[[quoteright:350:[[BodyHorror https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/majorasmaskhonf_2996.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The iconic [[PainfulTransformation transformation sequence]] from the hit motion picture ''[[Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon "A Hyrulian Were-Zora in Termina"]]''.]]

->''"The clock tower rings again, and again, and again… This is how the world ends… This is how the world ends… It's five-thirty, it's five-forty, it's five-fifty, it's--"''
--> -- '''WebVideo/JacobGeller''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2tXLsEUpaQ "Every Zelda is the Darkest Zelda"]]

''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' has its share of suspenseful and surprising NightmareFuel alike, but ''Majora's Mask'' is the most infamous for it. There's a reason many consider this game to be the darkest in the Zelda series-- many reasons, in fact:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:The Start]]
* The game hits the ground running in terms of horror with [[https://youtu.be/PVCHGGv0W_c the lovely sight of Majora's Mask and the Happy Mask Salesman floating in a void.]] Bonus points for [[HellIsThatNoise the creepy droning noise]] the mask makes as it gets close to the camera.
* The introductory cutscene. From the slow, ambient and unnerving score in the background, to Skull Kid's first surprise appearance and the echoing laughter that accompanies each sentence, to the rather trippy final moments of the scene where Link is transformed against his will. The whole tone of the game is set up with this long and rather chilling cinematic.
* The initial part when Link gets transformed into a Deku Scrub. You have just fallen into a dark, endless abyss with creepy outlines of the masks floating about you and you land on a flower… Then, random spot lights shine down on the Skull Kid who then forces you to watch as Link, visibly frightened, is swarmed by angry Scrubs. And then the huge one appears… And the screen zooms into its snout. And when you wake up again, you're not human anymore.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Skull Kid]]
* [[SchmuckBait Go ahead, look into the telescope on the third night.]] You know how you need to look at the Skull Kid for the Moon's Tear? Well, usually, when you zoom into Skull Kid, he just taunts you, slapping his butt or making silly noises. On the third night? He looks straight at you, head tilted, and shudders, twitching erratically. Then it zooms out to see the Moon's Tear fall, and back onto the Skull Kid. He's still staring.
* And finally, we have none other than Skull Kid's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9LPj2MukZI#t=0m51 scream]] on the final day, which brings the moon down even faster.
* Another gem from the 3DS version: enjoy a rapidly twitching Skull Kid complete with mask in the corner any time the game loads something.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Happy Mask Salesman]]
The Happy Mask Salesman may be on Link's side, but he's still one of the creepiest characters in the game. Suddenly appears out of nowhere at the start of the game? Eerily complete knowledge of the way the ArtifactOfDoom was made and works? Near-constant creepy-ass smile and one of the most sinister laughs one has ever heard? Switching from emotion to emotion, going from jubilant to furiously screaming in your face in half a second? One of the creepiest moments was when you failed to get Majora's Mask back the first time. [[OhCrap "Don't tell me... My mask... you did... get it back... Didn't you?"]] His eyes open, filled with rage. Cut to him shaking Link like a rag doll, screaming "What have you done to me!!!" as a deranged version of the Song of Healing plays in the background.
* The Mask Salesman's mannerisms are doubly creepy because, except for that one time, he's never actually shown changing expressions. Every other time he does it, it shows him acting one way and then suddenly jump cuts to him acting another way. It gives a very stunted and jarring feeling.
* "I am counting on you to get [[HintDropping my mask]]..." He manages to follow Skull Kid to [[AnotherDimension Termina]] and identifies Link's [[SoundStone Ocarina]] as capable of playing the [[MagicMusic Song of Healing:]] "[A] melody that heals evil magic and troubled spirits, [[SoulJar turning them into masks."]] Oh, and he somehow gets hold of an [[MaskOfPower evil mask]] that was supposed to have been sealed "in shadow" by an ancient tribe of sorcerers lost to time. He also teleports, and has the same hair color and clothing as the children on the Moon (and in the 3DS remake, all of them have the Mask Salesman's face as part of their model, hidden beneath their masks). All this makes him suspicious, but not terrifying, but his random red-eyed outburst and eerie manner contribute to the fact that the more you think about him, the creepier the salesman becomes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Masks]]
* The little cutscene that plays when Link puts on a transformation mask. [[PainfulTransformation With the scream, the expression, a noise that sounds like bones breaking, and especially the eyes]].
** As demonstrated by the page image, the Zora Mask arguably makes this cutscene [[FromBadToWorse even worse]] as compared to the other two. It has characteristics that are quasi-human, which in this case [[UncannyValley is not necessarily a good thing]]. The transformation sequence shows BlackEyesOfEvil surrounded by ''[[EyeScream cracks]]'', the fangs and pale complexion bear resemblance to a vampire, etc.
** The Goron mask has the same black eyes and cracks, and a horrifyingly-wide screaming mouth with grotesque giant teeth. And the Deku mask has those bloodshot, red-orange eyes...
** The worst part about these transformation masks? '''You can't skip the first time you transform with any of them.''' The game wants you to know what Link goes through each and every time he puts one of these masks on.
