The Mask Maker in Hollow Knight is an NPC that we know almost nothing about, but he knows almost everything about us. In this Mask Maker Hollow Knight guide, we will go over everything we know about the Mask Maker and overanalyze his dialogue to try to understand his origin.
Immerse yourself in the hauntingly beautiful world of "Hollow Knight," where every step unveils secrets and challenges waiting to be conquered. With its captivating art style and intricate gameplay, embark on an epic journey filled with mystery, danger, and discovery unlike any other.
Who is the Mask Maker?
What do we know about him? He can be found in the Deepnest, and he spends his time making masks. The first thing that the Mask Maker tells us is that it’s hard to tell who is and who isn’t wearing a mask.
He himself can be seen wearing three different masks and they change each time you enter the room at random.
One of the masks unquestionably corresponds to the big mask on the right side of the room; the other ones resemble the masks worn by the members of the audience in the Colosseum of Fools.
There are also masks on the wall behind them and it is difficult to see them, but they look like the masks that the Dreamers wear.
Who wears a mask? Throughout the game, we can notice that the majority of bugs do not wear a mask.
Some examples of bugs that do appear to wear masks are the Dreamers (Herrah the Beast, Lurien the Watcher, and Monomon the Teacher), members of the Grimm Troupe, the Godseekers, and almost everyone in the Colosseum of Fools.
The Mask Maker says that his masks are a gift to a world deserving. Despite the Void-like appearance of his eyes (which can be seen after his mask falls off if you do Desolate Dive/Descending Dark in front of him in his room), he seems to have most of his sanity intact, at least currently.
- Desolate Dive is a powerful spell that you get as a reward after defeating the Soul Master in the Soul Sanctum. It first deals 15 damage when you hit the ground and then does 20 more shockwave damage. Descending Dark is an upgrade to the Desolate Dive spell and you can obtain it in the Crystalized Mound in Crystal Peak. It deals 15 damage with two shockwaves, with the first one dealing 30 damage and the second one dealing 15 damage.
- Even after performing the Desolate Dive or Descending Dark spell in front of him, he says that his face could just be another mask.
He also notes that not everyone is born with a face. For them, he will provide masks, and also for anyone who’d request. He implies that a face is needed for one to “define”, “focus”, and “exist” – meaning that a “face” might be a metaphor for a bug that is sentient.
Mask Maker and the Pale King
The bugs of Hallownest are incredibly diverse, and some bugs might not be capable of “higher thought” as some are.
To make more sense of this, I will dig deeper and say that these few lines of dialog appear to line up with what happens to the Pale King – we know that the king gave the bugs of Hallownest the freedom of thought.
It seems that the Pale King was able to achieve, in all his glory, the same effect as the Mask Maker’s masks, without making them wear masks.
In regards to providing freedom of thought to the bugs, we can assume that this is something that the Mask Maker and the Pale King have in common.
However, it does seem like the Mask Maker is entirely unrelated to the King in any way – the Mask Maker lives in Deepnest, outside of Pale King’s domain near the entrance into the Queen’s Gardens and Fungal Wastes. He has knowledge of events that happened before the Pale King’s rule.
If we try to talk to him after we acquire the King’s Brand, he will talk about the “ancient caste” that once tried and failed to rule over Hallownest.
We do not know much about this ancient civilization that existed before Hallownest, but what we do know is that they created the Arcane Eggs and Soul Totems, as well as worshipped the Void. Having knowledge about these events, it appears that the Mask Maker has been alive for a long time.
If we return to him after finding the Shade Cloak, he will inform us that the current state of the kingdom is the Pale King’s legacy. When the Pale King sealed the Radiance inside of Hollow Knight, he did it to stop the Radiance’s revenge infection from spreading throughout Hallownest.
The room he is located in appears to be an egg, similar to the Black Egg found in the Temple of the Black Egg. There are Void particles floating around the room, and Mask Maker’s eyes seem to be leaking Void. The Black Egg was made to sustain the Void beings, and it is made out of Void.
Could this mean that the egg the Mask Maker is in is also made of Void? This could explain why Void is present in his room, but that would mean he is constantly being drained by the egg or that he is a Void entity that is wearing a mask – as he is (three of them).
Other Void Beings
The Hollow Knight (The Pure Vessel)
The Hollow Knight (Pure Vessel) was once the same as you
The Collector
The Collector is a Void being and it’s made apparent as the mold used to create the Collector can be found in a secret room in the White Palace.
The Mighty Zote (Grey Price Zote)
The same as the collector, when you defeat Great Prince Zote his death animation is exploding Void.
Hornet
Hornet is an interesting Hollow Knight character as the community divides here on the topic of whether Hornet is Void or not.
Check out this guide if you want to know more about Hornet.
FAQs
Question: How do I Find the Mask Maker?
Answer: the Mask Maker lives in Deepnest, outside of Pale King’s domain near the entrance into the Queen’s Gardens and Fungal Wastes.
Question: Does Mask Maker do Anything Hollow Knight?
Answer: The Mask Maker says that his masks are a gift to a world deserving.
Question:Â How do you knock the mask maker mask on?
Answer: Despite the Void-like appearance of his eyes (which can be seen after his mask falls off if you do Desolate Dive/Descending Dark in front of him in his room), he seems to have most of his sanity intact, at least currently.
Question: What is the Point of the Mask Maker in Hollow Knight?
Answer: The Mask Maker creates masks for other creatures to become more sentient.
The Conclusion
Did he lose sanity, or is he actively choosing to stay near the Void particles?
He might have been a part of the ancient civilization that worshiped the Void, which would explain how he knows about Hallownest’s history and give us an insight into what the world looked like before the Pale King arrived. The world might have been full of Void creatures that wore masks.
Just like the Grimm Troupe and the Pale King, the Void had something to offer as well. We DO become the Lord of Shades after we rise to the top of the Pantheon of Hallownest!
The Pale King might have used the Void entities to create the Hollow Knight and even though the Hollow Knight got a face from the Pale King, the other Void entities might have gotten their faces from the Mask Maker.
Immerse yourself in the hauntingly beautiful world of "Hollow Knight," where every step unveils secrets and challenges waiting to be conquered. With its captivating art style and intricate gameplay, embark on an epic journey filled with mystery, danger, and discovery unlike any other.
The Mask Maker creates masks for other creatures to become more sentient. They probably predate Hallownest and the Pale King’s rule. Sane or not, he seems to be a lovely guy, due to his will to continue to create masks and grant faces to the bugs of Hallownest.
- Salt and Sacrifice Review - June 17, 2023
- Hollow Knight Defender’s Crest Guide - February 15, 2023
- Hollow Knight Wanderer’s Journal Guide - January 21, 2023