On the surface, Stardew Valley is a cozy farming game which allows players to build relationships with villagers and tend to their crops throughout all four seasons. However, there is a lot more to the game than meets the eye, and the world is brimming with unanswered questions and hidden plotlines. Pelican Town is far from your average village, and ConcernedApe isn't afraid to lean into the supernatural.

Since its release, fans have done their fair share of speculation and theorizing while trying to piece together the secrets of Stardew Valley. With so much left open-ended, there's an infinite number of ways players can choose to interpret certain items, character traits, or strange occurrences. Here are some of the best — and weirdest —theories that dig deeper into the possible lore of the town and its residents.

10 Stardew Valley Is Limbo

The Residents Of Pelican Town Are Actually Dead

The idea that Stardew Valley is a state of Limbo or Purgatory is an old one, but it's an absolute classic that deserves a place on this list. This theory suggests that the Stardew Valley characters are stuck in a Groundhog Day scenario where the events of their lives keep repeating without anyone but the player realizing it, or that the villagers are actually dead, stuck between the living world and the afterlife. Either the player arriving could be symbolic of their death, or they're some kind of guardian tasked to set the residents on the right path.

A popular notion to go along with this is that the player's grandfather has moved on to the afterlife or is representative of divine judgment. This could also explain the permanent absence of the farmer's parents. Another implication of this theory adds a bittersweet twist to Kent's story, as it can be inferred that his arrival in the valley and reunion with his family was actually him dying in the war.

9 Jas Is The Wizard's Daughter

The Answer To An Old Debate May Not Be The Most Obvious Candidate

Out of all the characters in Stardew Valley, the villagers most widely believed to be the Wizard's daughter are Abigail or Caroline. Abigail's mother has made some suspicious comments about her hair, and she often mentions walking by the Wizard's tower, which strongly implies she may have had a relationship with him. Some fans believe that it's actually Caroline who is his daughter, and that Abigail ended up with more of his genes.

Perhaps Abigail is too obvious of a choice, though, and if she's a red herring, there's another, more niche pick. deceased resident whose headstone can be found in the center of the town.

8 Linus Founded JojaMart

Everyone's Favorite Nature Lover Possibly Had Regrettable Beginnings

A surprising theory with an unexpected amount of credence is that Linus was involved in founding JojaMart. We know that Linus actually decided to live in a tent by choice and will decline any offer the player makes for him to live on their farm because he enjoys embracing nature and the outdoors. Despite his apparent rejection of anything material, he is still able to send the player money and notable gifts. This has led some to believe that he was once quite wealthy.

Linus can reward the player with 500g for completing his request on the special orders board.

There may be a deeper reason for Linus' decision to return to nature — guilt. If he was a founder or co-founder of JojaMart, he may have decided to become a hermit as a way to repent or protest against all the harm the company caused. There aren't any interactions between Linus and Morris that confirm or deny this, but Linus does seem convinced that the townspeople are afraid of him. Maybe this is deeper than just insecurity, and he actually was responsible for JojaMart's grip on the valley.

7 The Creatures In The Mines Were Once Human

George Mentions A Mining Accident - Perhaps They Were His Old Friends

When exploring any of the mines, players can find several pieces of evidence which vaguely allude to there once being more adventurers who met their demise. There are several undead enemies, such as skeletons and mummies, which begs the question of whether these creatures were once living.They may have once been regular miners who were killed or died accidentally — these unnamed characters could've once been George's colleagues.

"Wizard sealed us in this prison until the day a hero puts us to rest." - Plaque translation

There are plaques in the Skull Cavern with some ciphered messages, which have since been decoded by fans. The plaques on the higher levels read "we are cursed, too much iridium" while the ones on the lower levels allude to being sealed away in the caverns by a wizard. This heavily suggests that Rasmodius punished a group of miners for their greed by turning them into monsters, and the only way to save them is by putting them out of their misery.

6 Mayor Lewis Is A Fraud

Lewis Was Never Elected As Mayor

A slightly less fantastical but still pretty funny idea that was shared by Reddit 0zw1n is that Mayor Lewis was never actually elected. There seems to be a lack of government within the valley. There are no specified laws, and the most "official" building other than the Community Center is just his house. Somewhere within the timeline of Stardew Valley, Lewis declared himself as Mayor, and nobody could be bothered to object to him.

He collects taxes, but it's extremely unclear what they actually go towards. It's the player who has to fix the bus, Willy's boat, the Community Center, and more. Perhaps the residents of the valley are simply playing along with him being the mayor, even though he has no actual power. He desperately wants the approval of the governor, and this may be to validate his position as the official leader of the town.

