The Legend Of Zelda's Strangest Encounter Is A Real-Life Ghost Story

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What is arguably the strangest experience in franchise draws heavily on a real-life ghost story for inspiration. Link can have several different kinds of spiritual encounters throughout the franchise, interacting with spirits that range from being entirely benign to extremely hostile. These can be distinctly unsettling at times, but one encounter in particular blurs the line between Hyrule and urban legends in a way that many people may not expect.

There are plenty of strange occurrences and mysterious enemies in , with many games in the franchise including at least one scenario that defies easy explanation. It is also well-established that the supernatural is an integral part of Hyrule; ghosts can be among both Link’s toughest enemies and firmest allies. However, while there have recently been prolific depictions of spirits, such as the haunted Depths of , the most striking spiritual encounter of all is also humbler in scale.

In three separate games, namely,, and, Link can encounter a creepy hand reaching out of a toilet. These Hands are not hostile towards Link, and instead ask him for paper. It is one of the strangest things found in , but these Hands are actually inspired by a real variety of stock ghost story found in Japan. As explained by Shigeru Miyamoto in an interview with , these stories revolve around people using a traditional squatting-style Japanese toilet, only for a hand to grab at them from beneath.

One Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past location is haunted in a strange way that sparked a long-lasting mystery amongst fans of the franchise.

Naturally, this idea can be very disconcerting, and Miyamoto acknowledges it is Despite this, however, the Hands Link meets are much less threatening than what the original stories imply. Instead, it seems they are simply desperate enough for toilet paper that any variety of paper will suffice. ’ Hand accepts Stationary as part of the game’s trading quest, and ??? accepts any Letter or Title Deed. Likewise, ’s