| Where | Southern Swamp, on a small island beside the exit from the Deku Palace grounds |
|---|---|
| Goal | Defeat all 30 Gold Skulltulas in the house and collect the Gold Skulltula Spirit each one drops |
| Reward |  Mask of Truth |
| Time limit | None. Any day works |
| Bring | Deku Mask, at least one empty bottle, Bombs, a Deku Stick, two Magic Beans, the Hero’s Bow and the Sonata of Awakening; the Hookshot and Goron Mask make it easier |
| Needed for | 100% completion (the Mask of Truth is one of the 24 masks) |
The Swamp Spider House is a cursed building in the Southern Swamp where thirty Gold Skulltulas hide in pots, crates, hives, pillars and patches of soft soil. Every one you defeat leaves a Gold Skulltula Spirit, and once you hold all thirty the curse breaks and the man who lives there gives you the Mask of Truth. Nothing here is on a timer, so the only preparation is bringing the right gear and a free bottle.
Table of Contents
Getting there and what to bring
The house stands on a small island in the Southern Swamp near the Deku Palace. Cross the water as Deku Link; the swamp is covered in the chapter on Southern Swamp and the Deku Palace. A web covers the front door. Light a Deku Stick on the torch beside the door and touch it to the web (a Fire Arrow works too), and the way opens. Inside, the cursed man explains that the golden Skulltulas cursed him and asks you to defeat every one of them, promising you a reward if you lift the curse. Past his room a door leads to the rest of the house.
Before you start, make a habit of arriving with full arrows, a full stock of Deku Sticks and both Magic Beans. Bugs hide under rocks in the house, so bottle one whenever you find it; you will need a Bug in hand for every patch of soft soil. A second bottle is handy so you can carry Spring Water and a Bug together.
Pack the following before you go in. Water and bugs can be found inside the house, so you only need the empty bottle for them.
| Item | What it does here |
|---|---|
 Deku Mask | Deku Flowers carry you to high walls, and you play the Sonata of Awakening in this form to wake a sleeping Deku Scrub |
 Two Magic Beans and a bottle of water | Two spots (the Tablet Room and the Golden Room) call for a bean plant; the Hookshot lets you skip both |
 Hero’s Bow | Knocks down beehives and hits spiders that are out of reach |
 Hookshot (optional) | Replaces the bean climbs and some Deku Flower flights |
 Goron Mask (optional) | Rolling smashes crates and big pots and shakes the tree |
Carry a Bomb or two as well: one boulder in the Tablet Room has to be blown open before you can plant the bean behind it.
How the tokens work
Spiders rattle, so follow the sound when the room looks empty. Most are hidden behind a small trick. Wait for a pillar spider to crawl down to head height and slash it. Shoot a hive to drop the spiders inside. Break a pot or crate to make a spider jump out. At a patch of soft soil, let a bug out of your bottle beside it so the spider digs up to chase it. Each defeated spider drops a token you have to pick up, so grab it before it is lost over water or a ledge. The rooms below follow the order the house leads you through it, and the numbers match that route. You can take the tokens in any order, but each room is easier if you finish it before moving on, and the Bug and Spring Water you need are easiest to restock as you go.
Four tricks cover almost every token. Pillars: a spider crawls up and down a pillar, so wait for it to slide down to head height, then slash it. Containers: jars, pots and crates hide spiders, so smash small ones with a sword and roll into the big ones as Goron Link. Hives: shoot a hanging beehive with an arrow or a Deku bubble and the Skulltula falls with it. Soft soil: a spider hides beneath each patch of soft soil, so stand next to it and release a bottled Bug, then slash the spider when it digs up after the insect.
Quick reference
| Room | Spirits | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Central Chamber, ground floor | 1 to 5 | Sword, two Bugs (one for each soil patch) |
| Tablet Room (west) | 6 to 10 | Goron Mask, Bomb, Magic Bean and Spring Water (or Hookshot), Deku Mask |
| Central Chamber, upper floor | 11 to 13 | Deku Mask, Hero’s Bow or Deku bubble, a Bug |
| Giant Jar Room (east) | 14 to 20 | Hero’s Bow, Goron Mask, Sonata of Awakening, Deku Mask |
| Golden Room (north) | 21 to 24 | Hero’s Bow, Magic Bean and Spring Water (or Hookshot) |
| Tree Room (last) | 25 to 30 | Hero’s Bow, Goron Mask |
Central Chamber, ground floor (1 to 5)
The first big room has a ramp, a pool at its foot and a pair of pillars. 1: a spider paces back and forth in the water at the bottom of the ramp. Fight it from the water’s edge, then pick up its token before it floats away. 2: another climbs the pillar in the northeast corner, so wait until it slides down to eye level and slash it. 3: a third hides in a jar to the left of the ramp; break the jar and it drops out.
