The 10 creepiest locations in The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda is renowned for its wondrous and picturesque environments: the vast, untamed wilds where nature reigns supreme, the ancient, dignified temple ruins, or the lively towns filled with friendly folk. But just as memorable as those that are a joy to explore are those that send a shiver down our spines. Sometimes it’s the dungeons that accomplish this, and other times it’s a forlorn corner of the overworld with a dark history. Whether it be ghastly imagery, chilling music, or uncomfortable themes, locations in The Legend of Zelda have all kinds of ways to creep us out, and these are the ten creepiest of them all.

10. Hyrule Castle Town as an Adult

It feels like Link is completely guarded from the outside world while within the hallowed halls of the Temple of Time, which means that players had no idea what was waiting for them just beyond the entrance after traveling seven years into Hyrule’s future. Gone is the bright, bustling Hyrule Castle Town that he once ran through as a child; in its place is a devastated wasteland that looks like every bit of life has been forcibly ripped away from it. The leaden sky, the ruined buildings, and the eerily quiet streets that are now home only to wandering ReDeads — it’s a dismal mirror image of what stood there before Ganondorf’s reign of terror. As the first taste of how Hyrule has changed after seven years’ time, Hyrule Castle Town is an immediate gut punch, and a stark declaration of how far the kingdom has fallen under Ganondorf’s tyranny.

9. Ancient Cistern’s basement

The top floors in Skyward Sword’s Ancient Cistern are positively sublime, but what lies beneath one of the series’ most beautiful dungeons is a very different story. As the Ancient Cistern’s theme clearly takes inspiration from the classic Japanese short story “The Spider’s Thread”, its basement is meant to be the “underworld” to the upper floors’ “heaven”. Unlike the pristine water above, the water in the lower chambers is inky and corrupted. The air is choked with a ghostly haze, zombified Bokoblins skulk about mindlessly, and there is an unnerving amount of bones laying about, including more than one section where the floor is a sheer carpet of skeletal remains. It’s a jarring shift in atmosphere that will have you climbing up the rope as fast as you possibly can to escape back to the first floor — all while Cursed Bokoblins try to drag you down to the depths with them.

8. Palace of Twilight

Upon finally traveling to the Twilight Realm and seeing the shadowy dimension first hand, players quickly realize that it’s not the perpetual darkness that makes the Twilight Realm so eerie, but instead, what it has become under Zant’s sinister influence. With the Usurper King at the throne, the Palace of Twilight is a dismal, twisted version of what was once surely a proud citadel. The remaining Twili have been turned into hideous creatures, and the palace grounds are infested clouds of dark fog, as well as the Shadow versions of familiar monsters from Hyrule. Then there are those dreaded Zant Hands, ceaselessly pursuing you as they reach for the Sols. Whether you’re passing through the outdoor courtyards or through one of the interior chambers, an unsettling atmosphere hangs over the Palace of Twilight. The sorrowful, distorted theme that rings out in the background is one of the creepiest pieces of music in the series, perfectly capturing the dungeon’s melancholic mood.

7. Arbiter’s Grounds

As far as dungeon premises go, it doesn’t get much more grim than Twilight Princess’ Arbiter’s Grounds. In a past age the desert dungeon served as a brutal prison where Hyrule’s worst criminals faced one of two horrific fates: execution, or banishment to the Twilight Realm. Many years later, the Arbiter’s Grounds feels like it is decaying the same as one of the many corpses housed within its walls. Entire rooms have fallen apart at different points, their floors being swallowed up by ravenous quicksand, and the air being subsumed by pitch blackness. Between that and a litany of traps designed to kill in one stroke, it is dangerous to simply explore the Arbiter’s Grounds, never mind that it is home to all manner of undead foes like Stalfos, Stalchildren, Poes, Gibdos, and Death Sword. The further you progress into the Arbiter’s Grounds, the more it feels as though you are becoming trapped in one great tomb, leaving the sun, the sky, and any trace of fresh air far behind.

6. The Depths

For as vast and as sprawling as Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule was, little did we know that another world still lay beneath the kingdom. Venturing through Tears of the Kingdom’s Depths is a nerve-wracking task before any nearby Lightroots are activated, however. It is pitch black below the earth, so dark that you cannot see what waits for Link even a few feet away. Should you be short on arrows or Brightbloom Seeds, traversing the inky darkness is an exercise in uncertainty, as there is no telling what lies just ahead. The plant-life, fungi, and lichens that thrive in the dark are alien and unlike anything found on the surface, some specimens rising to heights that tower over the largest trees on Hyrule’s surface. Titanic Frox lumber about in the murk, eager to attack anyone who dares approach. The gravest danger, though, are the rivers of Gloom that run freely throughout The Depths, having poisoned Hyrule’s core and corrupted many of the creatures who call it home.

