On the surface, Kakariko Village from Ocarina of Time resembles a small, sleepy town with Cuccos on the loose and carpenters running back and forth. Even the famous windmill spins slowly. One could assume that the village would attract more visitors than it does, being located so close to Castle Town. Mountain views, lots of space to let your kids run around, and not too far away if you have any business to take care of in Castle Town. It almost sounds too good to be true… and perhaps it is.
I loved to explore Hyrule when I was about six years old, as Kakariko Village has several buildings to step into. It was the perfect place for me to shamelessly strut into peoples’ homes and check if any old pottery was conveniently on display for me to break. There was only one place I recall avoiding because it was a bit too spooky for little me to handle, and that was, of course, the Graveyard. I thought I was safe from anything remotely frightening as long as I stayed in the town. That is, until I decided to check out a gray building in the southeastern part of the village.
On the outside, it looks like any other home in Kakariko Village, just a little less polished without the stucco wall texture that the many other homes scattered around the village have. A poor Cucco seems to be stuck near the entrance but behind the wrong side of a lattice fence, making it difficult if anyone needed to fetch it. It seems that no one cares to look after this house, or perhaps is incapable of giving it the love it deserves. These visual clues remind me of a few houses in my own neighborhood that looked fine when I was a kid, but now have tall grass and unattended gardens. I know that whoever lives there doesn’t have the energy to look after their gardens, but this home in Kakariko doesn’t leave any sign of who lives there until you step inside.
It might shock you a bit once you do. The house is nearly empty, aside from wooden planks leaning against the walls, a few wooden boxes, and spider webs hanging from the ceiling and covering every corner. It’s also very dark with no light passing through the windows. Based on these first impressions, you might think it’s better to walk out again and never come back, because it truly feels like a haunted house. In a way, I suppose it is, but let Link lend you a bit of his courage and see what else might be hiding in the shadows.
What you can’t see at first is the lurking Skulltulas, safely hiding in the ceiling, until you get close enough for them to drop down and surprise you. If you are just like me, a bit of a coward, and try to hit it in the back with Link’s sword to make it go away, it won’t work. Instead, you’ll hear a terrifying scream coming from it. The reason why is because these Skulltulas aren’t like the other ones you find in the game. These are cursed Hylians.
This is where this shabby Kakariko home gets its name from. The House of Skulltula has six human-spider monster hybrids, and if you speak with the one in the center of the home, you’ll gain some insight about what happened to them. While it won’t tell you exactly how this tragedy happened, it promises Link to make him “very rich” if he can help them lift the curse that was put on their family. All Link needs to do is defeat all 100 Gold Skulltulas scattered across Hyrule and bring back the tokens they leave behind as proof. And since Link is a good person, he will agree and return every now and then to show how many Gold Skulltulas he has taken care of. If you’re a better person than I was when I last played the game, you will make sure all six members of this family return to their human bodies.
In the 3DS version of Ocarina of Time, the house is slightly more furnished with a couch at the entrance, a fireplace, and a number of other things scattered about; you can even find a book with the Sheikah symbol on the cover. The couch might be in terrible shape, but it doesn’t look like it was cheap. If we take these hints and listen to some gossip, it becomes quite clear that this Skulltula family once was very rich. So rich, it became their downfall. Similarly to Jovani in Twilight Princess, this Cursed Rich Man and his family were so greedy, the curse was put on them as punishment. What was once surely a beautiful home is now dark and creepy.
I suppose it’s up to the player to interpret if the story of the House of Skulltula and its owners is meant to be a moral lesson. But whatever the case may be, I think we can all agree that it adds a really great spooky element to the game. Kakariko Village might be a peaceful place in Hyrule, but if you explore it a little closer, you discover that the village has its own dark corners too. So, I suppose I can understand why not too many people are looking to live there at the beginning of the game. I’m not sure how I’d react to a human-monster neighbor, either.
