Poe


 * "Big Poe" redirects here. For the boss of the same name appearing in, see Big Poe (Boss).

A Poe is a spirit of concentrated hatred that freely roams graveyards and other haunted locales about Hyrule. They always carry some sort of lantern with them that serves as the container for that specific Poe's soul.

Characteristics
Poes originally appeared in and seems to be based on Ghinis from the. They normally appear in spookier and older areas, such as graveyards or Hyrule Field. Poes are normally ghosts covered in cloaks and Most Poes are found as enemies, but some are friendly and host mini games, like in the Lost Woods leading to in. Poes are typically evil spirits bound to Earth by their lantern, but such as in if someone causes them to drop their lamp or torch the person will be cursed. They can be caught in bottles.

Notable Poes

 * The Poe Sisters: there are four Poes known as the Poe Sisters: Joelle, Beth, Amy, and Meg. In Ocarina of Time, these Poes are the sub-bosses of the Forest Temple. They stole the four differently colored flames necessary to fight Phantom Ganon, and Link must defeat them in four separate battles to relight the torches. They are fought as a mini-game in Majora's Mask as well. Two Poe Sisters appear in ; Margaret(or Meg in English) and Amy, Meg fights with a lamp and Amy fights with a sword.


 * Haunted Wasteland Guide: to get to the Spirit Temple from the Gerudo's Fortress, Link needs to cross the Haunted Wasteland using a Poe, who can only be seen with the Lens of Truth, as a guide. Link must follow this Poe known as the Phantom Guide to reach the Spirit Temple.


 * Flat and Sharp: in Ocarina of Time, the ghosts of the royal Composer Brothers named Sharp and Flat tell Link about the Sun's Song after he defeats them in Kakariko Graveyard (Flat and Sharp fight like regular Poes, except for their ghosts are colored green after their defeat). In Majora's Mask, Flat rewards Link with the Song of Storms which is used to defeat Sharp later in the game.


 * Big Poe: in, ten of these ghostly creatures haunt Hyrule Field. They only appear while on horseback. When Link spots one, it will run away so he must quickly defeat it with arrows. After being defeated, they can be bottled and sold to the Poe Collector.  Capturing and selling all ten of them will earn Link another empty bottle. In , defeating the Big Poe at Ikana Graveyard earns Link an empty bottle, and defeating the one inside the Ikana Well allows him to give its captured soul to a Gibdo to proceed.


 * Yoll Graveyard Poe: in a Poe in Yoll Graveyard is trapped underground and needs its headstone to be moved to pass on. Right before the Poe moves on it gives a clock to Link.


 * Arbiter's Grounds Poes: Poes in Arbiter's Grounds are the only Poes in who are similar to most incarnations of it.

The four Poes in the Arbiter's Grounds are of particular interest to theorists. Not only do they look and attack differently from regular Imp Poes, but their role of impeding progress to a certain area of the dungeon by stealing the fire from four torches is markedly similar to the behavior of the four Poe Sisters from the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time, leading many to believe that they may be the same. This seems to be supported by the last Poe's strategy of duplicating itself and encircling Link, the same strategy used by Meg, the last of the four Poe Sisters.


 * Jalhalla: leader of the Poes in the Wind Waker and rules under Ganondorf. He appears as a boss and a mini boss, both once, and is made of 15 smaller Poes.


 * Big Poe: a singular Poe, known as the Big Poe, appears as the boss of The Swamp and Infiltration of Hyrule Castle under two distinct forms reminiscent of Jalhalla. These forms serve as a disguise for its true self, which is nothing more than a small green Poe. The Big Poe is defeated by lighting four torches that make it vulnerable. It is capable of spawning normal Ghinis.


 * Cubus Sisters: Although not confirmed, the Cubus Sisters from resemble regular Poes from previous games, especially the Wind Waker. They may even be the Poe Sisters as they even similar color palettes as them.

A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds
They appear as spherical ghosts rapped completely with a yellow cloak in and

Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask
The Poes in and  has the appearance of a ghosts with disappearing white and purple tattered cloaks.

The Wind Waker
In, Poes have a different appearance, masked with multicolored bodies. They harass Link by burning him with their lamps. They can also jump into Link's body, possessing him, and thereby reversing his movement controls. After the possession is over with, the Poe exits the body and it will disappear, as if it had been defeated. The Poes are now permanently translucent until direct light is shone on them using the Mirror Shield (or Medli's harp, in the Earth Temple).

Phantom Hourglass
that appear aboard the Ghost Ship have a radically different look in comparison to their earlier counterparts. They resemble puffer fish with purple body markings, having floating tadpoles for arms. They attack by teleporting back and forth, periodically spitting a ball of blue fire at Link during this process. They can only be struck when visible and will actively avoid Link's attacks.

Imp Poes
There are 56 Imp Poes in Hyrule. In, they take on a role similar to that of Gold Skulltulas in Ocarina of Time. A man in Castle Town named Jovani was cursed for his greed and had his soul stolen by the Imp Poes, and he needs Link to collect all 60 poes(including the ones in Arbiter's Grounds) throughout Hyrule.Imp Poes only come out at night and can only be defeated using Wolf Link's heightened senses. Once a Poe has been damaged, it will fall to the ground and its soul will become visible, which can be ripped out and collected by performing the Ending Blow on it while still in wolf form. Collecting 20 souls will break part of the curse on Jovani, and he will give Link a bottle full of Great Fairy's Tears as thanks. After all 60 souls have been collected, the curse will lift completely, and Jovani's cat Gengle will give Link 200 Rupees every time he enters the room thereafter, similarly to father of the family in the House of Skulltula, granting him a fast and unlimited source of money.

Etymology
It has been speculated that the name "Poe" was derived from the name of the famous poet Edgar Allan Poe who is known for his dark, gloomy works, though it could have also been named from the Chinese word "po" which means "spirit".

Trivia

 * In Majora's Mask, the ghostly aliens that invade Romani's Ranch bear a resemblance to Poes.
 * In SS undefined, the Watchers, patrolling the trials of the Silent Realm, bear a striking resemblance to Poes, even holding lanterns. However, their function is completely different and may merely be meant as a reference by the designers.
 * If Link uses his Grappling Hook on a solidified Poe in The Wind Waker, it will float motionlessly in the air for several seconds, in a different stance than if it had been stunned with the Boomerang.