Hollow Knight Silksong Secrets & Hidden Areas

Uncover every secret, hidden treasure, and Easter egg in Hollow Knight Silksong. Our comprehensive 2025 guide reveals all of Pharloom's best-kept secrets, from hidden boss fights to secret ending requirements.

100+ Hidden Secrets
25+ Secret Areas
Updated October 2025

Major Hidden Areas

πŸ•ΈοΈ

Hidden Silk Chamber

Deep Docks - Behind Waterfall

Easy

A concealed chamber accessible through a hidden passage behind the main waterfall in Deep Docks. Contains valuable silk upgrade materials.

Requirements:

  • β€’Swift Step ability
  • β€’Basic platforming skills

Rewards:

  • β€’Silk Thread x3
  • β€’Ancient Rosary Fragment

How to Find:

From the main Deep Docks area, use Swift Step to reach the platform behind the large waterfall. Look for a subtle crack in the wall that can be broken with your needle.

🌺

Moss Mother's Secret Garden

Moss Grotto - Upper Canopy

Medium

A beautiful hidden garden that appears only after defeating the Moss Mother boss. Contains unique flora and valuable upgrades.

Requirements:

  • β€’Defeat Moss Mother
  • β€’Vertical movement ability

Rewards:

  • β€’Health upgrade
  • β€’Rare plant essence

How to Find:

After defeating Moss Mother, return to the boss arena. New vines will have grown, allowing access to the upper canopy area previously blocked.

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The Forgotten Bell Tower

Greymoor - Eastern Edge

Hard

A mysterious bell tower that holds ancient secrets about Pharloom's history. Requires advanced movement skills to reach.

Requirements:

  • β€’Advanced silk techniques
  • β€’Key from Coral Guardian

Rewards:

  • β€’Ancient Bell Tool
  • β€’Lore documents

How to Find:

From Greymoor's main area, head east until you reach the cliff edge. Use advanced silk techniques to swing across the chasm to the isolated tower.

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Crystal Cavern Depths

Coral Forest - Underwater Section

Expert

Deep underwater caverns filled with luminescent crystals. Home to unique enemies and contains items required for the secret ending.

Requirements:

  • β€’Underwater breathing
  • β€’Crystal resonance tool
  • β€’Defeat 3 crystal enemies

Rewards:

  • β€’Crystal Heart upgrade
  • β€’Secret ending key item

How to Find:

In the deepest part of Coral Forest's underwater section, locate three crystal formations that emit different tones. Activate them in the correct sequence to reveal the entrance.

Collectibles & Upgrades

Silk Threads

47 Total

Essential for upgrading Hornet's abilities

Locations: Found throughout all major areas

Tips: Often hidden in hard-to-reach places or behind breakable walls

Ancient Rosaries

12 Total

Rare artifacts that unlock special abilities

Locations: Usually in secret areas or boss reward chambers

Tips: Some require specific quest completions to access

Lore Tablets

28 Total

Provide insight into Pharloom's history and lore

Locations: Hidden throughout the world, often in storytelling locations

Tips: Reading all tablets unlocks additional dialogue and story elements

Health Shards

16 Total

Combine 4 shards to create 1 full health upgrade

Locations: Both obvious and secret locations across Pharloom

Tips: Some are rewards for completing optional challenges

πŸ† Expert-Level Secrets

The Developer Room

A hidden area containing references to the development team and Easter eggs from the original Hollow Knight.

Hint:

Found by performing a specific sequence of inputs in the final area

Reward:

Developer commentary and exclusive artwork

Secret Ending Requirements

Unlock the hidden fifth ending by collecting all Crystal Heart fragments and solving the Ancient Bell puzzle.

Hint:

Requires 100% exploration completion and solving environmental puzzles

Reward:

Unique ending cutscene and exclusive achievement

Hidden Boss: The Shade Weaver

An optional super boss that only appears under specific conditions and represents the ultimate combat challenge.

Hint:

Appears after collecting all Ancient Rosaries and completing the Bell Tower sequence

Reward:

Ultimate silk ability and bragging rights

Recommended Secret Discovery Order

Optimal secret discovery route planned according to natural game progression, maximizing exploration efficiency and avoiding redundant backtracking.

