The Hollows

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**The Hollows** is the first area accessed from The Split by following the lower path. It is an underground cave system, dimly lit by glowing mushrooms. The lower levels of the area are flooded with toxic water, which also gives off light. The Hollows introduce four new enemies, not seen anywhere before The Split. The area also contains a tutorial on breakable blocks, which can be found in most areas of the game, including The Split, where breakable blocks prevent Ash from accessing the middle path.

The Hollows' main path consists of 15 levels. Main levels contain 15 regular tumors.

The Hollows contain 9 secret levels, in which 5 mega tumors and 1 cartridge (Catastrovania) can be collected.

Getting through The Hollows leads Ash to Golgotha.

## Enemies

The Hollows are inhabited by 4 enemy types:

* Hoasts - crawling creatures, which use human skulls as a protective shell. They move from side to side, often along floors covered with spikes, and are indifferent to Ash. Jumping on top of a hoast allows Ash to bounce off of its skull shell. Touching the sides of a hoast will kill Ash.
* Floasts - floating creatures, similar to hoasts. Their head is also covered by a human skull and a small fleshy tail can be seen sticking out at the bottom. Much like hoasts and other enemies with skull shells, floasts are "bouncy". Jumping on top of a floast allows Ash to bounce off of its skull shell. Touching the sides or the bottom of a floast will kill Ash.
* Edemas - lumpy blobs roughly the size of Ash, which fly around in straight lines and bounce off solid surfaces at a 90° angle. Upon reaching a surface, edema will pause briefly. Touching an edema will kill Ash.
* Anchorfish - fish-like creature chained to a solid block. Anchorfish move in a circle in a set direction around the block they're chained to. There are three chain length variations - short, medium, and long. Anchorfish seemingly have no trouble being outside of water. Touching the fish will kill Ash.

## Secret entrances:

* The Hollows 3 (right secret) - 1 mega tumor. Accessed by breaking the breakable blocks in the right wall near the bottom of the level.
* The Hollows 4 (right secret) - 1 mega tumor. Accessed by walking to the right from the starting platform, under the small spikes. The entrance is covered by a fake wall.
* The Hollows 8 (right secret) - 1 cartridge. Accessed by breaking the breakable blocks in the right wall, at the top of the level.
* The Hollows 11 (downwards secret) - 1 mega tumor. Accessed by diving into the pool of toxic water near the level's exit. Crossing the level transition refreshes the toxic timer, allowing Ash to survive.
* The Hollows 12 (left secret) - 1 mega tumor, 1 key. Accessed by opening the gate with a key. This secret path passes through the previously inaccessible part of The Hollows 11 secret.
* The Hollows 14 (upwards secret) - 1 mega tumor, 1 NPC. Accessed by jumping up to the top of the level from the falling pillar with the hooks.

## Characters

The Hollows contain 2 NPCs. Click on "Open" to see their dialogue.

**Skeleton in The Hollows 1:**

```
. . .

wait . . .
you can see
me?

it's taken years
for my
eyeholes to

adjust to
the light down
here . . .

. . .

ever feel like
you just gotta
go fast?

you can
you
know

you just gotta
bear down . . .
hard

if you go
fast
enough

you can straight
up smash through
stuff

. . .

it's
amazingly
painful

but eventually
your bones will
just fragment

enough in that
little sack
body of yours

you'll become like
some kinda bean
bag type thing

. . .

you are cute

can i
touch your
nibs?
```

**Descender blob in the secret above The Hollows 14:**

```
GRRR!

get the fuck
out my
hidey hole!

this is my place
it's safe
here!

no one can
judge my bad
life choices

unless they got
night vision
and a shovel!

and that's how
i like it
damn it!

now leave!
```

## Trivia

* The Hollows' music theme is a remix of Franz Liszt's Dante Symphony.
* The Hollows' levels gradually get darker as Ash descends deeper into the caves.
* The secret to the right of The Hollows 4, which entirely relies on the darkness mechanic, is a reference to Tyler Glaiel's game "Closure". As most other secret levels, it was designed by Tyler himself.

## Gallery

### Gallery of The Hollows' main levels

* The Hollows 1
* The Hollows 2
* The Hollows 3
* The Hollows 4
* The Hollows 5
* The Hollows 6
* The Hollows 7
* The Hollows 8
* The Hollows 9
* The Hollows 10
* The Hollows 11
* The Hollows 12
* The Hollows 13
* The Hollows 14
* The Hollows 15

### Gallery of The Hollows' secret levels

* The Hollows 3 right
* The Hollows 4 right 1
* The Hollows 4 right 2
* The Hollows 8 right 1, increased brightness
* The Hollows 8 right 2
* The Hollows 8 right 3
* The Hollows 11 down
* The Hollows 12 left/down
* The Hollows 14 up

## Individual level pages:

Links to individual level pages

* The Hollows 1
* The Hollows 2
* The Hollows 3
* The Hollows 4
* The Hollows 5
* The Hollows 6
* The Hollows 7
* The Hollows 8
* The Hollows 9
* The Hollows 10
* The Hollows 11
* The Hollows 12
* The Hollows 13
* The Hollows 14
* The Hollows 15

## See also

* The Split - a hub area which comes before The Hollows.
* Golgotha - the area which comes after The Hollows.