History NightmareFuel / TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds

* The Skull Woods dungeon in Lorule. An AmbushingEnemy stalks Link throughout the dungeon, and although it's more annoying than anything, it's still creepy given the atmosphere and music.
** The boss of the level is also creepy in its own sort way. Veterans of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast ALttP]] may be expecting Mothula again (or an {{Expy}} of him), but instead, you fight a giant AmbushingEnemy with an eye on its palm and coated in a knight's glove known as the Knucklemaster. If you look closely in the gaps between the plating, you can see some [[BodyHorror exposed muscle]]. In other words, it's not just a giant armored AmbushingEnemy; the armor ''is'' its skin.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lbwnightmarefuel.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[WebVideo/SomeCallMeJohnny FRESH MEAT FRESH MEAT FRESH MEAT]]]]

* The Skull Woods dungeon in Lorule. A AmbushingEnemy stalks Link throughout the dungeon, and although it's more annoying than anything, it's still creepy given the atmosphere and music.

** Gulley, who is a cheerful kid who likes to play in the forest, disappearing is distressing on several fronts. It's AdultFear for anyone old enough to recognize the implication, especially parents who are playing who have to watch his mother distressed. Mixed with fear that anyone who has played ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' knows his hobby of playing in the forest is a CallBack to the Flute Boy, whose storyline ended with his death/turning into a tree. And depending on how you feel on him it can make you feel something of a [[BigBrotherInstinct older sibling protection instinct]] towards him at that point. Much like Irene, you can catch a glimpse of him as a painting in that cutscene leading into the Lorule section of the game. Reducing the feeling overall but also possibly motivating you more to stop Yuga's plans.

* Three words: ''Hilda's DeathGlare''. It's not so much the action itself (though it is pretty creepy), it's more due to the sheer MoodWhiplash and how much it clashed with Hilda's character beforehand. Before, she was a [[TheStoic stoic]], if not tragic figure. But after she tells her story and demands Link's Triforce of Courage, she gives Link a glare that denotes chilling insanity. And even worse, because the scene is positioned so that it looks like you're seeing things from Link's point of view, she's not just glaring at Link, she's glaring ''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou at the screen]]''. And more frighteningly, at '''''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou you, the player]]'''''.
** IN 3D!
* Yuga becomes the first Zelda villain to ''invert'' HijackedByGanon. That's right — '''[[OhCrap YUGA HIJACKS GANON.]]''' Though Ganon's theme in the final form of Lorule's Castle theme suggests that Ganon hijacked Yuga at the last second or is slowly taking over Yuga's already unstable mind.
* The fact that this version of Ganon ''strongly'' resembles the alternate image of his appearance in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' (seen on [[NightmareFuel/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink that game's Nightmare Fuel page]]). Brrr.

* The Skull Woods dungeon in Lorule. A WallMaster stalks Link throughout the dungeon, and although it's more annoying than anything, it's still creepy given the atmosphere and music.
** The boss of the level is also creepy in its own sort way. Veterans of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast ALttP]] may be expecting Mothula again (or an {{Expy}} of him), but instead, you fight a giant WallMaster with an eye on its palm and coated in a knight's glove known as the Knucklemaster. If you look closely in the gaps between the plating, you can see some [[BodyHorror exposed muscle]]. In other words, it's not just a giant armored WallMaster; the armor ''is'' its skin.

* Three words: ''Hilda's DeathGlare''. It's not so much the action itself (though it is pretty creepy), it's more due to the sheer MoodWhiplash and how much it clashed with Hilda's character beforehand. Before, she was a stoic, if not tragic figure. But after she tells her story and demands Link's Triforce of Courage, she gives Link a glare that denotes chilling insanity. And even worse, because the scene is positioned so that it looks like you're seeing things from Link's point of view, she's not just glaring at Link, she's glaring ''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou at the screen]]''. And more frighteningly, at '''''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou you, the player]]'''''.

