Dampé

Dampé
Dampé from Ocarina of Time
First appearance	Ocarina of Time (1998)
Appears in	Ocarina of Time Majora's Mask Four Swords Adventures The Minish Cap A Link Between Worlds
Gender	Male
Homeland	(Ocarina of Time) Hyrule (Majora's Mask) Termina (Four Swords Adventures) Hyrule (The Minish Cap) Hyrule (A Link Between Worlds) Hyrule Lorule
Kindred	(Majora's Mask) Father Wife
Race	Hylian (Ocarina of Time) Spoiler: Ghost (Majora's Mask) Terminan Hylian (A Link Between Worlds) Hylian Lorulean Hylian

"I'm Dampé the Gravekeeper! My face may be scary, but I'm not a bad guy..."

— Dampé

Dampé is a recurring character in the Legend of Zelda series. He is a mysterious old man who works as a gravekeeper. His appearance is often considered intimidating, but he claims that, despite this, he is not "a bad guy."

Appearances

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

When Link is a child, Dampé resides in a hut, which Link is unable to enter if Dampé is sleeping there, in Kakariko Village's graveyard. He usually sleeps in his hut and comes out just after sunset for a few hours, allowing people to play his Dampé's Heart-Pounding Gravedigging Tour game. In this mini-game, there are dirt spots around the graveyard; participants can ask Dampé to dig them up to see if they give the player a reward, though it costs 10 Rupees for each dig. One of the rewards Link can receive is a Piece of Heart.

When Link is an adult, Dampé is dead. Before his death, Dampé wrote in the diary in his hut about a "keepsake" he found while tending to the graves. After moving a gravestone and entering Dampé's Grave, Link finds Dampé's Ghost, who challenges him to a race for a prize. Although it is not possible for Link to beat him, Dampé still rewards him with his hidden treasure, the Hookshot, if he manages to keep up with him. If Link races him again and finishes at exactly at or under one minute, Dampé rewards Link with a Piece of Heart. Interestingly, despite not being an enemy (as Navi will shine blue around him), Navi will provide information on Dampé's Ghost when he is Z-targeted.

Navi's Notes

“That's the ghost of the dead gravekeeper! If you chase him, he might give you his keepsake...”

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Dampé is the gravekeeper of Ikana Graveyard in Termina. Unlike his Hyrulean counterpart, the Terminan Dampé is terrified of ghosts & monsters that haunt the graveyard and as a result, he only works during the day time and goes to bed at night.

His house is always locked, although Link can still enter it by other means. During the day, Dampé can be found walking around the graveyard. If Link is wearing the Captain's Hat and tries to talk to Dampé while in the graveyard, Dampé panics, says that the ghosts are out, runs back to his house, and locks the door behind him.

It is humorous that Dampé usually moves so slowly that it takes from morning to nightfall for him just to walk around the graveyard; but when fleeing, he runs faster than Link can roll while wearing the Goron Mask. On the Second Day, Dampé expresses his distaste for the Bad Bats flying around the graveyard and offers Link 30 Rupees if he can "chase" them all away.

On the night of the Final Day, while wearing the Captain's Hat, Link can talk to some Stalchildren and command them to open a grave. Once inside, Link will find Dampé. He is looking for a treasure, but he cannot see anything because it is too dark. With the help of Tatl and the bright light she provides, Link can guide Dampé around the Wallmaster infested room. There are several sand pits in the room, into which Dampé can dig to find treasure.

Blue flames can be found beneath three random sand pits. Once all three have appeared, a Big Poe appears and scares Dampé away. Once the Big Poe is defeated, a Treasure Chest appears with a bottle inside it (in Majora's Mask 3D, this chest contains a Piece of Heart instead). Oddly enough, it appears that Dampé's house is connected to the Big Poe's secret chamber; if Link follows Dampé's path after he runs from the Big Poe, he ends up in Dampé's hut, where he can be found cowering underneath his bed.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Dampé is the gravekeeper of the Graveyard within The Swamp. While he serves little purpose to the plot, he warns Link that he should not be out so late and tells Link about the Forest of Light.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Dampé is the gravekeeper of the Royal Valley in western Hyrule. When he is not tending to the graves, he enjoys collecting and fusing Kinstones. He is forced to live outside of crowded areas because of his frightening face. Dampé is the one who gives Link the Graveyard Key.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

In both Hyrule and its dark counterpart, Lorule, Dampé maintains the graves found north of a world's respective castle. He has a tendency to speak in the third person. At the beginning of the game, Yuga seals the entrance to the Sanctuary in order to prevent anyone from interfering with his intentions to turn Seres into a painting. Dampé informs Link that the graveyard contains a secret entrance to the Sanctuary.

Strangely, the Lorule counterpart of Dampé has a distinctive purple tint, leading some to believe that he may in fact not be among the living himself.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.