The Skull Kid's Identity: MDK's Theory

An idea hit me as I was playing Majora's Mask. There has been recent debates concerning the symbolism and the identity of the children on the moon. I believe that I have found a solution.

Symbolism and Imagery

1. The Skull Kid's Anguish

First, the obvious.

The Moon, with its evil gaze and looming presence, is visual and physical representation of the Skull Kid's anger at his apparent rejection and abandonment by his closest friends, the Four Giants, which he created through the terrifying power of Majora's Mask. The Skull Kid is lonely, and nutures a bitter hatred for all that cast him away because of his unusual appearance - indeed, many people in the land of Termina refer to him as an "imp", which I'd imagine the Skull Kid finds very insulting.
Using the Mask's power, the Skull Kid goes about making people suffer - perhaps the sight of others in an unhappy state soothes his own unhappiness. Most notable is the curse he placed on Kafei - in the manga by Akira Himekawa, he cast the curse because Kafei refused to play with him late at night on his way back from the bar (although this can't necessarily be accepted as canon).
The Moon is the Skull Kid's ultimate weapon - it appears in the sky and gradually falls closer and closer to the surface of the land before finally colliding with Termina. This instils panic and fear in many, much to the enjoyment of the Skull Kid. Others (most notably Mutoh the carpenter) are stubborn and refuse to cower in the face of the ominous Moon, and as a result, are the first to perish - the Skull Kid still wins.

2. The Skull Kid's Loneliness

This is the root cause of the Skull Kid's anger. His best friends left, despite his best efforts to stop them, and as a result, he bears a great sense of abandonment. While the Skull Kid shows no signs of remorse or guilt for his actions during the game, he still longs to see his friends again, and still suffers his lonely heart. There is one single scene in the game that captures this - the children playing on the Moon.
Despite the Moon's terrifying exterior, in its heart dwells a paradise - an expanse of green field broken by a single tree on a hilltop. Playfully running around the tree are four children, identical in appearance, each wearing a different mask - the masks of the game's four bosses. Sitting alone beneath the tree is a lone child, identical to the others. He is wearing Majora's Mask.

For the duration of the game, the Four Giants are each sealed inside one of the boss masks. The children wearing these masks are not playing with one another - each one is running around on his own. The Four Giants each departed in a different direction when they left Clock Town. The child wearing Majora's Mask sits alone, curled up beneath the tree. The Skull Kid wears Majora's Mask for the mostpart of the game. Thus it can be assumed that the child wearing Majora's Mask represents the Skull Kid, and the four masked children represent the Four Giants.

The image as a whole is the Skull Kid's belief of what happened - his friends all left to play elsewhere, leaving him all alone. He feels like a victim of sorts, that the world has done him a huge wrong, and Majora's Mask allows him to exact his revenge.
Some further evidence to support this: in the legend of the Carnval of Time, when the Four Giants left, their friend the imp began spreading his anguish and despair across the land. When Link arrives on the Moon, and gives up all of his masks to the four children, the following happens. The Skull Kid will remark that everyone has gone away, and ask Link to play "good guys against bad guys" with him. He gives Link the Fierce Deity's Mask and proclaims him the "bad guy", and tells Link that all he has to do is run. Then he begins attacking.
Majora might call the Fierce Deity the bad guy because Majora fears him - the game remarks that the mask's dark power could be "as bad as Majora". However, this is entirely speculation on the gamer's part. The mystery surrounding Majora and the Fierce Deity (or Oni, if you prefer) is left to our own imagination.
The Skull Kid might call the Fierce Deity the bad guy because his friends are gone, and he sees that pretty much the rest of the world is against him, putting a "bad face" (pun intended) on everyone else.

Identity of the Skull Kid

While the last section was pretty straight forward, this section may be a bit more confusing and/or controversial. Here goes...

To understand any of the following theories and speculations, it is absolutely crucial that you realise two things, so crucial in fact that i'll type it in big, bold letters:

1. The children wearing masks on the Moon are a young version of the Happy Mask Salesman.
2. The Skull Kid that wears Majora's Mask is the same Skull Kid to whom you taught Saria's Song in the Lost Woods in Ocarina of Time.

