Dead Hand

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

- Navi

Dead Hand (デドハンド, Dedo Hando) resides at the Bottom of the Well in Kakariko Village as well as the Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time. Whether this monster was set there by Ganondorf or whether it was 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 was kept underground at all times, until it felt a hand grab something or someone. This enemy is considered one of the scariest Legend of Zelda enemies by many fans.

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 will regenerate after about 20 seconds, destroying enough of them will force the Dead Hand to emerge, giving Link an opportunity to strike without leaving himself vulnerable. Once the Dead Hand has been defeated, Link will be 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 will 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 will bury itself again. Upon the monster's defeat, Link will get the Hover Boots as a reward.

Trivia

 * The fact that Dead Hand is fought for a second time in the Shadow Temple may be due to the fact that Dark Link was originally intended to be the mini-boss there, rather than the Water Temple.