With an open-world as dense as Skyrim's, there is always something to see. With nine Holds to explore and hundreds of quests to do, there are still secrets being uncovered nearly a decade since its release. One such location that is shrouded in mystery is Morthal, the most neglected of Skyrim's Hold Capitals.
Persistent fog and a lack of activities make Morthal a dreary place to explore. A lack of NPCs and questlines make many players skip this area entirely, but that is precisely why Morthal is so interesting. This reclusive town is home to many strange NPCs and unique quests that no Hold can match.
10 No General Store
Nearly all of Skyrim's major towns have general stores for travelers to purchase common goods at. Strangely, Morthal is the only major town in Skyrim that doesn't have a general store at all. This is likely due to the town's unfavorable views towards outsiders.
9 Dislikes Outsiders
Morthal is a tight-knit community that wishes to stay isolated from the rest of Skyrim. Unlike the Stormcloaks, these views are based on keeping their community small and not a deep-seated hatred for any race of people.
This is also why Morthal Empire despite their views aligning with Stormcloaks more on the surface. It also explains why the town is near a foggy marsh off of any main road with few tourist attractions.
8 Named after Morihaus
Unlike most of Skyrim's major towns, Morthal's name has meaning to it. Morthal was named after the ancient demi prince Morihaus, a man-bull that was responsible for leading humans to capture the Nibenay Valley, a task that was cemented in history when he took over the White-Gold Tower from the Ayleids themselves.
7 Vampires Plot To Take Morthal
Just before the events of Skyrim, Morthal dealt with the death of a small child named Helgi as well as her mother due to their house burning down. What's strange is that her father, Hroggar, survived the accident and began dating a woman named Alva a day later. This sets up the quest "Laid to Rest" where players investigate Hroggar and this strange event in detail.
It turns out that Alva is a vampire that has seduced Hroggar. The tragic accident occurred thanks to Laelette, yet another vampire that has infiltrated Morthal's community. The reason is so Alva could infiltrate the small community and slowly lead her vampire cult to overtake Morthal. For anyone that wonders why Morthal is so suspicious of outsiders, this is a major reason why.
6 Only Home With A Coffin (Alva Calm Trick)
For any vampire characters that wish to sleep in a coffin, Morthal is the only location in Skyrim that has a home with a coffin for a bed. In order to live in said house, however, players will need to keep Hroggar alive.
During the "Laid to Rest" quest, take Alva's Journal without killing Hroggar. When he becomes aggressive and tries to attack, use a Calm spell to make him passive. Kill Alva to end the seduction effect on Hroggar, ending his hostility towards the player. Alternatively, setting Hroggar's disposition to positive by selling goods to him will make him non-hostile entirely during this phase. After the quest is over, marry Hroggar to live in Alva's home, the only house in Skyrim with a coffin for a bed.
5 No Outdoor Music
Continuing with Morthal's strange quirks, Morthal has no outdoor music at all. When players reach Morthal's cell and approach the town, it will not play any outside ambient music unlike every other town in the game.
Being away from Morthal or inside one of its buildings does not have this bug, however. Whether this is intentional or not is unknown.
4 Can See Solitude From Morthal
If players can make their way on top of Morthal's buildings, they can catch a glimpse of Solitude. This is the only major town in the game that can see another Hold's Capital.
The Empire's grasp on the nearby Hold could be yet another reason as to why Morthal is so reclusive to outsiders.
3 Lami Worships Sheogorath
One of Morthal's only shops is an Alchemy store. Ran by Lami, this store has a wide selection of potions and ingredients to purchase. It also has a dark secret kept upstairs.
Walking up the stairs to the second floor reveals Lami's personal bedroom. Inspecting the room, players can find bottles of Skooma as well as two books that relate to Sheogorath and his unique staff, Wabbajack. Since Skooma has strong ties to Sheogorath and his insanity, does this prove that Lami is a worshipper of the prince of madness? It's likely.
2 Jarl Is Psychic
Idgrod Ravencrone is no ordinary Jarl. Not only is she not opposed to magic unlike most Nords, but she also claims to be a psychic herself. She is one of the only NPCs that accepts the new court wizard of Morthal and claims that time will prove her right.
She believes that her dreams and various visions are psychic readings into the future. Because of this, she is not afraid of the Civil War at all.
1 Morthal's Main Quest Was Cut
The Jarl's psychic visions allude to a looming threat that will doom her people if not dealt with. If it sounds ominous and vague, that's because it is. Idgrod never reveals what this threat is and, more importantly, never mentions who her sister is.
Certain pieces of dialogue and notes refer to Idgrod having a sister, but this is never revealed in the final game. When browsing the Creation Kit, however, players can stumble across a member part of her family named Argi Farseer. Argi was supposed to be Idgrod's sister but was never implemented into the final game.
Why is this significant? Because much of Morthal's leftover quests relate to Morthal's Jarl being overthrown. Gorm, one of Idgrod's stewards, plots to overthrow her in the side quest "For the Good of Morthal," although nothing ever comes of it. It is almost certain that the ramifications of this would have involved Argi Farseer and her visions into Morthal's fate. Sadly, these plot threads never get resolved and allude to a much larger questline for this town. There's no doubt that Bethesda's plans for Morthal were much larger but were cut for unknown reasons.