" achievement for his Corvo Blanco estate.
3 The Sewers Of Novigrad
Novigrad is where players will be spending a decent chunk of their playtime in TW3. It's where they'll first encounter Triss again, where they'll help out Dandelion, and where they'll participate in the Gwent tournament at the Passiflora. But, the sewers beneath don't get talked about enough. This is likely due to the fact that they're full of Drowners, a Katakan, and a whole lot of filth.
These sewers are winding, damp, dark, disgusting, and perfect for Drowner ambushes. They're not exactly horrifying per se, but they are offputting, and we were given a scare or two by Drowners suddenly appearing to smack Geralt's face in while we explored them.
2 Jarl Udalryk's Old Family Home
This quest is one of the ones constantly referenced by long-time fans of the game as something incredible. Why? Well, because it requires Geralt to throw a baby in an oven for the "best" ending. That might sound horrible, but it turns out to be a trick (the baby is totally fine) by Cerys An Craite to give Geralt a guilty conscious so that a rare monster called a Hym will possess him and leave the Jarl it was tormenting previously. This whole questline is creepy, whether its the Hym appearing in the shadows or the layout of Jarl's eery family home.
1 The Rearden Manor And Its Leshen Protector
Finally, this is a creepy encounter rather than a creepy quest location, and one that many players stumbled upon accidentally. The Reardon Mansion is actually one that's involved in a questline that involves more ghosts and another murder mystery, and, if players have a Witcher 2 save file imported, Letho can actually appear here. But, this quest isn't the only reason why this location is creepy, it's actually because of the Leshen that's set up right outside the Estate. This Leshen is likely the first one many players encountered and is not an easy fight, so imagine their surprise when they were headed for a quest marker and an elite skull-wearing Forest Guardian shows up. It's even scarier considering this Leshen is usually around level 20 and most players did this quest at a much, much lower level.