Starfield's space exploration tends to follow a relatively simple loop. However, this can get monotonous. Therefore, Bethesda has thrown in numerous random encounters with space tourists, pirates, and derelicts to shake things up. However, one of these derelict encounters is incredibly creepy. We're talking about The Pale Lady and its creepy laughter that'll chill any space explorer.
What is The Pale Lady?
The Pale Lady is a random activity that can pop up while you're grav jumping to different planets and star systems. You'll run into a derelict vessel with very low HP. When you hail it, you'll only hear a woman's creepy and bone-chilling laughter in response and see the Activity prompt for The Pale Lady alongside the objective to board the ship.
When referring to The Pale Lady, an NPC explains in an audio log that it was a unique derelict vessel found in the void of space with its entire crew dead. However, there were no signs of foul play. The ship was then decommissioned and handed out to a new crew, which seems to have suffered the same fate.
Speculation suggests that The Pale Lady is a ghost that infects ships with a sickness that strangles the crew members and turns their skin white as chalk. The spirit picks off its victims one by one, and only the victim can hear the sinister and evil laughter. The player character can also hear this laughter when interacting with its audio logs on the ship.
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All The Pale Lady Encounters
There are actually two different The Pale Lady encounters that you can get depending on which haunted ship you find. There are two haunted ships:
- Derelict Freestar Kfir III
- Derelict UC Longsword III and Derelict UC Dagger
Depending on which ship you're unlucky enough to bump into, there are differences in the type of encounter you get. However, it's also possible to run into both of them individually. This also suggests that the curse of The Pale Lady can infect multiple ships and has spread across both the Freestar Collective and the United Colonies - a terrifying thought.
Derelict UC Longsword III
Once you board the Derelict UC Longsword III, you'll go through the ship's interior and find the entire crew dead. There are no signs of blood and violence, and the crew seems to have died on the spot, with some fallen around workbenches and others still in their seats. However, the creepiest of these is the captain, whose head is somehow lodged through a chair.
Derelict Freestar KFIR III
Unlike the UC Vessel, the Derelict Freestar KFIR III crew is alive. However, it's somehow even creepier than the UC vessel. First, the crew will be going about their daily business. However, if you walk into the captain's cockpit, he'll be lying there dead, and everyone pretends it's all normal. You'll hear the same creepy laughter once you interact with the Captain's audio log. The captain will hear the laughter and start coughing and choking to death, but the crew cannot hear it.
However, the creepiest part of this encounter is that all the Citizens on the ship only use dialogue intended for Robots in a voice that belongs to a Robot while going about their daily routine. We're not sure if this is intended or if it's just a glitch. Regardless, it's incredibly creepy and made us want to blow up the ship as soon as we got off.
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How to Find The Pale Lady?
The Pale Lady is a random event and can spawn in any Star System. It'll be under the icon of Ship, which can be frustrating as several dozen encounters fall under this category. However, it seems more likely to spawn in the Wolf Star System near the orbit of the planet Etherea. The planet is directly opposite The Den, a great place to sell contraband. Ultimately, it's a random encounter, and your chances of success here may differ.
You can re-encounter this random event if you choose not to destroy the ship. By not destroying it, you're only losing out on a bit of XP (just farm it), but maybe it's better to destroy it as you'd be doing the universe a great service.
That's all we know about The Pale Lady so far. The activity feels incomplete, as many players have expressed the desire for there to be more to this story. It also showcases how Starfield can be an excellent setting for horror events and encounters, something modders will surely take advantage of. We hope Bethesda fills out this Activity and we learn the truth behind this ship and its creepy female ghost.
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