Dampé


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

Dampé (Pronounced, ) is a recurring character in The Legend of Zelda series who often works as a gravekeeper.

Ocarina of Time
Dampé lives in a shack in Kakariko Graveyard in. He presides over the graveyard, sleeping during the day and pacing it at night. Dampé's Heart-Pounding Grave-Digging Tour is his famed nightly romp: he unearths any plot of dirt along his route through the graveyard when asked, either revealing a lucky Heart Piece, some Rupees, or sometimes, 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 of sorts and rewards him with his favorite treasure, should he succeed, as promised in the diary that he left posthumously inside his abode. Beating him in the race in under a minute also warrants a Piece of Heart. If Link does not finish in under a minute after obtaining Dampe's favorite treasure, 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.

Majora's Mask
Dampé appears again in as the gravekeeper for the Ikana Graveyard. Ironically, though terrified of ghosts, he keeps a haunted graveyard. Little is known about Dampé, but it's 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 the "leader of ghosts", causing Dampé to run away. Once Link defeats this enemy, a treasure chest containing an Empty Bottle reveals itself. If Link leaves this area, he will find himself in Dampé's house.

Dampé is one of very few characters from Ocarina of Time to appear completely unaltered in terms of name and personality in Majora's Mask.

Four Swords Adventures
In, Dampé lives in the graveyard found to the far north in The Swamp. He is supposed to be the caretaker of the graveyard. He is however somewhat plagued by monsters, so he can't do his work. He is also tormented by a "shadowy guy" whom he warns Link about, surprised at how similar Link is to him.

Dampé then tells the four Links about a mirror, in which a dark tribe was sealed in a long time ago, informing the four Links that it is hidden somewhere in the Forest of Light.

The Minish Cap
Dampé is also featured in. He 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 fifty Rupees.

Hyrule
Dampé appears again in 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 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 Captain's Sword to make his way through it. After Yuga begins capturing more people, Dampé tells Link to take care to not meet the same fate.

Lorule
Dampé's eponymous 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. He jokingly asks Link if he will join Dampé on "the other side," since monsters never bother him. Strangely, the Lorulean Dampé has purple-colored skin.