Holy Innocents’ Cemetery is the City of Paris area that sits between Paris Streets and the Catacombs of Paris. You need it cleared before the gate to the Catacombs opens. It also packs more side content into one map than almost anywhere else in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. That includes three weapons, a full set of relics, two Arcana, five Haunted Coffins and a long list of secrets. Several of its rewards stay locked until you finish work elsewhere in the cemetery, or in Dracula’s Castle.
Quick answer: Full completion takes 15 XP statues, 5 Haunted Coffins, 4 Mirrors of Life, 3 weapons, 5 relics plus the Trembling Eye, 2 Arcana, 3 Brave and 3 Wise Heart Fragments, 4 stat books and 20 Secret Areas.
Holy Innocents’ Cemetery collectible totals
Use these counts to check your progress against the map. The sections below cover where each item sits and what unlocks it.
| Collectible | Total |
|---|---|
| XP statues | 15 |
| Haunted Coffins | 5 |
| Mirrors of Life | 4 |
| Weapons | 3 |
| Relics | 5 |
| Keepsakes (Trembling Eye, The Prophetess’s Key) | 2 |
| Arcana | 2 |
| Brave Heart Fragments | 3 |
| Wise Heart Fragments | 3 |
| ATK UP books | 2 |
| DEF UP books | 2 |
| Clues about The Prophetess | 4 |
| Secret Areas | 20 |
| Breakable walls | 4 |
| Whole meat | 3 |
| Ferryman’s Wharf | 1 |
Holy Innocents’ Cemetery weapons: Almace and Hauteclaire, Lance, Rusted Harpé and Aegis
All three weapons come from chests or pickups along routes you will cross anyway. Almace and Hauteclaire is the one to grab early. It sits right below the entrance in the Flooded Crypt, and getting there takes a short detour.
How to get Almace and Hauteclaire
Almace and Hauteclaire is a set of Masterpiece dual swords. If an attack connects, pressing Attack again keeps the combo going, and the string ends in Blade Flurry.
Lance and Rusted Harpé and Aegis locations
The Lance is in the Fountain of the Innocents. First break the XP statue there, then open the chest directly above it. The Lance is an Ordinary spear. Hold Attack to aim it and release to throw it, which lets you hit enemies from a distance.
Rusted Harpé and Aegis is in the Serpents’ Lair, close to Medusa’s door. Grapple across the hall to reach it. It is an Ordinary sword-and-shield pair that can both attack and block, and its finisher is Shield Bash.
Almace and Hauteclaire vs. Lance stats
These figures are from the shipped game (build b25975867). Both weapons have the same stagger power. Almace and Hauteclaire is higher on ATK, attack power and tier, and it costs less mana per hit.
| Stat | Almace and Hauteclaire | Lance |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon type | Dual swords | Spear |
| Rarity |  Masterpiece | Ordinary |
| Tier | 3 | 1 |
| ATK | 75 | 25 |
| Attack power | 30 | 22 |
| Stagger power | 30 | 30 |
| Mana per hit | 2 | 3 |
| Combo finisher | Blade Flurry | Push |
Holy Innocents’ Cemetery relic locations
The cemetery has five relics in chests. A sixth item, the Trembling Eye, is a key relic you need for progress rather than a build piece.
| Relic | Sub-area | How to reach it |
|---|---|---|
 Abyssal Eye | Cemetery Entrance | Chest atop a tall tower, via grapple rings |
 Nightshade | Pillaged Tombs | Once the wave fight ends, find the ornate chest on the right. |
 Trembling Eye | Pillaged Tombs | Lever-gate Secret Area, inside a fleshy mass |
 Raven’s Feather | Mass Grave | Hidden passage in the left room after the arena |
 Pale Thorn | Hot Springs | At the end of the buzzsaw run, look for the elevated ledge on the east. |
 Vampire’s Fang | Serpents’ Lair | Chained chest; needs all five Haunted Coffins |
Abyssal Eye boosts Rose’s damage against enemies under control by 35%. Later, the Petrifying Gaze Arcana you win in the cemetery can help put foes in that state.
Nightshade sits in a chest just to the right of the third Haunted Coffin in the Pillaged Tombs. With it equipped, every healing potion also restores 40% of Rose’s maximum mana.
Trembling Eye is hidden behind a lever gate. Enter the Pillaged Tombs through the doorway under the ruins in the Fountain of the Innocents. Pound through the wooden floor, finish the fight, then climb past the saw blades and spike shafts to an alcove. Cut away the vines and break open the fleshy mass with INTERACT (R1, or E on PC). The Trembling Eye is one of three Eyes that open a sealed door in the Catacombs of Paris.
