A Look Back on the Best ‘Skyrim’ Glitches

You know the frozen dragons and flying horses grew on you eventually.

With The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition newly released, it’s easy to feel nostalgic about playing the incredible open-world RPG for the first time. Taking an hour just to make your character, spending all your gold in one place, trying to decide what factions to join, deciphering just how the hell to get up that pesky mountain, and–wait–is that horse flying? Stranger things have happened, especially in Skyrim, which is chocked full of glitches–some useful and some just ridiculous. Let’s take a look back at some of the best glitches on both sides of the spectrum.

Invisible Treasure Chests

One of the most useful bugs has to be the invisible chests that are hiding all over Skyrim. These chests contain wares of  merchants in nearby areas. Items inside range from gold to potions to armor to lock picks to skooma. The one I remember frequenting the most is the Khajiit caravan chest outside the mine in Dawnstar (shown in the video below). Scoring a little gold and some handy potions was a nice gift to myself from time to time.

All of the invisible chests for your looting pleasure are listed here.

Walking Under Whiterun

One of these invisible chests is actually located underneath the Skyforge in Whiterun. It takes a bit of finagling to get there, so I figured this glitch deserved its own section. You can walk through a section of a rock behind the Skyforge, and viola! you’re walking underneath Whiterun. Here you can loot the hidden chest full of goodies or just, ya know, walk underneath Whiterun.

Trolling Shopkeepers

Normally stealing from shops takes some finesse. You have to crouch at just the right place and steal the item at just the right time if you don’t want to get caught. And who has the time to deal with bounties these days? Thankfully there is a hilarious way to rob shopkeepers blind while keeping your squeaky clean reputation. You just have to pick up a basket or something similar and then carefully place it over the shopkeeper’s head. They’ll go about business as usual but won’t be able to see you make off with every potion and soul gem they have.

The Giants’ Final Smash

Anyone who’s wandered around the northern European-inspired terrain of Skyrim for more than a few minutes knows to stay away from giants. If you piss one off, he will find you, and he will kill you… by bashing you as hard as possible with his giant club. Sometimes, that hit from the club will send you soaring into the sky in hilarious slow motion before the impending fall damage kills you.

Frozen Dragons

Many a time have Skyrim players encountered mighty dragons frozen in midair. The dragons can still move around in the sky and breathe their respective element onto you, but they can’t seem to remember how to flap their wings or move their head around. Sometimes it’s funny, and sometimes it’s a little creepy.

Flying Horses

Another strange animal-based glitch is the phenomenon known as the flying horse. Every once in a while, an NPC astride their steed can be seen soaring around in the brisk Skyrim air. They travel pretty quickly this way, so if you pause to laugh for too long you might lose them. Some players have reported their own horse flying off in a similar fashion, rendering the player laughably steedless.

The Gods Know What You’ve Done

This one is just a personal favorite that never fails to make me giggle. Although, maybe I should be a little put off that a woman swimming through midair is communicating with the gods about my sins.

I haven’t heard if any of these glitches are still around in Skyrim: Special Edition, but chances are Bethesda didn’t quite get all of them. Did I miss any of your favorite (or least favorite) Skyrim glitches? Let me know in the comments below!