Chasing the animated Crimson Crawler camo in Warzone but the game never tells you how to get it? You're not alone — the Haunted Hollow Easter egg is a hidden map ritual, not a challenge in your menu, and the in-game UI gives you nothing. This guide walks the full Eldritch Gateway solve step by step: where the sword spawns, how to reach the Floating Ruins, and exactly what to do at the podium to walk away with the animated camo.
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Quick Answer
To unlock the animated Crimson Crawler camo on Haunted Hollow in Black Ops 7 Warzone Season 6 (The Haunting): find the glowing Sword (it spawns in one of three fixed spots), carry it to the Floating Ruins via a Jump Pad, place it on the Podium, then kill zombies around the podium to charge the Eldritch Gateway. When the gateway fully charges, the Crimson Crawler animated camo is yours account-wide. It's a map-exclusive Easter egg tied to the Season 6 "Haunting" takeover of the Haven's Hollow Resurgence map — there is no challenge tracker for it, so you have to know the route.
Key takeaways
- The sword can spawn in three places: top of the Mansion light beam, in the Furnace at Lumbermill, or on the Slot Machine in the Riverboat.
- Deliver it to the Floating Ruins → Podium, then charge the Eldritch Gateway by eliminating zombies.
- Reward = the animated "Crimson Crawler" weapon camo, unlocked for your whole account.
- Season 6 (The Haunting) launched September 17, 2026, 9AM PT on all platforms and is the final major Black Ops 7 season before Modern Warfare 4.
- You can do this on any Haunted Hollow playlist (the Resurgence map / Operation Grave Rot / Giant Infected LTM) — you don't need to win the match, just finish the ritual.
What Is the Haunted Hollow Easter Egg?
Every year Call of Duty runs The Haunting, its Halloween event, and Season 6 of Black Ops 7 and Warzone is the 2026 edition. This year the event takes over Haven's Hollow, the small-town Resurgence map, and rebrands it as Haunted Hollow for the season.
Per Activision's official Season 06 intel, the map is now crawling with occult activity: "Cosmic tentacles dominate the skyline, heralding the arrival of unknown eldritch horrors, while evidence of occult activity plagues the darkened landscape." Familiar landmarks are twisted — the Mansion has a gravity vortex in its foyer, the Lumbermill is on fire, and the drained Pond exposes eldritch sigils. The official blog even teases "dark whispers of an ancient ritual on the brink of completion."
That ritual is the Easter egg. Completing it charges the Eldritch Gateway and rewards the animated Crimson Crawler camo — a full weapon skin, not a sticker or charm. Because there is no in-menu challenge guiding you, most players stumble past the sword without realizing it's a quest item. That's exactly why the top Reddit threads right now are literally titled "How can I unlock this camo?" and "Havens Hollow camo EE question."
How to Unlock the Crimson Crawler Camo (Step by Step)
Here's the complete ritual. You can start it in any playlist that runs on Haunted Hollow.
Step 1 — Find the Sword
The glowing Sword is the quest item. It spawns in one of three fixed locations per match (not all three at once — check each until you find it):
| Sword spawn | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Mansion — Light Beam | At the top of the light beam inside the Mansion. Ride the gravity vortex / verticality up to the beam and grab it. |
| Lumbermill — Furnace | Inside the Furnace at the burning Lumbermill. |
| Riverboat — Slot Machine | On the Slot Machine aboard the Riverboat. |
Pick it up and it becomes a carried item — you'll move a little slower, so plan your route and watch for other squads.
Step 2 — Reach the Floating Ruins
With the Sword in hand, head to the Floating Ruins — the elevated eldritch structure that appeared with the map takeover. You reach it using a Jump Pad, which launches you up to the platform. Don't try to path there on foot; the Ruins are only accessible via the pad.
Step 3 — Place the Sword on the Podium
At the top of the Floating Ruins there is a Podium. Interact with it to place the Sword. This arms the ritual and spawns the charging phase.
Step 4 — Charge the Eldritch Gateway
Once the Sword is on the Podium, zombies begin spawning around the Floating Ruins. Eliminate them — each kill feeds the Eldritch Gateway charge meter. Keep clearing the horde until the gateway is fully charged.
When the charge completes, the ritual resolves and the Crimson Crawler animated camo unlocks. It's applied to your account, so it's available on every weapon in your loadout going forward — you don't have to re-do the Easter egg on future matches.
