One Useless Room In Stardew Valley Actually Provides A Solution To The Game’s Scariest Item

However, as of update 1.6, the chapel has been given a purpose. That new purpose only relates to one item in the game, which already has a small drop rate, so most players may have never seen it. However, since the item in question is one of the scariest items in the usually wholesome game, the new chapel effect goes a long way to letting spooked players sleep a little more soundly at night.

Cursed Mannequins Are The Spookiest Item In Stardew Valley

An Item That Steals Clothes, Changes Decorations, And Spies

Cursed Mannequins are one of the creepiest items in the game, which can be especially jarring if players have only interacted with the more whimsical fantasy aspects of the game like the Junimos and Hat Mouse. The items, which come in both female and male form, are a rare drop from Haunted Skulls in The Mines and the Quarry Mine. In fact, there’s only a 0.43% chance of either type dropping when players kill a Haunted Skull.

Visually, Cursed Mannequins are exactly the same as normal Mannequins, except for their eerie purple sheen, so players may not even suspect something is off about them. The in-game description may tip off players about Cursed Mannequin behavior, as it hints, “you can dress it up however you like. And pray that it doesn’t come to lie while you sleep…”. True to that description, Cursed Mannequins may get up to a few different activities while players are asleep.

Everything Cursed Mannequins do once placed inside the farmhouse is unsettling. They can either swap clothing with the player overnight and watch them when they wake up, move around the house to random spots, or dabble in interior design by changing the wallpaper and floor. Mannequins will also jumpscare the player if they’re turned around too many times, but otherwise they’ll mostly stand still turning the day and occasionally look around with their shifty little eyes.

How To Use The Chapel To Cleanse Cursed Mannequins

The Underused Holy Power Of Yoba

If players are too freaked out by the subtle hauntings Cursed Mannequins provide, then they can purge the life-sized doll of its possession. The room needed, though often overlooked due to its lack of purpose in most gameplay, is the small chapel to Yoba located inside Pierre’s General Store.

To cleanse the Cursed Mannequin of its spirits and turn it into a normal Mannequin, players simply need to place it in the chapel for one night and pick it up the next day. The power of Yoba will have driven out the haunting completely.

Yoba Doesn’t Come Up In Stardew Valley Often, But Has A Presence

Pelican Town May Worship The Earth Itself

If players aren’t aware of who or what Yoba is, it’s not too surprising. The religious figure isn’t mentioned often, but its symbol is seen everywhere. The most obvious place is the chapel in Pierre’s General Store, but the symbol is actually first seen in the intro to Stardew Valley, on the wall in Grandpa’s room, when he gives the player their letter.

Yoba’s symbol is actually a real Anglo-Saxon rune, which can be translated to mean “earth”. With Stardew Valley’s overarching themes of respecting nature and rejecting corporations, having the godly figure represent the earth makes a lot of sense. Other references to Yoba are found on different items and in occasional character dialogue. The symbol can be found in a few homes and buildings in Pelican Town, like in Harvey’s clinic, above Mayor Lewis’ bed, or on some gravestones.

There are some Yoba related clothing items, like the Ring of Yoba, which give useful buffs of protection in combat. For the villagers, Yoba is usually mentioned in passing, like when Robin mentions thanking Yoba when Demetrius almost burns their house down. Both Krobus and Jodi seem to worship Yoba in Stardew Valley, since both mention praying or taking a vow of silence for Yoba.