The harsh but beautiful province of Skyrim is home to many interesting characters with different personalities. Some of these people hide rather sinister and dark secrets from the Dragonborn and other characters. In this list, we count down five characters with dark secrets in Skyrim.
Editor’s Note: Obviously, this article contains The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim quest spoilers and spoilers about the characters mentioned.
Ysolda
Ysolda is an ordinary-looking Nord woman who aspires to be the best merchant in Skyrim. She rarely exchanges hostile dialogue with other characters and she’s rather friendly. But all is not as it seems. Ysolda’s dream to become the best trader in Skyrim has made her take drastic steps.
You learn that she actually is a dealer of Sleeping Tree Sap. Information about this can be found when you explore the Sleeping Tree Camp. You can join in on the narcotics business with Ysolda. So, if you prefer the Tony Montana route, be sure to hit her up.
Lisbet
Lisbet is a sinister character in a sinister town. Markarth is far from a peaceful and calm city. The corruption and evil that takes place there rivals Riften. Among all the political turmoil, there are more supernatural and disturbing things going on there. There’s a miscellaneous quest where you need to investigate the catacombs of the city. This leads to a quest where you encounter cannibals. And Lisbet is one of them. What’s most disturbing about this generic-looking woman is how she remarks about her husband “having a taste” and she even reveals that she ate her brother’s liver.
Calixto Corrium
When you discover Windhelm, you definitely must have heard of the killings that happen there. As if the racial inequalities of the city weren’t enough… Anyway, the victims of these heinous crimes that happen when the city is dark and quiet, are young women. The quest in which you try to investigate and solve the mystery is one of the best quests in the game. I’m sure you have guessed by now.
Calixto Corrium is the killer, who’s also known as The Butcher. Indeed, Calixto is purely psychopathic and delusional. He harvests the dead women he kills in order to perform necromancy to bring his dead sister back to life. The Butcher is one of the most disturbed characters in Skyrim, no doubt.
You may recall that Calixto is featured in our article about purely evil characters in RPGs.
Anise
Anise might be a name that you haven’t encountered in the game. Her peaceful and serene house is located in the forests south of Riverwood. Because this is the first area where the player gets to explore, they might’ve found her cabin. There aren’t any dialogue options for her and she seems like a poor old woman, as she herself says. Nothing to see here, right?
But the more nosy and investigative players have snuck into her cabin and found a letter. In this letter, she tries to convince her sister Helgi to join her and make a coven of witches. Anise herself is a witch and after the Dragonborn learns her true intentions and malice, she turns hostile. Also, someone named Moira will send thugs after the Dragonborn after he kills Anise. In reality, Moira might be Helgi, because the assassin’s contract is signed by Helgi.
Sybille Stentor
Sybille Stentor is the court mage of Solitude, the capital of Skyrim. When the player approaches her, they might notice the difference in her eyes. This, of course, implies that she’s a vampire. This is further proven when you ask her about the late High King of Skyrim, Torygg. She tells you that she raised him since his birth. But her appearance is young and vampires are known for looking a lot younger than their actual age.
Her being a vampire is not the dark secret here, however. She occasionally takes time alone with “volunteering” prisoners from the dungeons, feeding on their blood. Also, she gives you a quest to eliminate some vampires. That means that she doesn’t care about other vampires at all. Maybe she’s even taking out some competition?
All in all, she’s a mysterious and sinister character whose wisdom and intellect have kept others from suspecting her too much. We’re on to you, though, Sybille.
