Hollow Knight's Grimm Troupe Lore Explained... Again

I
first talked about the Grimm Troupe 3 years

ago back in 2017.

But anyone who has followed this channel for
a while knows that I have been on quite the

character arc.

Back in 2017, I was but an ignorant fool.

But now I’m older, wiser, I’ve read Judith
Butler.

Twice.

All of these things have obviously helped
me better appreciate Hollow Knight lore.

With that being said, I think it’s time
to check back in on the Grimm Troupe and see

what new lore we can uncover.

When the Grimm Troupe content pack first dropped,
I was a little annoyed at how it seemed like

Team Cherry was just throwing new characters
at us without really expanding on the characters

who were already there.

But looking back, the Grimm Troupe does more
for Hollow Knight worldbuilding than I realized.

For example, we now have a new Higher Being
to examine.

The lore of the Grimm Troupe all starts with
an entity known as the Nightmare Heart.

Seer gives us a very cryptic bit of dialogue
regarding the Nightmare Heart.

And of course, she has to do it in poetry
form.

The expanse of dream in past was split,
One realm now must stay apart,

Darkest reaches, beating red,
Terror of sleep.

The Nightmare's Heart.

Let’s take this bit by bit.

We know that there is a dream realm in the
world of Hollow Knight.

It’s where the Radiance is.

It’s where the Pale King’s corpse is.

And even the Lifeblood creature appears to
inhabit some kind of dream realm, given the

appearance of dream catcher particles in this
room.

It’s not really clear if these are all different
Dream Realms, or branches off of one big Dream

Realm.

The Dream Realm where the Dreamers and Radiance
are look very different from the Pale King’s

which also looks very different from Bretta’s
dream.

If there is a distinction between these areas,
it’s vague.

However, we do know there is one special,
very different realm called the Nightmare

Realm which was completely split off from
the main Dream Realm.

While regular dreams are made up of Essence,
the Nightmare Realm is made up of a different

type of burning Essence, which Grimm describes
as the “flame in dream”.

For simplicity's sake, I’ll call this different
Essence Nightmare Essence.

But what exactly caused this split?

These kinds of splits are common in creation
stories.

Like how Zeus, Poseidon and Hades split up
the heavens, seas and underworld.

Or how the world of Dark Souls went from a
grey, unchanging world, to one divided up

by Lords.

Even our own scientific understanding of the
universe starts with a theory that three of

the fundamental forces of the universe were
unified, but eventually split apart from one

another.

So lazy writing like this is kinda just how
creation stories go.

But that doesn’t really help us answer why
the Nightmare Realm has to stay apart from

the Dream Realm.

A pretty common theory is that the Radiance
somehow caused this separation.

But there really isn’t any evidence for
this.

Maybe if Grimm actually commented once on
the Radiance.

But he really doesn’t seem to give two shits
about any of that unfortunately.

So whether this split was natural or caused
by the action of some higher being, chances

are we’ll never know.

Anyway it seems like the Nightmare Heart is
the main Higher Being who resides in this

Nightmare Realm, and its design stands in
stark contrast to the other Higher Beings

we see in Hallownest.

We’ve got a moth, a worm, a plant, a slug,
and a giant heart made of patchwork with dozens

of eyes on it.

At the very core of it, the Nightmare Heart
appears to be made of Nightmare Essence, similar

to how the Radiance is composed of a light
similar to Essence.

And while the Nightmare Heart may seem different
from other higher beings on the surface, it

does have one thing in common with them.

It really likes to mess around with regular
bugs, pulling them into its service.

In order to survive, the Nightmare Heart needs
to conduct a ritual involving the Grimm Troupe

so that it can feed off the flames of ruined
civilizations.

Basically, ancient, abandoned kingdoms like
Hallownest or Disney Land are a goldmine for

Nightmare Essence, so the main way the Nightmare
Heart feeds is by using the Troupe to find

these kingdoms and harvest the Essence for
itself.

And this ritual happens over and over as an
endless cycle the Heart uses to cheat death.

