Not seeing the bomb explode so many times hurt me so the ending made it all the more satisfying.

What I love about your theories is that you don't try to solve everything. You understand that if the answer is less interesting than the mystery, it's not worth answering.

Oddly or not, the masks in the Ocean Spider House bear the shapes found on playing cards - Heart, Club, Diamond, Spade - which furthers the "Alice in Wonderland" aspect of the entire game.

I always interpreted the Swamp Spider House to be a temple that was excavated by a group of some kind, hence the areas that appeared to be "under construction". The wooden areas are scaffolding similar to that seen in archaeological digs. As for the Ocean Spider House, this place is very scholarly in appearance, with the library and even the message on the door that hints to a place seeking knowledge. With all the artifacts within the house, I assume this was the place where all that was taken to the from the swamp spider house temple was kept, and brought with them, the Spider's Curse. Perhaps, the missing eye jewel from the golden spider statue could even be be found in the Ocean House, further connecting two. Whether or not this is an untold story of cult worshippers or just cursed scholars, hard to say, but I get some classic Indiana Jones/Archeological Adventure vibes from both locations.

You did say that skull kid is mischievous. Maybe he found the house after it was abandoned and decided for fun to replace the photos with himself as a prank.

after watching this... there is only one thing you didnt touch on in relation to the skulltulla: the skulltulla tokens. they only appear AFTER a golden skulltulla is defeated/killed. the man at the ocean house will trade items for them, meaning they exist in other areas. (tangent for another day: why does that man WANT them?) tokens are generally used as a form of currency or credit for trade. no, i dont think the tokens are just "trophies" from the defeated skulltullas. the tokens must have a purpose, otherwise the man at the ocean house would not need or want them. one thing to note is that the tokens have a small flame like aura, reminiscent of souls. if the tokens contain the souls of the departed (which race's souls unknown), then that would give them great value as they could be used in some kind of ritual, possibly at the swamp house (really should be called a shrine or temple eh?). anywho... heart this comment if you see it don. if not... i may DM you later on discord about it.

What always stood out most to me about the Swamp Spider House was how final room’s underground tree (with the gossip stone in front) felt like it was foreshadowing the tree inside the moon with the kid sitting in front. And the final room of the Oceanside House seems to have a falling moon motif.

When I was a kid I was facinated by the ocean spider house and thought it was very homey and pretty. So much so I actually drew an expanded version of it with a few additional floors and bedrooms.

Children who get lost in the forest also turn into Skull Kids. Maybe the houses were built by a group of Skull Kids, not necessarily the one who stole Majora's Mask. Though it's true that they don't really seem like the type to build underground temples, spiders do mostly appear in "forest" areas, like in Woodfall Temple and more notably the Lost Woods. It's not impossible that there's some connection there. The Spider Houses make for one of my favorite parts of Majora's Mask, especially in terms of gameplay, so it's cool to see them covered! There's so much to uncover in Termina.

I’m always so excited when you post a video about majoras mask :) I speak Japanese so I looked into some Japanese zelda forums about the grave in the swamp spider house and apparently it can be read as クモヤカタ　シユシン　ココニネムル　or “kumo-yakata shiyushin kokoni nemuru” which means: “those who come from the spider house sleep here”. They also mentioned that it was a rare sight to see hyrule script written top down and read right to left (like traditional Japanese) as it is usually written horizontally left to right. Note for other Japanese speakers: the forum posters mentioned that the “シユシン“ was dubious. My interpretation is that “出身” is the closest match since it makes sense contextually

That intro just makes me love Majora's Mask even more. I'd love to watch just a video of different Termina landscapes with the Song of Healing playing in the background. Very cool.

6:36 id really like to know why that skulltulla is moonwalking. this is a mystery that needs solving. it is imperative to the lore

Small thing but Hirake probably just refers to opening the door. It can be used like this in Japanese at least.

