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Stardew Valley is a beloved indie video game that manages to offer an experience that is as relaxing or as complex as you like. An experience that balances great writing, great gameplay, and outstanding presentation expertly, and best of all. It is a game that offers player choice and freedom in abundance.
If you want to become the highest-paid farming mogul stretching from Pelican Town right out to Zuzu City, you can. If you want to live off the land and live a modest life, focusing more on the joys of town life, you can do that too. Or, if you want to play with friends and share wild adventures together, that is also a viable option. Essentially, Stardew Valley caters to the player and allows you to play your way.
For that reason, there isn’t really a main storyline or a linear path that the game funnels the player through. However, there are aspects of each playthrough that are set in stone to allow for some structure and offer familiarity from one playthrough to the next.
One such thing is the set events on the calendar for every year you play through. These events represent popular real-world holidays, events that are unique to the world of Stardew, and events that are traditions within Pelican Town specifically.
These are all fun little festivals to break up the typical gameplay and offer fun activities and unique rewards. Today, we want to focus on the Halloween-themed festival, Spirit’s Eve.
This event is a really fun one that sees the town transformed into a spooky setting; there is a fun little maze activity with a unique item waiting for those who get to the end. Plus, there are a bunch of unique items to claim in the shop too.
However, you may be overwhelmed by this exciting new event. Well, have no fear, as we have a comprehensive guide to help you get the most out of this Stardew Valley festival. So without further delay, here is our Spirit’s Eve Stardew Valley Guide.
What is Spirit’s Eve In Stardew Valley?
Date:Â 27th of Fall
Event time: 10pm – 11.50pm
Key Attractions:Â Haunted Maze, Pop-up Shop
The Spirit’s Eve festival in Stardew Valley is this in-game universe’s version of the real-world holiday, Halloween. Much like ourselves, the in-game population celebrates at the end of Fall by carving up pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns, decorating the place with a tonne of spooky ornaments and fixtures.
The only thing they don’t share with us is the need to dress up in a scary or comical fancy dress. However, we assume that this is more of an omission for the time and effort it would have taken the developer to create unique sprites for this event.
The Pelican Town community more than makes up for this by offering a wealth of fun activities at this event, with the marquee attraction undoubtedly being the haunted maze created by the magical wizard Rasmodius. This maze allows players to challenge themselves to get to the end, witness the spooky sprites that lurk within, and at the end, the player will even receive a super prize which will help to boost their total earnings in Fall.
The player also has access to a shop where they can grab some unique items that they cannot get elsewhere in the game. Aside from that, it’s a fun time to get to know the townsfolk a little more, enjoy some unique dialogue with your favorite characters, and generally get into the spooky spirit.
What is Available In The Spirits Eve Shop?
As mentioned above, there is a pop-up shop run by Pierre that can only be accessed on Spirit’s Eve. This shop allows the player to get their hands on unique items that are all Halloween-themed.
We admit, most of these items are decorative, but if you are someone that really enjoys the witchy, Halloween aesthetic year-round, this will be music to your ears. Here is a rundown of all the items you can access in the Spirit’s Eve shop:
Rarecrow 2 (Witch)Â – 5,000g
This is the most functional item that you’ll be able to purchase in the shop and an essential purchase if you want to complete your Rarecrow collection.
This item is a special, custom scarecrow that has a significantly larger radius of protection from those dastardly crows than the common scarecrow. You can’t craft these, but there are eight to collect, so add this one to your collection and seek out the others!
Jack-O-Lantern – 750g
Halloween just isn’t the same without a carved-up pumpkin serving a crooked smile, and Stardew doesn’t disappoint. The player can buy a Jack-O-Lantern decoration at this shop which can be placed anywhere in the in-game world.
Jack-O-Lantern Recipe – 2000g
Then for those that want to craft pumpkins all year round and save money instead of buying loads of Jack-O-Lanterns, then you can purchase this handy crafting recipe and build your pumpkin army.
Grave Stone – 350g
Perhaps a little bit morbid for such a jovial game, but if this is the kind of look you want to serve on your farm or elsewhere in Stardew Valley, you can purchase a Grave Stone decoration at this shop.
Funky Rug – 4,000g
Then lastly, we have a funky purple rug that has a weird geometric pattern on it. It kind of looks like the shapes you see in your peripheral when you rub your eyes for a while and then get dazed by the light. A little specific, I know, but hey, it paints a picture. It’s not exactly the most ‘Halloween-themed’ item here but if you like it, then make it yours.