Raven’s Feather raises Rose’s damage while she fights in the air. Pale Thorn trades safety from the front for more damage taken from behind. Vampire’s Fang gives Rose a bat pet that follows her around. It is also the only relic here with an unlock condition, which is covered in the next section.
Haunted Coffins and the Vampire’s Fang chest
Haunted Coffins glow green. When you walk up to one, it seals the area and sends out waves of ghosts, winged wraiths or archers. Kill every enemy and the coffin breaks into gray rubble. That rubble is how you know the coffin counts.
- Coffin 1: early on the main path, shortly after the Cemetery Entrance.
- Coffin 2: Ancient Sewers, reached by smashing down through breakable flooring.
- Coffin 3: Pillaged Tombs, right next to the Nightshade chest.
- Coffin 4: Ossuary of the Innocents, with waves of bats and spirits.
- Coffin 5: Mass Grave, through the Roman Baths, guarded by skeleton archers and spirits.
Once all five coffins are broken, the chains come off a chest in the Serpents’ Lair hall near Medusa’s door. That chest holds Vampire’s Fang. If the chains are still on, at least one coffin is left.
Medusa, The Prophetess clues and the fountain shortcut
Medusa is the cemetery boss. Defeat her to receive The Prophetess Arcana and its spell, Petrifying Gaze, which turns foes in front of Rose to stone. You also receive The Prophetess’s Key, one of three keys needed for the Gate to the Catacombs. Four cemetery spirits offer clues about her. Each spirit adds a card beneath “NEW CLUE ABOUT THE PROPHETESS”.
| Clue | Spirit location |
|---|---|
| Roman Baths | Sepulcher of the Knight |
| Cemetary Fountain | Fountain of the Innocents, above the fountain |
| Guardian’s Gaze | Roman Baths, elevated platform past spikes |
| Beneath the Hollow Tree’s Roots | Pauper’s Grave, past Chapel of the Kings |
The Cemetary Fountain spirit (the game spells it that way) hints at a way down to Medusa:
“The fountain… is strange… anything… thrown in… disappears…”
Medusa’s door is in the upper-left section of the Serpents’ Lair. A brief scene among the ruins plays before the fight begins immediately.
The Ancient Sewers Mirror of Life is just to the right of the Serpents’ Lair, so save there before you open Medusa’s door.
The Sage Arcana: the four seal mirrors
The Sage is the cemetery’s second Arcana, and you claim it in the Mausoleum of the Queens. It stays sealed until you shatter four seal mirrors across the map, and only one of them is in the City of Paris.
- Notre-Dame, in the East Gallery
- Main Hall, in the Archives
- Clock Tower, in Mechanic’s Ascent
- Paris Streets, in the Prison Tower
The Sage teaches the Mirror Walk spell. Its first cast leaves a mirror at Rose’s location. Cast it again to return to that spot and restore a large share of the health she has lost since placing the mirror. It vanishes after a short time or when she teleports back to it.
Heart Fragments and ATK UP and DEF UP books
The cemetery has three of each Heart Fragment type and two of each stat book. ATK UP and DEF UP books raise ATK or DEF permanently. Four Wise Heart Fragments increase maximum mana.
| Item | Sub-area | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Brave Heart Fragment | Ancient Sewers | Upper-left platform after the coffin waves |
| Brave Heart Fragment | Ossuary of the Innocents | Hanging, reached by switching chandeliers |
| Brave Heart Fragment | Mausoleum of the Kings | Through the spike-covered rooms |
| Wise Heart Fragment | Cloister | Hanging cage on the upper walkway, via grapple rings |
| Wise Heart Fragment | Roman Baths | Crystal pod on an upper ledge |
| Wise Heart Fragment | Mausoleum of the Kings | High platform reached by completing the light-reflector puzzle |
| ATK UP | Ossuary of the Innocents | Past the spike balls and platforms |
| ATK UP | Overgrown Crypt | Pedestal behind a low passage, past the falling spike ceiling |
| DEF UP | Flooded Crypt | Lower area, below the golden chest |
| DEF UP | Ancient Sewers | Low wooden ledge by a water drain, past saw traps |
Brave Heart Fragment values
Every fourth Brave Heart Fragment finishes a Brave Heart, adds 20 to Rose’s maximum health, and shows a “Brave Heart Completed!” message. The game has 24 fragments in total, spread as three per area across eight areas. That makes six upgrades and a maximum health of 220 with all of them.
| Brave Heart Fragment | Value |
|---|---|
| Fragments per upgrade | 4 |
| Max health per upgrade | 20 |
| Fragments in the game | 24 |
| Fragments per area | 3 |
| Total upgrades | 6 |
| Max health with all | 220 |
Each of these eight areas holds three Brave Heart Fragments: Holy Innocents’ Cemetery, Library, Main Hall, Notre-Dame, Clock Tower, Paris Streets, Hall of Mirrors and Catacombs of Paris.
