Walking into Bellhart for the first time in Hollow Knight Silksong is genuinely unsettling. This once-thriving town is completely shrouded in thick silk cocoons, with every inhabitant trapped in what looks like a nightmare. When Hornet first arrives, she automatically receives “The Threadspun Town” quest – and honestly, it’s one of the most satisfying story arcs to complete in the entire game.
The curse hanging over Bellhart isn’t just cosmetic either. Until you break it, you’re missing out on crucial NPCs, shops, upgrade opportunities, and quest lines that become essential for late-game progression. Let me walk you through exactly how to lift this curse and bring Bellhart back to life.
Understanding What’s Happened to Bellhart
Before diving into the solution, it’s worth understanding what you’re dealing with. Bellhart has been consumed by what the game calls “the Haunting” – a silk-based curse that’s literally wrapped the entire town in cocoons. The residents are still alive in there, but they’re completely helpless until someone deals with the source.
This isn’t a puzzle you can solve from within Bellhart itself. The curse’s origin lies elsewhere, and you’ll need to venture into dangerous territory to confront it head-on. But trust me, the payoff is absolutely worth the effort.
Step 1: Navigate to Shellwood and Get Your Bearings
The key to breaking Bellhart’s curse lies in the adjacent Shellwood area. This forest region is where you’ll find both the tools and the boss you need to lift the curse. But here’s the thing – Shellwood is massive and incredibly easy to get lost in, especially on your first visit.
Essential first step: Find Shakra and buy the Shellwood map. She’s typically located on the lower side of Shellwood, and while the map costs 70 Rosaries, it’s absolutely crucial for navigation. I cannot overstate how confusing Shellwood can be without proper map guidance.
From Shakra’s location, head west until you reach the bench that connects to Bone Bottom. This becomes your staging area for the next phase of the quest.
Pro tip: If you’re running low on Rosaries for the map purchase, take a detour to farm some resources first. Our rosary farming guide covers the best early-game farming spots that won’t take too much time away from your main objective.
Step 2: Master the Cling Grip Ability
Here’s where things get interesting. To actually reach the source of Bellhart’s curse, you need the Cling Grip ability – essentially Silksong’s version of wall-jumping. Without this skill, you simply cannot access the upper areas of Bellhart where the real action happens.
The Cling Grip is hidden deeper in Shellwood, behind some challenging platforming sections and a mandatory boss fight. You’ll need to defeat Sister Splinter first, then navigate to a Weaver Statue to unlock this essential movement ability.
Why this matters: Cling Grip doesn’t just solve the Bellhart curse – it fundamentally changes how you navigate the entire game world. Suddenly, vertical surfaces become pathways, and tons of previously inaccessible secrets become available for exploration.
For a detailed breakdown of exactly how to unlock this game-changing ability, check out our comprehensive wall jump and Cling Grip unlock guide.
Step 3: Access Bellhart’s Hidden Upper Floors
With Cling Grip in your arsenal, return to Bellhart and head east while staying in the higher areas. If you’ve been resting at benches (which I recommend for safety), make sure to go up before heading east – the path you need is elevated.
Keep moving until you hit what appears to be a dead end. This is where your new wall-jumping skills come into play. Go up, then wall jump to the right, and you’ll discover the entrance to Bellhart’s upper floors – areas that were completely inaccessible before.
Navigation tip: The upper floors of Bellhart are intentionally maze-like. Team Cherry designed them this way to add complexity to later quests (especially the Silver Bells collection), so don’t feel bad if you get turned around. The layout becomes more intuitive once you’ve been through it a few times.
Break the bells blocking your path and head inside. You’re now in the heart of cursed Bellhart, where the real challenge begins.
Step 4: Navigate the Cursed Interior
Once inside Bellhart’s upper floors, the path becomes a careful balance of navigation and combat. Here’s the step-by-step route:
First descent: Go down while carefully avoiding the spikes scattered throughout the area. Spike damage can add up quickly, especially if you’re not used to Hornet’s movement patterns yet.
Eastward movement: Head right, then drop down again. This time, you’ll need to move left into another opening, but there’s a catch – two Winged Furms are blocking your path. These enemies are aggressive and can be tricky to deal with in tight spaces, so take your time and eliminate them before proceeding.
The bell puzzle: Here’s where many players get stuck. Don’t go all the way to the end of the hole you’re in. Instead, look for bells that are blocking a leftward path. Break these bells to reveal the way forward – this is easy to miss if you’re rushing.
Final approach: Enter the newly opened hole and keep moving right until you find another opening. You’re almost there!
