9 Legend of Zelda Side Quests Scarier than Any Horror Game
Check every closet in Hyrule first
The Legend of Zelda has never been particularly shy about depicting curses, ghosts, and the walking dead (or ReDead). Its optional side quests are where Nintendo tends to let all three run wild. The series has always worked this way — usually giving you a bright, whimsical surface to explore with something rotten and/or horrifying tucked away, should you decide to look under that friendly surface. In the main story, that dread hides inside dungeons and boss fights. In the side quests, the dread has moved into the house next door, where it’s a bit more startling to discover. Curious what nightmares are hiding for Link throughout his various adventures? Check all the closets in the basement, first. Then read on, if you dare.
9 House of Skulltula (Ocarina of Time)
What's keeping us up at night: A family is begging for your help! Unfortunately you’ll need to kill 100 golden spiders to break their curse
In Kakariko Village, years before the game begins, a fabulously rich family has been turned into spider people, cursed for their greed, as local rumor has it. Fortunately, there is a cure: Finding and destroying 100 Gold Skulltulas, twitching golden oversized spiders that cling to walls and trees throughout Hyrule. The hunt for curse-breaking spiders takes you from Hyrule Field to the walls of claustrophobic dungeons. You do get helpful rewards for performing pest control, but at what cost? Walking into the spider family’s house in Kakariko Village — and seeing the half-spider-half-human hybrids hanging out, forlornly, awaiting your assistance — is horrifying. We wouldn’t blame you for turning around, walking back out, and ignoring this entire questline.
8 The Craftsman's Son (Ocarina of Time)
What's keeping us up at night: You go looking for a man in the Lost Woods and meet a girl who cheerfully explains what exactly happens to lost adults
As Young Link in Ocarina of Time, you can spy the Master Craftsman’s son hanging out, not working, not doing much, around Kakariko Village, much to his father’s dismay. So far, so good. Do a bit of time travel, though, and the son’s nowhere to be found. Wonder what happened to him? In the middle of Adult Link’s Biggoron’s Sword trading quest, you’ll head to the Lost Woods and see him for a moment. He’ll press a mushroom into your hands as an ingredient for medicine. Return to check in on him later, and you’ll find that he’s gone. A nearby Kokiri girl will explain, somewhat gleefully, that adults who get lost in the woods turn into Stalfos — skeletal warriors. She doesn’t seem to see a problem with this.
7 "Them" at Romani Ranch (Majora's Mask)
What's keeping us up at night: Something comes for the ranch every year. And if you aren’t careful, that something will erase your friend’s memory
On the first day in Majora’s Mask’s Romani Ranch, young Romani practices archery. She does so to prepare herself to fight something that her older sister, Cremia, insists does not exist. According to Romani, They come every year around the Carnival of Time to steal cows. The invaders — reportedly inspired by the Flatwoods Monster of West Virginia folklore — drift slowly toward the barn, from the wee hours of the morning until sunrise. If you fail to protect the barn from these ethereal, ominously quiet alien figures, Romani will be whisked away…then returned later, without her memories or cheery personality. Win, and that doesn’t happen. And you also get a bottle of milk.
6 Pamela's Father (Majora's Mask)
What's keeping us up at night: A girl is hiding her father in a closet because he's turning into a mummy
Deep in Ikana Canyon, a house shaped like a music box sits atop a tiny, cluttered basement; in that basement, there is a closet. A young girl named Pamela has been hiding her father in there. He’s half-mummified, en route to transforming into a zombie-like Gibdo. Of course, she does not directly tell you this. You are left to sneak down into the basement, then stand absolutely paralyzed with fear as the closet slams open and this half-mummy, half-man creature bursts out and starts to stalk toward you. If you have your wits about you, you can play the Song of Healing to break the curse and get the Gibdo Mask. But no judgment if you don’t remember to do that immediately.
5 The Ghost Ship (The Wind Waker)
What's keeping us up at night: There’s a ghostly ship gliding through the dark water with its own theme music, and tragically (in the HD remaster) you do need something on board
The Ghost Ship sails only at night. And at certain spots on The Wind Waker’s Great Sea, based on the moon’s phase. And sometimes reading the map to locate the Ghost Ship is hard. And depending on how good you are at reading context clues, you might not necessarily know you need to find a Ghost Ship — so the scariest part of this questline might be sailing around the Great Sea, wondering how you’re supposed to progress the game at all. Once you do figure out how to board the Ghost Ship, you’ll recover a Triforce Shard and all will be well. But the image of a pale ship rising out of the black water with eerie music playing will likely stick with you for years to come.
4 Jovani (Twilight Princess)
What's keeping us up at night: One man’s soul, scattered across sixty ghosts. Can you save him by collecting every piece?
In Twilight Princess’s Castle Town, you can find a man who sold his soul to the ghostly Poes for wealth. For his troubles, he and his cat were turned into solid gold statues. To free him, you must find sixty Poes across Hyrule. Many of them are visible only when you’re in Wolf Link form. Even after you lift the curse, Jovani’s still going through it. You can find him in Telma’s bar, weeping, as his girlfriend’s now with someone else. There is a silver lining to this side quest, though. Befriend his cat, Gengle, once the curse lifts, and the cat will hand over 200 rupees every time you visit.
3 Phoeni, the Ghost Hand (Skyward Sword)
What's keeping us up at night: There’s a ghost hand in the bathroom. All it wants is a piece of paper, probably
Early in Skyward Sword, rumors swirl saying that a ghost haunts the Knight Academy bathroom. Go to check it out, and you’ll find a hand reaching up from the toilet, asking for paper. (Odd, sure, but this isn’t the only time this happens in The Legend of Zelda, so. Maybe this is actually very normal.) The only paper you have on offer is a love letter from a student named Cawlin, one of Link’s tormentors. Give the love letter to the ghost, and the ghost, Phoeni, becomes so moved that she starts haunting him, watching him sleep. Deliver the love letter as promised, and Cawlin gets turned down by his intended love interest anyway. Who’s to say, honestly, which is the better fate for Cawlin?
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2 The Lost Ghost (Link's Awakening)
What's keeping us up at night: A small pink ghost trails you across the island, hoping to eventually find its own grave
Right after you finish Angler’s Tunnel, a mid-game dungeon in Link’s Awakening, a small pink ghost will start following you around. Cute! This game’s chibi, toy-like style, especially in the remake, makes this feel less like a haunting and more like you’ve just made an adorable new friend. But this ghost is on a mission, and you can’t progress the game until you help it out. The ghost leads you to its old house near Martha’s Bay, where it floats mournfully among its things, mutters about a cemetery, and asks to be taken to its grave. When you get there, it thanks you and leaves you a Fairy Bottle — generous, for a ghost! The experience, though, just adds to the overall air of mystery surrounding Koholint Island. What’s wrong with this place?
1 The Bargainer Statues (Tears of the Kingdom)
What's keeping us up at night: In the vast darkness beneath the surface, there are giant statues standing silent, selling weapons for souls of the dead. No worries, go find all of them
Far below Hyrule, in Tears of the Kingdom’s expansive, smothering Depths, Link meets the Bargainer statues. These giant, living statues sell weapons, armor, and materials. They’re a helpful resource allowing you to trade Poes, which here are souls of the dead, for things you need. But the presence of each of these statues — incomprehensibly gigantic, as some are, or half-hidden in cliffsides, jutting out of the dark — makes stumbling around in the dim green light absolutely terrifying. Find each, and, bargain by bargain, you’ll be able to pay out the souls of Hyrule’s citizens to get better gear. Don’t try and haggle. Just grab your new tunic and head back up to the surface as quickly as you possibly can.