4 and 5: two patches of soft soil sit in the walls, one in the east wall and one in the west wall. Stand beside the first one, release a Bug from your bottle and strike the spider when it pops out after the insect. Then repeat with a fresh Bug at the other patch. With one bottle you will have to catch a second Bug between the two, so pick up another from under a rock first. Once the first five are done, fill a bottle with Spring Water before you leave the room, because you will need it for both bean plants.
Tablet Room and the upper floor (6 to 13)
Go through the west door into the Tablet Room, which has a large stone tablet in the middle. 6 and 7: crates in the northwest and southwest corners hide a spider each. As Goron Link, roll into the third crate along the northwest wall, and into the crate in the southwest corner. 8: a big boulder fills the northeast corner. Blow it up with a bomb, plant a Magic Bean in the soil behind it, pour in the Spring Water and ride the plant up to the spider on the wall above. With the Hookshot you can skip the bean and shoot that spider from the floor.
9: climb to the second floor of this room and jump over to the top of the stone tablet, where a spider waits. 10: another is hidden behind the lit torch in the northeast corner of the upper floor. 11: a spider crawls up and down the pillar in the northwest corner of the upper floor, so slash it when it drops into reach.
12: the spider on the north wall is well out of sword range. Knock it down with a Hero’s Bow arrow or a Deku bubble, or fly up to it on the Deku Flower and collect the token. 13: fly across to the eastern end of the upper floor and release a Bug at the soft soil patch in the southeast corner, then strike the spider as it digs out. Leave by the east door on this floor.
Giant Jar Room (14 to 20)
This long room holds hanging beehives, rows of jars and a few huge pots. 14 and 15: two of the beehives on the ceiling hold a Skulltula each. Shoot them down with arrows or Deku bubbles. 16 to 18: three more are inside pots on the floor. Roll into the two large pots as Goron Link, one at the north end and one second from the south end, and break the small pot at the south end with your sword. Each pot breaks and the spider drops out.
19: at the north end a spider hides behind a curtain of vines. Slash the vines and defeat it.
The sleeping Deku Scrub (20)
20: a Deku Scrub sleeps in this room. Play the Sonata of Awakening as Deku Link to wake it. Then use the Deku Flower to fly up to the north wall, where a spider waits, and take its token.
Golden Room (21 to 24)
The room beyond lies to the north. Strike the crystal switch with your sword and a ladder rises from the floor. 21: shoot the northernmost beehive on the ceiling. 22: a spider climbs the pillar in the northeast corner, so wait for it to come down. 23: the spider on the wall where the ladder appears is out of reach until you shoot it, then climb the ladder to take the token. 24: a bean patch in the northwest corner lets you reach the last one. Plant a Magic Bean, pour in the Spring Water, and ride the plant up (or Hookshot the spider). Leave through the north exit.
Tree Room (25 to 30)
The last room is a garden with a big tree in the middle and tall grass around its edge. 25: a beehive hangs in the tree in the northeast, so shoot it down. 29 and 30: the last two move around the edge of the room, one of them crawling along it. Cut the grass with your sword to flush them out.
26 to 28: the three left are in the big central tree. Roll into the trunk as Goron Link and three spiders drop out one after another. Defeat each and collect all three tokens.
Reward: the Mask of Truth
When the thirtieth spider falls, the game tells you the curse is lifted. Return to the man you met at the start. He is free of the spell and gives you the Mask of Truth. With it on you can read the thoughts of animals and hear what the Gossip Stones have to say. The mask stays with you through every return to the first day. The mask collection guide covers the other 23.
The twin of this house, the Oceanside Spider House, pays out the Giant’s Wallet if you clear it on the First Day, and also hides a Piece of Heart.
