Top 10 SCARIEST Moments in Zelda Games

[@SupremeMarioGamer]

The scariest thing in Zelda is when you're more than halfway up climbing a mountain in BotW & then is suddenly starts raining. The horror...

[@jameslawrenson1208]

So annoyingly terrifying.

[@Doggie1999]

*starts raining* NO GODDESS, PLEASE! NOT NOW!

[@Huckmon365]

I hate that

[@bezoticallyyours83]

😣

[@slaytanica]

For real

[@Skipatronic]

The caves in TOTK can be very terrifying during a Blood Moon as there's usually no music and then all of a sudden you hear that distorted note and echoing flute.

[@starbit5065]

Reminds me of when I was exploring a very long cave near Hyrule Castle, and everything started to turn red and menacing super fast. Turns out it was the Blood Moon, but in the moment it really did feel like I was approaching something that I really shouldn't have.

[@TheShiningEnergy]

@@starbit5065 Lindor's Brow? That was my first time experiencing Gloom Hands.

[@starbit5065]

@@TheShiningEnergy It was the Royal Hidden Passage, actually. And the first time I encountered the Gloom Hands was to the south-west of the Lanayru Wetlands (right around the Morok Shrine).

[@TheShiningEnergy]

@@starbit5065 aah. ok!

[@KookieStar]

The Gloom Hands 😭😭😭

[@phantomhurricane666]

in german, the dead hand translates into 'head-eater', and if you look carefully, he ALWAYS aims for Link's head.

[@thetrophygamer3606]

I like to think the translators played that fight first and named dead hand after what it did

[@thatguywhoanimids]

Jesus Christ

[@altermann1991]

I always interpreted the Zant scene as a part of Zant being in Ganondorf, so Ganondorf could have revived Zant eventually, while also getting some additional power from him (hence why he has now twilight powers), but when that part of Zant saw his god defeated, he decided that Ganondorf isn't worthy of his worship anymore, he is disappointed in his god and that part of Zant killed itself and thus Ganondorf too, since that extra bit of power he had from Zant was all that was keeping him alive at that point.

[@astralaegis6283]

That's close to my headcanon. I think that Ganondorf had given Zant a sliver of the triforce of power. When Zant dies, that sliver remains with his ghost/poe. Ganondorf calls on the triforce of power to continue fighting, but all it takes is Zant's refusal to deny Ganondorf the full strength of the triforce of power.

[@Nosidda]

MINOR TOTK SPOILER BELOW The best part about Gloom Hand though is what it actually is, and what happens if you're tenacious enough to try and kill it. The first time I attempted to kill it rather than run, I threw all my best resources at it, and I actually did manage to kill it. I was so excited and feeling so proud of myself, I felt extremely accomplished being to take this thing down. That feeling of excitement and accomplishment lasted for about 3 seconds before something I never could've expected happened. A boss healthbar appeared at the top of my screen with an enemy name above it that horrified me. Phantom Ganon..... I was screaming, it was a genuine "this is the end of me" moment. It's that moment where you immediately realize that you are fucked. I loved that moment so much! They did an incredible job making Gloom Hand a terrifying thing to encounter. And the best part? It can appear anywhere, at any time, for any reason. It's literally the best version of the terror that Wall Master was going for, an always present fear that can come for you at any moment.

[@Triforce_of_Doom]

Oh yeah for me it's the wombo combo of WHEN I discovered each aspect. My first run in with what I like to call the Floormasters from Hell was me going "oh hey shrine on a rock. Let's just head to the root to cli-WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT??!" & then dying because I only had like 5 hearts. Cut to me going to find the Hylian Shield & their spawn was just in my way with no way around them so I bomb arrow the fuck out of them with knowledge from friends that "okay well I can at least get a rare drop... where's the drop? Seriously where is the dr-I'M SORRY I'M FIGHTING *WHOMST*?!" God help anyone who's first exposure was finding the Lost Wood's new entrance.

[@cringyperson9670]

You kill the Gloom Hand and Phantom Ganon just shows up like, "You dun FUCKED UP NOW!!"

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

Believe it or not i found phantom ganon pretty easy thanks to the fact that they are extremely weak to dazzlefruit. And since tarry town has a shop with them in it... I... went on a bit of a killing spree before the blood moon came

[@zockingtroller7788]

​@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 THE WHAT?!? you're trying to tell me I could just toss a dazzlefruit at them, THIS ENTIRE TIME ? 😮🙂🙃 So many bombs and arrows *wasted* 😢😢

[@liambolton3203]

What

[@jaronneutronix3231]

The mask transformations from Majora's Mask could be on here! Link screaming in absolute terror always made it seem so painful! I always felt bad for putting him through that haha. Talk about body horror

[@alecrutz956]

I always thought it wasn't terror, but pain, especially the faces on the deku and goron ones

[@bryanlemmens68]

And also the dead sword from TP

[@magdalena2881]

On top of that horrifying scream there's also the cracking sounds, which I've always assumed were Link's bones changing shape/ rearrranging during said transformation.