6:33 I love this part. The way you can hear the bomb explode muffled and dust falls from the ceiling in the next scene is perfection. XD

What I really love about Zelda games in general is that freedom to come up with the lore behind settings. It really mimics that idea of stumbling upon some ancient, hidden location. At some point, it'll be practically impossible to piece together its origin exactly, so just viewing it as its own piece of isolated lore and history and appreciating the culture and set pieces is still insanely interesting and really helps build the world even more. Loved the video!

Very nice looking thumbnail sir! Gonna watch this before having to head out for the train, brilliant timing! 🙏💪

I cracked up at the foundations shaking from the bomb. Good show, mate

This is a good theory research. My kids love to watch the spider house guys waving their hands up and down. Similar to the guy in Ocarina that loves to trade stuff. The guy just slaps his knees continuously.

I love discussions about obscure topics like these! I never think about the environments and videos like this show me how much nintendo cared about a narrative, even if a loose and obtuse one. If you ever find the inspiration to do it, I'd love to hear (and see these gorgeous visuals) you talking about the Oracles games and even Four Swords Adventures (there are a lot of obscure lore details there).

I think it's neat that the masks in the dining room have the different suits from a typical pack of cards. Four suits, four masks, four giants? Hmmm...

"screw photosynthesis I suppose" at 07:57 has to be my favorite line here

The oceanside spider house is one of my favorite areas in the series when it comes to atmosphere. It's so mysterious

2:21 “iS ThAt A zONaI SwIRL!?!?”

i always assumed the pictures were hanging there because the Curse was yet another thing he did with Majora's power

I don’t think I realized how beautiful Majora’s Mask 3D looks until I saw this video. I’ll have to play it again and appreciate the textures & scenery more! Great video, as always!

Still enjoying every single video you put out. The footage alone makes me appreciate the beauty, creativity and mystery behind this game so much. For the longest time I was convinced that OOT would remain my all time favourite videogame, but MM is definitely the most captivating.We'll never see a Zelda game like this again. I believe your conclusion about mystery and not knowing goes for the entire game. As we and Majora's Mask grow older, the story and the world in which it takes place seem to increase in space for philosophy and other question marks.

I bit my tongue laughing at Link putting a bomb next to the masked dude. The mark of excellent comedy lmao

17:49 the first three characters on the left are almost definitely "kokoni", the second(?) character in the second column appears to be "yu", and I think the last symbols on the third column look like "eta", so it's almost certainly written in the Hylian script from the original versions of OoT and MM (before a bunch of it was replaced with Wind Waker's Hylian script). >kokoni(?)(?)(?) >(?)yu(?) >(?)(?)(?)eta "Koko ni" is "Here (object marker)", and "-eta" sounds like the ending of a verb to me, so maybe this is a common or stereotypical Japanese gravestone inscription transcribed in Hylian? Something along the lines of "Here lies a friend", or something like that?

I like to think Skullkid snuck in and changed the paintings to photos of himself, probably with a stolen picto box, it seems like something he’d do.

You and Zeltik make the best Zelda content on KZfaq, a tier above the rest. Keep it up and early congrats on 100,000 subscribers

Any video that goes into something about Majora's Mask that hasn't already been talked about a million times is quite welcome by me. Loved it!

Those four coloured masks have the symbols of playing card groups. One of the games you can play with playing cards is spider solitaire. Coincidence. I think not.

you know what? i think they started in the ocean house, got rich through dog racing, and started building the swamp house. that's why it's so ornate. love the vid.

Played this game, beat it a few times. Never occurred to me how truly SINCERELY creepy the silent young man in the field is. Only visible from the telescope. A ghost? Nah, those aren't real. Creepy.

Ocarina of Time & Majoras Mask both gave me unique feelings for the first time as a Gamer. Praise the nostalgia. \ [T] /

Both spider houses, I have theorized, were built by the Garo. The Swamp Spider House was meant to be a luxurious bath house while the Oceanside Spider House was a dwelling of a Garo monk. The theory of the Stalchilds being there is a messed up one. It was a case of a portion of the Ikana army being tricked into going there and being trapped. The Garo were also responsible for the Stone Tower in another case of deception which lead to Ikana's downfall

One theory I had was that the people who were in those houses were studying what happened so long ago. That would explain the four mask imagery, and why they would have the skull kid’s portrait on the wall; he’s the imp from legend. As for the spider imagery, A) the golden spiders were probably a really fascinating point of study, and B) it’s creepy. Creepy enough to symbolize both a manipulative cult, and creepy enough to keep other people out, since… well, they’d be skeeved. That was my theory as a kid, anyway.