The fact that the child is the Happy Mask Salesman is blatantly obvious. Check it yourselves if you're unsure. As for the Skull Kid, he says it himself in the game's ending: "Eh-hee-hee...You have the same smell as the fairy kid who taught me that song in the woods..."

Moving forward from this point, the other factors that contribute to my theory.
It is fairly obvious from the events of the game that the lands of Hyrule are connected somehow. Also obvious is the fact that the link between these two worlds, dimensions etc. lies deep within the vast expanse of the Lost Woods. Also noteworthy is the fact that, of all the characters from Ocarina of Time, the only ones that have travelled to Termina at one point or another are the following three: Link, the Skull Kid, and the Happy Mask Salesman. Link is a Hylian from the land of Hyrule, and it's safe to assume the same for the Happy Mask Salesman, given his appearance and game of origin. The origins of the Skull Kid are much more difficult to determine.

It's important to understand that Skull Kids are not born the way they are. Going by the testimony of a Kokiri girl in Ocarina of Time, if adults lose their way in the Lost Woods, they eventually become Stalfos. However, if a child loses its way in the Lost Woods, it becomes a Skull Kid.
Now, given that the Skull Kid in question has been to both Hyrule and Termina, seems to have a long pre-existing relationship with the Four Giants, and given that the link between Hyrule and Termina is located in the Lost Woods, where one becomes a Skull Kid, I'd wager that the Skull Kid was originally a boy from the land of Termina.

Another important factor in this theory is the relationship between Hyrule and Termina. Hyrule and Termina seem to be alternate dimensions of each other. In Hyrule, the land is divided into various societies, ruled over by one dominant power i.e. Goron City and Zora's Domain, external societies with their own tribal hierarchy or Royal Family, (the Kokiri race is hidden away from the rest of the world, and the Gerudo are regarded as outsiders) bound by alliance to the King of Hyrule, who rules over the Hylian people, an elfin race. The Hyrule Market Place is the central trading hub.
In Termina, the Kingdom is no more - the Ikana civilisation has long since dwindled and perished. The central trading hub of Termina is Clock Town - a community significantly more advanced than Hyrule technologically (e.g. the Clock Tower), which is run by an elected mayor. Other societies ouside of Clock Town, like Hyrule, include the Gorons and Zoras, and a society of Deku Scruns in the Swamp, who repel outsiders.

The most important aspect of the relationship between these two worlds/dimensions is that each person seems to have a counterpart resembling them in the other world. Here are a few examples.

Ocarina of Time ---> Majora's Mask

Malon (Past/Future) ---> Romani and Cremia

Darunia ---> Darmani

King Zora ---> Toto (Indigo-Gos Manager)

Ingo ---> The Gorman Brothers (Three in total)

Cucco Lady (name unknown) ---> Anju

Link ---> The Fierce Deity (by popular belief, and my own)

Notice that two of the principal characters do not have counterparts: Namely the Happy Mask Salesman and the Skull Kid.
Now, assume that the Skull Kid is of Termanian origin and the Happy Mask Salesman of Hyrulian origin. Think back to the Moon - it's pretty obvious that the scene on the Moon represents what the Skull Kid feels in his heart as I outlined earlier on. Then why does he resemble the Happy Mask Salesman? Could it be that before the Skull Kid's original form was the child on the Moon? If so, that would mean that the Skull Kid is none other than the Terminian counterpart of the Happy Mask Salesman!
One similarity between the Happy Mask Salesman and the child on the Moon, apart from appearance, is that they both share a passion for masks. The child even asks Link if he'll be a "mask salesman too".
More evidence to support the fact that the child on the Moon is the Skull Kid are the questions they ask Link.

"Your friends...
What kind of...people are they?
I wonder...
Do those people...
think of you...as a friend?"

IMPORTANT: This could well be a reference to the Four Giants. He questions whether the Giants think of him as a friend anymore, since they left him alone.

"You...
What makes you...happy?
I wonder...
What makes you happy...
Does it make...others happy, too?"

Possibly his longing to make others happy and to be happy himself.

"The right thing...What is it?
I wonder...
If you do the right thing...
Does it really make...
everybody...happy?"

This could be an expression of guilt regarding the terrible things he has done.

"Your true face...
What kind of...face is it?
I wonder...
The face under the mask...
Is that...your true face?"