5 Mayor Lewis Robs The Player

The Most Likely Culprit Is The Dwarf, But Mayor Lewis Is A Funnier Suspect

If the player reaches 2am without sleeping, they will out. Upon waking, they'll receive a note from one of the villagers that they witnessed someone trying to steal their money, but they managed to drag them home. This prompts the obvious question — who is robbing the player in the middle of the night? A rather common conclusion is that it might be the dwarf, since they mention taking things from the townspeople during the night.

A much funnier suspect would be Mayor Lewis. Despite talking about taxes, Lewis never directly taxes the player, so perhaps his collection methods are shadier than players realize. It could certainly add a large amount of moral ambiguity to him if the theory about him stationing himself as mayor is also true.

4 Sebastian Is Half Shadow Person

His Similarity To Krobus & Unclear Heritage Open Up A Few Questions

Sebastian's dark aesthetic could be more than just a fashion choice, instead having to do with a secret nature as half shadow person. He shares a surprising number of similarities with Krobus, with similar loved items like the void egg. Krobus is most comfortable underground and doesn't react well to sunlight, and Sebastian spends most of the time in his room, which happens to be the basement of his house, and tends to rarely come out during daylight. He feels like he doesn't fit in with his family, and having that type of heritage would be more than enough reason.

Another odd coincidence is that Krobus loves pumpkins, and Sebastian loves pumpkin soup.

This starts to make more sense when you take into that Sebastian is Demetrius' stepson. Players don't have much to work off of when it comes to determining who his second biological parent is, so it's entirely possible that this parent was a Shadow Person. If you marry Sebastian in Stardew Valley, he has a chance of gifting you certain items from the mines, including void essence, which is notably dropped by shadow creatures.

3 Mr Qi Is ConcernedApe

This Bizarre Character Is Evidently Pulling The Strings

Possibly the most mysterious character in Stardew Valley is Mr Qi. He could be a god, demon, ghost, or distorted human, but my favorite interpretation is that he is representative of ConcernedApe, or Eric Barone, himself. The two have a slight resemblance, and it certainly seems that he is controlling the player from behind the scenes. If the player accesses the summit before achieving perfection, it is Mr Qi who lectures them.

If the game is a simulation within a simulation, perhaps Pelican Town is actually a Truman Show type of situation where Mr Qi is directing everything, and the villagers are just actors.

His foreboding nature and apparent endless knowledge of the game's mechanics create the impression that he may be sentient. He challenges the player to reach level 25, which shows that he's able to acknowledge progression systems that most characters would know nothing about. It's a popular notion that Stardew Valley is a simulation created by Mr Qi, but this sounds like the perfect way ConcernedApe could have inserted himself into his game.

2 The Farmer Is A Spy

A Funny Explanation Of The Player's Creepy Mannerisms

A lot of players have pointed out that the way the farmer acts should be considered creepy. They're constantly peeking out of the bushes, and they spend their days memorizing the likes, dislikes, and routines of the surrounding villagers. A humorous theory that some have concluded from this is that the player is actually a spy. This works particularly well if they're following the JojaMart route, since the farmer may be trying to gather intel to further JojaMart's takeover of the town.

The organization the farmer is working for could be a lot bigger than something stationed in Pelican Town. There's a war going on in the background of Stardew Valley, and madeupgrownup on Reddit put forth the idea that the farmer could be working for the Gotoro Empire but brainwashed into thinking they're a regular new resident of the town. This is extremely outlandish, but it's not entirely impossible, and it could be fun to roleplay if you're getting bored with your saves.

1 Stardew Valley Is Set On Another Planet

Humans are Alien To The World But Brought Their Agriculture With Them

The world of Stardew Valley mimics our own, but there are some obvious differences. The seasons change faster, and there are several creatures like dwarves and shadow people that don't exist in our reality. Perhaps these creatures are native to the planet, and it's actually the human residents who are alien to them.

When you take into some of the peculiar happenings around the town, such as the green rain, it becomes more apparent that this world is very different from the one we know. Perhaps the war against the Gotoro Empire caused previous generations to settle in Pelican Town after their original home was destroyed. We can never truly know if any of these theories are correct, but Stardew Valley does a fantastic job of setting up open-ended mysteries for players to delve into.

Sources: MaryCool33/Reddit, 0zw1n/Reddit, madeupgrownup/Reddit