Of course, finding kingdoms is the first step
in this process, which brings us to this corpse

in the Howling Cliffs.

This bug is wearing a makeshift mask that
has a similar design to the masks other Grimm

Troupe members wear.

Dream nailing this bug brings a device called
the Nightmare Lantern into the physical world.

This lantern seems to act as a sort of anchor
for the Grimm Troupe, and lighting it is what

causes the Grimm Troupe to arrive in Hallownest.

If we dream nail the corpse again, it says
“Master... my role.... apart from you...

apart from kin.

It pains me so.”

God, what a simp.

This bug apparently has some kind of job that
involved it leaving the Troupe and traveling

to Hallownest.

So it seems like the Grimm Troupe actually
designates certain bugs to travel to different

kingdoms.

Once they get there… well…

I’m not sure.

Do they just die once they reach a kingdom?

Or did this particular bug die before it could
set up the lantern?

We have to dream nail the lantern out of it.

Maybe this is a litmus test for anyone who
would help the Grimm Troupe, requiring them

to have some access to the Dream Realm.

Otherwise they probably wouldn’t be able
to interact with any of the Grimmkin in the

first place.

Now we don’t know if these bugs are just
sent off in a random direction, or if they

know how to reach these kingdoms.

The Godseeker and Quirrel mention that the
winds carry them to Hallownest.

Which is odd.

How the hell is the wind blowing towards one
specific spot?

Oddly enough, the Pale King does have some
other weird connections to wind.

The Monarch Wings and the King’s Brand also
blow wind throughout Hallownest for some reason.

But Wind Lore in Hollow Knight is a whole
other can of worms we’ll have to save for

later.

Anyway, the Godseeker also detected the Pale
King’s afterglow while traveling to Hallownest,

but I personally don’t think the Grimm Troupe
bug could have done that, considering it doesn’t

appear to have a Godtuner device like the
Godseekers.

Instead, I’m guessing a large amount of
these bugs just wander around aimlessly until

they can find civilizations that could be
harvested for their Nightmare Essence.

So the Grimm Troupe emphasizes just how barren
the world of Hallownest really is.

The Nightmare King’s Dream Nail dialogue
in Godhome hints at this with the line “Scattered

lands…

Nightmare binds all.”

This implies that the Grimm Troupe uses the
Nightmare Realm as a way to reach different

kingdoms, which is what we see when we light
the Nightmare Lantern.

I don’t think it would be a stretch to say
that the Grimm Troupe is well traveled.

And as it turns out, the Grimm Troupe might
give us our best look into what the world

outside Hallownest really looks like.

Hidden within the Grimm Troupe’s tent is
a secret room that can only be accessed through

some tricky wall jumps.

In this room we can see some chests, a pile
of masks and this strange contraption.

Now there are a few theories as to what this
might be.

At the very least, we know it’s important
because there is a seal protecting it.

One idea is that it is some kind of device
that can move the tent between the real world

and the Nightmare Realm.

Or it could somehow be related to Grimm’s
performance with all the spotlights and other

stuff.

But if we look at the ingame art files, the
assets for this device refer to it as a “chart”.

So I think this device is actually supposed
to be a map of some kind.

Now of course, an art file name is by no means
canon, but our only option here is to speculate

anyway, so let’s just have some fun with
this.

But bear in mind this is by no means conclusive.

So is this thing a chart of the real world
or of the Nightmare Realm or what?

Unfortunately, none of that is clear.

But these balls are possibly points of interest
for the Grimm Troupe, so these might be the

various locations they have traveled to over
the years.

Sort of like web addresses that point to specific
domains on the internet.

Like twitter.com/mossbag69, or discord.gg/mossbag
or mossbag.com.

And I’m sure you’ve already noticed that
there are 19 of these ball things.

So does that mean there are at least 18 other
civilizations that the Grimm Troupe has visited?

What other crazy world could be out there?

Water World?

Moon World?

New Jersey?

However, if this really is supposed to be
a chart of where the Grimm Troupe has been,

it’s really weird looking.

