Nights of the Dead

For an alphabetic listing of articles related to this topic, see Category:Nights of the Dead.

Overview

The Nights of the Dead (NotD) is the annual live event that roughly coincides with the real-world holiday: Halloween. Like the real-world holiday, NotD celebrates all things spooky in good fun with themes focused on candy and scares.

NotD typically begins in mid-October and ends in mid-November each year. It first appeared in 2005.

To check the exact dates, log into the game and click the EQ2 button in the bottom right of your screen and choose Calendar from the list of options that opens. Keep in mind that the start date and end of (most) events is midnight PST, due to the location of the main office of Daybreak.

Check your in-game mail for the announcement and clues about where to go to enjoy this event. If you accidentally deleted the in-game mail, a copy is near the end of this page.

New This Year

This section highlights new content added most recently. Please move any info into the main article below when/if newer content is live each year.

Added in 2024

This event content is currently set to run 10/11/24 at 12:01 AM PDT through 11/04/24 at 11:59 PM PDT on the live & TLE servers.

TLE Servers

• Zarrakon, Varsoon & Kael Drakkel - The event is active, with the following exception (due to expansion availability):
  • Headless or Tails (Headless Horseman PQ)

Live Servers

• Wake the Dead has a brand-new building block recipe book and a whole new outfit as possible treats!
• Added "Nights of the Dead treats" to drop as loot from Ballads of Zimara undead and creepy crawlie beasts. It can either be sold to merchants for coin or be used in tradeskilling.
• 9 New house items and equipment sold by Lil’ Boo, a Nights of the Dead Merchant!
• 2 New costume illusions sold by Lil’ Boo, a Nights of the Dead Merchant.
• New holiday recipe book "Celebrations of the Dead XVII" available from Lil’ Boo, a Nights of the Dead Merchant.

Event Quest Hubs

The quests for this event are primarily found within the following areas:

• The larger cities of Freeport and the Qeynos Capitol District, near (or inside) the tradeskill societies and banks for both cities.
• Loping Plains - specifically within Village of Somborn, after you pick up the quest This Won't End Well... in Freeport or Qeynos.
• Nektulos Forest - in the area around the docks and beach.

The areas above are not the only places you may find quests, so keep your eyes open for unusual NPCs (Non-Player Characters) that could offer special event quests when you travel.

NotD Treats and Candy Corn

When you defeat monsters in battle while the event is live, you will loot a wide variety of candy and sweets-themed treats. These serve as both a special crafting material and they can be turned into holiday currency.

• Treats are from creatures typically associated with the real-world holiday, Halloween (skeletons, vampires, werewolves, etc.), but a wide variety of spooky critters may have candy and sweet treats too. You can get treats from creatures far below your adventure level too (a.k.a. "grey" MOBs).
• All the treats can be exchanged with the Treat Trader (described below) for Candy Corn, which is used as currency to purchase some event items and Candy Corn can still be used to craft.
• Additional candy sources:
  • Starting in 2016, picking up purple shinies for A Swinging Wake can yield either a collection item or candy.
  • Players can also compete in the races (described below) and choose candy as a prize.
  • See the Nights of the Dead Treats (Crafting Materials) page for details on the various treats you may loot and tips and tricks on getting more.

Pumpkin Bombs

Pumpkin Bombs are one of the more unusual aspects of the event. These "bombs" are charms you purchase from Haint to throw at other players. Doing so creates a mini-game that ties into collections, titles, a house item, and an extremely rare mount. See the Pumpkin Bomb page for details.

Merchants and Special NPCs

A Nights of the Dead Merchant sells numerous items in cities all over Norrath.

Grabby Gigglegibber hates Candy Corn. Find him in various cities to trade your looted NotD candy.

The Dead Ettin (illusion) costume that can be purchased with during the event.

Merchants

For locations for BOTH merchants, see the page for A Nights of the Dead merchant.

As of 2019, all starter cities (those with player housing) have two merchants.

• Lil' Boo: sells the current event's new items
• Haint: sells the prior years' items.