** After the release of the 2015 3DS remake, [[http://kotaku.com/why-does-link-cry-in-majoras-mask-its-pretty-dark-1692276196 a Nintendo employee posing as the Happy Mask Salesman]] let everyone in on just why Link is screaming like hell every time he transforms. The good news is that [[HopeSpot it's not because he's in physical agony from the change]]. The bad news is that the real answer is arguably ''even worse'':
---> '''Happy Mask Salesman:''' It's very simple! The boundless sorrow surrounding each mask comes rushing inside the wearer when they put it on, so the urge to scream is quite understandable, really.
* There are some theories pertaining to what happened to the Deku Butler's son. It is implied, though not confirmed, that the sad twisted tree beneath Clock Town is his long-lost son, as the Deku Butler is seen crying next to it during the credits. A common belief is that the Deku Butler's Son ran into the Skull Kid, who had then rendered him lifeless to gain the ability to transform Link into his Deku Scrub form. Since the Goron and Zora masks transform Link into people of importance who are also deceased (Darmani and Mikau), the Deku Mask has been thought to transform Link into the shape of the Deku butler's son. OutlivingOnesOffspring at its finest. This also doubles as a major TearJerker.
* The All-Night Mask. It allows you to stay awake and listen to the stories told by Anju's Grandmother without falling asleep, netting you two Pieces of Heart. It looks kind of creepy, but apart from that, it seems pretty harmless... until you talk to a certain Gossip Stone, which tells you that it was originally a ''torture device'', designed to force insomnia onto the wearer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Majora's Mask]]
* The titular Majora's Mask itself. First of all, it's a mask that was used in ancient hexing rituals. Next, it shakes its [[DemonicPossession "master"]] off, then proceeds to cause the Moon to crash into Termina by its own accord. After all that, in the Final Battle, it transforms into a ten foot tall demon that uses [[CombatTentacles tentacles]] grown from its arms as whips. And finally, and probably the most nightmarish of all, it's coveted by a [[FrozenFace constantly-smiling]] salesman who makes you wonder how he got the mask in the first place.
** What truly makes that terrifying is not what it can do, but why it does it. The Skull Kid is doing all of this out of his misplaced anger at his friends, to the point where you begin to pity him. But then, the mask shrugs off its wearer and abandons the plan to just crash the two together. Now it will "consume... consume everything". And why? You never do know why, but the meadow gives you a clue. Because it's all a game; it's just make-believe. This thing is destroying their lives [[ItAmusedMe because it's fun]]. A devastating act of slaughter comes from the imagination of a child.
** There's something particular to be said about the second form of the boss, Majora's Incarnation, which is just the eponymous mask but given whip-like limbs and a single eyeball for a "head" - what makes it creepy isn't so much its appearance, but its behaviour - it sprints and dances around the battlefield in the most demented fashion imaginable, complete with [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=4E-WXevIOJQ&feature=emb_title this delightful nursery rhyme from hell]] playing as it does so. Eesh.
** Majora's Wrath in the final battle. Its high-pitched wails, its nightmarish appearance (particularly its "head"), insane behavior, and very large tentacles that can stretch across the entire room and whip Link, and the music make this a truly frightening final boss.
** Not only is the music scary, but the lighting of the area is truly frightening. If you put enough distance between you and Majora's Wrath, the arena will get progressively darker due to the draw distance. All you can make of the final boss is a dark outline, which can be scary to some people.
*** For bonus insomnia points to spend this evening, take a quick listen in when Majora's Incarnation makes the transition to Wrath — its muscles grow so fast you can hear them surging and tearing as they grow.
*** And for the NF cherry on top, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBSc-2w8564 Majora's theme]].
*** Not even the fact that Majora's Incarnation acts so erratically does anything to lessen how damn creepy it is. It may make it worse, given how many take it as a sign of Majora's insanity.
** The mask can also be a JumpScare if you're not expecting it.
** And when Link confronts Skull Kid on the Night of the Final Day, Majora just drops the moon. That slow descent over three days? Entirely unnecessary, it's just reveling in the suffering of Termina before the end.
---> '''Skull Kid/Majora:''' If that's something that can be stopped, just try and stop it!
*** Also a case of FridgeBrilliance considering the "just a game" bit — a game's no fun if you win on your very first move, right?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Moon]]
And of course, who can forget the Moon that just sits in the sky with its horrible orange eyes and massive gaping mouth that never moves? And it never goes away, you can look up at it anytime. And it gets bigger and bigger with each passing day until it's taking up the entire sky with its angry grin. And during the third day? You can actually watch it inch ever closer in real time, slowly descending to the earth. Tremors will preiodically rock the earth as it does.
* The moon's default face is [[NightmareFace already pretty nightmare-inducing]], but it's worse with [[http://s3.vidimg.popscreen.com/original/19/eGMwZTNtMTI=_o_zelda-majoras-mask-63-fly-me-to-the-moon.jpg bright glowing red eyes and mouth agape]] as Majora possesses it.
** Made even worse by ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comic/264-countdowntodoom/ here]].
** The Moon's [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/images/1/1a/MM3D_Nintendo_Direct_10.png updated model]] from the 3DS version and ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors''. It's amazing what a new set of teeth, a bigger nose, and more depth to the eyes can do. However, some people have claimed that the new version is too exaggerated, bringing it into NightmareRetardant territory.