How to Beat The Spirits Eve Maze
Quick Answer: Left, Right, Hole in the north hedge, head east, open chest
Reward:Â Golden Pumpkin
Now on to the main event, the Spirit’s Eve Haunted Maze. This is a little activity where players will have to navigate a rather simple maze and get to the little hut at the end. At the end of this maze, there is a prize for any player who gets to the end, a Golden Pumpkin.
This is a novelty item of which there is only one in the entire game. It doesn’t serve any sort of function or purpose, but the good news is that the player can sell this item and make a tidy profit of 2,500g, which is a great option to have as you enter the cold winter months where crops won’t grow outdoors.
The maze isn’t exactly a complex puzzle, especially since you have a birdseye view of the whole situation. We reckon that most players will work this out on their own, but we don’t like to leave things up to chance, so we have put together a quick guide on how to beat this maze and claim the wonderful prize at the end. So check out our maze guide below:
(i): Begin by taking a left and then a right as you enter the maze, then follow the natural path into the middle of the maze.
(ii): Travel along until you reach a cut out in the northern hedge near a sign with a question mark on it.
(iii): Walk through the cutout section to the right and come out the other side
(iv): You will now be in a little closed-off area with a single chest. Interact with this, and you will receive the Golden Pumpkin
(v): Sadly, there is no quick way out, so head back the way you came, and maybe stop to chat to the NPCs still stuck in the maze; their dialogue is quite fun.
Hidden Secrets On Spirit’s Eve
The Abandoned House
While this is purely speculation, many believe that there were plans to make the Joja Mart into an accessible abandoned/haunted house for the purposes of this event.
This never came to fruition. However, players can sneak a peek at the Joja mart by using a map editor during the festival, and the Joja Mart has had spooky outer adjustments made. Oh, what could have been.
Baby Yaga
A little bit of niche trivia in the form of subtle references pop up as you wander the haunted maze on Spirit’s Eve. The maze is actually modeled on old Slavic folklore and, more specifically, a tale called Baby Yaga.
This is an old tale about an old woman that lives in a hut in the woods which stands on severed chicken’s legs, much like the hut in the maze. She is said to be a supernatural being that can potentially help or hinder those that seek her help, meaning that the gamble to enlist the services of Baba Yaga can pay off or have very gruesome consequences.
This is also referenced by the three severed hands within the maze that make reference to the folk tale, Vasillisa the Beautiful.Â
Gifting the Golden Pumpkin
Then lastly, many players will assume that the only use for this novelty item is to pop it in the shipping bin at the end of the day.
However, this item is actually one of the rare items within the game that is a universal love, meaning that all characters will adore this item if given as a gift. So if money isn’t an issue for you going into the winter, then you might as well give this away.Â
A Night of Frights!
As you can see from the information above, the Stardew Valley Spirit’s Eve festival is a wonderful way to close of the season of fall as you prep for the cold, harsh winters where growing crops is confined to your Greenhouse only, unless you have access to Ginger Island of course.
We hope that this guide serves you well and helps you navigate the maze, get the most value out of the Spirit’s Eve shop, and we hope that you have a real spooky time! Thanks for reading, everyone!
Stardew Valley Spirits Eve Guide FAQs
Question: Are There Any Other Golden Items In Stardew Valley?
Answer: Yes, there are other items in the game that get the golden treatment, and in most cases, this means that the item is a universally loved item and only really serves a purpose when popped in your shipping bin. However, that is not always the case. Here is a quick list of all the golden items available in Stardew Valley:
• Golden HelmetÂ
• Golden ChickenÂ
• Golden MaskÂ
• Golden PumpkinÂ
• Golden Clock
• Golden RelicÂ
• Golden WalnutÂ
• Golden CoconutÂ
• Golden EggÂ
• Golden Tool(s)
Question: What Other Stardew Valley Festivals Have Shops?
Answer: While all events have their own charms, and you should attend each one at least once, we will admit that not all the events have unique items to offer the player. That being said, a lot of the events do, and we want to make you aware of which ones, so here is a quick list of all the events in Stardew Valley with Shops:Â
• Egg FestivalÂ
• Flower DanceÂ
• Stardew Valley FairÂ
• Spirit’s EveÂ
• The Night Market
Question: Should You Attend Events Every Year?
Answer: Honestly, once you have seen all there is to see at each event and claimed all the unique items from each, they really become much less relevant. There are some events that can offer minor benefits to the player year on year, but overall, the only events that we would urge players to regularly visit are The Night Market and The Feast of the Winter Star, and potentially the Luau, depending on your relationship statuses with the townsfolk.Â