Soul Twister

"Highly intelligent bug that uses arcane knowledge to twist soul into vicious spells. I have heard others talk about 'soul' but I do not understand what it actually is. I do know that freshly killed meat tastes best - is that because the 'soul' still clings to it?"

Soul Twisters are enemies in Hollow Knight. They are scholars of the Soul Sanctum who have learnt how to harness the power of SOUL, which they twist into spells and use to teleport.

Behaviour and Tactics
Appearing out of thin air upon entering their territory, a Soul Twister either conjures an orb to protect itself, or already has an orb upon teleporting into battle. Afterwards, it pursues the Knight by teleporting and conjuring homing offensive orbs to attack with. It teleports frequently around its territory, making it difficult to hit and impossible to corner. It hovers a certain distance away from the Knight at all times, though it must remain stationary to conjure an orb. If the Knight enters an area it cannot teleport to, it teleports out of the vicinity but returns once the Knight re-enters its territory and resumes the battle.

It is recommended to use Nail Arts such as Great Slash to dispatch them quickly. Dash Slash can also help close the range with them.

If neither of these options are available, the best tactic then is to wait for the Soul Twister to conjure an offensive orb and then rush in to attack it after avoiding its projectile, as it cannot teleport immediately after firing a projectile. Depending on its location, avoiding the orb can be as simple as jumping over or dashing. Utilizing the terrain to prevent them from attacking from disadvantageous positions is also advised. Forcing them into smaller rooms and hallways where they have fewer angles of attack is also recommended to make dodging more predictable, and to make it easier to get in hits. Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul is also useful for attacking at range, as they do not deliberately teleport to avoid projectiles.

Fleeing from these enemies is very difficult, as they relentlessly teleport after the Knight upon their activation. However, they do not follow the Knight into other rooms marked via a screen transition.

Location
They appear in the Soul Sanctum, only to the east of the Soul Master arena. They also appear in the 9th, 10th, 11th and 17th waves of the Trial of the Fool.