All Alan Wake 2 Nursery Rhyme and charm locations

Oct. 27, 2023

How to solve every rhyme and find all the dolls in Alan Wake 2

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Figuring out the Alan Wake 2 nursery rhymes to get charms can be challenging as you start amassing a collection of dolls. Every rhyme puzzle is based on interpreting the narrative and themes within the rhyme and placing a few relevant dolls on various chalk drawings to match. Solve the rhyme and the world around you will change in some way, revealing a path to a charm reward for Saga to equip.However, when completing these nursery rhymes, it’s important to remember these tips:firstly, pick up the dolls when you’re done with them!The same dolls get used in multiple rhymes, so don’t leave them behind.Secondly, completing a rhyme can spawn enemies, so be prepared for a fight.Finally, don’t expect to get all the nursery rhymes on your first visit to an area- some are gated off behind locks or obstacles that you’ll only be able to deal with once you hit certain points within theAlan Wake 2story.

I and the others on the team have been combing Bright Falls, Watery and Cauldron Lake and have managed to find every doll and nursery rhyme location in Alan Wake 2, and have got all the charms from them. So, here’s everything you need to know about the Alan Wake 2 nursery rhymes, including their locations, solutions, the dolls you need, and the charms you’ll get as rewards.

Cauldron Lake nursery rhymes

Cauldron Lake nursery rhymes

The Cauldron Lake nursery rhymes are the first one’s you’ll find when you return there for the second time after the flood water recedes. You’ll get the Hammer charm to help stagger enemies, a Coffee mug charm that can save you from dying once before breaking and the Kalavala Knights charm which makes your hand flares burn brighter and longer.

This is likely the first rhyme you’ll find in Alan Wake 2 in a camping area just by the red bridgeyou can reach on your second visit to the area after the flooding has receded. There’s a Crow doll on the bench to solve it and the poem reads:

One for lightTwo for darknessThree for a FightFour for a struggleFive birds for injurySix for MiserySeven for the endingwhatever that maybe

Place the crow doll on the sun, ‘one for light’ to solve the riddle.
Saga will then turn to face the bench where you’ll find a Hammer charm that lets you stagger enemies more often.

You’ll find the Witchfinder’s Station nursery rhyme just outside the front porch, again on your second visit after the flooding recedes, The poem reads:

The Hero brave and strongleft home to right a wrongFrom the woods came theWolf so greedy and hungryThat he ate what he found inthe house without a hostThe Hero returned to findshe’d lost the thing sheloved most

Go into the house and upstairs where you’ll find the Hero and Wolf doll you need to solve by a baby’s play pen.
Place the Hero on the boat (left home) and the Wolf on the tree (the woods) to complete the puzzle.
Follow the trail back into the house where you’ll find a coffee mug charm upstairs in the play pen that will save you from death but break in the process.

The Private cabin Nursery Rhyme is another you can get on your second visit to Cauldron Lake. Pass under the fallen tree to reach it and you’ll find the rhyme on the right with this poem:

A mother-Crow sits in hernestGuarding her babies, doingher bestTo protect her home fromthe Beast coming to feastBut only a Hero brave ofheart can keep the twoapart.

To solve this poem you’ll need all three of the dolls you should have found by now: the Crow, Hero and Wolf.

You should have the Crow, Hero and Wolf dolls from the previous two rhymes so place them as above to symbolise the crow in her best, the hero’s hear and the Wolf in the home.
Pick up the dolls and look for the black ghostly trail that will head away from the cabin and back out under the tree. Follow the trail which will go to the right of the locked red supply box.
At the end of the trail you’ll find a bird house on the floor with the Kalavala Knights charm which will increase flare’s area and duration.

This one can only be accessed on your second visit andhave the bolt cutters to break the chain blocking off the Rental Cabins. Once that’s obtained, cut your way through the main gate, walk around to the back of the cabins ahead of you, and there’ll be a space under the fallen tree to squeeze under. This’ll give you access to a couple of new cabins - one of which has this rhyme written on its floor.

Our Hero courageous andtrueStalked by the Monsterhatching throughThe clever Crows caw theirwarningAnd keep an eye on thebattle formingWhen the fight is done andoverThe Hero and the CrowsReap the rewards left forher.