** If the Moon's Tear cutscene is any indication, the Moon itself is ''sentient'', and its "angry grin" is actually it grimacing, knowing what's about to happen and being powerless to stop the impending disaster.
* The night of the final day. The strange green (N64) or psychedelic (3DS) sky gives way to a terrifying blood-red sky. Clock Town goes from a bustling and cheery city to a desolate ghost town, with only a handful of people staying behind, with said people either oblivious to the cataclysm that awaits them or actively dreading it. In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Mf2mp6fms one commercial]], they put live-action people in this scenario.
* The music in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e056R97svz8 Night Of The Final Day]], which begins playing at midnight of the Final Day (when the clock tower opens) up to the dawn deadline. It makes everything worse. A little girl who has been {{Mind Rape}}d by aliens (or at least given a HeroicBSOD)? Worse. Fighting a seemingly-invincible dead guy who can take you out in one hit unless you have most of the heart containers, and full? Worse. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Trying to make it to the bank before daybreak?]] Worse.
** Furthermore, that music [[BackgroundMusicOverride supersedes any other background music that would otherwise be playing]], including the enemy battle music. It plays regardless of which place you happen to be in at the time. The dungeon music, as well as any music that plays during a BossFight or fades in over the track -- Ikana Valley's Music Box House or the Indigo-Gos' practice sessions, for example -- are the only themes it doesn't replace, but if you're still working on a dungeon or are stuck on the first phase of a challenging boss monster by that point, you're likely on borrowed time anyway.
** While we're here, let's talk about the music itself. It starts with an airy-sounding sample, which is used in several other games, but is most notorious for its use here, and the rest of the track uses a rubato tempo[[note]]meaning a tempo that isn't steady[[/note]] with instrumentation that's very hard to identify. The only instrument that can be easily recognised is a harpsichord that periodically plays a riff every few bars. It is very difficult to process what is happening in the song or what could come next. Unlike lots of songs composed for apocalyptic situations, this one doesn't just try to sound scary. It also manages to be melancholic, final and in a way, accepting of death itself. To think this was composed by [[Music/KojiKondo the same guy]] who made the [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] theme tune.
* Amplifying the horror in the 3DS version, [[RedSkyTakeWarning the sky turns a demented, deep red]] on the night of the final day, which looks rightfully unnatural, further showing just how wrong it is for the moon to almost be within touching distance. There is no dawn to be seen at any point as the morning approaches, with the sky staying red and starry even at 6 AM as the moon is crashing, which only further adds to the fear and absolute ''hopelessness'' of the situation; that there isn't even any morning light to comfort those who see it just before their demise.
** The fact that the Clock Tower, which only rang between dawn and dusk before, [[ForDoomtheBellTolls is tolling its ominous chimes almost constantly in the final hours]], really gives a feeling of the impending disaster and makes things even more unnerving. It's not clear whether they're ringing because it's mechanical and the constant earthquakes are making them freak out or because there's someone still in the tower ringing the bell to tell others to evacuate, but neither is better than each other.
** Accompanied by the Clock Tower's tolls is the sound of earthquakes; a deep, low rumble that is heard almost everywhere. As the Moon nears the ground, its center of gravity starts attracting the world itself. Those earthquakes are literally ''the entire planet moving towards the moon''.
** The Final Hours music also plays in the boss room just beyond the Moon Meadow, which is again unsettling being in a technicolor room with Majora's Mask in a hole directly opposite you. The music stops when Majora wakes up and starts the FinalBoss fight of the game.
* Most character's reactions to the fate of the world? [[TearJerker Upsetting]]. The reaction of the man who finds the Oceanside Spider House and gives you money to let him take shelter in it ahead of time? ''Spine-chilling.'' While others are either entirely unaware of what's happening or just hoping to the Gods that the moon isn't actually going to fall, this guy ''knows'' without a doubt that everyone's going to die.
--> '''Spider House Man:''' That's my life's fortune. If you let me have it for that much, it'll be worth it. Anyhow, the need for rupees will soon be gone...
* Those creepy questions the Moon Children ask after completing each of their mini-dungeons. Take the Goht child's question for example: "You.. do you have any, friends? Do those people think of you as a... friend?...". It makes you wonder whether or not that's true. If you talk to them while being a Goron, Zora, or Deku Scrub, they will simply say "Show me your true face". If you give them a transformation mask when they ask you for a mask, they will react as if you tried to give them poison:
--> '''Moon Children:''' No! Not that! Take it away, quickly!
* Their reaction to you wearing one of the masks in the 3DS remake almost reads like a threat.
--> '''Moon Children:''' ...Take off that mask...
* When time runs out and you actually see the moon crashing into Termina, you'll see that the moon spares no one. As the moon falls closer to Clock Town, you can see several structures collapsing and then the moon seemingly explodes into a tidal wave of fire that consumes everything its path once the moon touches down. The game then cuts to Link standing in a field with a black sky as he turns around and sees the wave of fire rushing towards him. Poor Link can do nothing but shield his face with his hands and [[DeathWail scream in absolute terror as the fire sweeps him up and completely destroys him]]. If you summoned three of the giants or less and let the moon fall, you also get to see the giants fall down as they run out of strength to hold the moon up.
