All Hallows Eve | the day before All Saints' Day; another name for Halloween |
Grim Reaper | the name traditionally used to symbolise Death. In British English folklore, Death is usually depicted as a skeleton in a long black cloak, carrying a scythe. |
Jack O' Lantern | a lantern carved from a pumpkin, with a candle inside |
October | the tenth month of the year. |
RIP | rest in peace (often written on graves) |
Wicca | an ancient religion, practised by witches. |
afraid | feeling fear; frightened because you think that you might be hurt or suffer |
afterlife | a life that some people believe exists after death |
alarming | causing worry and fear |
apparition | a transparent, ghostly figure |
autumn | the season that comes after summer and before winter. Also known as "fall" in the USA |
bag | a container for candy (US English) or sweets (British English) given out at Halloween to children who dress up in costumes and go "trick or treating" around their local neighbourhood |
banshee | an unhappy, wailing ghost which features in Irish and Scottish folklore. Banshees are said to appear when somebody is about to die. |
bat | a small flying mammal, with leathery wings. According to legend, vampires are said to be able to turn into bats |
black | the darkest colour, and the colour of night. |
black cat | black cats are said to bring good luck in parts of the UK and Ireland. According to folklore, black cats are said to have supernatural powers, and witches often keep them as pets, or familiars |
blood | red liquid running through veins of people and warm blooded creatures. |
blood-curdling | a chilling, scary sound. Often used to describe screams. |
bogeyman | a fictional scary person, used to frighten children who misbehave. |
bones | hard pieces of a person's or animal's skeleton. |
boo | a word which is sometimes used to frighten people, when playing tricks. |
brew | to cook liquid (verb).
cooked beverage or dish, e.g. witches brew (noun). |
broom or broomstick | a type of brush with a long wooden handle, said to be used by witches to fly, according to legend. |
cackle | to make a loud unpleasant noise |
candle | a wax cylinder with a wick in the middle, that can be lit with a match to provide a source of light. |
candy | sweet treats given to children at Halloween. |
cape | a long, voluminous outer garment, or cloak. Often worn by vampires. |
casket | a coffin. |
cat | a cute, fluffy mammal, said to be favourite pet of witches |
cauldron | a cooking pot, used by witches to brew spells. |
cemetery | a place where dead people are buried (British English) |
chilling | frightening, usually because it is connected with sth violent or cruel |
cloak | an outer garment, or cape. |
cobweb | a fine net of threads made by a spider to catch insects; |
coffin | a container for a dead body. Generally made of wood and lined with silk, with a hinged lid. |
corpse | a dead body, especially of a human |
costume | a make-believe outfit, worn for fun at Halloween. |
creepy | causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or slight horror |
darkness | the state of being dark, without any light |
dead | no longer alive |
demon | a devil. |
devil | an evil spirit. |
disguise | a costume, often worn for fun at Halloween parties by adults and children alike. At Halloween, partygoers sometimes dress up as mummies, witches, werewolves or vampires! |
dress-up | dress in smart or formal clothes. |
eerie | strange, mysterious and frightening |
evil | malicious, bad, ill intentioned. |
fall | the season that comes after summer and before winter (American English). Known as "autumn" in the UK. |
familiar | a pet animal kept by witches, which is said to have the ability to change into human shape, according to folklore. |
fangs | sharp, pointy upper front teeth, designed for piercing flesh. |
festival | a celebration, or special event. |
fiend | a monster or demon |
flashlight | (especially AmE) = TORCH: He shone a flashlight in the boy's face. |
frighten | to scare, to make somebody suddenly feel afraid |
frightening | scary |
frightful | used to emphasize how bad sth is, very serious or unpleasant |
ghastly | very frightening and unpleasant, because it involves pain, death, etc |
ghost | undead spirit that haunts houses. |
ghostly | ghost-like. |
ghoul | a fictional flesh eating monster that is said to rob graves, according to folklore. |
ghoulish | an evil spirit that opens graves and eats the dead bodies in them |
goblin | a small, ugly, mischievous creature, with a reputation for causing trouble |
gory | bloody, macabre. |
grave | a burial space for a coffin in a cemetery. |
graveyard | a place where dead people are buried (American English) |
grisly | horrid, gruesome, bloody. |
gruesome | horrible, bloody, macabre. |
halloween | a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2021 will occur on Sunday, October 31.