To prevent confusion year-to-year, a list of all available items (old and new) will remain on a single page for Nights of the Dead Merchant Items.

Merchant item examples include:

• Pumpkin Bombs - throw these at people/have them thrown at you. They are tied to several collections and an achievement. See the Pumpkin Bomb page for details.
• Extra-scary mounts, like the skeletal horse, Blightblaze Frightmare (Mount).
• A variety of spooky house items that suit the event, including tiles and windows.
• Fun appearance items and temporary "costumes" that can be used to shapeshift the appearance of your character.
• Seasonally-themed cloaks and armor that are appearance only.

Treat Traders

• Visit Grabby Gigglegibber - like the merchant selling items, this goblin is found in several cities (see locations on the NPC page) to trade all of your looted treats for Candy Corn. Grabby hates candy corn and is happy to trade with you: this allows you to save space in your bank slots, backpacks, and a guild's harvest depot.
• In 2018, Grabby has learned to count to much higher numbers. Now he will accept candy corn in increments of 1, 5, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000.

Gigglegibber Illusionists

The Sinster Robe is one of several web-themed appearance gear items that players can craft.

• If you have illusion forms enabled, you might notice some sneaky NPCs insist you get in the spirit and help them scare their friends by shapeshifting you into a variety of scary forms.
• If you want to shapeshift on purpose, seek Gigglegibber Illusionists
• You can opt in or out of seeing these illusions at any time. To do so press C to open the character window, click on the Options tab, and make sure the box to hide/show illusion from is checked or unchecked.

Recipes and Tradeskill Quests

The following no-trade recipes all sell for 60s 90c while the event is live and the items within can be crafted all year long.

• The previous year's recipes are always available and new recipes are usually added each year.
• The items within can be scribed by a level 2 Artisan, but all require Nights of the Dead Treats (Crafting Materials).
• The recipes offer a mix of spooky decor and appearance gear.

Available Recipes

• Celebrations of the Dead
• Celebrations of the Dead II
• Celebrations of the Dead III
• Celebrations of the Dead IV
• Celebrations of the Dead V
• Celebrations of the Dead VI
• Celebrations of the Dead VII
• Celebrations of the Dead VIII
• Celebrations of the Dead IX
• Celebrations of the Dead X
• Celebrations of the Dead XI
• Celebrations of the Dead XII
• Celebrations of the Dead XIII
• Celebrations of the Dead XIV
• Celebrations of the Dead XV
• Celebrations of the Dead XVI
• Celebrations of the Dead XVII

Tradeskill Quests

Trick or Treatskiller - Started by Zintris in Freeport or Zintris in Qeynos - Repeatable once per year

Adventure Quests

A group of gravestones as they appear in Freeport. The shovel for Wake the Dead may be near any of these at various times.

The Ghoulish Night Cloak is a possible reward from the This Won't End Well quest

In addition to the quest rewards, NotD quest zones have fun hidden masks and Lore & Legend books. Explore as you go or see quest pages for the locations of these clickable items.

Wake The Dead Event

While you're in any of the player cities you can claim as your character's home, look for small graveyards and a shovel (with a particle effect) on the ground nearby. Wake the Dead is a mini-event that you trigger to get some quest unlocks, a recipe for a set of Building Blocks, some quest items, as well as collectibles for a collection. See the Wake the Dead (Event) page for details. Now includes the quest From Regions Beyond.

Non Repeatable Quests

• A Nightmarish Illness begins near the docks in Nektulos Forest, finished once you may not run it again. Instead you get A Nightmarish Return by entering The Hedge Hollow.
• They won't miss it... - this quest is a one and done quest in the Haunted Mansion

Repeatable Once Per Year

Quests in Qeynos, Freeport, Kelethin, Neriak, Frostfang Sea/New Halas and Gorowyn

• Broken Mirrors – begins with the city Wake the Dead event. Grab a shovel (found next to grave stones in some graveyards or near other NotD decorations) and scare up a forlorn apparition.
• Night of the Barking Dead - added 2019
• This won't end well... - From either Skeer Deekat (good) or Freid Deekat (evil)

Quests within the Haunted Mansion

• There Will Be Ghosts - unlimited repeatable after This won't end well...