** [[NonStandardGameOver "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"]]
** In the N64 version, random enemies can be seen in Termina Field as the moon hits. It's a small thing, but it really drives home that the moon is going to wipe out everything and everyone, regardless of concepts like "good" and "evil".
** The fact that Link tries to shield his face at all makes it even worse. Perhaps the approaching fire is so bright that it's hurting his eyes? Perhaps he's doing it so he won't be able to see what's about to kill him? None of those two options are better than each other.
** What was bad on the Nintendo 64 is far worse on the 3DS. Originally, Link turning up in the clock tower again allowed for at least a little ambiguity. Did the last three days really happen at all? Was Link somehow saved at the cost of his progress? Did the moon destroy everything or just Termina, leaving the rest of the planet intact? You can interpret it in several different ways. ''3D'', however, gives a short monologue that the ''entire world and all of its inhabitants were annihilated''. This sort of fairy tale-style narration isn't unheard of in the ''Zelda'' series, but it's only ever at the start or end of the game. When the game starts monologuing in this way and you haven't even completed it yet, you know [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.]]
---> ''[[ItsAWonderfulFailure And so the angry moon fell from the sky, annihilating this world and its many inhabitants.]]''\\
'''''[[BagOfSpilling All items and such gained these last three days are lost.]]'''''
** Perhaps the worst part is that [[NothingIsScarier we never see what becomes of Termina after this]]. There is no shot of the aftermath, nor any birds-eye-view of the moon landing from space. What happened? Did the planet become an empty, burning wasteland comparable to [[Franchise/StarWars Mustafar]] but without the structures? Was the planet just completely annihilated without any trace left behind? There are absolutely no hints given.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Clock Town]]
* When you first leave Clock Town on your way to the Swamp, you will come across a tree where Tatl will stop you and tell you about how she and Tael met Skull Kid in the first place. When they first met Skull Kid, he was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z07jmgnRQl4 in a log, in the rain, maskless, and shivering]]. The combination of the sound effect for the shivering Skull Kid, along with his glowing red eyes, makes for a chilling scene.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_PnOyW0ZtU This]] version of Clock Town's theme.
* The reactions of the [=NPCs=] as the timer draws to a close. The guards, previously quite effective at stopping you from leaving, begin begging you to run away and seek shelter. The banker is in a panic that you are still there. Anju and Kafei, if they are reunited, simply embrace and face death together. It's quite disturbing and [[TearJerker moving at the same time]].
** Clock Town itself becomes very eerie as the game progresses. It starts as a thriving, bustling town with saccharine music in the background, but the [=NPCs=] dwindle in number as the days go on and people begin to try and escape the crashing moon and the music gradually sounding less and less happy. By the final evening, the town is all but empty, save for the guards, the Bombers, and a handful of [=NPCs=] who have stayed. The game does a remarkably good job of making the whole town feel empty and abandoned.
* Clock Town Day 3 is an utterly panicked and frantic sounding song that is trying very hard to maintain the upbeat vibe the song normally gives off, but is underscored by a sinister string- a perfect reflection of Clock Town's denizens. They're all in a state of complete panic that they are desperately trying to cope with by pretending everything is fine… but deep down they all know their deaths are inevitable and there is nothing they can do to stop it.
* The fact that everyone in the entire town is ''going to die if you don't stop the moon in time''.
* There's a seemingly empty room at the inn that just has a hole in it. At midnight, a mysterious hand pops out of it, flailing about. There's [[TheSpook no explanation]] on who this hand belongs to or why they're in the hole. It's pretty creepy out of context, [[NightmareRetardant although]], the eeriness is kind of lost once you actually speak to the hand, as they just ask for some paper [[ToiletHumor and you realize the hole is a toilet]], all while the hand has some [[NightmareRetardant goofy sounding voice clips]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Romani Ranch]]
* Romani's return after she's kidnapped by "them" manages to be incredibly creepy in its casual simplicity. There's no cutscene of it happening. She's just dropped out of the sky. Imagine walking around the ranch on the Second Day, the regular BackgroundMusic cheerily playing and nothing out of place at all, and suddenly Romani falls out of the sky from God-knows where. And she spends the rest of the day wandering around in a daze, being unresponsive no matter how many times Link talks to her.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWFwACXa_Zg creepy, foreign, minimalist music]] that plays during the alien attack.
** It's also completely possible to enter the ranch after the invasion has already begun. Imagine minding your own business and walking into the ranch, and suddenly seeing them all around, complete with their theme music. Or if you spent all of the daytime in the first day beating Snowhead Temple, then unlocked the powder keg and entered the ranch for the first time.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Southern Swamp]]
* The road to the Southern Swamp. A bleak trail filled with dead trees and swarming with Bad Bats and Chuchus. It gets worse at night, as Wolfos rise from the earth with their hideous howls to charge at you if you venture too close to wherever it is they are burrowed.
* Traversing the road to the swamp isn't too difficult (in the daytime, at least), but when you first reach the area around the Swamp Tourist Center, the energetic Termina Field theme fades, to be replaced by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11QwjMB4HhU this recurring motif]] as you're treated to a panoramic view of the marshlands themselves in all their bitter toxicity. The Swamp Tourist Center is a safe space, and the polluted environment doesn't pose much danger on its own, but due to the soundtrack, you're sure to be left with a profound feeling of unease. The dreary music is the first clue that the moon isn't Termina's only problem; the rot in the land runs much deeper. It'll only get worse from here on out.