You’ll need three dolls to solve this one - place the Hero on the necklace/ring image, the Crow on the open eye, and the Monster doll on the hatching bird.
This done, you need to go to the cabin opposite, where a giant Taken will break out and attack. Behind him, in the cabin he came out of besides the TV, is a Coffee Mug charm. Don’t forget to pet one of theAlan Wake 2 deer headstowards the corner of the cabin too.

This one only becomes accessible when you’ve completed every other Rhyme in Alan Wake 2, which gives you the Father doll, essential to completing this little side quest. Once you have it, head back to discover to find no Nursery Rhyme, but numerous little places to put dolls all over the house, and static-laden radio giving instructions.

After completing all Nursery Rhyme, head back to the Witchfinder’s Cabin in Cauldron Lake and place the following dolls on these symbols throughout the house:

Father Doll: Eye (Main study/living room, next to radio and desk)
Hero Doll: Sun (Ground Floor bedroom)
Mother Doll: Heart (Kitchen)
Child Doll: Hatching bird (Upstairs playpen)
Trickster Doll: Waves (Upstairsen suitebathroom)

This done, interact with the radio for dialogue and the final reward - a new space on your charm bracelet!

You won’t be able to findanyof the Bright Falls nursery rhymes in Alan Wake 2 on your first visit, and will have to come back again when the Western section of the map opens up, giving you access to Valhalla and surrounding forests.

Peeling to the left and heading up the hill after crossing the bridge will help you find this first Nursery Rhyme, where there are toys littered everywhere, and a poem that says the following:

Mother, may I go outside,may I run and play?I say to you my Daughterdear, go outside and playBut only in the light of dayand only ‘round the trees sogrownNever near the lake, mychild, and never may you drown

Place the Mother Doll on the House, and the Child Doll on the Tree, representing where they play and live.
After the change, follow the black goo and scattered toys back down the path you came up to find Taken - and at the fork in the road, the Anchor charm.

This one is easy enough to find once you complete the sequence in Valhalla and get the bolt cutters to access the whole lower section of the map through the back gate of the facility. Head to the cabin and you’ll find a rhyme on the floor, spelling the following:

A child needs their Mother to keep them safeAnd a home as their hiding placeBecause outside the Monsters roam andchaseWhen they ring your doorbell, don’t yellDon’t tell them to go awayGive them treats and prayThey won’t rock your house down to theground

Place the Child Doll on the home, picture, where they’re safe, and the Monster Doll on the image of candy - despite mothers being mentioned, the Mother Doll doesn’t enter into this.
The doorbell will ring. Go to the door and follow the emerging black footprints first to the upstairs bath, and then the bedroom for a Coffee Mug Charm.

This one is very easy to spot, a set up on the beach as you approach the boatyard, with a few scattered toys and this poem in the middle.

To the beach a Child went wanderingPretty, shiny rocks she’s gatheringBut from the water a Monster roseA horrible beast with a pointy noseA flapping wing and dragging toes!But the Child was wrong, it was her Mother allalongOn a boat grabbing a towel that’s already gone

Place the Monster doll on the waves, the Child doll on the necklace/ring, and the mother doll on the boat.
This will cause one of the horrible reflected/mirror Taken to attack, but the Valhalla Nursing Home charm will appear next to the overturned rowing boat down along the beach East from the rhyme.

You can access the boatyard from either side, but either way you’ll need to have reached the point where you’ve unlocked the bolt cutters. At the larger Eastern dock, this rhyme will be set up:

Five little Monsters out on the seaCompeting to see who the winner will beThey rocked their boats to find out who floatsUntil one little monster did fallMama called out to the Sea and criedAnd the Sea she replied"On the bottom they will rot if they will notstop rocking their boats."

Place the Mother Doll on the Sea, to which she cried, and the Monster doll on the boat, for the five little monsters.
Numerous taken will spawn in the boatyard, but there’s also a reward next to the white boat on its side next to the smaller dock to the West of where you did the Rhyme.

Don’t be deceived by the nine empty spaces in the Watery nursery rhymes section of Saga’s mind place - there are only eight rhymes to find, the first slot being filled by a file you can find in an FBC safe house that simply gives a rough location of the other rhymes. We’ve found all of them, though keep in mind that you can only find the first three in the list when you first reach Watery and start progressing - rhymes 4 and onwards require you to hit a specific plot beat in Saga’s story here that causes the waters to recede, clearing the scribbled out sections of the map, and 8 requires you to have the bolt cutters found even later.