Quests in Nektulos Forest

• Headless or Tails, a Public Quest to defeat The Headless Horseman, is an Epic X2 Event - starts near The Hollow Tree ( -1451, 29, -1160 ) Copy/waypoint -1451, 29, -1160
• Survive the Night - from Setri Lur'eth
• A Dream, By Any Other Name - from Setri Lur'eth

Quests found at McQuibble's Farmhouse (in Antonica)

• Petrified Pumpkin Pies
• McQuibble's Mystery - following Petrified Pumpkin Pies
• Scary Scarecrows - following McQuibble's Mystery
• The Troubling Truth - following Scary Scarecrows

Unlimited Repeatable

At Hedge Hollow (in Nektulos Forest)

• A Nightmarish Return
• Train to Zone! - repeatable daily

At the Haunted House (in North Qeynos or West Freeport)

• The Haunting - repeatable daily

Guide Quest

• My Creepy Catalog

Overseer Quests

• Find Crinn Bryggin on the docks of Nektulos Forest for an Overseer questline:
  • Overseer Quest: Bite Club - Topi di Ombra
  • Overseer Quest: Bite Club - Night Reapers
  • Overseer Quest: Bite Club - Bonecrunchers
  • Overseer Quest: Bite Club - Sun Manes
  • Overseer Quest: Bite Club - Wards of Dawn

Races (Unlimited Repeatable)

Mask options as of 2016. Top, L to R: Nightblood, Amygdalan, Black Cat, Cursed Scarecrow; middle row: Cursed Skeleton, Goblin, Hatchet, Infernal Skeleton; bottom row: Black Mask, Noxious Scarecrow, Sinister Scarecrow, Snarling Werewolf

The Ghost Hunting races are held in two locations and have identical rewards.

• Depending on how successfully you hunt ghosts, the race rewards include a variety of holiday themed appearance gear (masks and weapons), or you can choose Candy Corn, .
• The races are one of the easiest/fastest ways to accumulate Candy Corn without combat.
• Play in either location:
  • Ghost Hunter: Commonlands - just outside of the West Freeport gate
  • Ghost Hunter: Antonica - just outside of the Qeynos Capital District gate
• Complete the quest in each location five times to earn a specific title for that location:
  • Prefix Title for Ghost Hunter: Antonica: Apparition Abolisher
  • Prefix Title for Ghost Hunter: Commonlands: Ectonuat
• The race is a bit easier in Antonica because there are fewer wandering creatures in the race area to distract racers. The race area in Commonlands includes many wandering creatures with similar coloration to some of the ghosts players must hunt.

Collections

This event has more varied collections than any other. The sections below explain what makes each a little unusual.

Starving Skeleton Bones added 2023

Spook-tacular Cookies

Facing Your Fears

Purple Shiny Collections

When you pick up purple "shinies" around the various Quest Hubs and get either a collection item or Nights of the Dead Treats (Crafting Materials).

• A Swinging Wake (added in 2016)
• Grave Memories collection pieces are looted from gifts you get while digging graves for the Wake the Dead event (added in 2018).

The Hedge Hollow Collection

The Hedge Hollow Collection is a normal collection quest, except the purple shinies are only found inside the The Hedge Hollow.

• The Hedge Hollow purple shinies have a question mark floating above them and will attack when you try to pick them up, so be prepared for battle.

The reward for completing A Swinging Wake collection.

Pumpkin Bomb Collections

The following are all tied to the Pumpkin Bombs purchased for 2 candy corn from A Nights of the Dead merchant.

The bombs are then thrown at other players. Each toss generates tiny pumpkins around the other player. You (or anyone) can pick up tiny pumpkins to get collection items. In addition to the collection items, players have a chance to get a house item or rare mount.