* The Swamp Spider house is an odd place, some combination of mansion, chapel, and stone and soil walling; it reads rather like a set of storage rooms in the back of those other mansion-like temples that dominate the sets of games like these, neither completely man-made nor completely natural. It's populated with gilded spiders who bear a curse that's been inflicted on the poor mask-wearing man who visited here. Like so many other unsettling things in this game, it's never really explained. Compounding this is the lack of any real music, cementing the feeling that you just stepped outside the normal bounds of adventure into an off-limits place.
* Woodfall Temple: A dark, damp place in general. In particular, there is one area atop a flight of stairs just above a room filled with poisoned water. Upon entering, you walk into a passage down a hall that gets progressively dimmer and dimmer. Tatl will warn Link she senses a lot of evil here, as if that's not ominous enough. Suddenly, the lights go out, and all you can see are hordes of glowing orange eyes appearing from the darkness. You try to run, but they follow at incredible speed, the sound of their shuffling punctuated by your cries of pain as they attack you.
** Speaking of Woodfall Temple, how about those plant-like platforms afloat on the poisonous water? Not only did they have teeth and a blood-red, gaping mouth ready to snap at you, but they made a horrible fleshy gurgle every time you jumped on them ([[NightmareRetardant although they explode if they eat Link in Goron form]]).
** In Woodfall Temple, right before you free the Deku Princess from the bottle, in the same room that the King is in, a monkey that was blamed for kidnapping the princess is held hostage over a boiling pot. If you talk to the monkey over the pot, a little cut scene plays where he's complains about being captured. Then they lower him into the pot. And bring him back up. [[MoodWhiplash And he just hangs there,]] '''[[MoodWhiplash completely still]]'''[[MoodWhiplash , eyes wide open in shock...]] until you talk to him again, or finish freeing the princess.
* Despite being the first boss in the game, Odolwa is quite terrifying. He is a towering tribal warrior covered in tattoos, and has a face resembling a tribal war-mask, complete with a [[NightmareFace dreadful, perpetually scowling expression]] and [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]]. He fights with a [[{{BFS}} gigantic sword]], and while you can use your shield to defend yourself against it, it's at least thrice Link's height and looks perfectly capable of cutting the thicker trees seen in the game in half. The part when Odolwa summons [[MacabreMothMotif moths]] and [[BigCreepyCrawlies large bugs]] to assist him will probably give you entomophobia (fear of insects), if you hadn't it already. And his weird dance moves and chanting throughout the battle has freaked out quite a few players (along with the fact that the eerie background cries heard in the dungeon music sounds a lot like him).
** Odolwa's glowing eyes are scary in their own right, but then there's the fact that, while the other Boss Remains (all of which take the form of masks resembling the faces of the defeated bosses) have their eyes still intact, Odolwa only have black, empty eye openings in his remains. It gives an eerie feeling of death and emptiness, even more so than with the other Boss Remains.
** Of all the boss redesigns for the [=3DS=] (which all add [[EyesDoNotBelongThere incongruous eyes as a weak point]]), Odolwa had the worst treatment: he has a literal eye in the back of his head, which looks right at you in his introduction cinematic.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Snowhead]]
* The northern mountains are probably the most desolate area in the game. Even Ikana Canyon has Sakon prancing around, but aside from a Goron guard who stays very close to the warmth of the city, and the enigmatic owl, there are absolutely no characters you can talk to outside of a few buildings, reinforcing the fact that the whole area is too frigid and cold for anything aside from a few monsters to survive. The BackgroundMusic certainly reflects this, and the howling wind makes it even worse… and the blizzard just gets worse over the three days.
* Snowhead Temple is similarly stark and barren, with howling winds in the minimalistic BackgroundMusic hinting that the shelter of the temple is no shelter at all, and eerie echoes are clearly audible in the distance. It sounds like something from ''{{Film/Alien}}'' more than a Zelda game… and if you're afraid of heights, it's even worse. The tower is nearly as tall as Stone Tower, but unlike the latter area, it does have a bottom. One slip, and you're heading for the lava pools in the basement.
* Gabora of the Mountain Smithy turns out to be a GentleGiant, but when Link first enters the smithy – the first building he'll come across after venturing into the mountains - he's greeted by a bellowing giant who looks a bit like an Iron Knuckle, waving a huge hammer around!
* Termina's version of Biggoron is guarding Snowhead temple, using enormous gusts of wind to blow would-be adventurers and explorers back. Some players have asked why Biggoron never took a more active role in the events of the previous game. '''This is why.''' The curse on Snowhead took over his mind and made him into a pawn of its own sinister agenda. It's all but stated that the Termina version of Biggoron, while mind-controlled, killed Darmani.
* Goht is not a particularly difficult boss, and is legitimately a lot of fun if you're playing as Darmani. However, try tackling it as Link or any transformation other than Darmani, and the fight becomes absolutely nerve-wracking. The only way to hit it is from a distance with fire arrows. Worse, unless you stand in the middle of the track where it can hit you, it'll never come close. You have to stand in the middle of the track as Link, and wait for it to charge you – and since you're on an enclosed circular track, the only way to figure out that it's approaching is to feel the ground shake as it charges, getting closer and closer... and the AI is uncannily good at figuring out which way you're aiming, and coming at you from behind.
