Grimmkin Nightmare

"Terrifying member of the Grimm Troupe. As part of the Ritual, it gathers scarlet flame within its torch. It will relinquish the flame once defeated. "Dance and die and live forever, Silent voices shout and sing, Stand before the Troupe's dark heart, Burn away the Nightmare King.""

- 'The Grimm Troupe'

Grimmkin Nightmares are enemies in Hollow Knight. They are terrifying members of the Grimm Troupe who gather flames for the Ritual.

Behaviour and Tactics

 * Nightmare Pursuit: Charges directly at the Knight with extreme speed.
 * Nightmare Flame Spray: Fires five fireballs at once. The pattern is identical to the Grimmkin Master's attack but deals more damage.
 * Flame Vortex: Summons five fireballs that spiral outwards from the Nightmare's body.
 * Bonfire: Summons three pillars of fire underneath the Knight in succession.

Like other Grimmkin spirits, Nightmares will spawn when the Knight approaches a flame with the Grimmchild equipped, at which point they will become aggressive, following and attacking the Knight until they kill them or leave the current map. Nightmares deal two damage to the Knight with most attacks and thus require greater care.

Grimmkin have the unique behaviour of following the Knight's movements exactly, staying a constant distance away from the Knight until acting.

Their Nightmare Pursuit attack can be dodged or Shadow Dashed through. It is possible, but risky, to attack them during this charge. Sharp Shadow makes it possible to damage them with minimal risk simply by dashing through them.

The Bonfire attack is easily avoidable with quick movement and dashes.

Location
Grimmkin Nightmares can be found in the Fungal Core, Royal Waterways, and The Hive.

Trivia

 * When in combat with any Grimmkin, the Accordion Chase theme will play.
 * Cut Grimmkin Nightmare sprites existed in the game's files prior to the release of Lifeblood. It was a different version of the Nightmare Pursuit attack animation where the Grimmkin can be seen as a flame with a mask without clothing.

References

Grimario Pesadilla Мрачный кошмар Grimmkin Koszmar