"Hirake" in this case likely means "to be opened up" as, you know, it's a door.

Going on the notion of the ocean-side spider house being more 'homely', perhaps the idea about the group who made it potentially knowing about the Skull Kid bringing down the moon, so they made it, not for themselves, but for those in the future. As you said, the group isn't necessarily 'evil', so this could've been a place meant more for hope. After all the place seems to have everything a person could need to rebuild society after 'the end'. The only problem being that nobody who knew about it survived until the present day in Termina, and even then only one random guy happens across it at all, and only THEN if you clear the place out to begin with.

Sarcophagi. This is why I watch Monster Maze. Education at its finest, my man. Thanks for the new knowledge.

I always enjoy your theory videos 💕 They have a beginning, the history - a middle, what happend - and an ending, your thoughts on it. Always with images or videos. I just love your way of making videos, you spoil us 😁

I think we are ignoring an important detail: spider infested places are signs of abandonment. There are japanese folklore that revolve around not taking care of your possessions and of abandoned buildings. The fact that Hirake is found on the decaying doors of the Great Bay Spider house is also meaningful in some why: maybe its curse comes from this "a closed/decaying building forced to be open/improved" since spiders build they could be seen as the ones improving it. Where in the Swamp Spider house that is a shrine, it is a place of worship where no one worships, these spiders could have brought "the curse" as they are now the occupants of the shrine, they are the ones who give the shrine purpose; their curse is a defense one not a malice one.

Freakin’ love the Skulltula’s, even have one tattooed on my hand!

6:34 Ah, I see Link has taken to the ways of the Garo.

Skull kid paintings in the ocean house are interesting. The four masks in the "conference" room look like the giants, and we know that both are REALLY old.

Good stuff. Unique Zelda theories seem to be in short supply these days. If you’re looking for more material, I have an in depth theory about how and why the mummified corpse in the BOTW2 trailer is really…. Groose. Keep up the good work. It helps to have something to keep me entertained until we get some more news on the new game. Cheers

11:32 Except that Majora’s Mask uses a similar motif for the eyes as the Fused Shadow Mask which was made by the Twili. Even the Ikana and Garo are similar to the dynamic of the Royal Hyrulian Family and the Yiga, whose leader oddly enough uses the same fight style as the Garo’s leader.

This video made me realize that the Majora's Mask has four pairs of spikes in its lower half and one pair on top, that when looked upside down COULD be interpreted as a spider with its eight legs and two pedipalps...

Maybe the group have pictures of the Skull Kid because they knew what he did or was about to do, and so they were planning cursing him trying to lure him into their on-purpose-build fancy bases. Since the Skull Kid liked to steal and rob stuff, they figured he would check the places out. Damn my english is crap

Is that a zonai swirl? Oh, wait... wrong game.

I love that all the comments on videos like this one are always grammatically correct and have capitalizations where they ought to be.

alternate explanation for the Skull Kid paintings: Skull kid found the house one day, went and saw a bunch of paintings of old guys, and swapped them out for paintings of himself.

Prob some of the highest quality MM footage you can find. Mad respect.

6:33 The repeating gag with the bomb had me rolling :'D the subtle muted explosion sound after the scene cuts away.

i think my favourite part of the zelda franchise are the ancient locations and backstories, playing zelda games and finding areas such as the spider houses or zonai statues from botw that provide lore in a way that doesn't fully explain everything is always such aunique experience that give this very strange melancholic sense of mystery that no other franchise can really replicate. it may be due to the darker tone of zelda games but the theories surrounding them have always intrigued me and this theory is an especially good one nice work.