* In northeastern Lorule (below Death Mountain), there is a cave under a waterfall inhabited by a docile Hinox. If you find him, he will give you 5 rupees in return for leaving him alone. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential You can continue asking for more rupees]], with the amount he gives increasing every time. However, [[BewareTheNiceOnes if you do it too much]], he will get ANGRY at you for extorting him and attempt to kill you (for specifics, you can't kill him, his charge attack is much faster than a standard Hinox's, and he can do six hearts worth of damage to you). You can survive by leaving the cave, but go inside again, and he will still be angry and want you dead. Word of advice: [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment Think twice before trying to take advantage of peaceful monsters.]]

** Gulley, who is a cheerful kid who likes to play in the forest, disappearing is distressing on several fronts. It's AdultFear for anyone old enough to recognize the implication, especially parents who are playing who have to watch his mother distressed. Mixed with fear that anyone who has played [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast ''A Link to the Past'']] knows his hobby of playing in the forest is a CallBack to the Flute Boy, whose storyline ended with his death/turning into a tree. And depending on how you feel on him it can make you feel something of a [[BigBrotherInstinct older sibling protection instinct]] towards him at that point. Much like Irene, you can catch a glimpse of him as a painting in that cutscene leading into the Lorule section of the game. Reducing the feeling overall but also possibly motivating you more to stop Yuga's plans.

* Yuga becomes the first Zelda villain to ''invert'' HijackedByGanon. That's right- '''[[OhCrap YUGA HIJACKS GANON.]]''' Though Ganon's theme in the final form of Lorule's Castle theme suggests that Ganon hijacked Yuga at the last second or is slowly taking over Yuga's already unstable mind.

* Lorule in general. Once upon a time, Lorule had a Triforce just like Hyrule and like in Hyrule, people fought over it. In order to put an end to the madness, the Lorule Royal Family had the Triforce destroyed, but this only made the situation ''worse''. They realized all too late the Triforce was the very foundation of Lorule itself and without it, the land started to very slowly decay until it became the land of corruption it is now. Had Hilda's plan to steal Hyrule's Triforce gone off without a hitch, Hyrule would have fallen to the same corruption.

* Yuga becomes the first Zelda villain to ''invert'' HijackedByGanon. That's right- '''[[OhCrap YUGA HIJACKS GANON.]]''' Good luck sleeping tonight... though Ganon's theme in the final form of Lorule's Castle theme suggests that Ganon hijacked Yuga at the last second or is slowly taking over Yuga's already unstable mind.
* The fact that this version of Ganon ''strongly'' resembles the alternate image of his appearance in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' (seen on [[NightmareFuel/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink that game's Nightmare Fuel page]]). ''[[YouDoNotWantToKnow Brrrr.]]''

** Gulley, who is a cheerful kid who likes to play in the forest, disappearing is distressing on several fronts. It's AdultFear for anyone old enough to recognize the implication, especially parents who are playing who have to watch his mother distressed. Mixed with fear that anyone who has played [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast ''A Link to the Past'']] knows his hobby of playing in the forest is a CallBack to the Flute boy, whose storyline ended with his death/turning into a tree. And depending on how you feel on him it can make you feel something of a [[BigBrotherInstinct older sibling protection instinct]] towards him at that point. Much like Irene, you can catch a glimpse of him as a painting in that cutscene leading into the Lorule section of the game. Reducing the feeling overall but also possibly motivating you more to stop Yuga's plans.

** Pretty quickly in the game, you meet Irene, who decides to help you because a fortune teller says something bad will happen if she doesn't. So she decides to take you from place to place. After you get the Master Sword, you're at a point where it's a bit of an annoyance to walk back to the castle. So chances are, ya ring the bell to call her. Only her broom shows up, leaving only one question. What happened to her? If you pay attention to a later cutscene, you'll see she's one of the sages turned into a painting. If absolutely nothing else, knowing that you'll help her later kinda reduces this, but it's still shocking to see her not appear to your call.

