Dead Hand

"Watch out for its infinite hands! Aim for its head!"

- Navi

Dead Hand is a mini-boss found in Ocarina of Time. It resides at the Bottom of the Well in Kakariko Village as well as the Shadow Temple in the Graveyard.

Characteristics
Whether this monster was set there by Ganondorf or whether it is a natural occurrence is unknown, but many consider it to be a part of Ganondorf's group. Its head is zombie-like, with a large jaw, and its blood is green. Purple blotches (most likely bloodstains) decorate its body, and there are a number of other hands (four to six) around the room. The monster uses its detached arms to snare Link, and then it walks up and tries to devour him with its mouth. The main body is kept underground at all times, until it feels a hand grab something or someone. This enemy is considered one of the scariest Legend of Zelda enemies by many fans.

Strategy
The Dead Hand under the Kakariko well can be overcome by intentionally letting oneself be grabbed by the hands, then breaking free and slashing the Dead Hand in the face when it appears. The hands can also be destroyed, and although they regenerate after about 20 seconds, destroying enough of them inevitably forces the Dead Hand to emerge, giving Link an opportunity to strike without leaving himself vulnerable. Once the Dead Hand has been defeated, Link is rewarded with the Lens of Truth.

The same strategy can be used for the Dead Hand in the Shadow Temple (multiple Dead Hands in Master Quest), but there an easier method in which Link can use the Lens of Truth, acquired from the well, to look on the ground for the "shadow" of the Dead Hand moving about underground, and place a bomb on top of it. Once the bomb explodes, Dead Hand proceeds to come out to attack Link. It should be noted that the wave of earth created by a Dead Hand's emergence or burrowing can injure Link, and if it takes too long to catch Link, it then buries itself again. Upon the monster's defeat, Link gets the sacred Hover Boots as a reward.

Trivia

 * Hidden in the room from Kakariko Well where Dead Hand lurks is an invisible chest containing 200 Rupees.
 * Because of its appearance in Kakariko Well, Dead Hand is the only miniboss to be recognized when it's found in the Shadow Temple. The other minibosses are met for the first time in dungeons.