You’ll find the Shooting Range nursery rhyme when you’re heading to Coffee World for the first time. You’ll need to double back to reach it, where you’ll find this poem:

The Gentle Beast with abeautiful crownRuns through the woodswith a worried frownFrom the Hunter he fleesbetween the mighty treesTo make it out alive.

It’s not the clearest puzzle because you can find a moose and deer doll just to the right of the rhyme and could argue both have a crown. So here’s what you need to do:

Pick up the Deer and the Moose dolls you can find to the right of the rhyme.
The ‘Gentle Beast with a beautiful crown’ is the moose so place that on the tree to put in ‘the woods’.
Leave the shooting range and you’ll find a large moose statue on the path that wasn’t there before with a coffee mug charm.

You’ll find the Radio Tower nursery rhyme if you go left at the tower and follow the tables around. The rhyme says:

Three little Deers venturedto roamAnd found a nice place toeat and playOne little Deer never camehomeAnd two of the Deers criedall day.Again not the clearest puzzle because you’ll only have one deer doll at this point (assuming you already collected the dolls from the Shooting Range nursery rhyme). Here’s what you need to do:

As long as you’ve found the Shooting Range nursery rhyme previously you should have the Deer and Moose dolls. Place the Deer doll on the house for the ‘one little Deer never came home’.
Head back the way you came where you’ll be attacked by wolves you’ll need to deal with.
Once the wolves are gone you should find the body of a deer near a red supply box between the radio tower and the lamp post. It will have the Deer charm in front of it which will make it harder for enemies to stagger you when equipped.

This rhyme is at the little dead end on the cliffs to the right of the lighthouse, but make sure you go up the lighthouse door first to grab the new dolls - the mother, the trickster and the wise elder! Once you have those, check the rhyme itself to see the following:

An old Watcher of the Seabefore his demiseCursed the waters thatruined his eyesSo he played a trick on theOcean deepThe waves to fight andhavoc to wreakAnd in doing that wrong,lost his soul’s song.

Catchy, right? You’ll need the new dolls from the lighthouse steps in order to solve this one, so come back with those and do the following:

Go to the lighthouse steps and make sure you have all the dolls - especially the trickster and the wise elder. Place the wise elder on the picture of the eye, for the “old Watcher with ruined eyes”, and the trickster on the waves for “trick on the Ocean deep”.
The charm/reward is a little walk back down the hill to the North, as looking past the rhyme over the cliff you’ll see the bridge to Watery - and a wrecked boat just before it.
Follow the path back down to the bridge (fighting the Taken) and duck under the fallen log to reach the wrecked boat, which has the Lighthouse Charm now resting on rock next to it.

This one is only accessible after you complete the sequence that causes the water in Watery to recede a little, giving you free reign to new areas.Heading to the Northeast corner of Coffee World at this point allows you to reach Latte Lagoon - at the end of the little dock, you’ll find this rhyme waiting for you.

A Devil, with a prize, luredthe animals twoTo his boat all shiny andnewWho would float and whowould sink?Asked the Devil with a winkThe Moose went splash, theDeer sailed on,But which one of them was therefore gone?Clearly you want to make sure you have the Moose and Deer dolls for this one, but you’ll also need a third - the Trickster, found at the lighthouse steps mentioned above. Here’s how you use them:

Place the Trickster doll on the ring and necklace, representing the “Devil with a prize”, the Moose doll on the waves for “Moose went splash” and the Deer doll on the boat, as the “Deer sailed on”.
Once solved, take a step back and look to your right/East, to see a little paddle boat floating towards you - with a new charm resting on it for you to pick up, the “Mr. Drippy charm”,

Again, this is an area you can only reach once Watery is a bit less watery,found by heading back past the gift shop in Coffee World up the Northern path you first entered by, then heading left. The cabin has some wolves prowling around it you’ll want to deal with, and you need the Screwdriver to open the door, but the rhyme itself is behind the cabin, laid outside to study. However, before you deal with it, go into the cabin and the upstairs bedroom to find the Bear doll and Maiden doll on a side cabinet. Now you can address the rhyme itself:

A young Woman eager andsmartVentured into the woods,the beasts’ lairThe King of the Forest stoleher heartAnd together they now live,without a care.With the bear and maiden dolls in play, this one shouldn’t be too difficult, but if you need a helping hand, here’s the solution:

Place the Maiden doll on the tree to represent the “Woman in the woods”, and the Bear doll on the heart, as the “King of the Forest that stole her heart”.
There will now be black goo that leads back into the cabin - follow it upstairs to the bedroom you found the dolls in.
The FBC charm, which increases your damage done to unaware enemies, is waiting on the bed itself.
Be warned - completing the puzzle will cause Taken to spawn in the area in front of the cabin.

