Minecraft is a game that’s perfectly designed for mysteries and Easter eggs. Each new world is a clean slate for players to make their own story, and the small things that Mojang adds with each Minecraft update only lets those stories get bigger and bigger. Now, 12 years after its release, these small additions have added up to a huge list of some pretty weird Easter eggs and discoveries.
There will be things on this list that are no longer in or a part of the base Minecraft experience, as it has changed and evolved over the last decade. However, a lot of them can be manually added to the game through methods like PC console commands and mods. Mods have been a staple in Minecraft since the beginning and some of the best Minecraft mods players can install have even been responsible for features that Mojang would eventually make part of the official game in one way or another.
An example of this is the fictional character, Herobrine. Created for a creepypasta, a term for horror stories created on the internet, Herobrine is the evil counterpart to the player character Minecraft Steve. While Mojang has never officially added Herobrine to the game, they have provided many nods to the character.
Minecraft Herobrine 1.16 Patch Note
In 2012, Mojang began to embrace the character of Herobrine as it completely took Minecraft forums and YouTube videos by storm. Many became convinced that Herobrine was real during this time and that there was a Herobrine world seed to discover or some way to summon him. Playing into this, Mojang began adding a line to each new patch note which read “Removed Herobrine,” suggesting that the mysterious character somehow returns time after time.
This leads up to the Java Edition 1.16 patch, also known as Minecraft's Nether Update, which released on June 23, 2020. This update would be the first time in 8 years that “Removed Herobrine” was not included in the patch notes. This took the community by storm as it reignited the idea that Herobrine could now be part of the game once again.
Minecraft Music Discs 11 and 13
Jukeboxes are the perfect addition to any house and the various musical discs Minecraft players can get provide the right ambience for any abode. However, this is not the case with discs 11 and 13. Unlike the other discs which have a song that they play, disc 13 is host to a very unsettling soundscape of bells, dripping water, and mysterious noises.
Disc 11, on the other hand, only plays the frantic, heavy breathing of a man as he is running away from something until it is abruptly cut off. To add to the mystery, there is no disc 12 to bridge the gap between these two disturbing Minecraft items.
Minecraft's Dancing Parrot Easter Egg
For players who are bothered by playing discs 11 and 13, they can unwind by placing some parrots next to a jukebox and play one of the other 10 discs. Minecraft's parrots will dance along with the music by bouncing their heads and bodies from side to side. This is a reference to the “Party Parrot” meme.
Weirdest Minecraft Discoveries - Woodland Mansions
Of the new mobs found in Minecraft, the Illager mobs are among the most formidable. Added to the game in 2016 via patch 1.11, Illagers are the hostile version of the benevolent Villagers and are comprised of Evokers, Vindicators, Vexes, Pillagers, Ravagers, and Witches. This mob type is the most organized in the game as they work together to raid a player’s village in various waves, each one adding more enemy types.
It was discovered that if a player purchases a map of the Woodlands, they can locate the Woodland Mansions, which are giant maze-like homes that house a variety of different Illager enemies. While there are various camps for players to raid, these locations seem to be the primary home for the enemies given that there are large shrines present that are made in their likeness.
Minecraft References to The Shining and Monty Python
The Illagers aren't all doom and gloom though, as some of them are cleverly hidden Minecraft easter eggs. For example, the Vindicators are a common type of Illager that uses an axe as its weapon and if one of them is given the name “Johnny,” it will become incredibly aggressive. This is a reference to Jack Torrance from The Shining, who famously terrorizes the Overlook Hotel with an axe and after chopping out a hole in a bathroom door exclaims, “Here’s Johnny!”
There are two references to Monty Python and the Holy Grail here as well. The first can be found when killing the Witches, as some of them will drop sticks upon their death. This is a reference to the Witch Trials in which the executioner convinces the villagers that the reason witches burn is because they’re made of sticks. The other is an old secret Minecraft boss battle, which can only be summoned with console commands now, called the Killer Bunny. This is a reference to the deadly rabbit that decapitates one of the group’s knights.
Minecraft Phantoms Hunt Insomniacs
The night is the most dangerous time for players to be exploring the world of Minecraft. This is when the overworld is littered with Skeletons, Zombies, and other creatures that are otherwise found underground. However, a new enemy was discovered when players began powering through night after night with no sleep. This would summon a creature in Minecraft called a Phantom. These Phantoms are attracted to insomnia and are difficult to defeat since they attack from the sky, but players can completely avoid this issue by getting a good night's sleep every now and then.
Minecraft's Secret Languages
Minecraft has a variety of different languages to choose from in its settings, but what many players may not know is that there are secret languages within the game itself. If players open the recipe book and enter “excitedze” in the search bar, it will activate Pirate Speak. As one might imagine, this changes everything into pirate slang. This is a reference to the username of a past Mojang employee.
Another in-game language centers around Minecraft's enchantment books. Likely a nod to fictional languages like Elvish in Lord of the Rings or Klingon in Star Trek, the runes present when enchanting a weapon correspond with the letters of the English alphabet. So if players take the time to learn it, they would be able to translate the runes and see what enchantment they are going to get instead of just hoping for the best.
Minecraft's Secret Igloo Basements
While they're not a new biome in Minecraft, the Snowy Tundra and Taiga are uncommon, so coming across one of its igloos is surprising enough - however, it only gets worse when players find the hidden entrance to the basement. After descending the ladder, players are met by the sight of a zombie and a villager in separate cages. A wooden sign hangs between them with arrows pointing to each other, suggesting that they are the same. Also in the room is a cauldron and brewing stand, which give the unsettling feeling that there is some dark experimentation happening in these extremely remote igloos.
This is only scratching the surface of everything that's yet to be discovered in Minecraft, despite a decade of searching. As has been the case so far, there are sure to be more and more secrets and references added with each patch and update to give fans even more reasons to keep coming back.