Why does the world of Hollow Knight vaguely
look like a cock and balls?

It honestly looks more like some kind of planetary
model as opposed to a topographical map.

Which might make sense.

These kingdoms could all be deep underground.

We aren’t even sure if Hallownest is on
the surface.

It appears to be, but we can’t see any stars
or direct evidence of such.

Maybe the Land of Storms is on the surface
considering there is rain and thunder, but

maybe these weather patterns were created
by the gods of thunder and rain that were

once there already.

So a three dimensional map like this could
make sense in this world.

It’s not like they would have a map on a
piece of paper or a globe or something.

And it’s not that big of a stretch to assume
that the Grimm Troupe would have some kind

of map to help them navigate around.

And if this is actually a chart of the Nightmare
Realm then it doesn’t really have to look

like anything to be believable.

But at the end of the day, there really isn’t
much to go off of here, so for now, the definitive

answer to what this thing is eludes us.

Getting back to the Nightmare Lantern, whoever
lights this thing gets entwined into a contract

with the Grimm Troupe, all without so much
as a terms and conditions.

The Grimm Troupe is summoned to Dirtmouth
where they set up their tent and prepare Hallownest

to be harvested of its Nightmare Essence.

The Grimm Troupe of course has a troupe master,
known as Troupe Master Grimm.

Grimm has a unique aesthetic, which has made
him pretty popular in the Hollow Knight fandom.

He looks like a Gen 7 Starter Pokemon.

Like can he even be considered a bug of any
kind?

I’ve heard some people say that he’s supposed
to be a vampire moth.

Looks absolutely nothing like that to me.

Might as well say he’s a Caterpillar MD6250
Rotary Drill.

No, Grimm and his troupe appear to be a hodgepodge
of horror tropes.

Regardless of what kind of bug Grimm may be,
he definitely draws from Dracula.

He’s got the long flowing cape, he can explode
into smaller winged creatures, and his moveset

seems to borrow quite a lot of concepts from
the Castlevania Dracula fights.

And you’ve got the whole creepy traveling
circus thing.

Although, it’s not a very good circus.

They just set up a tent and then expect the
visitors to perform.

Kinda the opposite of how that’s supposed
to work, I think.

When the Knight first talks to Grimm, he gives
it the rundown on what the Troupe is doing.

Well, he gives a very brief, very vague explanation.

He gives the Knight the Grimmchild charm and
tells it to seek out the Grimmkin, who have

been collecting Nightmare Essence throughout
Hallownest.

Using the Grimmchild, the Knight will be able
to find Grimmkin, kick their asses, and store

the Essence inside the Grimmchild.

Once returned, the Grimmchild then evolves
into its second of four different forms, implying

that the Grimmchild might have fed off these
flames to become stronger.

But it’s not just the flames of Hallownest’s
Nightmare Essence that the Grimmchild feeds

off of.

According to Grimm, it can also feed off the
heat of a passionate dance, or in other words,

the Grimm boss fight.

There is also one other way the Grimmchild
can feed: by consuming the Nightmare King

himself.

Yes, like most things in Hollow Knight, it
all comes back to vore.

The Nightmare King can be fought after collecting
three sets of flames from the Grimmkin scattered

all throughout Hallownest.

Once this is done, Grimm can be found sleeping
in the far side of the tent.

Dream nailing Grimm takes the Knight to the
Nightmare Realm.

There we can find the Nightmare Heart, surrounded
by Grimmkin Nightmares.

We then see the Nightmare Heart suffer from
a pretty severe myocardial rupture as the

Nightmare King emerges from inside.

The Nightmare King is basically just a much
faster version of the Troupe Master Grimm,

but with more flame on his attacks.

According to more poetry, the Troupe wants
to burn away the Nightmare King and feed it

to the Grimmchild.

Once this is accomplished, the Grimmchild’s
eyes will burn brightly with the flame of

the Nightmare Heart.

And everyone involved with the Grimm Troupe
will disappear.

Well, almost everyone, but we’ll get to
that.

