There is no Locke & Key without the keys. These seemingly everyday objects are the catalyst for the Locke family’s incredible story. Not only do they literally unlock the magic for Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones) and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott), but they’ve also done that same magic for generations of Locke kids that came before them. Throughout each season of the show, viewers have been introduced to new keys with mighty new powers, and the third and final season is no exception.

Many of the keys featured in Locke & Key also appear in the graphic novel series written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez, and the designs for those on-screen keys were closely based on the books too. “The graphic novels were never too far away from everyone's consciousness, and they, at times, were a source of inspiration for a detail,” production designer Mark Steel tells Tudum. “I got to meet with Gabriel Rodríguez and talk about key design, and that was really great.”

According to Locke & Key co-showrunner Meredith Averill, “Some of the keys are very similar to or exact replicas of the keys as they exist in the comics.” But that wasn’t the case for all of them. “Some are brand-new creations that came out of the writer's room that don't exist in the comics. It was a really fun task for us to pitch what a key like the snow globe key, for example, would look like,” she tells Tudum. “Those were some of our most fun discussions that we got to have.” Here’s a guide to all the keys seen in Season 3.

Animal Key

The first key used in Season 3, the Animal Key, as its name implies, allows its users to transform into an animal. It opens what is called the Animal Door, a small door that leads outside from Keyhouse. When the key’s user crawls through the door, they then become an animal. Steel and his team added the ornate Animal Door to the Keyhouse set for Season 3. “That was designed to tie into the architecture of the house,” he says. Emilia Jones, who plays Kinsey Locke, tells Tudum that the Animal Key is one of her favorites featured in the series. “I was trying to persuade [co-showrunners] Meredith and Carlton [Cuse] to make me a dog,” she shares. In the end, her character actually transforms into a cat when she uses the Animal Key and her little brother Bode becomes a sparrow.

Snow Globe Key 

Though its existence is hinted at in the graphic novel series, the Snow Globe Key, which features a white snowflake design, is only fully revealed in Season 3 of the TV show. The season opens with Nina discovering a snow globe that’s fallen off a bookshelf in Keyhouse’s winter study. Inside the snow globe, there’s a miniature replica of the home as well as two new demons looking to escape. Later in Episode 1, Bode finds the same Snow Globe key in the freezer. When inserted into the snow globe, the key transforms Keyhouse’s grounds into a winter wonderland. Unfortunately, though, re-locking the snow globe has the effect of potentially trapping people inside the globe itself.

Timeshift Key 

In Episode 2, Bode finds the Timeshift Key inside a grandfather clock in Keyhouse.  After plucking it from one of the clock’s hands, he inserts it into the clock door which reveals an hourglass, Roman numeral dials and various complicated gears. Users of the Timeshift Key, which is topped with its own tiny hourglass, can travel back in time and witness past events that took place at Keyhouse by spinning the Roman numerals inside the clock.

Harlequin Key

The Harlequin Key, which is shaped to look like the head of a jester, is introduced thanks to the Timeshift Key. Bode learns of its existence when he travels back and meets his Colonial-era ancestors Benjamin and Miranda Locke. The Harlequin Key was created by Benjamin, and when it’s inserted into a child’s harlequin chest, the chest becomes impenetrable and indestructible, making it a perfect place to hide keys from potential thieves.

Creation Key

The final new key in the series, the Creation Key, which features Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, was forged in 1995 by Rendell Locke. This key is actually a drawing utensil, and any image that is drawn with it comes to life. After years of being hidden away inside Gordie Shaw’s mind, the Creation Key is at last used by Kinsey and Tyler in the series finale, and Connor Jessup, who plays Tyler, says it’s his favorite. “I think that’s the coolest idea of a key,” he tells Tudum. “We only get to explore it a little bit in the show, but I like to think about all the possibilities it offers.”

Exclusive: The Grandfather Clock | Locke & Key S3E2A new time-warp key unlocks the past.