The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time isn't a horror game, but the creepy design of enemies you face as Link might make you feel otherwise. After he becomes an adult and is released from his stasis in the Sacred Realm, Link returns to a Hyrule that's been ravaged by Ganondorf. Possibly because of this negative energy and destruction, the enemies you find tend to include more unsettling designs compared to those you come across during Link’s childhood.

As far as creepy designs go, you have a range in Ocarina of Time that goes from somewhat unsettling to "I never want to see this creature again." While you find most creepy creatures as adult Link, a couple that appeared during his childhood are almost worse simply because of the story behind them. If it wanted to be, Ocarina of Time could've been an amazing horror title.

10 Gohma Starts Off Bosses With A Creepy Vibe

The Parasitic Armored Arachnid Inside The Deku Tree

Queen Gohma is the first boss you fight in the game as child Link, and you find her inside the Great Deku Tree. Her spider-based design is creepy for anybody who dislikes spiders in general. Then, you add in the fact that you don't even see Gohma until the screen shows the ceiling of the boss room and a giant spider creature is hanging out up there.

That doesn't make it any less disturbing to see this massive spider as the root of the Great Deku Tree's ailment.

As the first boss, Gohma isn't particularly difficult, and instead you learn the basics of Ocarina of Time's boss fights that continue throughout the rest of the game. However, that doesn't make it any less disturbing to see this massive spider as the root of the Great Deku Tree's ailment. In a sense, Gohma is basically eating away at the Great Deku Tree to the point that it's not able to survive the damage that's been done, so it has to create a new sapling that will grow and take its place in the future.

9 Bongo Bongo Ends The Shadow Temple

The Phantom Shadow Beast That Nearly Destroys Kakariko Village

You only encounter this type of enemy once, but it's the perfectly eerie finale to Ocarina of Time's dark and secretive Shadow Temple, a location that's already the section that feels the most like it's been pulled right out of a horror game. We don't know if Bongo Bongo is the remnant of a specific person who died in the Shadow Temple, or if the boss is the manifestation of the combined suffering endured at that location. Either way, the design combined with the temple's history is exceptionally unnerving.

The Shadow Temple was used by the Sheikah to imprison Hyrule's enemies during the civil war that preceded Ocarina, which is why you can find a lot of bloodstains and torture devices still present there. This leads to the belief that Bongo Bongo's design is of somebody whose hands were cut off, and who possibly had some skin flayed from them. As a result, the boss has its hands disconnected from its body, and it has sections of its design that look like they're being peeled away.

8 The Stalfos Of The Lost Woods

Zelda's Iconic Skeletal Foes

If you aren't a Kokiri or Link and you enter the Lost Woods, you won't be able to find your way out. Instead, you get trapped and slowly become a Stalfos if you're an adult, or you become a Skull Kid if you're a child when you get lost. The knowledge that the Stalfos you face were once regular people who just got lost in the Lost Woods adds to their creepy factor, since you now see them as mindless monsters who attack anybody they come across.

Stalfos appear outside the Lost Woods and the Forest Temple as well – in the Shadow Temple and Ganon's Castle, for instance. It's unclear if these Stalfos were also created by the Lost Woods.

The Stalfos are skeletal monsters with glowing red eyes. They have armor and weapons, but they also don't have any sense of who's an enemy and who isn't, so they attack you when you get close, even if you don't need to kill them to proceed. Not only is it sad that these creatures used to be normal people, it's creepy to see how much they've changed when they turned into monsters while they were trapped in the Lost Woods.

7 The Mysterious Poes Across Hyrule

Of Keen Interest To The Poe Collector

We don't get a lot of explanation about Poes or why the Poe Collector in Castle Town is so interested in collecting them in jars, but that adds to their creepiness. In Ocarina of Time, the Poes have an appearance that's fairly similar to the variations of them that you'll see throughout the rest of the series. You can generally find Poes in Hyrule Field or in Kakariko's graveyard, where you might even get to see them rise from the graves there.

Poes carry lanterns, which make it easy to find them, and have glowing eyes that you can see within the cloaks that obscure the rest of their appearance. These enemies can be tough to defeat with the way that they swing their lanterns at you, and the Big Poes can only be defeated with your bow, which can be difficult depending on how good you are at aiming at moving targets. Still, the creepiest part of these enemies might be the spirits that are left behind and why the Poe Collector is interested in having them.

6 Hearing The Scratching Of Gold Skulltulas

Useful, But Still Creepy

Gold Skulltulas are useful enemies, but they're still creepy. You can earn rewards for finding and defeating Gold Skulltulas, which breaks the curse on the family in Kakariko Village. However, the gold variations being useful doesn't mean that they aren't as creepy as the standard Skulltulas are. They're somehow one of the most easily recognized enemies as well as one of the creepiest.