** With the redesign, Goht has a big eye in its back.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Great Bay]]
* Mikau's predicament before Link shows up. He's grievously injured and drifting in the ocean, unable to move and surrounded by seagulls who may or may not be pecking at him due to him being a [[FishPeople Zora]]. But it gets worse. While he's relatively close to the surface on the first day, he can be found further out by the western cliffs on the second day and on the final day, he's drifted all the way next to the research lab. Throughout the cycle, his body has been washing away with the tide as no one came to help.
* The Oceanside Spider House, quite unlike the swamp's iteration, is very clearly an underground crypt, containing a library and several storage units, likely used as a bunker. It's much less ceremonial than the swamp house, but also much darker and dustier. You can find Stalchildren serving under Captain Keeta here, researching something, but what it is and why is never brought up. There's no curse victim here, but there is nonetheless a curse of some sorts on the place, and it's connected to the spiders. Judging by the man that moves in afterwards, it possibly involved keeping the place unnoticed, but if that's the case...why?
* The Deep Pythons. Are you afraid of the infamous eel from ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''? Well, [[SarcasmMode great news]]: at Pinnacle Rock, there are eight near-expies of it, with glowing yellow eyes, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LSBKeAv_3E&t=2m45s that make a creepy gurgling noise when they attack]], hiding in very deep and very dark holes. And you have to kill, and thus get up close and personal with, a number of them to progress the game. Have fun.
* Bio Deku Baba and also ghostly white Dexi Hands. The noise the Bio Deku Babas make is just unnatural, not to mention the eyes they sprout when you cut them. Dexi Hands are simply annoying but let's face it--they're floating hands that grab you if you get too close. That never bodes well in a Zelda game.
* If you have thalassophobia[[note]]A fear of large, deep bodies of water or what could be lurking in them[[/note]], fighting Gyorg will be absolutely terrifying. Especially since the main way of hitting it is to go into the water as Zora Link, strike the beast and get back up before it gets back up and attacks you. It gets even worse when it sends the mini-versions of itself after you. Doesn't help that it's ThatOneBoss. The 3DS remake updates Gyorg's design to have a [[EyesDoNotBelongThere Majora-like eyeball in its throat]].
** Not only that, the battle in the remake adds a second phase to the battle. Gyorg rams into the platform and sinks it, forcing you to fight underwater with the help of explosive mines. This is also now the point when Gyorg releases the mini-Gyorgs, so you have to battle them to survive, rather than just staying on the platform.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ikana Canyon]]
* The Ancient Kingdom of Ikana, land of the dead. To wander into Ikana is to throw away your life in reckless abandon. Its [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfqxpBTCB6Q background music]] speaks for itself. Walking into Ikana shifts the game full-tilt. Whereas the other areas all seemed relatively normal locales twisted by evil, there is something deeply ''wrong'' with this area that extends far beyond the petty tricks of a masked imp.
** It may sound cliché, but the music for Ikana is so much worse [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riBu_RA8nls when played in reverse]]. It's noteworthy enough to be mentioned because this version actually sounds like it could potentially be an unedited song from the game, and the backwards chord progression especially lends itself to how blood-curdling the track sounds.
* The road to the valley is guarded by a ghost-hunter who demands to see your ghost ninja hood before allowing you to pass. Move off to the north and you find a morose graveyard where the skeletons of soldiers wander at night. Even during the day, it's unnerving--everything is so dead and quiet but for the bats, and at the cemetery's edge is an archway bearing an eternally-burning flame, under which is a ''massive skeleton'' resting next to an engraving challenging a would-be fighter. Your investigation here leads you to realize Ikana was the site of a great war fought by a militaristic kingdom against the sinister Garo Ninjas. At night, you can descend into the graves and find eerie tunnels full of monsters. Do so, and you'll meet the ghost of Flat, who begs you to save his brother. In reference to Majora's Mask, it should tell you something that when Flat talks about what it's done to his brother, he uses the phrase "sold his soul to the devil". Meeting Sharp goes something like this:
---> '''Voice in the cavern:''' ''What business have you in Ikana Kingdom, land where only the dead roam?''
And this is all ''before'' you get to the valley proper.
** Nejirons populate the road leading up to the valley. They're basically pseudo-Gorons, resembling a Goron curled up, but with two large staring eyes instead of a Goron face. They roll toward you and explode, which is scary, but their explosive nature is second to the way they impersonate the friendly NPC race Link has played as for almost no reason except to be creepy.
* Once you manage to cross the valley, there is a strangely colorful house in the upper reaches of the canyon being encircled by mummy-esque creatures known as Gibdos. It is zealously guarded by a little girl. In order to get any further you need to get inside, but to do that, you need to make a visit to the wellspring of Ikana River. A sign posted outside it expressly warns you against this as it's haunted. Ignore this warning, and you'll get to meet Sharp, who gives the above quote before playing a song that will slowly kill you. You might think this is your cue to play the Song of Healing... which he then brushes off before continuing with his murderous melody.
