The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask/Nightmare Fuel




 * 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 forced to put on the first mask of the game and is transformed against his will... really, the whole tone of the game is set up with this long, rather unnerving cinematic. Brrr...
 * The little cutscene that plays when Link puts on a transformation mask. With the scream, and the expression, and the eyes...
 * Thank you, to whomever added that image. In fact, the Zora Mask arguably makes that cutscene even worse than the other two. It's the most human-looking, which in this case is not necessarily a good thing, the transformation sequence shows Black Eyes of Evil which may or may not be bleeding, the fangs and complexion make it look notably similar to a vampire, etc.
 * Zora Link's eyes during the transformation aren't bleeding. Those aren't Tears of Blood. Those are cracks.
 * The Southern Swamp at night. A bleak, dark road, lined by cliff walls, giant black trees that look dead. And hordes of Keese swooping down to attack, all while Wolfos, rising from the earth with their hideous howl, charge at you -- in packs of two or more if you're not careful.
 * Woodfall Temple: A dark, damp place, after landing on a ledge you walk through a passage down a hall, where it progressively gets dimmer and dimmer. Suddenly, the lights go out, all you see is yourself, and eyes, hordes of giant glowing eyes appear from the darkness. You try to run, but they follow at inhuman speed, their shuffling on the ground punctuated by your cries of pain as they attack you.
 * Speaking of Woodfall Temple, how about those plant-like platforms to get over the poisonous water? Not only did they have teeth, not only did they have a blood-red, gaping mouth ready to snap you up, but they made a horrible fleshy gurgle every time you jump on them.
 * They explode if they eat Link in Goron form. So as long as you don't step on them as Human or Zora Link, you're fine.
 * In the dead lands of Ikana, there is a house. It is strangely colorful, and is zealously guarded by this little girl. Through trickery and subterfuge, you make it into the house. Normal enough interior. You head down the stairs, and across the basement room is a large closet. You make your way across, and suddenly, this hideous creature burst out, literally half man half mummy/Gibdo, the bandages on half of its face going literally inside it at the ends. It then shuffles after you, and if you get caught you know, just know that you will die. And yet the only way to succeed in this encounter is to use the Song of Healing that's probably been shocked out of your memory. It's a good thing everything around you stops when you pull out an instrument.
 * Speaking of Ikana Valley, its background music will chill your bones.
 * The King Ikana fight. First the good King gives a speech about how helpless you are in the dark, then to prove the point, he has his lackies, whom are invincible in the dark, fight you, and then he fights you himself! It gets worse when he detaches his head... ARGH GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!!! The outro may be fuel retardant, but you gotta earn it it seems.
 * Well, the Ikana King fight had some Nightmare Retardant programmed in... when fighting the two guards, approach the king wearing the Captain's Hat or start marching with the Bremen's Mask. Retardant ensues at 12:19 and 12:48.
 * Majora's Mask itself. First of all, it's a mask that was used in ancient rituals for hexing rituals. Next, it shakes its "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 tentacles grown from its arms as whips. And finally, and probably the most nightmarish of all, it's coveted by a constantly-smiling salesman who makes you wonder how he got the mask in the first place.
 * No, 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 because it's fun. A devastating act of slaughter comes from the imagination of a child.
 * Majora's Wrath in the 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
 * 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. If anyone needs me, I'll be under the bed- with noise-canceling headphones.
 * And for the HONF cherry on top, Majora's theme.
 * Hell, the Happy Mask Man probably deserves his own section, too; suddenly appears out of nowhere at the start of the game? Eerily complete knowledge of the way the Artifact of Doom 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. "Don't tell me... you did... get it back..."
 * Seriously, the Happy Mask Man. "I am counting on you to get my mask..." He manages to follow Skull Kid to Termina and identifies Link's Ocarina as capable of playing the Song of Healing: "[A] melody that heals evil magic and troubled spirits, turning them into masks." Oh, and he somehow gets hold of an evil mask that was supposed to have been sealed "in shadow" by an ancient tribe of sorcerers lost to time. He also teleports. 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 Mask Man becomes.
 * Don't think too much about it, but have you noticed that the have the same clothing and hair color as the mask salesman?