You usually hear Skulltulas before you see them, as their iconic scratching sounds can be heard even before you've spotted one. Then, you have the pleasure of spotting a skull on the body of a spider with long legs and glowing eyes. As if the initial sighting isn't creepy enough, the way that you can see Skulltulas rotate and wiggle is also unnerving in its own way.

5 The Gibdos Are Less Frightening ReDeads

Mummy Wraps Help Hide Their Terrifying Form

Gibdos can easily be mistaken for ReDeads, since both enemies have the same design basis, which results in them having the exact same body shape. The difference is that Gibdos have a more wrapped-mummy appearance, whereas the ReDeads have no clothes on and wear a mask. You're also more likely to see ReDeads before you come across a single Gibdos, so it ends up looking like just another ReDead but wrapped in bandages.

You'll find Gibdos primarily in the Shadow Temple, unlike ReDeads, which you can find in other locations, such as Castle Town. Unlike ReDeads, Gibdos don't walk around until they notice you, meaning that you're likely to attract their attention quicker. However, they're still stunned by the Sun's Song, so using that to get around them is a viable tactic, and useful to avoid being grabbed and losing health from damage you didn't need to take.

4 The Terrifying Tubes That Are Like Likes

They'll Steal Link's Equipment

Your first encounter with Like Likes is tough to forget. These enemies are the tube-like fleshy creatures you see in some hallways. If you get too close to one, they eat you, lowering your health before they spit you back out. Because they have a tendency to eat you, and it's tough to avoid that attack, they're tough to kill. If you get too close, you get eaten and lose health instead of dealing damage.

As if their creepy appearance isn't bad enough, Like Likes will eat Link's gear and spit him back up without it. When this happens, your only choice is to defeat the Like Like to get your gear back, since it's dropped when the Like Like dies. The Like Like can eat weapons, tunics, or even your shield, so if you get caught by one, you basically need to kill it after. As a result, you have an enemy that is both creepy and frustrating.

3 The Dreaded ReDeads Found Throughout Hyrule

Their Haunting Shrieks Freeze Link In Place

When you think of creepy monsters from Ocarina of Time, ReDeads are probably among the first enemies that come to mind. They're a bit of a shock, since you can find some as child Link, but they fill Castle Town right after you start the adult Link section, where you then leave the Temple of Time to find the market is in ruins with these creatures shuffling around an area that used to be lively and filled with people. Even when the shock wears off, ReDeads remain creepy.

Most of the time, a ReDead's shriek will cause Link to freeze in place, but the ones in Castle Town do not have this ability.

When you get too close, ReDeads grab you, dealing damage. Like Gibdos, they're stunned by the Sun's Song, which gives you a moment to slip past them before you're grabbed. Additionally, they have a mummified appearance with a mask, making it seem like whoever they used to be was worth the effort of mummification and receiving what's likely a death mask, which was usually given to important figures in Ancient Egypt.

2 Wallmasters Make You Fear Shadows

Keep Moving Before They Pounce On You

Wallmasters are creepy not only because of their design, but also because you see their shadows hovering over you as you try to jump from platform to platform. Then, you have a monstrous spidery hand fall on you, making you restart the room that you were in by teleporting you back to its entrance. Like the Like Likes, Wallmasters are a mix of creepy and frustrating, which would make them perfect for horror games.

The design of these creatures is a blend between hands, spiders, and scorpions, which makes it more terrifying when they fall on you.

You also have the similar Floormasters, but they aren't as creepy. Instead of lingering on the ceiling and waiting to fall on Link, Floormasters crawl on the floor and walls, trying to ram into Link. Either way, the design of these creatures is a blend between hands, spiders, and scorpions, which makes it more terrifying when they fall on you. Then, you have to get over your shock and kill it before it gets back to the ceiling to start its hunt over again.

1 Dead Hands Are The Creepiest Monsters

Mini-Boss At The Bottom Of The Well

Dead Hands are hands-down the creepiest monsters that you'll find in Ocarina of Time. This is the creature that was sealed under the well in Kakariko Village, and I think that any village in their right mind would do the same if they had a creature like the Dead Hand that needed to be dealt with. It's an amalgamation of horrors that deserves to be featured in horror games as a returning enemy, because it feels like it was pulled directly from the world of a horror game.

The Dead Hand has a main body that has tiny T. rex arms and a body that looks like an enlarged maggot with a head that can unhinge its jaw to take a bite out of Link. As if that's not bad enough, it also has several arms with hands protruding from the ground. These arms grab Link, holding him still so that the body can take a bite out of him. The end result is a creature that fuels nightmares.

Ocarina of Time is the first game to take the Zelda franchise into the world of 3D gaming. In addition to the adventures that we're used to going on with Link, we also got our first looks at returning enemies in a new style, which made many creepier than they looked previously. Then, we have enemies who were new and then continued to appear informs that are various levels of creepy after The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time paved the way for them.