* Once the wellspring is flowing again, through trickery and subterfuge, you manage to enter the house. The interior is also fairly innocuous at first glance. You head down the stairs, and across the basement room is a large closet. With nowhere else to go, you make your way across. All of a sudden, this hideous ''creature'' bursts out, half-man and half-Gibdo, the bandages encasing much of its face literally protruding from its flesh. It then lurches toward you, clearly threatening something terrible should it catch you. (''This'' is your Song of Healing cue.)
** It's still possible to fail the Gibdo Dad scene even if you have your Ocarina out and are about to hit the last note. Unlike every other time in the game, taking out the Ocarina doesn't freeze everything - Pamela's father can be seen, still animated and getting closer.
** Just listen to the noise he makes when you "battle" him. Doesn't ring a bell? Slow down the audio and it reveals that the moaning he makes is actually a sped-up version of the redead/gibdo moan. As his condition worsens, one can assume that will cause his voice to deepen. And what's worse is that this is his only means of communication.
** Before you restore him to normal, a group of Gibdos circle the house demanding that "their friend" be given to them. This little girl who can't be older than eight was trapped inside a house at the edge of the civilized world with no one but her steadily corpse-ifying father, while the undead circled her home day and night demanding entry, for who knows how long. And if the Gibdo curse took him over completely... who knows what would've happened to her when the thing locked in her basement got out?
** Just the thought of what Pamela went through when her father was transformed. She has been trying to take care of her father who was turning into a Gibdo. What are the odds her father may have tried to attack his daughter and she was desperately trying to reach him? What's more, assuming her father has been preventing himself from hurting her, what if he was unable to stop himself from hurting or even killing Pamela in his cursed form? No wonder why she lies to her father about what happened!
* Healing Pamela's father means your next step is the well, which is even worse. The only way into Ikana Castle, should you want to go there, is a series of maze-like tunnels underneath a dry well filled with the undead, all of whom will kill you if they sense you're not one of them. Your reward for completing it is the Mirror Shield, which has the effigy of a [[FrozenFace person's face]] in what appears to be [[FateWorseThanDeath a constant state of torment]] or [[AndIMustScream screaming for eternity]]. Strap it to your back and have it stare at you through the TV screen. Good. Now turn off your lights and stare at it. The silver lining is that there's nothing to indicate it's anything more than a shield, but none of the other Mirror Shields look this creepy.
** Also, Tatl doesn't warn you about the Wallmasters, and seeing as how the areas they appear in are pretty dark, you might not see the shadow and your only clue to them might be that howling wind sound. Any Link - Goron, Zora, Deku - can be grabbed, and if they sneak up on you in the dark...
* Ikana Castle, the shell of an old military fort ruled by its king, absolutely crawling with the dead, from [=ReDead=] dancers to Garo Ninjas swarming every inch of it. Oh yeah - the Garo Ninjas. Have the Garo Hood on in certain spots, and they'll pop out, thinking their master summoned them, only to attack when they catch on. Eerie glowing eyes peering out from under hoods tell you only of harm headed your way, and judging by the fact they can be found in the castle, it's pretty clear who won the war back in the day.
** Speaking of, all Garo kill themselves when defeated. Yep - full on suicide in a Zelda game. The normal {{Mooks}} just burn up in magical green fire, not unusual for any defeated Zelda enemy, but the Garo Master actually pulls out a bomb and detonates it in his hand.
---> "To die without leaving a corpse. That is the way of the Garo."
* So you've made it into the castle, and have finally breached the throne room. First the good King gives a speech about how helpless you are in the dark, then to prove the point, he starts a fight between you and his lackies, who are invincible in the dark. After defeating him, he teaches you a song revolving around lifelessness and emptiness.
** The Elegy of Emptiness Statues, especially the Link statue, which looks like it has the Happy Mask Man's grinning face. Notably, [[WebVideo/BenDrowned a certain work]] that is arguably the TropeCodifier for TheMostDangerousVideoGame revolves almost entirely around "Hey, this statue is fairly creepy-looking." The Zora's face resembles Creator/EdvardMunch's ''Art/TheScream'', but scarier. The blank white eyes also make it look like a corpse. The Deku Link statue is at least somewhat less creepy than the other ones, especially since you aren't required to use it as often since it's too light to hold down switches. The Goron statue, on the other hand, is arguably as (or more) creepy than normal Link's statue, given its blank eyes and that huge scar.
* After everything you've endured so far, it's finally time to scale Stone Tower, a massive, lonely structure that can be seen from anywhere in the world. There is almost no word of what exactly it ''is'' or why it was built, but King Ikana gives an ominous warning about an evil wind blowing from within.
** The Stone Tower is massive, and climbing it takes time and effort. Higher, and higher, and once you're at the top, things stop making sense completely--the temple there, full of odd creatures and strange structures and iconography, goes almost completely unexplained, with the whole place feeling like it was designed by blasphemy.
** This dungeon plays {{Bizarrchitecture}} to the point of bordering on AlienGeometries. First of all, it appears to be located at the top of the tower, but from the outside, the tower's top doesn't look big enough to actually house the place, making it seem like you're passing into a separate dimension or something. The "flipping" that the tower does is not given any explanation whatsoever. Inhabiting this bizarre and unsettling place are the leader of the ghost ninjas, a hostile bat-like Grim Reaper creature made of darkness, and...