So basically, we dream nailed into Grimm,
found the Nightmare Heart, killed the Nightmare

King inside it, and then that got fed to Grimm
Jr. Grimm was a vessel for the Nightmare Heart,

and now the heart has been transferred over
into a fresh, new vessel, the Grimmchild.

From here, we can assume that the Grimmchild
will grow into the new Grimm, and start his

own troupe, and move away and never call home
again.

Now that’s cool and all but it raises some
interesting questions.

What is the rest of the Grimm Troupe doing
now?

Do they just sit around and wait for the grown
up Grimmchild to show up?

Also, if this little guy is the new Grimm,
what happens if we take him into the Temple

of the Black Egg.

Will Grimm be trapped with us in there forever?

Does he get completely destroyed in the Dream
No More ending?

And then of course we have the Embrace the
Void ending.

Does Grimm just get completely consumed by
the Shade Lord, lost forever in a sea of void?

The point is, the Knight is probably the last
creature Grimm would want to be stuck with

in charm form.

Cuz there really aren’t any endings that
go well for the Knight’s physical body.

But of course, there is more to the Grimm
Troupe than just Grimm himself.

We also have the Grimmkin, as well as characters
like Brumm and Divine.

We get the best insight into Grimm’s entourage
from Confessor Jiji.

Perhaps you suspect that they hide their true
appearance?

You'd be right.

They favour projection over truth, shrouding
themselves in forms dreamed.

Best be careful.

Assisting them might benefit you, but who
knows what suffering it may cause?

Digging into this dialogue, we can see two
different types of Grimm Troupe members.

You’ve got the Grimmkin who appear to be
more like ghosts.

They can teleport around and even show up
in the Nightmare Realm.

Then you’ve got bugs like Brumm, Divine,
and the Grimmsteeds who appear to be like

normal bugs.

And I’m using the phrase “normal bugs”
loosely.

The one thing all these characters have in
common are the masks they wear.

Even the bug outside the kingdom is wearing
a Grimm Troupe mask, although this one looks

more like a third rate cosplay than an actual
Grimm Troupe wardrobe.

Now I have talked about masks a lot on this
channel.

My Mask Maker video, my King’s Pass Video,
Godmaster, Colosseum of Fools, even my review

of The Mask starring Jim Carrey mentions them.

But that’s no surprise.

Masks are very mysterious and important to
the world of Hollow Knight.

But Jiji doesn’t actually mention the masks
outright.

Instead she says that the Grimm Troupe prefers
projection and to hide themselves in forms

dreamed.

This could be referring to how Grimmkin are
literally dream creatures.

They come in three forms: Novices, Masters,
and Nightmares.

It seems that as they become more devoted
to Grimm, they become more nightmare-like

in their appearance.

But from what we see in the Grimm Troupe tent,
these masks appear to be real physical objects.

This might imply that the Grimmkin use masks
as conduits to project their dream forms into

the real world.

Perhaps that is even the case with Grimm himself.

But that claim is pretty speculative, so don’t
hang your hat on that being true.

There are plenty of ghosts that don’t have
anything physical to them, but still interact

with the real world.

But what is clear is that these masks do have
an effect on living bugs, and we can see this

pretty clearly with Brumm.

During the last phase of harvesting Essence,
the Knight can find Brumm hidden away in Deepnest,

far away from the eyes of Grimm.

Brumm laments the never ending cycle of the
Grimm Troupe and asks the Knight to aid him

in banishing the Troupe from Hallownest forever.

If the Knight goes through with this request
and uproots the Nightmare Lanturn in the Howling

Cliffs, Grimm’s tent disappears from Dirtmouth
and next to the bench we can find a very different

looking Brumm, under a new name, Nymm.

Nymm gives us a very clear look at how the
mask Brumm was wearing affected him.

As Brumm, he had no memory of his past life,
and his demeanor was very constrained.

As Nymm, he is more carefree and has forgotten
his time in the Troupe.

More surprisingly, however, Nymm has also
physically shrunk down in size.

That’s rough, buddy.

