Quest Blood on the ice won't start (spoiler)

[W]

No matter what I do, the quest just wont start. I've followed the instructions online (visiting and revisiting Windhelm) several times, between 7pm and 7am. I can confirm that the necessary characters are still alive. All the guards are stormcloak guards. No cutscene will be played when i enter the graveyard.

[Docsprock]

There is no 'cutscene' in the graveyard, and you do not have to be there at any particular time.

Is Susanna dead in the graveyard? Are the three witnesses there? Is the guard there?
If Susanna is NOT dead, go see her in the inn. Then go do some questing somewhere else for a week or two.

I have had the quest start on the first day of a new game, and have seen it start as late as weeks after the start.

[W]

Susanna is not dead. Susanna is in her inn. The graveyard is empty like normal. I've been doing a lot in the game for very long. Im level 50. I revisit Windhelm from time to time. Nothing happened.

By the way, I ve found the butcher notes + strange amulet + butcher journal 3. The quest hasn't started anyhow.

[tramper]

Originally posted by bieubi:

Susanna is not dead. Susanna is in her inn. The graveyard is empty like normal. I've been doing a lot in the game for very long. Im level 50. I revisit Windhelm from time to time. Nothing happened.

By the way, I ve found the butcher notes + strange amulet + butcher journal 3. The quest hasn't started anyhow.

Then how did you manage to find all those ?

What you posted isn't a spoiler either.

[W]

Originally posted by tramper:

Originally posted by bieubi:

Susanna is not dead. Susanna is in her inn. The graveyard is empty like normal. I've been doing a lot in the game for very long. Im level 50. I revisit Windhelm from time to time. Nothing happened.

By the way, I ve found the butcher notes + strange amulet + butcher journal 3. The quest hasn't started anyhow.

Then how did you manage to find all those ?

What you posted isn't a spoiler either.

I simply lockpicked the house in Windhelm and found all those items inside the house. The quest didn't start before hand. I also lockpicked the Curious house and took his Journal 3 inside the chest.

[Docsprock]

Yeah, obtaining those quest items is not a good thing. You have likely borked your save somehow. Plus, being level 50 without the quest starting is another red flag.

I do not really recommend it, but you may be better off trying to do the quest via console commands. Either that or simply ignore that particular quest until your next playthrough.

[W]

Originally posted by Docsprock:

Yeah, obtaining those quest items is not a good thing. You have likely borked your save somehow. Plus, being level 50 without the quest starting is another red flag.

I do not really recommend it, but you may be better off trying to do the quest via console commands. Either that or simply ignore that particular quest until your next playthrough.

Ty for responding.

I tried using the console to start quest as a last resource. It simply said in the console "GetInFaction >> 0.0"

[tramper]

Or you could just back up your saves and try this.

Start a new game go to Windhelm during the day, leave and do something else till 7pm +, then return, you only have to go inside the gate, then leave and come back into the city mid morning, then you should see people standing around the grave.

You will also know if the quest has started if someone says to you "my friend died".

[tramper]

There's three quests i usually do straight up.

Blood on the Ice
The man who cried wolf
Azura's Star

None have failed to start for me, show some patience and avoid using the console, that's akin to cheating.

[cfs111]

This quest is triggered by a counter that starts at the beginning of the game which will increase each time you visit the city of Windhelm or the immediate surrounding area. When it reaches four, the Blood on the Ice quest will be available, although two more conditions must be met:

You must enter Windhelm, either through the main gate, the docks gate, or by fast-traveling, between 7pm and 7am. The graveyard scene should then be triggered and the quest ready to go.
Tova Shatter-Shield and Arivanya need to be alive (see bugs section).
The easiest way to trigger the quest is to walk back and forth between Windhelm Stables and Brandy-Mug Farm two-three times, then enter Windhelm between 7pm and 7am. If the graveyard scene is not triggered by this, there's little hope you can trigger the quest at all.

NOTE: You can always check whether or not you have met the requirements for the quest to start, as the lock to Hjerim will change from a "key required"-lock to a Master-level lock when the quest becomes available.

If Tova and Arivanya are alive, the quest has not yet initiated because the counter is less than four, and you obtain a key to Hjerim, then you can trigger this quest by entering Hjerim with that key and picking up one of the Beware the Butcher! pamphlets. However, the quest will not start in the same way as outlined in the walkthrough above; you will have to figure out what to do on your own without help from Jorleif, however all of the same options will be open to you except that none of the witnesses will be present in the graveyard; you can sell Calixto the Strange Amulet, you can have Wuunferth arrested or talk to him to catch Calixto, and you will have to talk to Viola in order to continue on with the quest after picking up a pamphlet.

From: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Blood_on_the_Ice#How_to_Start_the_Quest

Possible issues with starting the quest;

Although most of the NPCs needed for the quest to initiate are marked as essential, another quest, namely the Dark Brotherhood quest Mourning Never Comes, will encourage you to kill Nilsine Shatter-Shield. Even though she is not related to this quest, her mother, Tova Shatter-Shield, will commit suicide if Nilsine is killed, and will therefore render this quest impossible to initiate.
PC Only This bug is fixed by version 1.2.1 of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch.

If Viola has died for some reason the quest may not start or will be impossible to finish.
This bug is fixed by version 1.5 of the Official Skyrim Patch.

Arivanya, the stable hand, is also needed for this quest to trigger, but is not marked as essential.
PC Only This bug is fixed by version 1.2.1 of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch.

If you capture Windhelm for the Imperials before triggering the graveyard scene, the witnesses and the corpse will still show up, but the guard may not, since the Windhelm guards have been replaced by Imperial Legion soldiers. This makes it impossible to start the quest.
This issue has been addressed by version 1.4 of the Official Skyrim Patch; note that the fix only works if you have not yet triggered the graveyard sequence when attacking Windhelm.
PC The remaining portion of this bug has been fixed by version 1.2.4 of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch.

If you begin the Dragonborn add-on's first main quest before starting this quest, then this quest may not start.

If you go to Windhelm but don't go to the crime scene, after a while it may disappear, Susanna may come back to life and the quest won't start

From: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Blood_on_the_Ice#Initiating_the_Quest

[SpeedFreak1972]

Indeed I think the quest start the 3rd or fourth time you enter Windhelm