Among the many mysteries hidden within Red Dead Redemption 2, one continues to captivate players and leave them scratching their heads: the Spider Dream Mystery. Even eight years after the game’s release, RDR2 remains filled with unsolved secrets, but this particular mystery stands apart. According to those who have investigated it, even the developers believed it might never be discovered.
We’ve explored numerous mysteries and Easter eggs in Red Dead Redemption 2 before, but the Spider Dream Mystery deserves special attention. Its complexity, combined with the fact that it appears to be unfinished, has made it one of the game’s most intriguing and enduring enigmas.
Spider Dream Mystery: Findings In Order
The Spider Dream Mystery is an unsolved and highly elaborate, time-sensitive Easter egg in RDR2. For years it went unnoticed by players worldwide until 2025. Late that year, members of the Red Dead Redemption 2 community discovered a series of spired-web clues hidden across the in-game map. The more users started commenting and searching for the signs of this mystery, the more clues and theories appeared. However, the Spider Dream Mystery is still unsolved.
Here it is what is known so far:
The Pentagram In Butcher Creek
The first occurrence of this mystery appears in Butcher creek around 4am and 5 am. You’ll have to find a glowing pentagram symbol underneath a burned house. It is right under the letter R in the “New Hanover” indication on the in-game map. This mark will only be visible between the mentioned hours.
Additionally to this location, you’ll find five outhouses surrounding the Butcher Creek area, each of them bearing a tally mark in order from one to five. If you follow the path numerically, you’ll form the shape of a pentagram.
In the fourth location of the pentagram you’ll also find the letters “LJ SM” and a symbol representing Fort Brennand.
Spiderwebs on Telephone Poles
When you arrive at Fort Brennand the tally mark for six on a door and the one for seven on a wall. Behind the number seven, at the other side of the wall you’ll find three more symbols.
The first resembles a cross or a telephone pole, the second a factory, and the third one a rock or a puddle. These symbols on the wall are the beginning of the Spider Dream Mystery.
The factory symbol refers to the Cornwall Kerosene & Tar factory on the Northwest of New Hanover. Above the H on the map. Here you’ll find the factory and if you find the telephone post that aligns the telephone pole, the factory and the puddles, you’ll find the next clue.
Search for the spider symbol on the telephone post. This is both the clue on where to find the spiderwebs and the number eight in this tally mark-journey. As spiders have eight limbs, this counts as the number eight.
To find the spider webs, you’ll have to return to this site during the night between 2am and 3am. The spider webs will not appear if it is not at this specific time. Using the spider engraving on the map you’ll be able to locate the other telephone poles with clues on them.
The Centre of the Spider
If you travel to the centre of the spider on the map, you’ll find a massive hidden spiderweb located in a tree intersection. You’ll find it northeast from the first E in Lemoyne. It appears at night between 1am and 2am in-game.
In the centre of this massive web displays the letter N and a Telephone pole. From here, head directly north. Once you reach the following pole, shoot the telegraph pole to reveal the hidden message that indicates W (west) and five telephone poles. From here travel west and shoot the 5th telegraph pole down to reveal the next message.
Shooting the final pole reveals a guitar symbol and the Letter “NW”, which will point you northwest towards Fort Wallace.
Arrival at Fort Wallace
If you follow northwest, north from Cumberland Forest, you’ll arrive at Fort Wallace. A military fort highly protected in the forest. This location is normally inaccessible for the players without mods. With the exception of chapter 6 between the missions of The King’s Son and Our Best Selves. During this time we can use the tunnel that Arthur and Charles used to rescue Eagle Flies from the soldiers.
Once inside Fort Wallace, you can continue with the investigation of the Spired Dream Mystery. And the first clue arrives quickly as you can locate one guitar in the centre of the patio, on a table. However you cannot interact with the object, inspect it, or pick it up to play it.