1

Early Game (Act 1) - Deep Docks & Moss Grotto

In this phase, prioritize exploring Hidden Silk Chamber (behind Deep Docks waterfall) to acquire early Silk Thread upgrades. After defeating Moss Mother, immediately return to the boss arena to access Secret Garden for health upgrades. These secrets don't require advanced abilities and are beginner-friendly targets. In the Deep Docks area, carefully inspect all suspicious walls - there are at least 3-4 hidden passages containing Health Shards or Lore Tablets.

Key Tip:

Immediately return to previously unreachable high platforms after obtaining Swift Step - you'll typically discover 2-3 hidden Silk Thread collection points. Mark all areas you see but can't reach yet, then come back to explore when you acquire new abilities.

2

Mid Game (Act 2) - Greymoor & Coral Forest

Once Greymoor opens, Forgotten Bell Tower should be your priority target - it requires the key obtained from Coral Guardian, but the rewarded Ancient Bell Tool is crucial for subsequent exploration. In Coral Forest's underwater areas, don't rush the main story - take time to explore every branch path. The entrance to Crystal Cavern Depths is well-hidden, requiring activation of three crystal resonance points (green, blue, purple sequence). You should be able to collect approximately 60-70% of Silk Threads and half of Ancient Rosaries in this phase.

Key Tip:

Coral Forest Lore Tablets contain clues to the Crystal Cavern puzzle. Ensure you've read all relevant lore before attempting to solve it, otherwise you may waste significant time on trial and error.

3

Late Game (Act 3+) - Complete Collection & Secret Boss

By Act 3 and beyond, you should possess all major movement abilities - it's time to systematically clear any missed secrets. Prioritize collecting all 12 Ancient Rosaries as they are the prerequisite for unlocking Hidden Boss: The Shade Weaver. The Developer Room unlock requires executing a specific input sequence in the final area (up up down down left right left right BA), but only works after collecting 90%+ of collectibles. Crystal Heart fragments are scattered across various hidden areas and require systematic collection with a complete map and checklist.

Key Tip:

Before challenging the final boss, ensure you've completed all desired secret exploration - some endings lock access to certain areas. Use our Interactive Map tool to mark all discovered secrets, ensuring nothing is missed.

100% Collection Route Planning

Systematic route for complete collection of all 103 collectibles, including optimized regional access order and required ability prerequisites.

Complete Collectible Checklist (103 Total)

Essential Collectibles (Progression-Affecting)

  • βœ“Silk Threads (47) - Core ability upgrades, minimum 35 required to unlock all key movement skills
  • βœ“Ancient Rosaries (12) - Collect all to unlock Shade Weaver Boss and secret ending route
  • βœ“Health Shards (16) - 4 combine into 1 full health, recommend collecting at least 12 (3 health)

Optional Collectibles (Completion)

  • βœ“Lore Tablets (28) - Affects NPC dialogue and story understanding, no impact on combat progression
  • βœ“Total Collectibles - 47 + 12 + 16 + 28 = 103 items for 100% completion achievement

Optimal Area Sweep Order

After completing main story progression to Act 3, systematically clean up missed collectibles in each area following this order, based on shortcut connections between areas to minimize backtracking time:

1.

Deep Docks β†’ Moss Grotto Connection Route

Start from Deep Docks Bell, clean up all elevated platform areas (requires advanced jumping), then enter Moss Grotto upper level via western passage to collect previously unreachable Silk Threads (approximately 6-8).

2.

Greymoor Complete Sweep

Greymoor is the most complex area, divided into three sub-regions: East, West, and Underground. Use Bell Tower as central point, scanning in all three directions. Focus on checking all fake walls and breakable floors (approximately 10-12 collectibles).

3.

Coral Forest Deep Underwater Exploration

This is the area where collectibles are most easily missed. Equip complete underwater breathing gear and systematically explore every underwater cave. Crystal Cavern Depths requires separate planning for 30-45 minutes of exploration (contains 15+ rare items).

4.

Late Game Areas & Hidden Maps

Areas opening after Act 3 (Bonebottom, Radiant Archives, etc.) contain remaining Ancient Rosaries and final Lore Tablets. These areas are relatively linear but feature high enemy strength - recommend equipping optimal combat build.

100% Completion Checklist

Use this checklist for final verification before claiming 100% completion:

All Bosses Defeated (including Shade Weaver)
47/47 Silk Threads Collected
12/12 Ancient Rosaries Collected
16/16 Health Shards Collected
28/28 Lore Tablets Read
All Hidden Areas Discovered (25+ areas)
Map Completion 100% (all rooms)
All Endings Unlocked (including secret ending)