See the Pumpkin Bomb page for full details

• Crunchy Candied Crickets
• Deadly Remnants
• Final Arrangements
• Frightful Fabric
• Frightfully Frosted Cupcakes (added to Pumpkin Bomb in 2017)
• Ghoulish Masks
• Jack's Lantern - this is actually a single shiny from pumpkin bombs that completes the The Great Haunt collection
• Werehunter's Survival Kit

Pulping

• Ghost Hunter's Pack

The Great Haunt

The Great Haunt is a meta-collection, which simply means it's comprised of collection items given to you when complete and turn in other Nights of the Dead collections.

• In order to complete the meta-collection you also need to buy Pumpkin Bombs from A Nights of the Dead merchant to get the rare collectible (Jack's Lantern).

Achievements

• Howling [Series] - Scare others with your bloodcurdling werewolf howl! - Baying at the Moon / Crying at the Moon / Howling at the Moon
• Calcified skeleton kills [Series] - Help cleanse the land of the undead scourge by defeating calcified skeletons during Night of the Dead. - Boneafied Threat / Dead Wringer / Skeleton Crew (hidden achievements)
• Candy Crusher - Collect as many different types on candy as you can by hunting all the spooky creatures in Norrath. The collection,

A Swinging Wake, has shinies that can be either the needed collectibles or the candy needed to complete this achievement too. Traded or broker-purchased candy will not count.

• Closet Full of Skeletons - Craft a mix of Nights of the Dead bone-themed house items
• Ghost Hunter Extraordinaire - Complete the Ghost Hunter competition in both Antonica and Commonlands.
• Nights of the Dead Devotee - Complete all of the Nights of the Dead quests (replaces the quest that in previous years started with a coin received in the mail)
• Pumpkin Pulper - throw Pumpkin Bombs at people/have them thrown at you.
• Tricky Treats - Cook up a mix of Nights of the Dead decorations and treats.
• Wake the Dead - You never know what you may dig up when you attempt to wake the dead during Nights of the Dead! (hidden achievement)

Titles

The following titles are tied to achievements:

• The prefix title Gravedigger
• The prefix title Bone Daddy
• The suffix title the Gravedigger
• The suffix title The Pumpkin King
• The suffix title the Bone Rattler
• The suffix title the Bone Breaker

TLE Servers

• Unfortunately, TLE players will not be able to loot A lost necklace while in the The Hedge Hollow.

In-Game Mail

Each year players get an in-game mail announcing the event. The body of the mail may change somewhat if new quests are added. The Letter All players will receive an in-game letter:

From:Grabby Gigglegibber

Subject:Nights of the Dead!

Boo "Player Name"

New and returning stuffs to celebrate during Nights of the Dead! Buy costumes or get one of the Gigglegibber cousins to cast an illusion on you! And join us goblins and ghoulies, in your city, but go away from Deekat, Gigglegibber faker! Trap! Instead, visit our haunted house in North Qeynos or West Freeport, or hunt ghosts in Antonica and Commonlands! Help cure-heal a mysterious icky-sick man at the Nektulos Docks. Grab others to help squish the Headless Horseman in Nektulos Forest or the Scarecrow King in Antonica. And no forget to squish creepy crawlies and bump-night things for special treats. They be to craft items! Me tummy rumble for all candy-treats cept candy corn. Icky! So, you come to me with any Nights of the Dead treats and I give you candy corns. Deal? Yay!

Grabby Gigglegibber
Treat Trader

Event History and Retired Quests

Trick or Treating

The Amydgalan Mask is one of several masks rewards that were moved to the Ghost Hunter races when Trick or Treating was retired.

First introduced in 2005, this activity was a timed quest in which players ran around and hailed NPCs in Freeport or Qeynos to trick or treat. Afterwards, treats were taken to goblin; depending on which treats you had and which treats he wanted, you were awarded a choice of several NotD masks.

Trick or Treating was removed when Freeport and Qeynos were updated (2012) with improved graphics and merged to cut down on needless zoning between areas of those cities.

Night of the Dead Devotee Challenge (Changed)

In the past, players used to get an in-game mail with a coin that offered this as a quest. Players had to go to various locations to find and click on items. In order to get the titles once offered by this event, now players must simply complete all of the various NotD Achievements