[@claytonrios1]

That weird scene from Twilight Princess really was shocking even in a game that's aesthetically one of the darkest Zelda games of the bunch! Though Link being forcefully transformed by the Skull Kid was pretty freaky as well...

[@masterseal0418]

The secondly mentioned was similar to a nightmare Aonuma had since Majora’s Mask went through a harsh yet short development cycle, with many who worked on the game having trouble sleeping. He was shocked that Link's transformation into a Deku from Skull Kid was reminiscent to the nightmare from that very last night.

[@ratlover523]

Yeah that freaked me and my cousin out pretty good. His mom had gotten him the game for his birthday, and he wanted to play it together with me. Our plan was that since it was his game he would play for the first hour, and then we would alternate every hour. Had an egg timer set and everything. But after that transformation scene, he was so shaken up he practically forced the controller into my hands and he didn't feel ready to take it back until we were in Clocktown.

[@R7LPs]

I wasn't able to finish Majora's Mask as a kid because of the Pamela's dad. His face fell into the exact level of uncanny valley that, combined with the noises he made, upset me so much that I didn't even notice he was trying to sing the Song of Healing. Certainly a more subjective one, especially since when I finally came back a few years later, it was really tame.

[@mangomage33]

Gloom hands and running into a giant frox in the dark are the scariest things ever. Or just fighting a giant frox in general. I never knew true helplessness until a beast that much bigger than me started barreling directly at me with its mouth wide open to eat me while I was trying to aim my bow.

[@Raphe9000]

I'll gladly fight a Lynel or a Gleeok, if not for items then for the thrill of doing so. The Gloom hands however and what spawns from them, I just run away. That sense of dread is unmatched.

[@deadman2502]

​@@Raphe9000 gloom hands are too similar to floor/wall masters from previous Zelda games and I hate it 😭

[@tristanbowles7258]

My first encounter with gloom hands, I was scared shitless. Now not so much because I know how to beat them, but that first encounter randomly in the overworld will not be matched

[@bluestreaker9242]

@@deadman2502 I did not need to know what Dead Hand being not only mobile, but FAST, looked like... Thanks for the nightmares, Aonuma-san. O.o

[@azeplays3563]

Frox are basically the dodongo of totk. Zelda boss opens mouth=throw bomb in mouth

[@starbit5065]

I remember the entering the Silent Realm for the first time in Skyward Sword when I was a kid. I understood it was a stealth section well enough, but the whiplash I got from triggering the Guardians genuinely terrified me. It filled me with dread every time I discovered I had to enter it again in order to progress.

[@tanandalynch9441]

The fact you gotta do it 3 times is why I never beat skyward sword

[@Dollightful]

BOTW was the first Zelda game I've played, and thank goodness it was. I don't think I could have handled some of these horrors as a child 😂

[@sapphirejade5029]

Nope! You wouldn't have lasted five minutes in Twilight Princess. That was my first Zelda game and it has given me some PTSD. It's disturbing and creepy yet so whimsical and fascinating. All I ask is WHY?!😖😖

[@TekkenGirl4Lyfe]

A wild Dollightful appeared!

[@Unmustache1]

@@sapphirejade5029 I was like 8 when I played Twilight Princess the first time Needless to say, that game gave me nightmares And it’s still one of my favorites with MM

[@sapphirejade5029]

@Unmustache Æ oh NOOOO~ Are you kidding me?! That's gotta be the most horrific moment of your life ever.😬

[@Unmustache1]

@@sapphirejade5029 it really was The shadow link scene was SO FREAKY for someone like me, who couldn’t handle re-deads in castle town in OOT The ice temple boss was quite terrifying too though.

[@OliyTC]

This video is like a callback to the first video I found you from: The top 25 freakiest things in Zelda series Nice to see how it has changed and distilled over time

[@GBA-049]

Those 2 videos are classic as Hell. Several scenes from them still live rent free in my head to this day. It's unfortunate that The Speedster fell off so mysteriously though. I hope he's ok

[@MyronZhang]

I will never forget the moment in the Snowpeak Ruins in Twilight Princess, where Blizzeta becomes completely corrupted by the Twilight mirror shard.

[@phoenixstar0755]

It’s safe to say that’s an actual jumpscare

[@astralaegis6283]

I paused the game and screamed. I was not prepared for it and I was already not great with horror as a kid.

[@ezekielheartmoonsky]

Yeah. How did this not make the list!

[@ChibiProwl]

Yes. That's a jumpscare in a video game if ever there was one.