** Twinmold, by far [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever the largest boss]] ever encountered in a Zelda game, within a desert whose exact location is unknown, but which you enter by deliberately ''falling into the sky'', or at least what should be the sky, were it not an odd, pulsating vortex--also never explained.
*** Twinmold is an entomophibic nightmare, as it is [[TheDividual a pair of]] [[BigCreepyCrawlies massive]] [[CreepyCentipedes centipedes]] who fly in a sandstorm and swim in the sand. While it doesn't go further in the original game, the remake makes the red crawly more aggressive by making it spit fireballs and lay smaller versions of itself. Twinmold also receives the extra eye treatment: the blue centipede has eyes on its thorax while the red one has what might be one in its throat, like Gyorg.
** Stone Tower also has a very odd [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/snap0994.jpg vortex]]/[[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thing5.jpg portal]]... thing in the sky. There's no explanation to it, it's never mentioned or brought up by anything in the game, it's just... [[NothingIsScarier there.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miscellaneous]]
* The game's commercials themselves were fairly scary, especially the English one which showed people around the world, time passing, and the moon slowly descending. It's like Nintendo was saying "beat this game or the world will end."
** The longer one centers around the host of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Mf2mp6fms Radio Zelda]], who provides updates throughout of the Moon's rapidly-closing distance from Earth. In-between these, there's footage of civilians reacting to and trying to cope with the possible end of the world (including one woman who just walks through her apartment and mutters "[[MadnessMantra I knew it was coming]]" [[BrokenRecord over and over]]); near the end, the host takes a call from a distraught girl who wants to let her mother know that she loves her, before she breaks down in tears. The host lets the kid on whom Earth's fate is depending know that he's their last hope, in a tone that suggests that he may be losing hope himself. In short, several metric tons of existential terror condensed into around two minutes.
* [[https://i.redd.it/u14yfs8wigw81.jpg This North American print ad]], which contains very little material from the actual game but perfectly conveys its ominous, apocalyptic atmosphere: it depicts the moon (the ''real'' moon, and ''to scale'') hovering ''right above'' New York City in [[BadMoonRising hellish red light]], along with the haunting taglines:
-->''The only thing worse than the weight of the world on your shoulders is [[ColonyDrop the weight of the moon]].\\
72 hours. 24 masks. 1 moon. The world is waiting on you.''
* This entire game is Nightmare Fuel for people who have maskaphobia ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOntheTin fear of masks]]). Especially the idea that you literally [[BecomingtheMask become the mask]].
* The fourth day glitch. If you look into the telescope on the third night, and look away just a second or two before the moon hits, the clock will disappear and you have successfully done the glitch. No more time limit, so that's a good thing, right? Well, when the glitch is performed, every scheduled NPC disappears. All of Clock Town's residents (except for the guards), the Romani sisters, they're all gone. Sure, you have enough time in the world to do what you want, but it feels very eerie no longer having those {{Non Player Character}}s around. On top of that, the moon gets pushed back way up high into the sky, so the sky feels empty as well. On top of that, the color of the sky is stuck in perpetual dusk / dawn. The game feels so much emptier if you do the fourth day glitch.
** There's another glitch that can be done on the third day[[note]]Note that this doesn't work in the European version or any releases afterwards![[/note]]. If you help Kafei try to steal the Sun's Mask back from Sakon, you have the ability to get Link to wear the Fierce Deity's Mask outside of a boss room. After that, you can leave the area and go to a populated place like Clock Town if you ride the river into the Southern Swamp. The thing is, the [=NPCs=] haven't been given dialogue to have if they talk to Fierce Deity Link. So if you talk to just about anybody, the game freezes[[note]]or otherwise the guards won't let you out of Clock Town, and Jim has a piece of dialogue for talking to him in this form but it only exists in the original Japanese version[[/note]]. You just stand there, staring at whoever you tried to talk to, while it's dark and the music for the end of the third night plays. It's plenty unsettling.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbMQfaG6lo8 The fan film]] Film/MajorasMaskTerribleFate gives a horrifying view of exactly how the Skull Kid came to possess the mask, along with heavily implying that Skull Kid didn't do it of his own free will; instead, the spirit of Majora forced him to put on the mask, then violently possessed him. Seeing Skull Kid screaming in agony while he spasms only makes it even more frightening. Even worse is that his transformation is almost reminiscent of Link putting on a transformation mask.
** What happens to the Happy Mask Salesman after he finds Majora's Mask is also terrifying. In the game, it's implied that the Skull Kid attacked and knocked out the Salesman just to see what interesting things the Salesman had on him, leaving him to discover Majora's Mask for himself. In the fan video, it's actually Majora itself that knocks out the Happy Mask Salesman. Due to staring at the mask for too long, Majora's influence somehow manages to cause the Salesman's eyes to roll into the back of his head and pass out. That's right, the mask is so powerful that even so much as glancing at it for a short period of time can cause long-term side effects.
[[/folder]]


----

->[[spoiler:Go to the lair of the temple's boss?\\
'''[[WebVideo/BenDrowned Yes]]''' / '''No''']]