The ghosts of Azeroth
by Allison Robert 
Mar 28th 2010 at 12:00PM
Caer Darrow
The inhabitants of Caer Darrow are my favorite ghosts, not least because you can't see them at all until you've done a bit of work on their behalf. The island seems utterly deserted barring the Sarkhoff couple...until you realize that it's not, and that there's an entire town full of people trapped on its "happiest day," going about its business, oblivious to how the world's moved on. That there's a ghostly vendor you can't otherwise talk to without a Spectral Essence is even better.
Karazhan and the surrounding zone
I'll admit; my first trip through Deadwind Pass as a level 40ish druid scared me. The first thing that greets you on your entrance to the zone from Duskwood is a corpse swinging from a tree and an Inferno-esque sign warning you to turn back. When you hit the level cap in Burning Crusade, more horrors greeted you in the southern end of the zone, between a 10-man raid full of local nobles trapped in some demon-fueled time surrounding the First War, to a cellar and village full of equally hostile ghosts. And then, of course, there was Karazhan's crypt and the superbly-creepy room of upside-down sinners. Is that still accessible?
Darrowshire
Pamela Redpath and the Battle of Darrowshire questline. 'Nuff said.
I know Cataclysm's going to change a lot of these zones, but I sincerely hope that their ghosts manage to stick around -- or that a few more spectral goodies are unearthed in the upheaval.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Zhiva Mar 28th 2010 12:07PM
Are there any other ghosts besides Uther's who can be in 2 places at the same time?
Vogie Mar 28th 2010 2:55PM
The ghost of Arthas' Childhood is all over Icecrown
busuan Mar 28th 2010 9:53PM
Think WoW (and MMORPGs) as a book. You see a character appearing on many pages. Yet you know the same character on every page (if not every sentence) may be at different time/space.
It is interesting that players feels one character appearing at multiple places at the same time. My guess is the realistic (game-wise) portrait of the WoW world gives players more impression of watching motion pictures or stage plays, rather that of reading books. Actually, I think the game design is moving toward that direction, as they introduced 'phasing' and gave in to demands such as skipping quest intros.
Zhiva Mar 28th 2010 10:06PM
Busuan... If Uther's ghost was in Frostmourne all this time, then what did appear at Uther's tomb in http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=9444 quest?
busuan Mar 28th 2010 10:26PM
It would get extremely lengthy if we get into the details of 'soul', 'spirit', 'wisp' or 'ghost', 'shade' etc. In the end, we won't get anywhere either.
If a living being can be at multiple places in the game, why can't a 'ghost'?
Jeff Mar 28th 2010 12:08PM
BOO!
Swifteye Mar 28th 2010 12:11PM
Of all the ghosts you meet in WoW (there really are a LOT of them, now that you mention it!), my favorite has always been the ghost of Morgan Ladimore that you meet after putting his daughter Sarah's ring on his grave. He doesn't have too much to say, but what he does say is quite touching, and I love his tragic story.
Maelith Mar 28th 2010 12:14PM
I also enjoyed the Morgan Ladimore questline in Duskwood....still one of mr fav zones in game!
Jenessa Mar 28th 2010 12:14PM
Yes you can still get down to the crypts! There is a video somewhere on youtube about it and I HAVE done it in 3.3 I doubt this would have changed in 3.3.3.
I went down there and took a bunch of Screenshots it was fun and so so creepy
cendrekai Mar 28th 2010 12:34PM
Yes it is still accessible, if you are lucky and know a warlock who can do it (as I was), you can have them get into the crypt. After that you can go to the gate (where both of you can see each other) and pull up a summoning port. VOILA! Access to all without having to try and do the auto unstuck.
exogenesis. Mar 28th 2010 2:01PM
I found a trick on Youtube of getting in that anyone can use (obviously I shan't repeat it here) and I went in twice a couple of months ago to get an excellent collection of screenshots. Such an amazing, and, quite frankly, stunning place, it's such a tragic disappointment that it is not offically implemented into the game, and it's still a mystery as to what it was supposed to be. Me and my friend had a bit of fun trying to work out where bosses would be placed if it had been planned as an instance.
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt125/kerilin2009/skullmountain.png
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt125/kerilin2009/upsidedownsinners.png
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt125/kerilin2009/tombs.png The sound that those crypt gates and doors make upon being opened is unlike any other door-opening noise in the game. It's so very atmospheric, and really, really, quite creepy :P
Tokkar Mar 28th 2010 5:37PM
Just went there and took a look around using WoW Map Viewer...holy crap! Yeah, I can see why they sealed it off. Teen rating? That would have been hotly disputed by the ratings board with this one, I think. Still, it seems weird that there's this whole big area (and it's HUGE) that they couldn't have just revamped and opened up instead of letting it just...sit there.
HunterFromTheStart Mar 28th 2010 8:01PM
@Tokkar
Blizzard has alot of different locations that were once something, and now are nothing. Old Ironforge is one that comes to mind instantly, apparently once accesible from the throne room of Ironforge. There were video's of it on Youtube. Then there's the portal in Stormwind, that looks like the entrance to an instance.... Once again, long abandoned. (Come to think of it, it might have gone poof with the addition of Stormwind Harbor.) I have suspicions that the airport above Ironforge might have been accessible once. There's a cave that looks like it might have had an exit from there to another location. That last is just my suspicion.
Becky Mar 28th 2010 8:31PM
I can confirm that this place is still around. After seeing this post I went to check it out.
Its scary. I agree that its the creepiest place on WoW. I can see why they closed it. o_o But .... cool to go and run around. :)
Camsom Mar 28th 2010 9:39PM
@ HunterFromTheStart
There are a lot of places that used to be accessible using a technique called "wall jumping". It used to be possible to jump forward and land on a near vertical surface without sliding down (you had to jump forward without moving once you landed) Blizz has since "fixed" this. I personally used this to access the places you mentioned and more (I actually used eyes of the beast to get into both Old IF and under SW where the portal is). It will be interesting to see how places like IF airport change with the addition of flying mounts.
Golis Mar 29th 2010 11:57AM
@hunterfromthestart... Old Ironforge is still in the game. my shammy used FarSight and after enough jiggering got to "see" through the vault and walk down the ramp. (I know... I am not supposed to go there, but I figure, I am not exploiting anything, just looking)
Absolutely fabulous scenery, but clearly they were not ready to add it to the story. As a dwarf main, I have been itching to see what is planned down there.
Triforceelf Mar 28th 2010 12:17PM
The Battle of Darrowshire is one of my favorite questlines in warcraft. Originally I did it as a guild event of about 20 level 50ish people trying to complete a then very hard event. Now I solo it on each of my characters, remembering my absolute favorite moment in vanilla that involves the redemption of an entire town.
LiaG Mar 28th 2010 5:27PM
And about Darrowshire, there's something special in CoT: Stratholme. Lore fans, stay at the inn we spawn and go upstairs ... I even dropped a tear when I recognized some npcs ;-)
Carrie Mar 28th 2010 12:19PM
Don't forget Ricole Nichie. I just got another Eye of Divinity and it's pretty funny seeing her make faces at Haris Pilton.
lawrichai Mar 28th 2010 12:20PM
Cranius did a beautiful song and video on the Darroshire questline:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dTxcHulFBI
it's worth listening to!