[@Ahmenthi]

Gloom Hands are the scariest things so far. The scream, how fast they catch up to you, the draining of your hearts and how they take turns restraining you, leaving you barely any opportunity to fight back. You have to straight up warp away to survive.

[@CommanderWiggins]

I had seen clips of them and heard people talk about them but nothing could have prepared me for my first encounter. I was picking apples when all a sudden these unauthorized fucking things came around the corner. I tried to get on my horse to escape but they knocked me off. I tried to run but they caught me. I tried to fight but it did nothing. I ended up dying because I was too panicked to even think about warping.

[@ChaoticTeen16]

SPOILER WARNING! It gets worse.... if you actually kill a Gloom Hand puddle, it turns into a PHANTOM GANON BOSS FIGHT!!!

[@ColtsPacers1]

I have to have it to Nintendo, those hands have caused me to have at least one rocket shield on me at ALL TIMES. And when I run out, I stop what I'm doing to get more rockets.

[@NappingSpectral]

This is why I keep spears on me from now on.

[@keithwiechart7744]

I didn’t actually know you could warp away. I’ve always been so paralyzed by fear that I never even considered the option of warping. And now, I’m at the point where they’re still difficult, but I can reliably take them down with the resources I have on hand, so I probably won’t feel the need to warp away anymore. They’re still absolutely terrifying though.

[@dynamite2065]

I was a kid when I played Ocarina of Time. The first moments I got the Master Sword and left the Temple of Time, I was stunned in the dramatic shift in environment. When I got to the plaza though and saw my first ReDeads, it was a wrap. The uncanny screams got me and I was already afraid of zombies to begin with!

[@sethescope]

the redeads remain some of the scariest things in video games to me, it doesn't matter that it's been like two decades since I played oot for the first time. it's that scream and the way they CLING to you. it's awful lol

[@milesedgeworth8683]

I still remember the feeling when I was messing around Hyrule during my first BotW playthrough only to start hearing a creepy note and notice a massive blood moon hanging over me. I also still remember it spawning while I was exploring North Lomei Labyrinth - the hardest one.

[@bluestreaker9242]

I remember my first Blood Moon. Happened to me when I took an apple from one of those Sheikah statue offering sites (the little statues with baskets for putting apples in, obvz); I straight-up panicked and thought I did something MASSIVELY wrong...like I had just MAJORLY pissed off the gods. O.O

[@starbit5065]

The first time I encountered the Blood Moon was, ironically enough, at the stable with the researcher who tells you about the Blood Moon. If my memory is correct, the guy was completely losing his mind during it.

[@milesedgeworth8683]

@@_MythicalWolf you have remembered who says that

[@milesedgeworth8683]

@@bluestreaker9242 I avoided sheikah towers because I went straight for the central one and got destroyed

[@bluestreaker9242]

@@milesedgeworth8683 Oof. Yeah, that'll happen. XD

[@ladylexicon11]

Being a young 4/5-year old at-the-time having a fun time watching her older siblings play OOT, only to be absolutely horrified upon walking in one day and seeing Link get accosted by Deadhand is a memory that will forever haunt me.

[@isshintheglocksaintPlotagon]

I remember the old top 25 from like a decade ago, good times

[@ConceptsCool4993]

Honestly I came back to it recently and can agree it's definitely a fond memory from this channel.

[@sageoffire3964]

You just turned my hair gray.

[@Pattamatt1998]

It's kinda wild to think how long his videos have been a part of my Sunday rituals lol

[@-memoria-2136]

Maybe it's just because I was 5 years old when I first experienced it, but the pre-final boss cutscene in Phantom Hourglass is still really uncomfortable to watch. Without going into spoilers, poor Linebeck.

[@parchmentengineer8169]

Yeah, that's a rough cutscene. One of my favorites in the entire series.

[@ClefairyRox]

And then the final boss theme is a twisted remix of Linebeck's theme (both of which are standouts in a mostly mediocre soundtrack). When Phantom Hourglass goes hard, it goes REALLY hard

[@AmethystLeslie]

3:30 Nothing like a Hyundai Tucson ad with "Bibbidy Bobbity Boo" playing to pair perfectly with Zant's theme from TP.

[@KamenRiderAliks]

I was for sure holding out for you talking about "Them" from Majora's Mask. The cow abducting aliens you have to protect Romani Ranch from always really bothered me. I would let time pass normally without triggering the song of Inverted Time, because they creeped me out so much I'd rather have it end sooner than have the advantage of them become slower targets.

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

Those gloom hands are utterly terrifying, especially since it gets worse if you somehow manage to beat them. Like, a LOT worse.

[@hokutology1718]

Wallmasters were in A Link to the Past first, but without the slow buildup to their attacks.