5. Shadow Temple

Said to be home to Hyrule’s bloody history of greed and hatred, Ocarina of Time’s Shadow Temple defies the notion that temples should be regal and awe inspiring, or contain anything even resembling eye-pleasing aesthetics. Dark, dirty, grimy, the Shadow Temple is one great house of horrors where the very architecture is constantly trying to claim Link’s life. Those who enter must avoid whirling blades, falling beds of spikes, enormous guillotines, and that’s just what the player can see. So much of the temple is wrapped in illusion, hiding surfaces and objects from plain view, or suggesting that objects exist where there are none. Sometimes these deceptions mean having to make daring leaps of faith while wearing the Hover Boots, crossing chasms that otherwise would plunge Link into a deadly descent. It’s also home to a second encounter with Dead Hand, which alone makes it a dreaded place to visit.

4. Inside the Moon

After all of the macabre sights and themes throughout Majora’s Mask, to suddenly stumble upon something as idyllic as the Grassy Playfield inside the Moon is so jarring that it immediately feels suspicious. The inside of the Moon appears to be a utopia, but deep down, you know it is anything but. Its only inhabitants are a group of children carefreely at play around a lone tree, and who also happen to be wearing the remains of the four bosses that Link defeated during the adventure to save Termina from certain doom. A fifth child who dons Majora’s Mask sits ominously at the base of the tree, patiently, contently waiting for its opportunity to ensnare Link in battle. Who these children actually are is never revealed, adding yet another layer of mystery to this inexplicable environment. The tranquil aesthetics of the Grassy Playfield are nothing more than deception for the Moon’s true purpose — to cause the utter annihilation of Termina and all life within.

3. Hyrule Castle (Twilight Princess)

Something just plain feels off about Twilight Princess’ Hyrule Castle the moment you step inside that first chamber. The only thing that breaks the eerie stillness is a sedate rendition of the Hyrule Castle theme from A Link to the Past that reverberates wistfully in the background, as if to mourn the regal spirit that has perished under Ganondorf’s rule. There is no one left to appreciate the stately architecture and the lavish trappings, and the only creatures within who still draw breath are but a handful of enemies. Nearly all life and all activity has ceased within the sumptuous halls, turning the magnificent citadel into a ghost of its former self. The quiet, lonely march to the climactic battle with Ganondorf serves to stoke the tension of the inevitable encounter. Only once Link and Midna reach the top of the central tower does the gravity of the moment emphatically make itself known, as a storm rolls in over Hyrule and the music transitions into Ganondorf’s sinister theme.

2. Dark Palace

The old saying “less is more” perfectly encapsulates A Link Between World’s Dark Palace, as it uses a minimalist approach to create an unbearably creepy atmosphere, the kind you would never expect from a 2D Legend of Zelda dungeon. Despite the restricted overhead view, the blocky textures, and the relative lack of detail in the Dark Palace’s architecture, the constant darkness does all of the work necessary to send chills down your spine. It embraces the horror principle of hiding the “monster” in the shadows, and letting the uncertainty of what lurks within frighten us. There are sections in the Dark Palace where it feels like there is nothing before Link. Just pure, black emptiness. A void that robs the player of their visual senses and threatens to swallow them up for eternity. Even the dungeon’s music, which is among the most unsettling themes in the series, echoes in such a way that it seems to be falling into the endless darkness.

1. Ikana Canyon

Once home to a prosperous kingdom, Ikana Canyon was stricken by tragedy long before Majora set its sights on Termina. As described by the Poe composer Sharp, Ikana Canyon is now a “land where only the dead roam”, following a prolonged war between the Garo nation and the Stalchild soldiers of the Ikana Kingdom. Although we learn little of the specifics about that bloodstained history, its impact can be seen in every forlorn corner of Ikana Canyon. The earth itself is withering away, the soil parched and any trace of vegetation struggling to survive in this wasteland. The lifeless sights are joined by a truly haunting remix of the overworld theme from Termina’s other regions, with a menacing organ line and vocalizations that feel like a lament for all that has been lost. Majora’s curse has caused the dead to linger in the world of living, perpetuating the war even when it has already left Ikana Canyon in ruins. Some of the participants continue their efforts as if the conflict never ended. Others, like Captain Keeta and Igos du Ikana, are filled with regret over what has happened, now only able to bewail the irreparable damage that has been done to their homeland.