The Legend of Zelda series has always been known as one of Nintendo's more versatile series in terms of the themes that it explores. The titles range from more lighthearted entries, such as Four Swords Adventures with its cartoony graphics, to a bit more darker, such as Majora's Mask and its themes heavily intertwined with death.
With this versatility is the occasional moments throughout the series that are full of nightmare fuel. From zombies to demon lords, the Zelda series doesn't hesitate in dabbling with spooky subjects, and some characters stand out from the rest in this regard.
10 ReDeads
ReDeads offer classic nightmare fuel to many iterations in The Legend of Zelda series—they are essentially the zombies of the Zelda world. With their fleshy appearance, blank expressions, chilling moans, and high-pitch screeches, they're easily among the spookiest enemies in the series. They're also somewhat formidable opponents as well, with the ability to stun Link and rise back up after being defeated.
9 Dampe
Dampe may not be easy on the eyes, but he is actually kindhearted and helps Link out multiple times throughout the series. Despite this, he's got an eerie disposition as the gravekeeper in each game that he appears in, with his slow, lurching mannerisms and unsettling expression.
Even more spooky is that in Ocarina of Time, Link must race Dampe's lingering spirit after he passes away in order to obtain an upgraded hookshot.
8 Floormasters
These pesky enemies appear frequently throughout the series. Players can end up as prey to Floormasters near the final floors or towards the ends of dungeons: a shadow will appear beneath Link as a slow drone can be heard, before the Floormaster swoops down and grabs Link. If successful, it drags Link back to the entrance of the dungeon. Their design may be simple, but their quick and arbitrary appearance along with how startling it is when they do appear is spooky enough.
7 Pamela's Father (Zombie Version)
Arguably, one of the scariest moments in the entire series occurs in Majora's Mask, when players enter the house with the watermill in Ikana Valley. As Link enters the basement of the house, a deformed, pulsating zombie with bloodshot eyes will burst out of a closet and slowly lurch towards Link. Before anything else can happen, the daughter of the zombie, Pamela, will run between the two and implore that Link leave and forget everything that he had seen.
It turns out that the zombie, Pamela's dad, had a curse placed upon him by the Skull Kid. Link can remove the aliment from her dad by playing the Song of Healing, ensuing a touching reunion between daughter and dad as Pamela insists that he was just having a nightmare.
6 Majora
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is often referred to as the darkest title in the series for its exploration of themes like death and loss. This is all central to the title character, Majora: an evil, ancient spirit that resides in a spooky looking mask. There is still much mystery surrounding exactly what Majora is.
5 Bongo Bongo
It's no wonder that the boss of the Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time would end up on this list, as the Shadow Temple itself is one of the spookiest locations in the entire Zelda series.
Bongo Bongo may have a silly sounding name—but what lurks beyond the shadows is what appears to be a deformed body hanging face-down from the ceiling, with two severed hands that it uses to attack with.
4 Yeta/Blizzeta
Yeta lives with her husband, Yeto in the Snowpeak Ruins in Twilight Princess. Her usual design and demeanor actually appears very friendly, and Link can even participate in a minigame race with her later in the game. However, when players reach the end of the ruins and Yeta gazes into the Twilight Mirror shard, she begins twitching and moaning before her eyes suddenly flash red, she bares her teeth and becomes Blizetta. Players are quickly thrown into a boss battle with Blizetta who begins floating and weaponizing crystal shards against Link.
3 Like Likes
Like Likes, similar to ReDeads, are another reoccurring enemy species in the Zelda series. What they are exactly is a bit of a mystery—their appearance is fleshy, and rotting looking, with a large, gaping mouths that face upwards. They also emit an eerie noise that almost seems to mimic the noise a stomach makes when it is gurgling. Though they don't appear to have eyes, they can still sense their prey when nearby, as they will lurch towards Link when he walks near them and open their mouths wide to try and suck him inside.
The most eerie and spooky thing about Like Likes is that it isn't exactly clear what happens when they do catch Link and suck him inside. If they do, the gurgling noise becomes a bit slower and lower in pitch as Link struggles inside, before it shoots him back out (and potentially steals some of his equipment). It's a bit chilling to imagine if they have teeth on the inside or some type of digestive fluids.
2 Ghirahim
One of the most iconic characters in the entire franchise, Ghirahim makes his appearance in Skyward Sword. He is a flamboyant demon lord birthed from Demise's sword (similar to Fi and the Master Sword). The spooky aspect of Ghirahim's character is his slow descent into madness throughout the game, appearing at first smug and looking down upon Link during their initial meeting, and slowly becoming aggravated and desperate to defeat Link towards the end of the game.
His desperation manifests into his final form, where he discards his more humanoid appearance and instead looks much more ruthless, with blank eyes and a more menacing demeanor.
1 Dark Link
Dark Link is another interesting reoccurring phenomenon throughout the Zelda series. He appears in multiple titles, and typically resembles if Link's shadow had taken a life of its own, but also with sinister, red eyes. Dark Link is a bit one-dimensional in that he typically doesn't speak, appears sporadically, and has one main objective: to strike down Link. Yet, the mystery behind his motives and origin makes him spooky in itself.