[@tanandalynch9441]

More pep probably had their first encounter with them in OoT

[@clarrytheclam]

I always loved the spooky dystopian ambience of Twilight Princess; Plus, turning into a wolf was my favourite concept when I was younger, so I loved going into the gloomy levels just to play as Doggo-Link and that made me pretty resilient to any other Zelda game creepiness 😂

[@ChibiProwl]

Ditto

[@ReyaitheShadowWolf]

One of my favorite moments that scared the absolute piss out of me the first time I saw it was the entire scene leading up to the Puppet Ganon fight in Wind Waker.

[@kid14346]

The worst part in my opinion about the Wind Waker redeads is what happens if you hit them with a ranged attack while they are inactive.

[@aurorawizard7045]

Thankfully, you can still blow them up with bombs from a distance.

[@phoenixstar0755]

Hit them with a fire arrow, and they just say “This is fine.”

[@cryolitegem]

I’ll be honest I kind of miss the guardians in totk. Yes the hands are way scarier but there’s just something so uniquely intimidating about spotting a guardian stalker from far away, and while that intimidation fades, it never truly goes away.

[@sethescope]

yeah, I think that's totally fair. both are scary, but which is scarier depends on you. I really hate evil hand content lol the gloom hands are, I suppose, scarier to me because they grab you. I'm less scared by something huge that can destroy me because at least it's just going to vaporize me lol I find the idea of being restrained and struggling scarier personally, but it's not like being vaporized by the equivalent of a tank sounds like a fun time haha however, the guardians move in a very fucked up way with all the legs like a spider, which is incredibly fucked up. I don't enjoy them at all.

[@MythicalMediaReview]

Gloom hands are the scariest

[@NIDAK52]

newgen

[@EvilPikachu]

Especially if you know what follows...

[@Ty-yy7zr]

That's what they're called? For me, it's remastered floor masters

[@NikoJr.]

They're even scarier once you notice how hard they are to kill

[@TimberCreates]

They scared the absolute crap out of me the first time it happened. And multiple times after that…

[@thefrogger6507]

Being a fan of the channel since the old Top however many creepy things in Zelda was fairly new, it feels wonderful seeing this topic again

[@Supe4]

With ganon gory deaths, him eating a rock, turning into a dragon and then link making him go thermonuclear with a sword is surely an interesting one.

[@TyllToons]

Can't believe it's been ten years since the original Zelda month. I've been watching this channel ever since 2014 or so when those videos were pretty recent, time sure flies

[@ummmuurdone7805]

One thing that has always scared me from all the Zelda games is the Romani Ranch Invasion quest. Mostly because of how out of the universe the creatures are, how no one else believes Romani about “them” coming to the ranch, and the scariest part is if you don’t defeat them and come back, the life literally leaves her eyes and she can’t remember what happened… it was just this looming dread that haunts the environment. Add the idea of time being manipulated constantly knowing you can’t always save her every play-through, so she has to endure that so many times.

[@tracej.kingsford7228]

Fun fact about dead hand, it has red blood splotches all over its body and hands, but when you hit it….. IT BLEEDS GREED BLOOD

[@Cuprite1024]

I'm glad I've gone into TotK as blind as possible, cause when those hands popped up for the first time I had NO clue what was happening. All I knew was that some gloom monster was chasing me and *it was was faster than me.* That kinda freaked me out since I wasn't expecting anything like that at all. I ultimately just warped away cause I knew there wasn't anything else I could realistically do since I was so early in the game (I still am, kinda). Lol. I love how much darker TotK's general vibe is while not straying too far from BotW's. It's genuinely impressive how they managed to balance them out this well. (Also, I tried getting a picture of it the second time I ran into one to register it in the compendium, and it just... didn't register. Idk if it should have or not, but yeah, that was a thing)

[@Triforce_of_Doom]

yeah as someone who's been doing his best to snap pics of everything, the Floormasters from Hell just DON'T HAVE ENTRIES

[@sethescope]

​@@Triforce_of_Doom Zelda devs are probably like "you're welcome :)" about this smh

[@Leifmuah]

Fun fact about the Kakariko well where you find Dead hand, it was actually a torture chamber!

[@gumihyrule1278]

I was afraid to even face Gleeok in TotK, and imagine how I felt when I climbed a cliff and suddenly and unexpectedly I'm getting blasted with fire. I just had no idea that guy was just up there but he sure took offense to seeing me because he just removed me from the universe.

[@sethescope]

Gleeoks are so scary from far away! when I saw my first one, I was like "oh hey, fuck that! no thanks!" and gave it a wide, wide, WIDE berth. it was satisfying to eventually get powerful enough and confident enough to fight them without much concern, other than concern for whether I had enough materials on hand to make fighting them straightforward.

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa4545]

I'm gonna have a hard time forgetting my first frox encounter. I was just kinda minding my own business, exploring the depths. That passive fear of something massive looming in the dark was something I always had, but I wasn't expecting it to really come to frution. You can imagine my reaction when, after I shoot a glowseed far off in the distance, this giant hulking frog thing emerges from dark out of complete nowhere, eats that source of light, and then crawls back into the abyss. All while i'm there just watching with an admittedly overdramitic face. Yeah, I decieded to go a different direction.