MOST IMPORTANT: I believe this is a reference to his own appearance. He might be questioning whether the wooden face he has now or the face he used to have now is his real face. Also, in Ocarina of Time, he kept referring to the Skull Mask Link sold him as a "face".

I think the evidence I have already mentioned strongly suggests that the Skull Kid is the Happy Mask Salesman's counterpart (I won't go as far as to say that it is proof), but there is one other factor.
At the ending, when the Skull Kid is talking to Link, and the Happy Mask Salesman begins to leave, as he walks past them, the Skull Kid looks down at the ground, his body shivering - he can't look him in the eye. Why? It could be out of guilt or fear because he robbed him in the Lost Woods, but I think that just maybe, he recognises his old face and suffers a moment of grief - he could even be crying, because he was doing the exact same thing when the Four Giants departed. It's short-lived anyway, because he has been reunited with Tatl and Tael, who have both forgiven him.

So there you have it, that's my theory on the Skull Kid's Identity. PM me with your thoughts and criticisms if you so wish. I'm always open to other ideas.

I like and support your theory, sounds very reasonable and I cannot think of any factor to contradict this. Nice job!

That is one rock-theory!

It was just interesting to read in general, with or without a theory. This may sound like a crackpot theory, but it is very reasonable. I do agree with this from reading all the evidence provided. I mean, it's not like you're saying Link is Tingle. Cudos. I look forward to perhaps more of your findings.

This is the most brilliant and logical explanation of Skullkid in the world! Seriously! Post this on every Zelda site and you'll be alegend. I totally agree with everything you've said and it all sounds incredibly plausible.

Well thought out and very logical. There's nothing in the games that says it can't be true. I applaud you young sir/madame.

I think the idea of the Skull Kid being the Happy Mask Salesman's counterpart is a little extreme, but I do like your analysis of the symbolism. It's a little more plausible to say that the Skull Kid couldn't look the Happy Mask Salesman in the eye because he had stolen Majora's Mask from him, but I still do see where you're coming from.

I had always thought that both the Skull Kids and the Happy Mask Salesman came from Termina, especially since they both know how to get there and the Happy Mask Salesman has such an extensive knowledge of the people, culture, and masks there.

Also, just because I found a few things off with your observations:

--It seems that the moon has been around for a while before the game actually starts. This can be seen in the reactions of some of the town soldiers during the meeting with the mayor, by the fact that the old man in the observatory has already collected a Moon's Tear by the time the game starts (and that the Skull Kid has already tried to steal it), by the fact that the Business Scrub in Clock Town has "heard about" the Moon's Tears, the swordsman's quote that "the moon has been getting closer in recent days", and so on.
--I really like your observation about the Moon Children, but I think the fact that the Happy Mask Salesman was chosen as their manifestation does less to demonstrate that the Skull Kid is spiritually connected to him than to shift the fault to the man who let him steal the mask in the first place, or because the Mask Salesman is a manifestation of fear for him (as Tatl's reactions to him seem to suggest)--and so his fear about the destruction about to be loosed on the world is personified in this form.

To be honest I thought the lunar children took the form of the HMS because Skullkid wanted to be a mask salesman, but I like this theory.

I must say.this is brilliant work.

but I must ask..What bearing does this have on the timeline,if any?

I never really thought about this. I don't have any big contradictions to what you said, so I'll agree with you.

I don't know if FD Link is the Termina counterpart of Link. I always thought the mask simply enhanced a person's abilities. By making Young Link and adult, and giving him a big sword. I'd rather believe Link's counterpart to be the FD than Tingle, though.

Tingle is Adult Link's Termina counterpart.

J/K. I don't mean that.

In my opinion, I thought the children on the moon looked like the HMS because perhaps he, when he found the mask, tried it on, and when he did, the mask took a "piece" of him (read his memories and kept a manifestation of it, perhaps). I think that's why the Mask Salesman says that as soon as he found it he felt evil coming from the mask. Of course, he won't admit putting the mask on. There's really not much to back up my little theory, except how you interpret the manga, and that's not much of a canon, but it's still interesting to think around.

Originally Posted by onilunk

I must say.this is brilliant work.

but I must ask..What bearing does this have on the timeline,if any?