The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts |
haunted house | a place frequented by ghosts or other spirits of the dead. |
hocus pocus | language or behaviour that is nonsense and is intended to hide the truth from people |
horrify | to make sb feel extremely shocked, disgusted or frightened |
horror | shock or fright. Horror films are very popular, and are often shown on television at Halloween. |
howl | a high pitched noise made by dogs and wolves. |
lantern | a lamp in a clear case, often a metal case with glass sides, and often with a handle, so that you can carry it outside |
magic | the power or ability to make things happen by casting spells, or entertaining people by performing tricks. |
mask | something that you wear over your face to hide it, or to frighten or entertain other people |
mausoleum | an ornate, stone cemetery building, built to house the coffins of rich and famous people, or members of the same family. |
monster | a fearful, horrid, imaginary creature. |
moon | large, round satellite that revolves around the earth, which can be seen in the sky at night |
moonlight | the light of the moon |
mummy | a dead person, who was buried wrapped in bandages. |
mysterious | difficult to understand or explain; strange |
night | the time of darkness between one day and the next, usually when people sleep |
nightmare | a scary, bad dream. |
orange | a bright colour associated with Halloween and other autumn festivals, such as The Mexican Day of The Dead (El Día de los Muertos). |
petrify | to make sb feel extremely frightened |
phantom | a ghostly apparition. |
prank | a trick, or practical joke |
pumpkin | an orange vegetable, which is often carved and hollowed out to make Halloween lanterns. |
scare | to frighten a person or animal. |
scary | something which is frightening. |
scream | to give a loud, high cry, because you are hurt, frightened, excited, etc |
scythe | a long, sharp, curved blade. |
shadow | a dark shape cast by an object positioned between a surface and a source of light, such as the moon. |
shock | fright, surprise |
skeleton | the hard inner frame of person's or animal's body, formed from bones that join together. |
skull | the bony part of the head, attached to a person's skeleton. |
spell | a magic rite, cast by witches. |
spider | an insect with eight legs that spins webs. |
spine-chilling | frightening in an exciting way |
spirits | the ghosts of dead people. |
spooky | mildly scary, though often in a fun way |
supernatural | that cannot be explained by the laws of science and that seems to involve gods or magic |
superstition | the belief that particular events bring good or bad luck |
sweets | sugary treats given to children at Halloween (British English). |
terrify | to make sb feel extremely frightened |
tomb | a building where dead people are buried. |
tombstone | a large, upright stone placed at the head of a grave. Gravestones often have information about the person who is buried in the grave carved into them, such as their date of birth, when they died, and other information about their life |
treat | a fun, unexpected surprise, designed to please someone. |
trick | a practical joke, or other act of deception. |
trick or treat | a popular Halloween custom in the UK and USA, where children dress up in costumes and visit people's houses in search of sweets (British English) or candy (US English). |
vampire | an undead creature who sleeps in a coffin by day, and ventures out at night to bite people and drink their blood. |
wand | a stick used for casting magic spells. |
warlock | a male witch, a man who is believed to have magic powers, especially evil ones |
web | spiders spin these to catch flies. |
werewolf | a person who turns into a wolf whenever there is a full moon. According to folklore, if a person is bitten by a werewolf, then they become a werewolf, too! |
wicked | bad or evil. |
witch | a woman believed to have magical powers. |
witchcraft | magic, practised by witches. |
wizard | a man with magic powers |
wraith | a Scottish word that means ghost. |
zombie | an undead, flesh eating creature. |
eSilence
English Silent Letters And Rules