Step 5: Confront the Widow Boss
At the end of this winding path, you’ll finally encounter the source of Bellhart’s curse: the Widow. This boss is both visually striking and mechanically challenging, with attacks that combine direct damage and area control.
The Widow wields dual claws and has some nasty silk-spinning abilities. She can create bells that either launch directly at Hornet or establish temporary damage zones on the ground. The key to this fight is staying mobile and learning to predict her attack patterns.
Combat strategy: The Widow has distinct phases and telegraph patterns. Her claw swipes have specific timing windows where you can safely approach for damage. Her silk-bell attacks can actually be turned to your advantage once you understand their placement patterns.
For detailed combat strategies, attack patterns, and safe positioning tips, our Needolin skill unlock guide covers the Widow fight extensively.
Step 6: Claim Your Rewards
When you finally defeat the Widow, you’re treated to one of Silksong’s most satisfying victory sequences. Hornet leaps onto the boss, delivers the finishing blow with her needle, and uses the Widow’s own silk to tear her apart. It’s both brutal and poetic – classic Team Cherry storytelling.
Major reward: Defeating the Widow unlocks the Needolin ability, which becomes crucial for many late-game challenges and exploration opportunities. This skill opens up entirely new areas and combat possibilities.
But the real satisfaction comes when you return to Bellhart itself. The curse is broken, the silk cocoons are gone, and the town is bustling with life again. NPCs emerge from their imprisonment with gratitude and new services to offer.
Exploring Liberated Bellhart
With the curse lifted, Bellhart transforms from a creepy ghost town into one of Silksong’s most important hub areas. Here’s what becomes available:
New NPCs and Services:
- Multiple shop vendors offering essential upgrades and items
- Pinmaster Plinney, who provides your first needle upgrade as thanks for saving the town
- Relic Keeper Scrounge, who trades Rosaries for collected artifacts
The Wishwall: Bellhart’s Wishwall becomes active, offering three new quest lines including “My Missing Courier” – which leads to finding Tipp and opens up additional story content.
Strategic importance: Many players underestimate how central Bellhart becomes to late-game progression. The upgrades and quests available here directly impact your ability to tackle the harder content ahead.
For specific guidance on maximizing your time in restored Bellhart, including which upgrades to prioritize, check out our needle upgrade guide and merchant buying priority guide.
What This Opens Up for Your Journey
Breaking the Bellhart curse isn’t just about completing one quest – it’s a major turning point that affects your entire Silksong playthrough. With Needolin unlocked and Bellhart restored, you now have:
Enhanced mobility: The combination of Cling Grip and Needolin opens up vast areas of the map that were previously inaccessible.
Upgrade access: Bellhart’s vendors and services become crucial for character progression, especially weapon upgrades.
Quest progression: Multiple new quest lines become available, including some that are essential for accessing late-game areas.
Story development: The curse-breaking sequence advances several important narrative threads and introduces key characters.
Advanced Tips for Success
Based on my experience helping players through this quest, here are some insider tips:
Resource management: Save up Rosaries before starting this quest sequence. Between map purchases, upgrades, and other opportunities, you’ll want a healthy reserve. Our rosary farming guide can help you build up resources efficiently.
Combat preparation: The Widow fight can be challenging if you’re not comfortable with Hornet’s movement yet. Practice your timing and spacing in earlier areas before committing to the boss encounter.
Exploration mindset: Don’t rush through Shellwood just to reach the Widow. This area contains tons of valuable collectibles and upgrades that will help you throughout the game.
Map awareness: Use fast travel points strategically. The bellways fast travel system becomes incredibly useful for moving between Bellhart and other areas once you’ve unlocked it.
The Bigger Picture
The Threadspun Town quest represents everything great about Silksong’s design philosophy. It combines exploration, skill progression, challenging combat, and meaningful story rewards into a cohesive experience that feels genuinely impactful.
More importantly, it sets up the foundation for everything that comes next in your journey. The abilities you gain, the NPCs you meet, and the areas you unlock all play crucial roles in the larger adventure ahead.
Whether you’re planning to dive deeper into Shellwood’s secrets, tackle the progression toward Act 2, or explore other areas with your new abilities, breaking Bellhart’s curse puts you in the perfect position to succeed.
If you’re looking for guidance on what to tackle next after completing this quest, our Greymoor progression guide covers all your options for continuing the adventure.
The residents of Bellhart are counting on you – time to break some curses and unlock the next chapter of your Silksong journey!
Ready to experience this quest yourself? Get Hollow Knight: Silksong on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, or Xbox. For the latest updates and more guides, visit the official Silksong website.