[@kurisu7885]

Um, underground? You can randomly encounter the Gloom Hands on the surface in TOTK, it's happened to me, more than once. Luckily they're not SO bad once you realize if you can get up high they cease being a threat.

[@Chillaccino1]

dead hand is terrifying and the gloom hands are it’s successor

[@Agent-8]

That guardian soundeffecr gave me a heart attack, the ptsd is still there

[@ConceptsCool4993]

THAT Twilight Princess scene man....

[@sageoffire3964]

The fact that there's like 7 moments you can be talking about and I still know exactly what you're referring to.

[@ConceptsCool4993]

@@sageoffire3964 it's a special kind of feeling isn't it? Yeah that weird ass scene ending with link looking high asf is something spoopy as shit for a Zelda game.

[@juliagoodwin9510]

That scene... WTF...

[@mattbriddell9246]

I'd add the Mask transformation cut scenes from Majora's Mask. They're super creepy to watch and take on a whole new level once you realize Link is actually being possessed by the spirit of a dead being when he transforms.

[@garfreeek]

I love when Zelda does creepy! It's the #1 spot that makes you feel like anything could come up at anytime during the subsequent games! I'm checking up on the Rito's in Tears of the kingdom. And the music just started going totally off the rails! I'm so excited and freaked out! What happened there?!! Can't wait to keep playing tomorrow! 😂❤️

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

!!!!

[@FalseShepherd]

The Gloom Hands were scary asf when you first encounter them the Music slowly creeping up along with the surrondings turning Red is just perfect.

[@kag2576]

I think is says something about how terrifying the Gloom Hands are, given how high they placed. I'm not too far in ToTK yet but the amount of times I've just been happily wondering around only for them to slowly form into existence seemingly out of nowhere and send me into an anxious spiral is too many. That first encounter scared me so damn much because it was so unexpected and now they live in my head rent-free, causing me to approach every encounter with paranoia

[@tanandalynch9441]

They shoulda been number one. Deadhand is a kitten in comparison

[@shyguykid7935]

Seeing the blood moon for the first time in BotW kind of freaked me out.

[@kermitclassified]

Same. I thought I was progressing fast enough and ganon was coming.

[@KyuubiDragon4]

There's an aspect of the gloom hands that you didn't mention and may not be aware of, but is nonetheless noteworthy: sometimes when you manage to kill them, something about as dangerous spawns in immediately after.

[@katmannsson]

I had to fight... *them* literally twice in a row the other day and that was fun, I was glad I was INCREDIBLY well prepared or it uh, would have been an issue.

[@tanandalynch9441]

Ironically what they spawn in is easier to defeat than the hands themselves

[@Shantae1188]

Number 10: I think I got more scared of a Guardian in Age of Calamity especially when it first breaks through a barrier. But I also really love that rendition of the Guardian chasing music. Number 3: First and so far only time I have run into them, I was like, WTF?! And the best part, you can’t get a picture of them so you will have no idea what they’re even called. Number 1: One of life’s greatest mysteries.

[@ShadowXemnas13]

There's actually a random tip in the loading screen that calls them "Gloom Wraiths". I've only seen it once so far, but I've committed that name to memory because like Rabbid, first encounter was out of nowhere and freaked me the hell out.

[@Shantae1188]

@@ShadowXemnas13 I agree. They were scary

[@VWdabug]

For me,its when you see ganondorfs health go almost off the screen

[@DreadfulNedburns]

Your big two part collaboration video about creepy Zelda moments from years ago is actually the video that brought me to your channel to begin with, so it was actually a really good time to see you come back to it now that you've grown as an creator and there's a little more content to choose from.

[@pyrotornado108]

I feel the ‘gloom hands’ ,as they’re being called, are the evolution of the Dead Hand mini boss

[@leargamma4912]

The evolution of floormasters, really

[@macdongr]

You wanna know something? I fought the Deadhand once in OoT on my first playthrough, and it wasn't at the bottom of the well. I went through the shadow temple without the lense of truth on my first time and was very unprepared for both Deadhand and BongoBongo. I was terrified, and I loved it.

[@A-Person1]

Finished TOTK and I have to say. The way ganon dies is unexpected.

[@wariodude128]

The crazy thing about the Bottom of the Well and the Shadow Temple is that they're the only two dungeons in the game with the exact same aesthetic. BotW is also the only dungeon you play through as child link with keys and locked doors. While going through both areas, Navi mentions how they contain parts of Hyrule's dark and violent past the royal family probably doesn't like to talk about. With that in mind, it leads me to believe Dead Hand could be all of the anguish and hatred from the losing side against Hyrule's founders in corporeal form. It shows up in both areas because there's so much anguish and hatred it spawned two and perhaps more you never see. BUT HEY, THAT'S A THEORY, A GA-wait, wrong channel.