** Gulley, who is a cheerful kid who likes to play in the forest, disappearing is distressing on several fronts. It's AdultFear for anyone old enough to recognize the implication, especially parents who are playing who have to watch his mother distressed. Mixed with fear that anyone who has played [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Link to the Past]] knows his hobby of playing in the forest is a CallBack to the Flute boy, whose storyline ended with his death/turning into a tree. And depending on how you feel on him it can make you feel something of a [[BigBrotherInstinct older sibling protection instinct]] towards him at that point. Much like Irene, you can catch a glimpse of him as a painting in that cutscene leading into the Lorule section of the game. Reducing the feeling overall but also possibly motivating you more to stop Yuga's plans.

** [[spoiler:The destined fate of Lorule itself. After generations of fighting for their own Golden Power, they decided, unlike Hyrule, to destroy it outright, without knowing that it was the basis for their very world, triggering an ApocalypseHow. However, rather than instantly destroying their world, it just subjected it to a slow, inexorable rot, leaving it in the state you arrive in. And if Hilda had succeeded, Hyrule would have been subjected to the very same.]]

** The worst part is that there are only about 10 Rupee-Likes in the whole game. To make up for that, they are scattered everywhere, extremely stretched out. And [[spoiler:some of them even hide in the Dark-World Rupee Rush minigame, and there's a whole floor fighting them in the Advanced Treacherous Tower]]. Not fun.

* After Yuga's take over and kidnappings.[[spoiler:Hyrule guards are pasted into the walls.]] They are possibly [[AndIMustScream aware of the whole situation as it develops]], including potential impending doom.
* The overall effect of [[spoiler:the sages]] disappearing without a trace is incredibly unsettling:
** Pretty quickly in the game, you meet Irene, who decides to help you because a fortune teller says something bad will happen if she doesn't. So she decides to take you from place to place. After you get the Master Sword, you're at a point where it's a bit of an annoyance to walk back to the castle. So chances are, ya ring the bell to call her. Only her broom shows up, leaving only one question. What happened to her? [[spoiler:If you pay attention to a later cutscene, you'll see she's one of the sages turned into a painting. If absolutely nothing else, knowing that you'll help her later kinda reduces this, but it's still shocking to see her not appear to your call.]]
** Gulley, who is a cheerful kid who likes to play in the forest, disappearing is distressing on several fronts. It's AdultFear for anyone old enough to recognize the implication, especially parents who are playing who have to watch his mother distressed. Mixed with fear that anyone who has played [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Link to the Past]] knows his hobby of playing in the forest is a CallBack to the Flute boy, [[spoiler: whose storyline ended with his death/turning into a tree]]. And depending on how you feel on him it can make you feel something of a [[BigBrotherInstinct older sibling protection instinct]] towards him at that point. [[spoiler: Much like Irene, you can catch a glimpse of him as a painting in that cutscene leading into the Lorule section of the game. Reducing the feeling overall but also possibly motivating you more to stop Yuga's plans.]]
* Three words: [[spoiler:Hilda's DeathGlare. It's not so much the action itself (though it is pretty creepy), it's more due to the sheer MoodWhiplash and how much it clashed with Hilda's character beforehand. Before, she was a stoic, if not tragic figure. But after she tells her story and demands Link's Triforce of Courage, she gives Link a glare that denotes chilling insanity. And even worse, because the scene is positioned so that it looks like you're seeing things from Link's point of view, she's not just glaring at Link, she's glaring ''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou at the screen]]''. And more frighteningly, at '''''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou you, the player]]'''''.]]

* [[spoiler: Yuga]] becomes the first Zelda villain to [[spoiler: ''invert'' HijackedByGanon.]] That's right- [[spoiler: '''[[OhCrap YUGA HIJACKS GANON.]]]]''' Good luck sleeping tonight... [[spoiler: though Ganon's theme in the final form of Lorule's Castle theme suggests that Ganon hijacked Yuga at the last second or is slowly taking over Yuga's already unstable mind.]]

** [[spoiler: The destined fate of Lorule itself. After generations of fighting for their own Golden Power, they decided, unlike Hyrule, to destroy it outright, without knowing that it was the basis for their very world, triggering an ApocalypseHow. However, rather than instantly destroying their world, it just subjected it to a slow, inexorable rot, leaving it in the state you arrive in. And if Hilda had succeeded, Hyrule would have been subjected to the very same.]]