 * The Happy Mask Salesman has a mask of Mario on his pack. Nice Shout Out, right? Well, let us remember just how masks come to be. Someone dies rather traumatically. The Song of Healing gets played. The person's face turns into a mask. Consider all that for a moment, and then start to wonder just how the Happy Mask Salesman got a Mario mask...
 * Pfft, he'll be fine after a couple of 1-ups.
 * If you want it worse? He has Elvis too. Maybe that peanut butter sandwich didn't kill the King after all...
 * Of course, the idea that those masks might just be standard Halloween masks made out of plastic or something like that is completely impossible. Yep, there's no way that a mask can bear resemblance to Mario or Elvis withouth them having died horrible, traumatic deaths.
 * And of course, there's the Moon. The goddamn Moon that just sits in the sky with its horrible orange eyes and massive gaping mouth that never moves ever. 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 smile.
 * Made worse when you look at the "smile" a bit more closely. It's actually a grimace. The moon is aware of what's happening, and is clearly in pain as Majora forces it down. No wonder it's crying as posted below.
 * The music in Night Of The Final Day. It makes everything worse. A little girl who has been Mind Raped by aliens (or at least given a Heroic BSOD)? 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. Trying to make it to the bank before daybreak? Worse. And if you've ever seen the commercial where they play the music to live-action people in the countdown to the final day...
 * Furthermore, that music supersedes any other background music that would otherwise be playing. It plays regardless of which place you happen to be in at the time.
 * There is one theme it does not replace: dungeon music. But if you're still working on a dungeon by that point, you're probably screwed anyway...
 * The tremors that constantly occur during the final day are pretty creepy too.
 * More from music, but the BGM that plays during the alien attack will forever haunt. The aliens themselves? Just re-textured poes. The mission? Laughably easy if you know where they come from or have the map that shows you their position, stand on the box out front and know that there are backup arrows in it. But that music. That god damned creepy, foreign, minimalist sound! Shivers down the back, a sudden feeling like you're surrounded...
 * The Elegy of Emptiness Statues, especially the Link statue.
 * Which looks like it has the Happy Mask Man's grinning face.
 * I've always thought it resembled CD-i Link.
 * Also, the Zora's face resembles Edvard Munch's The Scream, but scarier.
 * The Link statue is made worse if you've seen the Creepy Pasta Ben Drowned.
 * Everything about this game is worse if you've seen Ben Drowned. You shouldn't have done that...
 * The Deku-Link statue is at least somewhat less creepy than the other ones, especially since you aren't required to use it 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... (shudders)
 * The Gibdos. Just looking at the professor, you've got to wonder: what amount of mind-screwing-body-warping torture did you have to go through to become that?! And imagine being Pamela where the ones you care about the most have to become hideous, nigh-mindless things that can just barely remember who you are. And the professor isn't even the worst case. What about the other gibdos you have to face? What kind of people were they before, and what happens when you can't save them except to kill them?
 * Encountering a poe isn't that scary when you've seen worse before. Encountering one in a haunted well out of tempting fate when told beforehand the well was haunted, then encountering a poe whose surrounded by ominous music that is Zelda's equivalent to a really fast-paced version of Perish Song, now you get worked up where you feel brave only after you picked up your ocarina and start playing.
 * How about the Mirror Shield? It is a shield that has the effigy of a person's face in what appears to be a constant state of torment or 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.
 * And if that shield's face looks familiar, remember that the Happy Mask Salesman has a mask of that same face...
 * Do not play through the Stone Tower Temple if you have a severe fear of heights.
 * The Stone Tower Temple is pretty creepy as it is, even if you're not scared of heights, what with the Gravity Screw puzzles and the fact that you have to use the Elegy of Emptiness statues to get there.
 * 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.
 * Those ....eugh...
 * You may notice that ...but don't think too hard about it.
 * 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 not only annoying but... let's face it, their floating hands, that grab you if you get too close. That never bodes well in a Zelda game.
 * "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"
 * "You shouldn't have done that. Really, you shouldn't have."
 * 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."
 * This entire game is High Octane Nightmare Fuel for people who have maskaphobia (fear of masks). Especially the idea that you literally become the mask.
 * And finally, we have none other than The Scream. Skull Kid's scream on the final day, which brings the moon down even faster.