[@phoenixstar0755]

I think Dr. Wily went kinda into detail about Dead Hand, and I do believe that it is an incarnate of hatred. However, my theory on why you fight him twice is because in the events between child and adult timelines the hatred grows worse under Ganondorf’s reign, leading Dead Hand to not only reappear in the future, but to be stronger. Now if only the second fight didn’t drop the rupees…

[@shawntraub7249]

Don't abbreviate Bottom of the Well as BotW, you had me confused for a good 5 seconds. "Did me a heckin' confuzzle" as the kids would say.

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

Who abbreviates a minor location in one game by using an acronym of another game? Edit your comment now.

[@wariodude128]

@@jarlwhiterun7478 No. Bottom of the Well=BotW. Didn't want to write it all out again, so had to make a decision.

[@lazyryan3766]

How did breath of the wild get dragged into this?

[@thestallioncreatura]

9:30 i love how Link is literally getting hump eaten, and Medly is just standing there, not giving a crap

[@shadowlinkbds]

Amazing how they're a lot creepy and WTF moments in the zelda series. Hell i remember when rabbidluigi did a past countdown doing this with speedster (let see who remembers that old list.)

[@RenegadesReact]

The Mask Transformations in Majora's Mask merits a mention. Body horror in a Zelda Game.

[@archdiangelo7930]

I always thought the Zant neck snap was just a vision, not a literal thing that's happening. Like, Ganondorf, in his final moments, either hallucinates or sees the spirit of the man he strung along all this time, condemning him as he succumbs to his wounds

[@skyfoil]

I am so glad you gave Dead Hand the respect it deserves for how creepy it is. I'm almost 30 and I STILL tense up slightly whenever I have to do the Bottom of the Well or the first section of the Shadow Temple because Dead Hand traumatized me that much as a kid.

[@bluebow5014]

I actually only realized recently that Zelda has never really *scared* me before-as in, I’ve never had this lingering sense of dread and paranoia about some of its darker encounters. Panic and/or anxiety, certainly, especially with the likes of redeads and their ilk Gloom Spawn SCARES me

[@kurisu7885]

When it comes to jump scares don't forget Yetta's transformation into Blizzeta in Twilight Princess. That one REALLY got me the first time.

[@MystLunarabne]

Yeh Gloom hands definitely become less intimidating as you progress through the game, so far the toughest enemies are the Geelok and Lynel. Gloom hands can still be a little tricky though but not particularly though. Early on the best way to deal with them is to find a high ground they can't reach then throw bombs at them since they all need to die at the same time and then take a photograph of the creature that spawns after the hands are defeated, you can then try to kill that creature too if you want but early on it's probably best to just run at that point, but then if you have the upgraded sensor now as long as you're not tracking anything else you can set it to the thing you just took a photo of and you won't be as easily ambushed by the gloom hands anymore. The same method also works with the Yiga though most of their traps and bases are pretty obvious anyway, it can still be useful if you're looking for them.

[@darkwarlord]

I have a different opinion on a few of the terrifying things in Zelda games. 1. Wall Masters in A Link to the Past were a lot scarier for the fact that it is the first time you really deal with them. 2. Gloom Hands are glorified Floor Masters. There are more of them with the caviat that there is a surprise if you beat them. 3. Guardians are just Beamos with legs, but they were a little overwhelming in the beginning. Now, for my terrifying choices 10. Blind disguising himself as one of the sages originally caught me off guard, and when he regenerates heads, I didn't know how to juggle them for a while. 9. The scariest places that I have seen in Zelda don't compare to anything more than the well in Skyward Sword. If there was a hell in hyrule, we found it there. 8. Have you ever thought that you could make it out of the Water Temple in any Zelda game? How about facing your own demons? Dark Link was an interesting idea that came from Zelda 2. Having to face off against yourself is not a good time, but rewarding if you succeed. 7. Like Likes in TotK were a little offputting in the beginning, and the idea of them being just a mouth and stomach that could surprise you if you aren't watching is like going through Half-Life not knowing what a Barnacle is. 6. I would agree that Dead Hand is a terrifying being, however, the fact that it existed and was locked away by the shiekah is even more terrifying. Where did they find this thing and why is it like The Thing? 5.The Blood Moon, when going through any area that you cleared, but you lost all of your weapons in the process, and having to witness all of the monsters, including Lynels, return for the first time is truly horrendous. 4. The Happy Mask Salesman hunting for his stolen Majora's Mask. What were his plans? Why did he want it so badly? Why would he wait in a doomed city's sewers for a boy to return a mask that could cause the world to be destroyed? 3. When go into Ganon's Tower in Wind Waker and meet Ganon in a vast room, as he watches Zelda sleeping, and transforms into Puppet Ganon, a monstrosity that changes form and moves erratically. 2. After Saving Hyrule, realizing that you have to go and save it again, and again, and again, moving spiral-like pattern, causing you to think that there is no end to the apocalypse of your favorite land. 1. That there are two games featuring Tingle as the main character. If you thought it was bad enough that he wore tights, wishes he were a fairy, and forces his brothers and one random person that looks like them to work on his secluded island as a slave, that is the most terrifying thing in all of Zelda. P.S. if you made it to the end, this was all for the hell of it. I hope you enjoyed the satire. And no, none of these are terrifying to me......the CD-i games existing is the most terrifying thing in Zelda.