* The simple fact that Link has a [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask very specific mask]] on the wall of his house is a rather disturbing thought. Be thankful he just used it as decoration rather than actually wearing it.
** Worse, since this game takes place in a different timeline from ''Majora's Mask'', it is entirely possible that the mask [[FridgeHorror still has all of its power.]]
** Worse, you can phase into the wall and stand just behind the mask so that it seems Link ''is'' wearing it. Thankfully, if you phase back out, he'll pass through the mask rather than put it on.
** However, it's possible that it's just decoration, and it probably just serves as a hint to the then-upcoming ''[[VideoGameRemake Majora's Mask 3D]]''.
* The workers cleaning the graffiti on the castle walls. You can chat with them, but since you "don't know", you can't stop them.
** Fortunately or unfortunately, those are Yuga's minions. Also, the workers note that no matter how much they scrub, the graffiti won't come off.
** On the other hand after Yuga's take over and kidnappings.[[spoiler: Hyrule guards are pasted into the walls.]] They are possibly aware of the whole situation as it develops, including potential impending Doom.

* The fact that this version of Ganon ''strongly'' resembles the alternate image of his appearance in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' (you know the one, seen in the link on their game's NightmareFuel page. ''[[YouDoNotWantToKnow Brrrr.]]'')

* [[spoiler: Yuga]] becomes the first Zelda villain to [[spoiler: ''invert'' HijackedByGanon.]] That's right- [[spoiler: '''[[OhCrap YUGA HIJACKS GANON.]]]]''' Good luck sleeping tonight... [[spoiler: though Ganon's theme in the final form of Lorule's Castle theme suggests that Ganon hijacked Yuga at the last second or is slowly taking over Yuga's already unstable mind]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI There's a reason it's dangerous to go alone.]]]]

** Gulley, who is a cheerful kid who likes to play in the forest, disappearing is distressing on several fronts. It's AdultFear for anyone old enough to recognize the implication, especially parents who are playing who have to watch his mother distressed. mixed with fear that anyone who has played [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Link to the Past]] knows his hobby of playing in the forest is a CallBack to the Flute boy, whose storyline ended with his death. And depending on how you feel on him it can make you feel something of a [[BigBrotherInstinct older sibling protection instinct]] towards him at that point. [[spoiler: Much like Irene, you can catch a glimpse of him as a painting in that cutscene leading into the Lorule section of the game. Reducing the feeling overall but also possibly motivating you more to stop Yuga's plans.]]

* Pretty quickly in the game, you meet Irene, who decides to help you because a fortune teller says something bad will happen if she doesn't. So she decides to take you from place to place. After you get the Master Sword, you're at a point where it's a bit of an annoyance to walk back to the castle. So chances are, ya ring the bell to call her. Only her broom shows up, leaving only one question. What happened to her? [[spoiler:If you pay attention to a later cutscene, you'll see she's one of the sages turned into a painting. If absolutely nothing else, knowing that you'll help her later kinda reduces this, but it's still shocking to see her not appear to your call.]]
** The overall effect of [[spoiler:the sages disappearing without a trace]] is incredibly unsettling.

* [[spoiler: Yuga]] becomes the first Zelda villain to [[spoiler: ''invert'' HijackedByGanon.]] That's right- [[spoiler: '''[[OhCrap YUGA HIJACKS GANON.]]]]''' Good luck sleeping tonight...

** There's a whole new layer to the dungeon's fear factor if you play it "with headphones on". There's an extra layer of the BGM that's inaudible without the headphones - every time the piano plays, three booming timpanis resound. This, coupled with the loud burst of all the bombs you use for the dungeon's puzzles, creates an atmosphere creepy enough to be in a 3D Zelda. And, oh, did we mention the dungeon is home to a sacrificial cult?

** Worse, since this game takes place in a different timeline from Majora's Mask, it is entirely possible that the mask [[FridgeHorror still has all of its power.]]

** However, it's possible that it's just decoration (it's mostly in brown like the rest of the house), and mostly serves as a possible hint to a Majora's Mask 3D.