Bloodborne's Clocktowers and other Landmarks - Dissected and Discussion (Including the Astral Clocktower)

Hi everyone.

This post is heavily inspired by the work of u/illusorywall and his Dark Souls Dissected videos related to the Map of Lordran, but I wanted to share some of the insane detail that a player can observe while playing Bloodborne.

The main topic of this discussion and screenshots attached below centers around the mysterious Astral Clocktower in the Hunter's Nightmare. What exactly is this tower and what is its equivalent in the Waking World? In the posts over the years, there seems to be confusion regarding this, and, well, good news - I will attempt to answer this, with pictures!

First, let's take a look at our first screenshot here. In this view, just outside Oedon Chapel, we can see the Grand Cathedral and a large Clocktower just behind it. These two landmarks will be important throughout this post. Additionally in this screenshot, we can see the Upper Cathedral Ward and the walkway there that leads to the Orphanage (the terrifying building with Brain Suckers and blue-eyed werewolves)

In this screenshot, we can get a better view of the Orphanage as seen from the base of the Grand Cathedral, just outside the entrance. We can even see the balcony where we acquire the "Make Contact" gesture.

As we enter the Upper Cathedral Ward seen here, we have an even closer view of the front of the Grand Cathedral with the Clocktower just behind it. We even have a Celestial Child in view, which if you didn't know, all of these little creatures face the direction of where Ebrietas lies, in the depths under the Grand Cathedral.

The large Clocktower behind the Grand Cathedral can then also be seen in Hemwick Charnel Lane, seen here. Note that this the backside view of the tower since we go behind the Cathedral when we enter this area.

Okay, now let's enter the Hunter's Nightmare. Remember that this is a warped version of reality / The Waking World, so things will be weird here. The most important thing to note that in this Nightmare, there are actually TWO Grand Cathedrals and Clocktowers. In this screenshot, right after we enter the Nightmare we can see what is clearly the first Grand Cathedral and Clocktower just behind it. This is where Laurence is located.

However, as you can see here in this picture, as we travel through the river of blood caused by Ludwig, in the distance, we can now observe the 2nd Nightmare Grand Cathedral and Clocktower in the distance. However, these are warped versions of the Waking World's version. In fact, the Clocktower behind the Cathedral is actually the Research Hall, where the blobhead patients are being held. The walkway / connection between the Clocktower and Cathedral is where the Living Failures are located, and finally, this Grand Cathedral is where Lady Maria resides, just inside the front "face" of the Cathedral. This is also the entrance to the Fishing Hamlet once we kill Lady Maria and unlock the path she kept secret.

Therefore, this answers what the Astral Clocktower actually is - it is the warped Nightmare version of the Grand Cathedral.

The detail Fromsoft put into crafting this world is nothing short of amazing and I had a blast exploring this world looking for these landmarks.

BONUS SCREENSHOTS / LANDMARKS - Another cool thing we can observe in Bloodborne is that we can actually clearly see Cainhurt Castle before we actually go there. In the dead end area in Hemwick, we can just barely get a glimpse of the castle behind a cliffside. However, we can get a full beautiful view of the castle when standing on the roof of the buildings we traverse in Hemwick. In this screenshot you can also see the broken bridge we arrive on after the carriage ride.

Conversely, when we arrive at Cainhurst Castle, if we look back, we can actually still see the Cathedral Clocktower in the far distance [seen here] (https://imgur.com/a/F2JhRwM). To the right, we can also see the Witch's Abode, where we fight the Witches of Hemwick.