Step 5 — Survive (or Don't Worry About It)
You don't need to win the game or extract to keep the camo — the unlock triggers the moment the gateway charges. That said, the Floating Ruins are a hot spot once the zombies start, and other squads can hear the commotion, so bring a teammate to watch your back while you clear the horde. If you get wiped mid-charge, the progress is per-attempt: you'll need to restart the ritual from the sword in your next match.
Where the Sword Spawns (Map Locations)
Because the Easter egg has no tracker, knowing all three sword spots up front saves you an entire match of searching. The three spawns are spread across the map's headline landmarks:
- The Mansion — the building with the gravity vortex in the foyer. The sword sits at the top of the light beam, so use the vortex/verticality to get high.
- The Lumbermill — now on fire for the event. Check the Furnace.
- The Riverboat — the entangled boat by the water. The sword can rest on the Slot Machine inside.
Ping each landmark early. Whoever lands first and secures the sword controls the ritual, so if you're specifically hunting the camo, drop on one of these three and rotate.
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Should You Grind Camos the Hard Way or Skip Ahead?
The Crimson Crawler is a fun free unlock, but it's a single map camo. The real Season 6 grind is the mastery-camo chase across the Battle Pass weapons (the TR51 Para, VMP, Arcblade, and Roc 20mm) plus the four-mode camo ladders. That's dozens of hours of challenge completion per weapon — and Season 6 is the last full BO7 season before Modern Warfare 4 resets everything, so time is short.
If you want the animated mastery camos flexed before MW4 lands, but you don't have the hours to grind every challenge, that's exactly what our camo service exists for:
Want the mastery camos done before Modern Warfare 4? Skip the grind and let pro players finish the hardest tiers for you:
- CoD Camo Unlocks (BO7) — mastery camos unlocked fast and secure, so your loadout looks finished before the season ends.
- CoD Account & Weapon Leveling — max weapons and account level so you're ready for the camo challenges from day one.
- All Call of Duty services — bot lobbies, ranked, calling cards and more across BO7 and Warzone.
Tips to Solve It Faster
- Split the sword hunt. In a duo/trio, have each player check a different spawn (Mansion / Lumbermill / Riverboat) so you lock the sword within the first minute.
- Keep the Jump Pad in mind. The Floating Ruins are pad-only. If you can't find the pad near the Ruins, look for the launch point at the base of the structure.
- Clear zombies efficiently. The charge is kill-fed, so an SMG or high-fire-rate AR clears the horde faster than a sniper. Don't waste the charge window fighting other players unless forced.
- Do it early. Fewer squads have rotated in the opening minutes, giving you a cleaner run at the podium before the map contracts.
FAQ
How do you unlock the Crimson Crawler camo in Warzone? Find the glowing Sword on Haunted Hollow (it spawns at the top of the Mansion light beam, in the Lumbermill Furnace, or on the Riverboat Slot Machine), take it to the Floating Ruins using a Jump Pad, place it on the Podium, then kill zombies to charge the Eldritch Gateway. When the gateway fully charges, the animated camo unlocks for your account.
Where does the sword spawn on Haunted Hollow? In one of three fixed spots per match: the top of the Mansion light beam, the Furnace at Lumbermill, or the Slot Machine in the Riverboat. Only one location has it each game, so check all three.
Do I have to win the match to keep the Crimson Crawler camo? No. The camo unlocks the instant the Eldritch Gateway finishes charging. You don't need to win or extract — but if you're eliminated before the gateway fully charges, you'll have to restart the ritual in your next match.
Is the Haunted Hollow Easter egg a challenge I can track in the menu? No — that's why it's confusing. There is no in-game challenge tracker for it. It's a hidden map ritual, so you have to complete the sword-to-podium steps manually.
What map is Haunted Hollow? It's the Season 6 (The Haunting) event version of the Haven's Hollow Resurgence map, reskinned with cosmic-horror and Halloween theming for the 2026 Haunting event.
When does Season 6 (The Haunting) end? Season 6 launched September 17, 2026, and is the final major Black Ops 7 season before Modern Warfare 4 arrives on October 23, 2026. Event content like the Haunted Hollow Easter egg is tied to this window, so unlock the camo while the map is live.
