Clawed Curse

Clawed Curses are enemies in Dark Souls III.

Description
Eerie phantasmagorical hands reaching out for the living. Clawed Curses suddenly emerge from the tomes stored within the library's many bookcases, their presence hinted by the sound of unintelligible murmurs from beyond the grave.

They are ethereal entities and do not actually exist in the physical plane, meaning they cannot be damaged by any means. However, they can, in return, inflict both physical and Curse damage if touched.

Both of these types of damages are actually inflicted in small amounts individually, but since they are always encountered in numbers, their effects increase exponentially the more claws present, allowing them to drain high amounts of health in just a few seconds and to fill up the Curse bar at a dramatic pace. Needless to say, once the bar has filled up completely, the player will die instantly regardless of how much health they had left.

Grand Archives Scholars can usually be seen standing in areas where these spirits can provide them protection.

Locations
Only, although heavily, found within the library section of the Grand Archives. The more one proceeds throughout the inner chambers, the more numerous the groups they will be encountered in.

Strategy
The player should be cautious when walking near bookcases and always put attention if the sound of murmurs suddenly emanates from them, as that foretells of an imminent encounter.

Make sure to have one's own head covered in wax at all times while exploring the archives, especially when traveling near bookcases. Wax melts away after a certain period of time has elapsed, though, and one must be wary if that could happen at an inopportune moment.

The layer of wax covering oneself will not restore by dipping the head again in a wax filled vat before this period expires, though. One must wait for the previous effect to wear off before being able to apply a new layer.

It is also advisable to be acquainted with the level's layout and to open all shortcuts, thus giving easier access to all vats.

Trivia

 * Grand Archives Scholars have their own heads covered in wax to protect themselves from these specters. They tend the many vats filled with this liquid found throughout the library.