Instead of the spiders curse being aimed at 4 individuals, what if each spider is a follower of this cult and the 4 masks represent the leaders? Maybe they created something out of their control before the second house could be completed.

In The Majora's Mask Manga's there's a story explaining the origins of the Majora's Mask.I don't know whether it's canon or not but it says that a long time ago in some ruins in a desert there was a dragon who had this magic armour and everyone wanted a little bit of it,then this guy appears and tricks the monster into killing itself.He then carves a piece of the armour into the shape of a Mask. The mask is the majora's mask,the guy probably represents The Fierce Deity and the dragon could be the spirit inside the mask itself.As for the desert area I believe that it's the stone tower temple,just before its construction.There's a lot of Mask symbolism in there come to think of it so I suspect it was built to strengthen the seal on the mask.The people who created it were the ancestors to the Garo who arrived from a portal in the surrounding area.They would quite likely use the place with all the strange cut outs hanging down as some sort of shrine or hideout and it would've served them well during the battle between them and The Ikana Kingdom! That's my theory on this anyway!

I always liked Spider Houses and the mystique around them. And I like their architecture.

Maybe the 4 Giants weren't always that giant... 4 chairs. 4 Giants. "Childhood friends"

last time i watched this channel you had around 8k subs, glad to know how far you've grown, cheers

Maybe the four giants were once "human" the equivalent of the Hyrulian sages and that the spider religion was started from a slinter group from the people who created the stone tower. They left because they saw that The Tower was dark and malicious but as they gathered knowledge and practiced magic trying to guide the people of Termina and they created something like a Triforce, maybe the tower finished developing a weapon or artifact that would ultimately result in the fall of Termina so without much time to prepare they used the artifact to help give them the ability to "create" Termina which ultimately led them to changing into lesser deities which guided the people of Termina effectively creating the region not physical from the ground up but from a civilization similar to how Hylia guided the people of Hyrule. The curse could be a byproduct of not preparing the ritual correctly as we have all seen in previous Zelda games on what happens why you mess up a ceremony or spell. It'd also explain the skullkid photos everywhere a regret or maybe a failed attempt at divinity? But anyways I hope what I wrote made sense but I loved the video I always look forward to them.

I'm surprised more people haven't talked about these houses. I'd forgotten about them...

I seriously feel so happy whenever you post, lovely video as always ♡

3 Skulltilla, 1 forest child, 4 chairs.

Wow the color in this game blow my mind

Skull Kid is pretty badass, he has two fairies and we have never seen any characters in the series with two of them. Not to mention fairy users are all kokiris except Link. So if he is not a deity he is pretty close to one

Man, I really enjoy your content. I love how passionate you are about Zelda and the serious work you're puting together for all of these videos. I always learn a lot with you. My favorite Zelda KZfaqur. Trust me your channel is going to explode once Nintendo reveals BOTW2.

Just a random thought, but what if the reason they have the paintings of skull kid is because they were studying the curse of the lost woods that gave him immortality(if skull kids are just children that get lost in the woods)? They may have wanted to try to reproduce the immortality effect without losing their memories or minds and ended up making the spider's cure. Another possibility is that they were trying to find a way to reverse the curse on skull kid, and they decided that the best way to do that was to figure out how curses worked in general. This study led to the creation of the spiders curse. Just a theory.

I love your videos, they're so well made. Thank you for your work!

Love the new intro, Monster Maze! Keep it Up!😊

Great video =] can't wait for you to reach 100k! I predict you'll hit it before this week is through

The wump after the scene change got me.

It seems odd that there's only two spider houses and not four. Everything is in fours, in balance. I wonder if there was originally supposed to be four, one in each quadrant, but then two got cut. If so, I'd think that maybe it was a group of four friends who visited each other in their respective homes.

Yeah! I will always enjoy a well made Majora's Mask theory. Nice work! :)

The spiderhouses might just be separate, video game-y levels, but I think the designers probably had some kind of lore they built up around them amongst themselves. Thanks for some food for future theories!

Always a good day when I see you upload. Thank you

The masks on the wall at 13:27 also have symbols depicted on them. They look like those from playing cards, as in poker and alike. I don't know if this is relevant though, but it's a neat little detail.

