Shadow Hand

Don't Starve

DST

Night Hand
Walking Speed	2
	"shadowhand" "shadowhand_arm"

The Night Hand is a Shadow Creature that extends from the darkness in an attempt to extinguish the player's fire. It is always accompanied by the sound of a creepy music box. Up to 3 Night Hands can spawn at the same time.

A Night Hand will reduce the strength (or intensity) of a fire by 50%. The more hands that appear, the less damage they can do to a fire (1 Hand = <60% per hand. 3 Hands = <30% per hand). Night Hands have a Sanity aura of -40/min. When stepped on, a Night Hand will retract back into the darkness for a few seconds, after which it will make another attempt to extinguish the fire. If the player chases a Night Hand far enough into total darkness, it will permanently disappear.

When a fire is at its highest strength, it is unlikely for three hands to completely snuff it out. A potential tactic is to max the fire and stand near to max it out again after the attack, although this burns quite a few resources and does not get rid of the Night Hands. A second fire nearby, or a Miner Hat, "cancels" Night Hands altogether for the night. Placing Fireflies around the fire can completely prevent Night Hands from ever showing up.

If the player stokes their fire after the Night Hand appears, it is possible to see the "end" of the night hand. Forcing the Night Hand to retract until its wrist is touching its end will "kill" the Night Hand.

The Night Hand can be destroyed if a light source becomes bright enough, such as if a Night Hand appears when a fire is low and it is immediately stoked to full, or if the player puts on a pair of Moggles.

Trivia

In-Game

• It is possible for a lightning strike to extinguish the Night Hand just as it spawns.
• In Don't Starve Together, Ghost Characters can assist living players at night by chasing away Night Hands.
• The smoke emitted by the Shadow Thurible and Tragic Torch skin in DST sometimes takes the shape of a Crawling Horror, a Terrorbeak, or a Shadow Hand.

Lore

• Shadow Creatures make several appearances throughout the William Carter Puzzles.
  • A Terrorbeak, a Crawling Horror, and a Night Hand appear in the source code of the eighth puzzle.
  • Mr. Skitts and a Terrorbeak appear briefly in an intermission animation in the eighth puzzle.
• Multiple instances of Shadow Hands and Terrorbeaks appear to be terrorizing Wanda throughout the animated short Animated_Shorts_and_Trailers#Long_Shadows Long Shadows.

Bugs

• The music associated with a Night Hand will continue to play indefinitely sometimes. This can be resolved by save/quitting, then reloading the game.
• A Night Hand can still extinguish a fire even after the player has triggered its retreating animation by stepping on it.
• A Night Hand may appear even when Sanity is more than half full.
• A Night Hand may appear in the Ocean.
  • If this occurs in the Shipwrecked DLC when the Night Hand is targeting a land-based fire, the Hand will be stopped by the land border and be unable to extinguish the fire, and will be stuck until day arrives.

Gallery

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  Two Night Hands approaching a Fire Pit.

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  A Night Hand can be on water, making it difficult for people who have a Campfire or Fire Pit on a coast.

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  The second page of the Cyclum Puzzles comic featuring a Night Hand putting out Wilson's fire.

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  Terrorbeaks and Night Hands featured in the Hallowed Nights 2019 comic.

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  Shadow Hand in Terraria