As the term "dungeon" implies, these parts of any game have the potential to be downright scary with the right atmosphere and setting. While many Zelda Temples truly live up to their dungeon status, some in the series have even taken things a step further in being as creepy as even the spookiest haunted house on Halloween.
Dungeons are an integral part of the Zelda gameplay loop, but the best ones have their own unique feel and atmosphere that makes them memorable in the franchise; some have a more majestic, mysterious vibe, while others can be just plain unsettling. Link is used to dealing with haunted places and fighting off demonic spirits, but some Zelda dungeons come off as especially spooky even by Link's standards.
10 City in the Sky (Twilight Princess)
The City in the Sky is a huge, sprawling dungeon in Twilight Princess, spread out across the foggy, mist-filled sky-high above Hyrule. Unlike Skyward Sword's Skyloft or Tears of the Kingdom's Sky Islands, which tend to have a more uplifting, brighter aesthetic, the darker, overcast look of the City in the Sky has an eerie and foreboding atmosphere.
Twilight Princess' City in the Sky is not someplace a person should want to visit, let alone live. That being said, it makes sense that the strange Oocca people would be the one race of beings who could conceivably dwell in such a surreal place.
9 The Lightening Temple (Tears of the Kingdom)
Tears of the Kingdom's Lightening Temple is located in The Gerudo Desert in the southwestern region of Hyrule. Taking on the appearance of a pyramid, the Lightening Temple is just as treacherous and mysterious as the remains of a real ancient Egyptian tomb.
The Lightening Temple is full of booby traps and terrifying mummy-like zombie monsters called Gibdos, which only adds to its overall creepiness factor. While Tears of the Kingdom has been criticized for its Temples being not as immersive as more traditional Zelda dungeons, The Lightening Temple is generally agreed to be the closest open-air Zelda has gotten to its classic dungeon-crawling roots.
8 Stone Tower Temple (Majora's Mask)
The stone tower temple is the fourth dungeon in Majora's Mask. As its name suggests, even reaching the dungeon is extremely treacherous due to how high up the temple is. Merely reaching the creepy-looking entrance is terrifying enough to maneuver with the knowledge that any false step could be Link’s last.
However, inside the dungeon is when things become truly unsettling, as the Stone Tower Temple must be flipped upside down in order to fully traverse it. The strange design of the Stone Tower Temple is a natural evolution of the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time in both dungeon mechanics and its creepy, off-kilter vibe that suggests something very wrong has taken place here.
7 Snowpeak Ruins (Twilight Princess)
Snowpeak Manor's ruins reside at Snowpeak Top, the highest point of the Peak Province. The mansion ruins have become the home of a couple of Yetis, which is already scary enough.
What makes Snowpeak Ruins really creepy though is the simple setting of the dungeon, which is an old mansion that has become dilapidated and destroyed after years of neglect. Between its eerie music and haunted house feel, Snowpeak is easily one of the spookiest dungeons in the Zelda franchise, and one of the most interesting in terms of its concept alone.
6 The Ancient Cistern (Skyward Sword)
The Ancient Cistern's dramatic division between its upper and lower levels makes it all the more mysterious and weird. Whereas most other Zelda dungeons lean pretty heavily into their specific aesthetic, The Ancient Cistern's design is as ugly as it is beautiful; and that's completely by design.
The Cistern is meant to appear like a Heavenly paradise in its upper section, while the lower part is based literally on Hell. Filled with dark, cavernous rooms full of bones and pools of what may very well be blood, the Ancient Cistern's basement certainly lives up to its Hellish inspiration.
5 The Forest Temple (Ocarina of Time)
Ocarina of Time's Forest Temple is already set up in a dark way. After all, it's the first temple in the adult timeline after Link witnesses the terrifying new version of Hyrule that awaits him in the future. This includes Kokiri Forest, Link's hometown, which is now completely overrun by monsters.
The inside of the Forest Temple itself is even more off-putting than the world around it. Filled with strange winding hallways that spiral around in ways that defy gravity, and ghostly entities who wander aimlessly as though taunting Link, the Forest Temple is easily one of the spookiest locations in any Zelda game.
4 Arbiter's Grounds (Twilight Princess)
Twilight Princess' Arbiter's Grounds is one of the most beloved dungeons in the Zelda series. From its dungeon design to its overall look and atmosphere, it's a location that has sparked the imagination of every player who has entered it. The Arbiter's Grounds was once used as a prison, but that's really underplaying the sheer atmosphere of horror that this place embodies.
There is a sense that something terrible occurred at the Arbiter's Grounds, and many fans have insisted that this place is the symbol of the downfall of the Gerudo civilization to the encroaching Hylian Royal Family. Whatever its history, it has definitely become cursed ground crawling with sinister ghosts and undead corpses at every turn.
3 Ancient Castle of Ikana (Majora's Mask)
Ikana Castle is part of the lead-up to the Stone Tower Temple, and its reward for completion, The Elegy of Emptiness, is absolutely necessary for traversing the temple itself. A song as creepy as the Elegy warrants an equally creepy build-up, and the fact that Link learns it from the undead King who resides in Ikana Castle is certainly fitting.
As the home of the dead, Ikana houses many of the creepiest monsters in Majora's Mask, including, Gibdo, Redeads, Wallmasters, and of course, the Garo. To be one of the creepiest parts of a game that many fans cite as the darkest in the series is an accomplishment in and of itself, and Ikana Castle definitely lives up to its reputation.
2 The Bottom of the Well (Ocarina of Time)
The Bottom of The Well is commonly cited by Zelda fans as one of the most unsettling sequences in any Zelda game, and it’s easy to see why. Deep within the well below the quiet and peaceful Kakariko village lies a scene that could only have come from a horror film.
Torture objects, hidden rooms, and prison cells make up the Bottom of the Well, not to mention the zombieish Redead and the ghoulish Dead Hand which make the well their home. As terrifying as this all is, what makes it arguably even scarier is the fact that Link has to go through it all as a child.
1 The Shadow Temple (Ocarina of Time)
Ocarina of Time is filled with sketchy places and mysterious locations, but none are as outwardly spooky as The Shadow Temple. As one of the last dungeons Link tackles in the game before storming Ganon's castle, The Shadow Temple lives up to its name as a place that captures the darkest parts of the human soul.
Unlike some Zelda dungeons that leave a bit up to imagination in creating an air of mystery and intrigue, The Shadow Temple makes its overall message quite clear: this is a dungeon in the most literal sense. The temple is a straight-forward descent deeper and deeper into its basement—a dismal prison devoid of all life and watched over by the dismembered demon, Bongo Bong.