[@jodeboyd8386]

imagine the forest temple's twist tunnel causing you to fall sideways from then on out. For 9:15 that area gave me a nightmare where the lights went out could only hear redeads and the game could not be turned off then the saved file had me stuck in that room!

[@OliverMurphy-eh4hs]

When your halfway up climbing a mountain and you hear the guardian music or see the sky start to turn red 💀

[@Sly88Frye]

2:21 You and me both. I was around that age myself I think I might have been eight or nine when I nearly drowned. It was terrifying. I was at a camp that my family and I used to go to a lot during my childhood in the '90s and my early teens in the early 2000s and I had made friends there that I unfortunately have not kept in touch with because there was no social media. Anyways the reason I nearly drowned was because I was actually chasing after a floating ball that I accidentally threw over too far into the water and I don't know I think my momentum pushed it into the deep end and then I ended up in the deep end and this was before I knew how to swim and I was terrified but another kid actually grabbed me and pulled me to the shallow end.

[@SorenDaein]

Regarding Number 2, the Dark Links are a visual metaphor to the "interlopers", with the one that stole Link's appearance being one for the group's leader. The interlopers are revealed to be Midna's ancestors, with Midna herself mentioning that her ancestors "lost their king to such greed" when she revealed to Zant why none would call him king.

[@Sagasking14]

I absolutely hate how terrifying the Gloom Hands are. The Floor Masters of Wind Waker gave me nightmares when I was a kid, and then these screeching monstrosities suddenly come out of nowhere to chase me, bringing back lots of bad memories.

[@bonnieeyre-m6e]

Dead hand is just goofy lol

[@amirgarcia547]

Even if it’s not included in this list, one “scary” Zelda moment I’ll definitely never forget is the jumpscare right before Blizetta’s boss fight. Since she just stands there creepily for a few moments only to turn around and have the most horrifying face possible, which definitely caught me completely off guard. Man, other than Majora’s Mask, TP hands-down has to be one of the creepiest games in the series. Then again, since both are my favorite games in the series, I guess things with dark themes/undertones are right up my alley lol.

[@nervousboy1111]

Rabid, awesome video as always! One minor suggestion i have (maybe you omitted doing this for copyright?) would be back up your claims with some audio. For example the silent realm you said the music is anxiety inducing, i was hoping you'd play a snippet so we could hear it, as I've never played that game before.

[@shawntraub7249]

Nintendo is notoriously bad about copyright, if he played even a second of it youtube would strike the video.

[@DG_Toti]

He was playing it in the background while talking about it

[@kurisu7885]

The Like-likes have usually gotten me too, namely in the 3D games, especially in OOT and MM when they lunge at you, but the new ones in Tears are, they're terrifying to look at.

[@thembill8246]

I absolutely identify with number nine here. I was visiting my grandparents in Florida around age 8 in the summer, and we were at the ocean with all of my cousins and all of my immediate family, and I got pulled out by a rip current. Very tall for my family, my uncle managed to see me and get to me just in time. Time. He says that if I had been any further out, we both probably would have been stuck. Ever since then, any sort of underwater level where there is a timer for your breath, I struggle. It's gotten better over the last 30 years, but that's some life-changing shit sometimes

[@camposjl17]

I have to pick Yeta's moment because it was the first time that a Zelda game genuinely scared me. You know something's wrong the moment she gets to the mirror and starts talking erratically, but nothing prepares you for that freaking "The Exorcist" moment. That's some scary sh*t! 🤣

[@HanaNoMachi]

The fact that Ganon got impaled through the chest AND got his neck snapped but still died standing straight up in TP is the hardest shit in the series imo

[@michealforguson5317]

The 3DS version of OoT has the Wallmaster's shadow actually be a growing hand as it descends on Link. That was more terrifying than it's original debut. A growing dark circle.

[@phoenixstar0755]

Here’s my hot take. Yes Dead Hand is terrifying by design, but you never actually engage in his battle until you’re ready. The gloom hands on the other hand you will likely stumble upon by complete accident, and what they do to you is far worse than anything Dead Hand could do. Draining your hearts, sapping your health bar, and even spawning Phantom Ganon if you muster up the guts to defeat them.

