You're riding through a foggy, corpse-ridden version of West Elizabeth and suddenly the screen turns a weird shade of gray. The music shifts. It’s eerie. If you played the original Red Dead Redemption back in 2010, or picked up the port on modern consoles recently, you know exactly what that means. A mythical creature is nearby. Specifically, one of the Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare horses.
These aren't your standard Kentucky Saddlers. They’re the Four Horses of the Apocalypse. War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. Rockstar Games didn't just give them cool names; they gave them infinite stamina and near-invincibility. Honestly, trying to navigate the zombie-infested frontier on a regular horse is a death sentence. You need the mythical ones. But finding them? That's where things get tricky. People always talk about "random spawns," but there is a logic to the madness if you know where to look.
Why the Four Horses of the Apocalypse Still Rule
Most modern open-world games give you a "legendary" mount that just has a slightly higher speed stat. Undead Nightmare did it differently. These horses are literal game-changers.
Take War. He’s got a flaming mane and tail. He literally sets zombies on fire just by running past them. It’s chaotic. It’s helpful when you’re swarmed in Gaptooth Ridge. Then there’s Pestilence. He’s got open sores and a green cloud of sickness surrounding him. He’s basically immortal. He can take a ridiculous amount of damage from undead bites before he even flinches.
Famine is the one people usually overlook because he’s "just fast." He’s got a swarm of locusts following him and thin, skeletal ribs showing. But his stamina is bottomless. You can gallop from Blackwater to Escalera without ever letting off the button. Finally, there’s Death. He’s the crown jewel. When Death hits a zombie, their head explodes. Instantly. It’s the most satisfying mechanic in the entire DLC.
Hunting Pestilence in the North
You’ll usually find Pestilence first. The game tends to trigger the "A Mythical Creature has appeared" notification once you spend enough time in the Tall Trees area or around the West Elizabeth snowy peaks.
Actually, finding him is a bit of a nightmare because of the trees. You’ll be squinting through the fog, looking for that green haze. My advice? Stick to the open clearings near the Manzanita Post. Don't just ride in circles. Stop. Listen. The audio cue for a mythical horse is distinct—a sort of shimmering, ethereal hum.
If you lose him, don't panic. He hasn't despawned forever. He just moved to a different "node" on the map. Just ride toward the Great Plains and come back. The RNG (random number generation) in this game is old-school, so sometimes you just have to force the map to reload by leaving the zone.
Finding War and Famine in the Desert
Once you cross the border into New Austin, keep your eyes peeled for War. He usually hangs out near Benedict Point or Tumbleweed. You can’t miss him. He looks like a bonfire moving across the desert.
The strategy for War is simple: lasso him quickly. Because he’s literally on fire, he tends to attract attention. You don't want a pack of Undead Bolters jumping you while you're trying to win the breaking-the-horse minigame.
- War: Look in the Gaptooth Ridge area.
- Famine: This one is almost always in Mexico, specifically around Las Hermanas or Tesoro Azul.
Famine is thin. He’s shadowy. In the bright sun of the Mexican desert, he can be surprisingly hard to spot compared to the glowing embers of War. Look for the locusts. If you see a cloud of bugs hovering over a horse that looks like it hasn't eaten in a decade, that's your target.
The Mystery of Death
You can’t just "find" Death early on like the others. Well, you can, but it's incredibly rare. Most players won't see Death until they’ve finished the main story of the DLC.
Once the credits roll (or you get close to the end), you’ll be given Death automatically if you haven't found him yet. But if you want him early, you have to scour the entire map. There is no "set" location for him, though I’ve had the most luck in the Marston farm area or the flats of the Great Plains.
Death is the only horse that gives you a Blood Pact automatically. For the others, you have to break them first, then complete certain challenges to get the deed so you can summon them if they die.
The Unicorn and the "Secret" Fifth Horse
A lot of people think there are only four Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare horses. They’re wrong. There’s a fifth one: The Unicorn.
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To get the Unicorn, you have to kill the Chupacabra first. That’s a whole other ordeal. Once the Chupacabra is dead, and you’ve broken all four Horses of the Apocalypse, the Unicorn will spawn in the fields of Diez Coronas.
It doesn't have a map icon. It doesn't give you a notification. You just have to find it. It has a rainbow trail and butterflies flying around it. It’s ridiculous and beautiful and completely clashes with the dark, gritty tone of the game. It’s also the fastest horse in the game, bar none.
Common Mistakes When Horse Hunting
I see people make the same mistakes constantly. First, they kill the horse by accident. If you’re using Explosive Rifle rounds near a mythical horse, you’re gonna have a bad time. Use the lasso. Only the lasso.
Second, they forget to save. If you break Pestilence and then immediately get bucked off a cliff by a zombie bear, you might lose that progress. Manually save at a graveyard or a safehouse the second that horse is yours.
Third, don't expect the "Mythical Creature" notification to stay on the screen. It pops up once. If you’re looking at your phone or sneezing, you might miss it. Watch the mini-map for a pulsing blue circle. That’s your golden ticket.
Handling the Undead Horse Mechanics
Unlike the base game where your horse has a heart (health) and a lightning bolt (stamina), these horses have slightly different UI cues.
Basically, they don't get tired. You can hold the gallop button until your thumb hurts. However, they can still die. They can fall off cliffs. They can be overwhelmed by a massive horde of undead. If your mythical horse dies before you have the "Blood Pact" (the deed), it’s gone until you find it again in the wild.
- Break the horse.
- Reach Level 4 in the Four Horses of the Apocalypse challenge.
- Receive the Blood Pacts.
Once you have the Blood Pacts, you can lose War in a fire or watch Famine fall into the San Luis River, and you can just whistle for them again. It’s the ultimate safety net.
What to Do Right Now
If you're booting up the game today, head straight to West Elizabeth. Don't bother with the missions yet. Get Pestilence or War. Having that infinite stamina early on makes the "cleansing graveyards" missions ten times faster.
Go to the Great Plains. Circle the area between Beecher's Hope and Blackwater. If the blue circle doesn't appear within ten minutes, ride down to Armadillo and back. This resets the spawn table.
Once you catch one, focus on the challenges. You need to trample zombies. Specifically, use War to trample them so they burn. It’s the fastest way to level up the rank and secure your Blood Pacts. Don't wait until the end of the game to do this—the mythical horses are tools, not just trophies. Use them to make the apocalypse your playground.