Another one revealed by receding water, this time you need to head to the Lighthouse Trailer Park and go to its southernmost point where it meets the lake, then along the newly-accessible pier. As you step onto the pier itself, there’ll be a Child Doll on the bench to your left, which you need to grab. Then, at the pier’s East side, you’ll find this rhyme waiting for you:

The Old Fisherman hadgreat luckHis catch at Sea wasbeyond beliefBut the Hungry Guest foundreliefIn the Fisherman’s bountifultruck.

This is a slightly more esoteric puzzle that I’m not sure makes total sense, but we do have the answer below regardless for if you need it.

The Lighthouse trailer park nursery rhyme in Watery is solved by first putting the Wise Elder doll on the waves, for the “Old Fisherman at sea”, but the “Hungry Guest” is actually the Bear doll, found back at the Ranger Cabin. Place that on the candy icon to complete the puzzle.
Now solved, there’ll be a trail of fish along the pier behind you. Follow it to land and in the little workshed on the right is the Coffee World Token charm - as well as a massive Taken with a hammer, a barely-metaphorical bear you’ll need to kill or escape.

If you head back to Watery after getting the screwdriver and unlock the cabin at the North side of town, you’ll find a little outpost of the FBCwhere they’ve been orchestrating their study of nursery rhymes in the area. More importantly, the bedroom at the end of the hut has another rhyme in that you can play with.

There once was a faithfulGirlAt home she stayed andthere she prayedFor her Lover to returnBut he collected fairmaidens just as he didTheir stolen riches andbroken hearts

Depressing, but hey - solve this and you can get your own stolen riches in the form of a charm, right? If you need a hand on that, here’s the solution:

You’ll need two dolls for this one: firstly, the Maiden doll goes on the house for the “Faithful girl at home”, and then the Trickster doll on the ring and necklace - standing for the not-so-heroic hero over his “stolen riches”.
Follow the black goo that’s appeared out of the cabin to the now-open mailbox, which will have another Coffee Mug charm inside it.

You’llneed the bolt cuttersto access this final rhyme, cutting through the lock on the final trailer in the trailer park. Inside you’ll find some hay and a comparatively short rhyme laid out at the back:

The Old Man who couldseeHad no children of his ownSo he cared for a Fawn notyet grownFor the Deer for him wasdearAnd filled his life with love

Put the Wise Elder doll on the eye to reflect the emphasis on sight, and the Deer Doll on the heart, because he loves it.
This will cause a giant cultist to spawn in the trailer with you, and two wolves outside. However, there’s now also the Deerfest charm in the trailer, at the opposite end near where the cultist appeared.

There’s a total of13 dolls in Alan Wake 2, and while they’re relatively easy to find - usually close to at least one of the Rhymes that requires them and often in groups of 2 or 3 - the combination of the close camera and constant darkness can make it easy to miss them, especially if Taken are attempting to split your skull with well-slung axes. I’ve listed all their locations below, arranged in order that they appear on Saga’s mind place board, so if there’s a space you know where to look.

As you find and solve the various Nursery Rhymes in the game you’ll start to collect various charms that act like perks. You can only have three charms on Saga’s bracelet at any one time (unless you completeallthe Rhymes, which unlocks a fourth slot) so you’ll have to pick what you think are the most useful. All the charms are unique and individual items with the exception of the coffee mug, which is destroyed when used and can be found multiple times.

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

I’m GamesRadar’s Managing Editor for guides, which means I runGamesRadar’s guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.

Baldur’s Gate 3 dev says Stalker 2’s commercial success is proof of a “seismic shift behind so much” and players are “hungry for hyper-engaging, focused experiences”

Modders are already making Stalker 2 run better and have removed the most annoying mechanic in the game

Cyberpunk 2077 dev offers temporary beta branch so that Update 2.2 doesn’t make your mods explode