Dampé


 * This article is about the gravekeeper. For the sailor from, see Dampa.

Dampé (pronounced, ) is a recurring character in who often works as a gravekeeper.

In, Dampé lives in a shack in the Kakariko Village Graveyard. He presides over the graveyard, sleeping during the day and pacing it at night. Dampé's Heart-Pounding Gravedigging Tour is his famed nightly romp: he unearths any plot of dirt along his route through the graveyard when asked, either revealing a Piece of Heart, Rupees, or nothing at all. A young boy walks the graveyard during the day, mimicking Dampé's walk and chastising Link anytime he tries to pull on a gravestone, threatening to tell Dampé.

Dampé died during Link's seven-year disappearance, however his ghost can be found in his grave. He challenges Link to a race and rewards him with the Hookshot as promised in his diary that he left posthumously inside his shack. Finishing the race in under a minute also warrants a Piece of Heart. If Link does not finish in under a minute after obtaining the Hookshot, he will receive a Red Rupee instead. After obtaining the Hookshot, it can be used on a torch to cut a few seconds off the clock in the race, allowing Link to beat it more easily in less than a minute.

In, Dampé appears as the gravekeeper for the Ikana Graveyard. Though terrified of ghosts, he keeps a haunted graveyard. Little is known about Dampé, but it is insinuated that he used to visit the graveyard with his father. Apparently, he also has a wife.

On the third day, Dampé can be found underground beneath a gravestone searching for the treasure of Ikana's Royal Family. However, his torch has gone out, so he asks Link to guide him with his fairy's light. By Z-targeting him, Link can lead Dampé to mounds of dirt where he will sometimes dig up blue fire. Once three such fires are found, they come together and reveal a Big Poe, causing Dampé to run away. Once Link defeats this enemy, a Treasure Chest containing a Bottle reveals itself. In, this was changed to a Piece of Heart instead. If Link leaves the area, he will find himself in Dampé's house, with Dampé hiding underneath his bed.

In, Dampé lives in the graveyard found to the far north in The Swamp. He is the caretaker of the graveyard, but since monsters roam the place, he can not do his work. He is also tormented by Shadow Link whom he warns the Links about, surprised at how similar they are to him. Dampé then tells the four Links about a mirror, in which a dark tribe was sealed in a long time ago, informing them that it is hidden somewhere in the Forest of Light.

The Minish Cap
In, Dampé lives in a house in the Royal Valley and tends to the graveyard. He gives Link the key to the graveyard, opening the way to the Royal Crypt. When spoken to after completing the mini-dungeon, he will state a secret path in the Lost Woods that leads to 50 Rupees.

A Link Between Worlds
In, Dampé appears again as a gravekeeper. He initially appears to be dull-witted, as he refers to himself in third person, but he also claims to understand that the Captain only visits the Sanctuary to see Seres. While Link is searching for the Captain, he encounters Seres and Dampé speaking. After Seres becomes trapped within the Sanctuary, Dampé remembers that the Priest spoke of a secret passage into the Sanctuary and prompts Link to use the Forgotten Sword to make his way through it.

Dampé's Lorulean counterpart also resides in a graveyard. He is shocked when Link speaks to him, as nobody has spoken to him in a long time. He explains that he was once a gravekeeper, but there are now no more graves.