The mask itself appears to be transformed
in the Carefree Melody charm, which grants

protection to anyone who wears it.

We can see that the mask still radiates with
the power of the Grimm Troupe by the flames

that come off the Knight when it activates.

So that sort of ties the masks to having a
dream like quality of sorts, similar to what

Confessor Jiji mentioned.

Nymm’s experience also closely parallels
a line from Mask Maker.

To change a face; to conceal it fully within
another...

A powerful protection that is, but one with
sad consequence.

The original mind is destroyed, though those
of striking will may still retain a sliver

of that concealed self.

Nymm’s mask made him bigger and connected
to the Troupe, but his original mind was lost,

and it only came back because he fought back
against Grimm’s wishes, remembering that

he used to be more than just a vessel.

So it seems like these masks basically brainwash
members of the Troupe into serving the Nightmare

Heart.

Maybe these bugs were all forced to serve
the Troupe, and that might be what Jiji is

referring to when she mentions those who would
suffer by completing the ritual.

This gives us an interesting contrast.

Mask Maker says he makes masks for those who
ask, and says it is a gift for a world deserving.

But the Nightmare Heart uses it as a way to
control bugs and make them work towards its

own goals.

Of course, working as a slave under the Heart
might beat the alternative of trying to survive

in the wasteland that covers much of the world,
but it’s still kind of a dick move.

And since I talked about Brumm so much, I
should at least mention Divine.

Her job within the Grimm Troupe is to… well,
I’m not really sure why she’s here.

She talks about how she can smell something
in Hallownest, referring to the Fragile Charms

that Leg Eater sells.

You can give her these charms which she will
then turn into unbreakable charms by eating

and shitting them out.

Yeah…

I’m not sure why Grimm keeps her around.

Divine doesn’t even leave with the Grimm
Troupe if you complete the ritual without

finishing her side quest.

I mean, from a gameplay perspective it’s
nice.

But lore wise it doesn’t make any sense.

I guess Grimm just doesn’t really care if
she is around or not.

Also I guess she has more autonomy than Brumm
because she is only wearing half a mask.

Instead you need to get all the unbreakable
charms, then talk to Leg Eater so he will

seek out Divine.

Which well… that doesn’t go well for him.

However, if you choose to banish the Grimm
Troupe, Divine leaves for good and if you

didn’t get the unbreakable charms, then
you're just shit out of luck.

And then we have the Grimmsteeds.

These bugs appear to be the same species as
Willoh, but are also wearing masks.

Some people have pointed out that Willoh’s
tent is a shade of red, implying that she

might have been a part of the Grimm Troupe
at one point, but… come on.

It’s clearly just red because it’s covered
in the blood of her numerous victims.

In conclusion, the Grimm Troupe is a traveling
band of bugs who all serve a Higher Being

known as the Nightmare Heart.

They use the Nightmare Realm to fast travel
between the different ruined kingdoms of the

world, harvesting Nightmare Essence to prolong
the Heart’s existence.

Masks are perhaps used to keep these bugs
in line and connected to the Troupe.

But despite that, some bugs are able to fight
against this control, and it’s up to the

player to decide what fate should befall these
poor bugs.

Of course, most likely the player won’t
have any idea what’s going on at all and

that decision is made completely arbitrarily.

One final thing to note is that Grimm is known
by the White Lady, despite being from so far

away.

And while Jiji finds Grimm unfamiliar, she
is still able to pick up on what is really

going on with the Troupe.

This helps us realize how learned these characters
are, which might not be a surprise for the

White Lady, but more so for Jiji.

This character has a lot going on that we
just don’t know about.

And so there you have it.

I felt bad leaving the Grimm Troupe mostly
out of my main lore video, but man, there

was a lot to discuss here.

As for future Hollow Knight content, I know
many of you are worried and think that I am

somehow starved for content.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

There are plenty of other lore things I could
talk about.

I could make another Zote video.

And there is some more stuff to talk about
regarding Zote.

And I really want to do a deep dive into the
political side of Hollow Knight, particularly

whether or not Zote is a liberatarin.