You know, it’s still kind of insane to me that we’ve managed to last 10+ years as a blog. Most of our peers from that time have, for one reason or another, moved onto other things yet here we are somehow still chugging right along. We’re all going to talk about that a bit more in later posts, but the reason I bring it up now is that we’ve made quite a lot of content and run a lot of events these past ten years.

This time, the challenge was to choose one, just one, post or event that stood out amongst all of it as an an all-time favorite. At first, I wasn’t sure how I’d ever be able to choose just one, but, as I thought about it, one did, in fact, surface. I’ve been very happy with everything we’ve done here at Virtual Bastion, but, I think my absolute favorite event we’ve run so far was “Zelda-ween” back in 2016.

Despite all the great games that have come out in the ten or so years that we’ve been writing here, The Legend of Zelda remains my favorite series, and I absolutely loved diving into it from a horror perspective. As we all noted at the event’s outset, Zelda games typically aren’t considered “scary.” Rather, they are (rightly) looked at as generally light-hearted adventures that players both very young and very old can enjoy without much difficulty. Yet, just about every game in the series has its freaky moments and horrific undertones.

I rather enjoyed Duck’s look at just how vicious Hyrule’s chickens can be. Like, they’re not scary on their face, but every and I mean every Zelda fan has learned never to mess with the chickens. For whatever reason, in every Zelda game, harassing the chickens always leads to certain death. Is it deserved? Certainly. But, it’s still funny to think that these birds are the most dangerous things in the land. Perhaps then its not so strange that so many Zelda games involve them in at least one sidequest with having to do with themes of death. (Hmm…)

Of Cary’s posts, I enjoyed her examination of the series’ unexpected scares. That is: scares in places you wouldn’t necessarily expect them in like Snowpeak Ruins in Twilight Princess or The House of Skulltula in Ocarina of Time. Like, both are (or are in) places that otherwise look innocuous, yet still contain their spooky elements. Like, seriously, why there a spider monster-infested house right in the middle of town, and why does nobody else acknowledge it?! Anyway, it was fun to see others’ thoughts on them and other places.

As for me, I really enjoyed talking about the “Ben Drowned” creepypasta connected to Majora’s Mask. The game itself is no stranger to creepiness, so I suppose it’s only natural that at least one ghost story would come out of it. Even so, the way the story goes is just so…unsettling! Like, it almost doesn’t belong anywhere near Zelda, yet it’s oddly fitting all the same. Even now, years later, the thought of it still kind of gives me chills.

I’m pretty sure we’ve done more extensive events in the years before or since, and I’m certain we’ve all produced better written posts. Even so, “Zeldaween” is my favorite thing we’ve done so far. Will that always be the case? Maybe, maybe not. I suppose it all depends on what we’re able to dream up as we move forward. For now though, make sure to stick around for more anniversary fun!

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Do you enjoy the Legend of Zelda? What’s something scary or spooky about it that stands out for you? If you were around for Zeldaween, what did you enjoy about it?

Image is promo art adjusted by hatmonster