None whatsoever. I'm normally a regular participant in the Timeline debates, but I'd prefer to chronicle the events of Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass before I carry my own theories any further. As I said before, I was playing Majora's Mask and this idea just popped into my head as I was doing the Moon Children section, fighting Majora and watching the ending.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your views and criticisms. I see some skepticism, but that's fine - there's no proof either way regarding this theory of mine, though if I do say so myself, there seems to be more evidence in favour of it. Anything in my theory that is considered non-canon (manga references, Link/Fierce Deity connection) is marked as non-canon, so as to avoid upsetting too many people.

I'd appreciate any more opinions and would love to see any new input to the theory if anyone has anything I missed.

One thing I'm still trying to clarify is the length of time between the Giants departure and the evernts of the game - after all, the story of the Giants and the Imp (who is apparantly the Skull Kid) seems to be legendary, according to Anju's grandmother. Any ideas, people?

I'd say MM takes place a long while after The Giants and SK's little spat.
The carnival of time is done in honour of the Giants so it must have been quite a while.
Anyway very few people seem to believe in the giants. The only person I remember praying to them was the Deku Butler so perhaps few people remember them or believe in them.

Originally Posted by Magic-Tech

I'd say MM takes place a long while after The Giants and SK's little spat.
The carnival of time is done in honour of the Giants so it must have been quite a while.
Anyway very few people seem to believe in the giants. The only person I remember praying to them was the Deku Butler so perhaps few people remember them or believe in them.

If this is the case, that would make the Skull Kid perhaps hundreds of years old - it takes a few generations for something as grand as guardian gods to be forgotten, after all. Who knows?
Most of the humanoid people in the Zelda series - in particular, the Hylians who have died out in ALTTP and TWW, while they are still prominent in OOT - seem to be of elven descent. If this is true, they would likely have long lifespans.
As for the Skull Kid, perhaps it's a curse of immortality. Skull Kids, like the Kokiri, don't seem to grow up - in OOT, if you return to the Lost Woods as an adult and go to the Skull Kid BEFORE you begin the Biggoron's Sword quest, Skull Kid will still be there, and he hasn't aged a bit, although he seems to be terrified of adults.

Now that you mention the Deku Butler, there's something else regarding his estranged son. As you all well know, the Skull Kid changes Link into a Deku Scrub at the beginning of the game. However, as is evident with the Goron and Zora masks, these masks contain the unhealed souls of the individuals they resemble. So where did the Deku soul come from?
As you make Link makes his way to Termina in his new Deku body, he passes a withered tree that has a face - Tatl remarks that it looks as though it had been crying.
Once Link has defeated Odolwa and returned the Deku Princess to the palace, the Deku Butler, after leading you deep into the palace, remarks that Link looks remarkably like his estranged son when he wears the Deku mask.
At the games end, when the credits are nearly over, we see the Deku Butler on his knees in front of the tree in the passage to Termina. He appears to be crying.
Could it be that this is all that remains of his son? If so, that coulf mean that the Skull Kid extracted his soul to transform Link. This, in my eyes, is one of the most evil, twisted things that the Skull Kid has done.
I couldn't have been the only person that noticed this detail, surely. Anyone else agree?

Originally Posted by MDK

If this is the case, that would make the Skull Kid perhaps hundreds of years old - it takes a few generations for something as grand as guardian gods to be forgotten, after all. Who knows?

Does it have to be the same Skull Kid? Or is "the imp" simply a name given to the Skull Kid when he's possessed by Majora's Mask? We never see anyone refer to him by that name while he's not wearing it.

I couldn't have been the only person that noticed this detail, surely. Anyone else agree?

I definitely agree there. In fact, I guessed this the first time I saw the withered tree. (Because of Tatl's comments, of course.)