Due to this lack of interaction with the guitar another question surfaces this investigation. If we have been following directions this whole time. Why would it be different now? So if we follow where the guitar is pointing, we’ll reach one of the buildings on the fort. But inside this building, there is nothing of note. Apart from a card from the ‘Notorious Gunslingers’ set, which features Emet Granger. The vast majority of users do not link this gunslinger to the mystery at hand.
If we continue to investigate inside For Wallace, we’ll discover that the Guitar on the patio is not the only one. Inside one of the watch towers we’ll find a second guitar. This one is leaning against the wall and pointing up. From here, you can climb out a window and up to the roof of the watch tower.
Here is where the theory starts to divide in different interpretations. As mentioned before, the Spider Dream Mystery is still unsolved, and here is where users have different opinions.
- The valley guitar shape: The guitar is not just “pointing up” , it is indicating us to climb onto the roof and to look down at the valley. Because if we draw a line around the fort and the valley we end up with a shape that resembles a guitar. What does this mean? For now we do not have an answer.
- The bird markings: On top of that same roof we can also find two bird markings on one of the roof tiles. Taking this roof tile as direction we head north east to the Wipiti Indian Reservation. This location is the start point for the Bigfoot mystery, the giant inside the cave. While you approach this location you’ll see birds flying on the edge of the lake. We can follow these birds until we reach the cave. Users have connected this giant to the Spider Dream mystery as, in order to talk to him you need to investigate 30 animal species. And during our investigation we’ve seen spiders and birds references.
Theories about the Spider Dream Mystery
The “?” on the Mountain
If you look through the binoculars to the mountains, on the same spot where the birds are, we find a “?” mark on the mountains. However, even if you use mods to visit this location, nothing will happen or appear. However, this theory gains popularity and depth. As the Question mark also can be marked in the map while checking all telephone poles with spired webs in them.
And here it is where it gets interesting. As there is no telephone pole to represent the question mark dot. Yet, if you travel where the dot is supposed to be you’ll find a property called Copson’s Stead. Here, between 8pm and 9pm, you’ll be able to see one of the windows lighting up on its own.
In this same property you’ll also find a well with a set of stairs to climb down. If you go down the well you’ll find markings on the wall. Markings of numbers and three telephone poles, a sun and three clouds.
The feathers on the Spiderwebs
The first eight Telephone poles that have spider webs, also have feathers on them. At first it looks like it is a direct reference to the mystery’s name “Spider Dream Mystery” as the spiderwebs could be portrayed as dreamcatchers. However, if we analyse a bit further. From the locations, 5 feathers are black and three are red. And following some theories this could be a direct reference to Eagle Flies and the missions he appears in. The three red ones being the mission during which he gets kidnapped, later rescued and finally murdered.
The Gertrude theory
What if the real origin of the Spider Dream Mystery was not the pentagram in Butcher Creek? What if was the real origin of this mystery? That is what this theory claims. Some claim that Gertrude is really cursed and it is linked to the pentagram in Butcher Creek.
The first piece of evidence supporting this theory is the numbers Gertrude recites. They are sometimes repetitive and jumbled. But she can only count in an orderly fashion up to the number five. The same number as the tips of the pentagram. The second piece of evidence supporting this theory suggests that if we travel in a straight line in the direction her outhouse points, we will reach Butcher Creek. And there we found the five outhouses, each with a number carved into it, up to five. The very same number that Gertrude manages to count without making a mistake.
Share Your Theories With Other Gamers
More and more theories are circulating about this Spider Dream Mystery, bringing players together in a shared experience and fuelling the curiosity that keeps players coming back to Red Dead Redemption 2. It is rewarding to see how the potential of a video game, artistically, intellectually and socially, can bring an entire community together and encourage users to continue exploring not only the game itself, but also the experience of being part of an inclusive and supportive community, regardless of the player’s background or experience.
Join us in Gamers.Online and share with other gamers your experiences and theories about the most intriguing mysteries in gaming, guides, news and much more!
Game on! 🤠🕷️