Blood Moon

The Blood Moon is an eerie mechanic that appears in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It's basically a red full moon surrounded by red aurora that will enhance Ganon's power and bring the fallen spirits of enemies back to life.

Link will not encounter a blood moon for the first time until he leaves The Great Plateau. When he does, unsettling music plays, ash levitates into the air, and the sky glows red. Princess Zelda will narrate the scene with the following:"'...""Link...""Link...""Be on your guard.""Ganon's power grows...""it rises to its peak under the hour of the Blood Moon.""By its glow, the aimless spirits of monsters that were slain in the name of the light""Return to flesh.""Link...""Please be careful.'"After the first time, Zelda will narrate the following below each time Link encounters a blood moon:"'Link...""The Blood Moon rises once again.""Please be careful, Link...'"

Effects of the Blood Moon
There are a few effects that occur under the hour of the blood moon, the most obvious one is enemies coming back from the dead, and other beneficial effects as well.

Enemies Respawn
Each time a blood moon rises, everything in Breath of the Wild comes back to life, except for the player's horses that were slain in game. This includes monsters and Guardians, even ones that appear in Shrines, making it easy to stock up on Ancient weapons that will assist you in the over world. It's also best advised to steer clear of enemy bases and camps until after a blood moon passes at midnight, as enemies and bosses will regain all their health after it passes.

Respawns Weapons and Ingredients
Weapons and cooking ingredients that were previously taken will also come back after a blood moon. This includes weapons lying on the ground, items, and chests that appear in enemy camps. However, the blood moon doesn't restore chests found all around Hyrule, like a chest with 5x arrows in it. Ingredients, like mushrooms and herbs will grow back naturally after a few in-game days pass, regardless of the blood moon.

Cooking Bonuses
During the hours of 11:30 pm to 12:00 am (23:30 to 00:00), the player's ability to create a critical successful meal will increase along with special benefits. The play must take advantage of this opportunity before the cinematic plays, otherwise you will no longer receive it. The benefits include the following below:
 * Three extra hearts
 * An extra yellow heart
 * An extra two-fifths stamina wheel
 * An extra yellow stamina wheel
 * Effect duration increased
 * Effect is raised one yellow

Effects on NPCs
Some NPCs will begin to react quite oddly on the night that a blood moon is going occur. Such example is Hino at the Dueling Peaks Stable.

Occurrence of the blood moon
As Hino states, Blood Moons occur during full moons at midnight. This usually is random after a few in-game days pass in the game, although player's have theorized that it occurs more often when more enemies are slain.

The blood moon lasts from 11:30 pm to 12:00 am, as well as the cooking bonuses.

Blood Moon glitches
Players have reported glitchy blood moons occurring every day or at times other than midnight. This may happen when the game is on for an extended period of time. To fix this, turn the game off when your finished.