Originally Posted by MDK

Now that you mention the Deku Butler, there's something else regarding his estranged son. As you all well know, the Skull Kid changes Link into a Deku Scrub at the beginning of the game. However, as is evident with the Goron and Zora masks, these masks contain the unhealed souls of the individuals they resemble. So where did the Deku soul come from?
As you make Link makes his way to Termina in his new Deku body, he passes a withered tree that has a face - Tatl remarks that it looks as though it had been crying.
Once Link has defeated Odolwa and returned the Deku Princess to the palace, the Deku Butler, after leading you deep into the palace, remarks that Link looks remarkably like his estranged son when he wears the Deku mask.
At the games end, when the credits are nearly over, we see the Deku Butler on his knees in front of the tree in the passage to Termina. He appears to be crying.
Could it be that this is all that remains of his son? If so, that coulf mean that the Skull Kid extracted his soul to transform Link. This, in my eyes, is one of the most evil, twisted things that the Skull Kid has done.
I couldn't have been the only person that noticed this detail, surely. Anyone else agree?

Yes, this is fairly obvious.I was shocked when the butler told Link that he reminded him of his son,it took me a couple of seconds to realize what happend.

Edit:If you play the Elegy of emptiness you see a young deku, that has resemblence to the tree(the leaves).

Originally Posted by LionHarted

Does it have to be the same Skull Kid? Or is "the imp" simply a name given to the Skull Kid when he's possessed by Majora's Mask?

Well, in the story told by Anju's grandmother, the Giants friend was referred to as "a little imp". Not only this, but in the images that are displayed during the story, the imp is clearly depicted as a Skull Kid. Since the Skull Kid from the game clearly has a preexisting relationship with the Giants, the only logical explanation I can come up with is that it is the same Skull Kid.

Also note, in the story, when the imp began spreading misery across the land and so forth, and the Giants threatened to tear him asunder if he did not stop, the imp departed for the heavens - what does this mean?

At the games beginning, Link falls down a seemingly bottomless pit before he landed in the passage to Termina. Could it be that the "heavens" that the Skull Kid went to were none other than the land of Hyrule? If so, I would like to propose that while Hyrule and Termina are indeed parallels of one another, perhaps they run on different time frames i.e. Skull Kid went to Hyrule for a number of years, and when he returned to Termina, a few hundred had passed there. That would explain the time lapse between the present day and the legend, if indeed the Skull Kid from the story is the same one in the game. I'm just making this up as I go, so let me know whether or not I'm still making sense.

Originally Posted by MDK

Well, in the story told by Anju's grandmother, the Giants friend was referred to as "a little imp". Not only this, but in the images that are displayed during the story, the imp is clearly depicted as a Skull Kid. Since the Skull Kid from the game clearly has a preexisting relationship with the Giants, the only logical explanation I can come up with is that it is the same Skull Kid.

It's possible--especially considering the nature of forest creatures in OoT (their long life-spans). But not necessarily probable.

Also note, in the story, when the imp began spreading misery across the land and so forth, and the Giants threatened to tear him asunder if he did not stop, the imp departed for the heavens - what does this mean?

To Hyrule, perhaps? The Lost Woods, more specifically.

At the games beginning, Link falls down a seemingly bottomless pit before he landed in the passage to Termina. Could it be that the "heavens" that the Skull Kid went to were none other than the land of Hyrule?

Oh. I guess you agree.

Oh, keep going. I think you might be on the verge of a breakthrough.

Just a thought on Skull Kid's cronology (If it's been said before anywhere here, sorry, but I gotta say it):

My thoughts on it go like this:

Skull Kid lived in Termina, as told on grandma's story, with the Giants. When the giants left, he started the mischief, and the Giants banished him (I think that's how it goes), thus making him land into Hyrule. THAT is when Skull Kid first meets Link, and Link teaches him Saria's Song, and sells him the mask. This is when, I think, Skull Kid developed an afinity for masks. After all, he hated his face, and if he could find the perfect mask to hide it and become acceptable to everybody and have friends again, it would be perfect for him. Eventually, he sneaked back to Termina. Probably he tried this method, but being Skull Kid... well... Skull Kid, that didn't work so well. So, in a dark and rainy night, feeling alone and rejected from society, Skull Kid finds friends in the form of Tatl and Tael. Soon after, he steals Majora's Mask from the Happy Mask Salesman (might explain why he didn't do away with other stuff. He was mesmerized by the mask and its evil power), and begins to execute his plans for revenge against the whole world of Termina, culminating in the pulling of the Moon towards Clock Town itself.

Of course, roughly 70% of this is pure speculation and trying to tie stuff together, but it's a nice read...

hmm..that's interesting...
So that would make Link the architect of termina's almost probable destruction.