Can we just TALK about how amazing that music for the beginning of the chapter 'The Spiders' Curse'? It's awesome, Monster Man!

Another great video as always! :D I've always liked all of the mysteries surrounding Termina (honestly Temina itself is one big mystery lol)

6:37 Well done, that was hilarious.

Monster Maze, the aliens created Termina, and built the spider houses. That's why they needed milk. You see, Gorman was out of it, the aliens bribed him to steal the zora eggs and sell them to the pirates. Self sabotage.... but the aliens still got their milk.

It could also maybe do with some kind of deity that has spiders as their sacred animal or something?

Four masks, four chairs, four giants

I like how the main meeting room in the Ocean Spider House has 4 masks over the fireplace with 4 chairs with each color matching the 4 temples and 4 giants in the game.

It should be noted that game development wise, both the Swamp Spider House as well as Beneath the Well are maps that were initially created for Ocarina of Time but ultimately scrapped for that game (as last year's gigaleak shows). Now for Majora's proper, we don't know if the Oceanside house was created first and then the then scrapped map was reused second or even the other way around, but I do think that this is probably the reason why both Spider House maps ultimately don't really match all that much in purpose or anything other than being sidequests, really, which granted, the devs probably never thought much about either with the very limited time they had to put Majora's Mask together.

There's four big masks and four chairs. There's paintings of skull kid. What if the house was built by the four giants, who evidently knew skull kid

An outrageous theory that works off of parallels. Looks like you put a lot of work into this.

Maybe they are the gold skulltula? that would explain why you had to defeat them and collect their souls to break the curse (ya know by killing the casters). their reason for doing all this was they're a crazy cult. (But that last part makes it less fun.)

2:16 - OH MAH GAWD, ARE THOSE ZONAI SWIRLS? :P I never really gave either too much thought... so these are certainly interesting theories!

I feel like maybe they were just creepy spider loving people, maybe they preferred darkness (no windows in either house). Built the ocean house to live and then wanted to build another, much more fancy house around a cool "monument" they found in their research (mega library), only to realise too late that its some cursed tomb, the curse killed them all or turned them into what they loved, spiders. This is why the second house is unfinished and why the curse only seems to linger in the woodland house.

here is an interesting theory what if the two places werent spider themed in the first place but were in fact cursed as well? slowly over time changing into a more spider themed place and all the gold skulltulas are the inhabitants! for all we know the cursed guy could be midway thru transforming

Ancient tribe that created the mask, ancient tribe that made the spider house, ancient tribe who gave them the sheikah mask ... It was the dark Interlopers tribe and they were responsible for all three

Wait, I'm not subscribed? I legit thought I subscribed months ago! Your voice is so soothing that I subbed when I saw your first video... at least I thought I did, time to fix that!

*puts bomb down beside scared guy, goes to different room.* "The only other aspect about the curse worth mentioning is-" *muffled boom, dust falls from ceiling.* "-Luckily, similar to Ocarina of Time, there is a cure." Mhm, yup, there sure is a cure!

6:39 the bomb explosion LMAO

Some of these theories are out there but ill be damned if they don’t map perfectly over the sense of mystery depth and mystery I would feel playing these games as a child. The ability of the absolute wizards that created these games ability to tap into archetypal themes that I believe exist in the collective subconscious of everyone cannot be understated. And you are brilliant for your ability to articulate it. Lovely content

Two houses, both alike in dignity, in fair Termina where we lay our scene-

16:00 I just noticed the colors of the 4 masks. Red, blue, green, yellow. They can refer to the Triforce. Green courage, red power, blue wisdom, and yellow or gold to the Triforce itself.

Thanks for the video. You have some good footage of the game sir.

Spiders were always feared and seen as a symbol of mischief and malice due to the slow death given by their venom. This is the reason why spiders are mostly seen as a curse but some worshipped them like a cult either for affection or as a sign of respect. I am certain that Skulltulas are spiders just for the reason that its association with curses is burned in our heads for ages by now.