Discover a range of spooky words perfect for setting a chilling atmosphere in your stories, from haunted descriptions to eerie dialogues.
- Apparition- a ghost or ghostly figure.
- Banshee- a wailing spirit signaling death.
- Cauldron- a large metal pot used by witches.
- Crypt- an underground room or vault used as a burial place.
- Demon- a supernatural and malevolent being.
- Eerie- strange and frightening.
- Fantom- an old spelling of phantom, meaning ghost.
- Ghoul- an evil spirit that robs graves and consumes corpses.
- Haunt- a place frequented by a ghost.
- Incubus- a demon supposed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women.
- Jack- o’-lantern** – a carved pumpkin with a light inside.
- Kobold- a spirit from Germanic mythology, often mischievous.
- Lycanthrope- a werewolf.
- Macabre- disturbing because of involvement with or depiction of death.
- Necromancy- magic involving communication with the dead.
- Omen- an event regarded as a portent of good or evil.
- Phantom- a ghost.
- Quiver- to tremble or shake with a slight rapid motion.
- Revenant- someone who has returned from the dead.
- Specter- a ghost.
- Tombstone- a stone marker that is placed over a tomb.
- Undead- beings that are dead yet behave as if alive.
- Vampire- a creature that sucks blood from the living.
- Wraith- a ghostly apparition of a living person.
- Xenophobia- fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners.
- Yurei- a Japanese ghost.
- Zombie- a corpse reanimated through mystical means.
- Abyss- a deep or seemingly bottomless chasm.
- Bewitch- to cast a spell on and gain control over someone.
- Curse- a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm.
- Dreadful- causing or involving great fear or suffering.
- Ectoplasm- a supernatural viscous substance that is supposed to exude from the body of a medium.
- Fright- a sudden intense feeling of fear.
- Grim- forbidding or uninviting.
- Hag- a witch, particularly one considered frightful or ugly.
- Imp- a small, mischievous devil or sprite.
- Jinx- a person or thing that brings bad luck.
- Kraken- a legendary sea monster.
- Lament- a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
- Mystic- relating to mysteries, esoteric rites or supernatural occurrences.
- Nocturnal- done, occurring, or active at night.
- Ossuary- a container or room in which the bones of dead people are placed.
- Pallor- an unhealthy pale appearance.
- Quaint- attractively unusual or old-fashioned.
- Ritual- a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.
- Shadow- a dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
- Thriller- a novel, play, or movie with an exciting, suspenseful plot.
- Unearthly- unnatural or mysterious, especially in a disturbing way.
- Visage- a person’s face, with reference to the form or proportions of the features.
- Warlock- a man who practices witchcraft.
- Hex- to cast a spell.
- Yeomanry- a group of men who hold and cultivate small landed estates.
- Zephyr- a soft gentle breeze, often used in poetic context to evoke a sense of eeriness.
- Blight- a plant disease, especially one caused by fungi.
- Cobweb- a spider web, especially when old and covered with dust.
- Devil- the chief evil spirit; Satan.
- Enchant- to fill someone with great delight; charm.
- Fear- an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous.
- Grave- a place of burial for a dead body.
- Harrowing- acutely distressing.
- Infernal- relating to hell or the underworld.
- Jeopardize- to put someone or something into a situation in which there is a danger of loss, harm, or failure.
- Knell- the sound of a bell, especially when rung solemnly for a death or funeral.
- Lucifer- another name for Satan.
- Morbid- characterized by an abnormal and unhealthy interest in disturbing and unpleasant subjects.
- Nightmare- a frightening or unpleasant dream.
- Ouija- a board with letters and numbers used to communicate with spirits.
- Possession- the state of being controlled by a demon or spirit.
- Quarantine- a state or period of isolation.
- Relic- an object surviving from an earlier time, especially one of historical interest.
- Spooky- eerie and frightening.
- Terror- extreme fear.
- Unseen- not seen or noticed.
- Vile- extremely unpleasant.
- Witch- a woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones.
- Hex- a magical spell, usually with malevolent purposes.
- Yowl- a loud wailing cry, especially one of pain or distress.
- Zealot- a person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals.
- Bogeyman- a mythical creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior.
- Chilling- causing great fear.
- Doom- death, destruction, or some other terrible fate.
- Ethereal- extremely delicate and light in a way that seems not of this world.
- Fog- a thick cloud of water droplets suspended in the atmosphere.
- Ghastly- causing great horror or fear.
- Horror- an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust.
- Illusion- a thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted.
- Jitter- act nervously.
- Kelpie- a mythical water spirit of Scottish folklore.
- Moan- a long, low sound made by a person expressing physical or mental suffering.
- Noir- characterized by crime, mystery, and moral ambiguity.
- Opaque- not able to be seen through.
- Poltergeist- a ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances.
- Quietude- a state of stillness, calmness, and quiet in a person or place.
- Rue- bitterly regret (something one has done or allowed to happen).
- Sinister- giving the impression that something harmful or evil is happening or will happen.
- Tomb- a large vault, typically an underground one, for burying the dead.
- Unholy- not sanctioned by religious sanction.
- Vanish- disappear suddenly and completely.
- Whisper- speak very softly using one’s breath.
- Zephyr- a gentle, mild breeze.