All 15 XP statue locations in Holy Innocents’ Cemetery
XP statues are golden. Hit one a few times with your weapon and it shatters into experience. Several are tucked away in Secret Areas, so open walls as you find them.
| Sub-area | Statues | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Cemetery Entrance | 1 | Ground alcove behind a breakable wall |
| Sepulcher of the Knight | 1 | Across the spike pits |
| Memorial for the Dead | 3 | Spiked tower, candelabra altar, hidden spiked chute |
| Fountain of the Innocents | 1 | Directly below the Lance chest |
| Pauper’s Grave | 1 | Secluded high ledge, via grapple |
| Ruins Entrance | 1 | Past spikes, by sliding and swinging |
| Roman Baths | 2 | Upper room over waterfalls; behind a breakable upper wall |
| Hot Springs | 1 | Hidden passage past spinning saws |
| Ossuary of the Innocents | 1 | Upper ledges of the Serpents’ Lair hall |
| Ancient Sewers | 1 | On a wooden platform you drop onto |
| Overgrown Crypt | 2 | Side by side behind barricaded walls |
One of the Memorial for the Dead statues takes some work. Grapple across the high ruins in the Fountain of the Innocents, then drop into a secret spike-lined chute. The statue waits at the bottom.
The Ruins Entrance statue is reached from the Pauper’s Grave. You have to slide and swing past a row of spikes before you can hit it.
All 20 Secret Areas in Holy Innocents’ Cemetery
Secrets in the cemetery open in one of four ways. Watch and listen for the visual and audio cues the game gives near each one.
- Hidden passage: Rose can walk directly through a wall that appears solid.
- Breakable wall: a cracked section you hit until it gives way.
- Lever gate: a nearby lever operates the gate blocking the secret.
- Smash floor: a floor you break with Smash. Thicker ones need a longer fall first.
| Sub-area | Secrets | Types and contents |
|---|---|---|
| Cemetery Entrance | 2 | 1 hidden passage, 1 wall that breaks (XP statue) |
| Cloister | 2 | 1 hidden passage, 1 lever gate |
| Fountain of the Innocents | 3 | 3 hidden passages (one holds whole meat) |
| Pauper’s Grave | 1 | 1 breakable wall |
| Roman Baths | 3 | 1 destructible wall, 1 gate operated by a lever, 1 concealed passage (whole meat) |
| Mass Grave | 1 | 1 hidden passage (Raven’s Feather) |
| Hot Springs | 4 | 3 hidden passages (one with XP statue), 1 breakable wall (whole meat) |
| Serpents’ Lair | 1 | 1 hidden passage |
| Pillaged Tombs | 1 | 1 lever gate (Trembling Eye) |
| Ancient Sewers | 1 | 1 hidden passage |
| Overgrown Crypt | 1 | 1 hidden passage |
Smash is granted in the Clock Tower, in the Final Trap district. While Rose is in the air, press Down and Jump to dive into the ground. The dive breaks destructible blocks and hurts any enemies underneath her. The higher she falls from, the stronger the dive, and the strongest dives break the thicker floors.
Found in the Master’s Quarters, Gloomstone is a relic that signals when Rose is near a secret, speeding up the search for the last few walls. You can mark the location of a secret you can’t reach yet: open the map, hover over the spot, and press Square on PlayStation.
Whole meat pickups appear at the Fountain of the Innocents, the Roman Baths and the Hot Springs—three in total. Each restores all the health Rose has lost.
Mirrors of Life, Ferryman’s Wharf and area exits
At a Mirror of Life, press INTERACT (R1, or E on PC) to save your game, refill Rose’s health and replenish her potions. The tall mirrors stand between two hooded statues, making them easy to spot. Activate all four to complete the requirement.
| Mirror of Life | Location |
|---|---|
| Cloister | In its own chamber, the Mirror of Life sits after the Cemetery Entrance and before the Cloister. |
| Ancient Sewers | Just right of the Serpents’ Lair, through its lower halls |
| Pauper’s Grave | Inside the Pauper’s Grave |
| Overgrown Crypt | A chamber inside the Overgrown Crypt |
The cemetery’s Ferryman’s Wharf is at the lower dock of the Roman Baths. Talk to the Ferryman there to log it.
There are three ways out. The Cemetery Entrance and the Ancient Sewers both lead back to Paris Streets. The Mausoleum of the Kings opens onto the Catacombs of Paris, where Death and Mammon wait. The Trembling Eye and The Prophetess’s Key from this area both go toward getting in there.