[@mattbriddell9246]

I'd also add as an honorable mention the first time you descend into the Depths in TOTK and see just what kind of strange, bizarre atmosphere you're now immersed in. Plus, if you're unlucky enough to drop into a chasm with a Frox at the bottom, that's a nasty jump scare for the game to hit you with.

[@TheSnoozeFox]

The first time I encountered the gloom hand enemies in TOTK was in a cave now I’m so nervous anytime I enter one, I was double scared when I found out they can spawn above ground too

[@shawntraub7249]

In addition to just being plain creepy, what makes the Bottom of the Well even worse is what it represents in real life. OoT at its core is a story about growing up. Until you open the Door of Time, everything about the world is whimsical and cute because you see the world through a child's eyes. As an adult, you see the world for what it is. But there's also the parts of the game when you can go back to being a child, which brings us back to the well. A kid sees it as just a well. Just like how a kid will be in the park, and be happy that a man is letting him pet his puppies, or thinking that the sign at Chuck E Cheeses that says "Adults must be accompanied by a child" is cool because this is THEIR place! Not for grown-ups! But the parents will be watching the puppy man like a hawk, and when he notices them he looks scared and immediately leaves. Or the true reason why Chuck E Cheese won't let adults in without a kid. The Bottom of the Well represents the true horrors of reality that children are completely oblivious to. Going back there after being an adult, you realize the times you were truly in danger yet had no idea.

[@djmk211]

No.6 is my favourite. Watch out for the hand monsters that are hiding on the ceiling. I believe the monster dead hands is a cursed executed prisoner from the hyrilian war. Also the hand monsters reappear in both the well and shadow temple

[@TriXJester]

First time I ran into Gloom Hands I could hear the "New Nightmare Unlocked" in the psyche of my soul

[@MikazuKerasima]

those gloom hands scared the shit out of me when i first saw them. they probably always will lol

[@Justapileofleaves]

The scariest thing in Zelda is flowerblight in botw

[@Lughrochben]

I think the freakiest thing about Dead Hand is how its design inspired the False Hydra, a famous homebrew D&D monster with... disturbing results...

[@djarchangel6695]

So just a little fun fact. Dead Hand was the original picture used for something called the False Hydra. It's a little too much to go into right now, but if you want something really creepy, look that up.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

That's true about the guardian. I was sooo cautious when I first saw them, but I still got caught off guard when I got ohko'ed trying to find a horse to tame.

[@TacticalGooseYT]

The first time gloom hands appear in you game either scared you so muck you nearly shit yourself or just made you stress

[@TylerXC91]

When the hand things come out of nowhere in tears of the kingdom for the first time it's terrifying

[@thunderphoenix440]

One of the worst for me was in BOTW when you're hanging out in Gerudo Desert and then that giant-ass worm jumps out of the sand and tries to eat you.

[@tanandalynch9441]

I love how you put the themes in so we know exactly what's coming

[@DemonDragon000]

As someone who never actually got the timing for reflecting the Guardian's blasts back at them...they are still terrifying.

[@jojol.2630]

The most terrifying thing was the surprise toilet hand in Majora’s mask. When that happened my friend straight up thought I got murdered

[@StretchDude]

Zelda has no jumpscares, you say? Try diving down the chasm north of Tarrey Town, seeing a boss health bar appear, tossing down a brightbloom seed and spinning the camera around to find it just in time to see a hulking maw leap out of the darkness RIGHT BEHIND YOU.

[@gingerelvis93]

As a young child, playing Wind Waker, Re-deads made my skin crawl with that scream, also from wind waker, maybe not scary per say, but as a kid the Moblins the first go of forsaken fortress where I had to sneak by, when they noticed you, that was jump scare central

[@PoisonDuckAnimations]

Nothing feels better in Breath of the Wild than being able to brutally stomp Guardians into the curb.

[@sharkt9877]

5:10 Imo the most logical theory is the triforce is keeping him alive. The sole reason he is alive. But guess what? He shared abit of it with zanty boy… just enough for zant to go “nah ah ah you didn’t say the magic word” and turn it’s powers off. Instantly killing him

[@TurquoiseStar17]

Wind Waker's scariest Redead is the lone one in the private cabana. You can't see it before jumping down the hole, then it's right behind you. A zombie in the basement - no wonder Ms. Marie was so eager to give the place to Link.

[@RosaleeFaith]

when you said "wham!" and the redeads eyes turned red I jumped so bad my heart skipped a beat🤣

[@kohlyis6177]

As a not big fan of spiders I was not thrilled with the Twilight Princess Skulltula, especially when you first encounter it in the Forest Temple trying to get across only to be stopped by this giant spider.