If You’ve Got It, Haunt It: October Vocabulary: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween, October 31

This word means “something that appears,” and usually that something is a ghost or other type of supernatural beastie. Apparition is also used for other types of appearances, such as the apparition of a comet. Shakespeare used the sense that’s appropriate on Halloween in his classic play Julius Caesar: “I thinke it is the weakenesse of mine eyes That shapes this monstrous Apparition.” In other words, “Man, I must be seeing things.”

Dread is a feeling of intense fear, usually about something in the future. Some people dread wearing a costume for Halloween, and most people dread public speaking and bear attacks.

Halloween is the most eerie holiday: that is, it’s the holiday that involves creepy, spooky, supernatural elements. Anything that would scare you in a horror movie is probably eerie.

Found in print since the 1500s, eldritch has been describing the sorts of goblins and ghosts that are so prominent on Halloween and in horror movies. This is a perfect word to use when you’ve been using creepy and spooky too much. Never be scared of broadening your vocabulary.

Derived from Arabic, this word refers to an evil spirit of some sort. The original ghouls were believed to be mysterious grave robbers. The term is found in English since the late 1700s, and it’s broadened quite a bit, referring to not only nasty ghosts but people behaving in a malicious manner. Any person who preys on the weak, acts in a morbid way, or just gives you a Frankenstein-sized case of the creeps can be described as a ghoul. Don’t be a ghoul, people.

As a verb, to hallow is to bless or consecrate something: holy water has been hallowed by a priest. Hallow is also a word for a saint, and the form hallowed refers to holy, sacred things. Hallowed ground is sacred ground, either in a traditional religious sense or a more figurative sense. For a baseball fan, old parks such as Fenway in Boston and Wrigley in Chicago are hallowed ground, though they’re not quite old enough to appear in the bible.

This word has had an interesting journey, much of which was not scary. Originally, to haunt meant to do things regularly. This eventually started covering some regular visitors that are unwelcome: ghosts. People are also haunted by ideas, regrets and dreams, which, like ghosts, can’t be seen. Back in 1600, Shakespeare used the term in the eerie sense in A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “O monstrous! O strange! We are haunted. Pray masters: fly masters: helpe.” In other words, “Ghosts! Run!"

We all have little fears: this is a big fear. If you feel a sense of horror, you’re paralyzed by intense fear, which can also be called terror. You might also be screaming your head off. This fear-focused meaning is why horror is the genre of movie that scares you senseless, often with a monster, shark, or maniac.

Many Halloween costumes and stories focus on the supernatural, which is kind of a strange word. Does it mean something is all-natural but also super-duper? Not exactly. Supernatural things aren’t just unnatural: they’re not real. Monsters such as werewolves and vampires are examples of the supernatural: so is the magic of witches and warlocks. Supernatural forces are magical, but also bunk. You don’t have to worry about ghosts or zombies, really.