| Item |
Match |
Pronunciation |
Comments |
| skull |
the bony part of the head, attached to a person's skeleton |
/skʌl/ |
|
| boo! |
a word which is sometimes used to frighten people when playing tricks |
/bu:/ |
|
| magic |
the ability or power to make things happen by casting spells; performing tricks |
/mædʒɪk/ |
|
| scary |
something which is frightening |
/skeərɪ/ |
|
| spirits |
the ghosts of dead people |
/spɪrɪts/ |
|
| werewolf |
a person who turns into a wolf whenever there is a full moon |
/weəwʊlf/ |
According to folklore, if a person is bitten by a werewolf, then they become a werewolf too.
|
| costume |
a make-believe outfit worn for fun at Halloween |
/kɒstju:m/ |
also DISGUISE or FANCY DRESS
|
| black |
the darkest colour and the colour of the night. |
/blæk/ |
|
| bloodcurdling |
a chilling, scary sound often used to describe screems. Terrifying. |
/blʌd kɜ:*dlɪŋ/ |
|
| tomb |
a place where a dead person has been buried |
/tu:m/ |
|
| howl |
a high pitched noise made by wolves and dogs |
/haʊl/ |
|
| corpse |
a dead body |
/kɔ:ps/ |
|
| apparition |
A transparent, ghostly figure |
/æpərɪʃən/ |
|
| Wicca |
a modern pagan witchcraft religion |
/wɪkə/ |
Wicca is a pagan religion born in 20th century England though they claim to feed on old traditions in an effort to gain some credibility. It is a religion centred upon the idea of gender polarity and the worship of two deities: Moon Goddess and Horned God.
|
| trick or treat |
What children say when they come to your door asking for sweets/candies |
/trɪk ə tri:t/ |
Children dress up in costumes and visit people's houses in search of sweets (British English) or candies (American English). They knock on the door and say "trick or treat", and they are given sweets. The idea is that if you don't TREAT them, they will TRICK you instead (to trick: to do something bad to you).
|
| nightmare |
a scary bad dream |
/naɪtmeə*/ |
|
| fangs |
sharp, pointy upper front teeth, designed for piercing flesh |
/fæŋgz/ |
for example, vampires have two fangs to bite people on their necks and suck blood
|
| coffin |
a container for a dead body; generally made of wood and lined with silk with a hinged lid |
/kɒfɪn/ |
|
| horror |
shock or fright |
/hɒrə*/ |
Horror films are very popular and are often shown on television at Halloween
|
| frightening |
scary |
/fraɪtnɪŋ/ |
|
| shock |
fright |
/fraɪt/ |
|
| pumpkin |
an orange vegetable which is often carved and hollowed out to make Halloween lanterns |
/pʌmkɪn/ |
|
| cauldron |
a cooking pot used by witches to brew spells |
/kɔ:ldrən/ |
|
| zombie |
a living dead (and a man-eating creature) |
/zɒmbɪ/ |
|
| witch |
a woman believed to have evil magical powers |
/wɪtʃ/ |
|
| cemetery |
a place where dead people are buried |
/semətrɪ/ |
also: GRAVEYARD
|
| mummy |
a dead person who was buried wrapped in bandages |
/mʌmɪ/ |
based on the Egyptian mummies wrapped in bandages inside a sarcophagus.
|
| bat |
a small flying mammal, with leathery wings |
/bæt/ |
According to legend, vampires are said to be able to turn into bats.
|
| spider |
an insect with eight legs that spins webs |
/spaɪdə*/ |
|
| fiend |
a monster or demon |
/fi:nd/ |
also an old word for ENEMY
|
| ghoul |
a fictional flesh eating monster that is said to rob graves, according to folklore |
/gu:l/ |
|
| mausoleum |
an ornate, stone cemetery building, built to house the coffins of rich or famouse people |
/mɔ:səlɪəm/ |
Also for members of the same family.
|
| spooky |
midly scary though often in a fun way |
/spu:kɪ/ |
|
| disguise |
a costume, often worn for fun at Halloween parties by adults and children alike |
/dɪsgaɪs/ |
also: FANCY DRESS
|
| prank |
a trick or practical joke |
/præŋk/ |
|
| ghostly |
having an appearance or nature similar to a ghost |
/gəʊstlɪ/ |
|
| gory |
bloody, macabre |
/gɔ:rɪ/ |
|
| bones |
hard pieces of a person's or animal's skeleton |
/bəʊnz/ |
|
| to frighten |
to scare |
/tə fraɪtən/ |
|
| web |
spiders spin these to catch flies |
/web/ |
|
| shadow |
a dark shape cast by an object positioned between a surface and a source of light |
/ʃædəʊ/ |
|
| goblin |
a small, ugly, mischevious creature with a reputation for causing trouble |
/gɒblɪn/ |
|
| demon |
a devil |
/di:mən/ |
|
| witchcraft |
magic practised by witches |
/wɪtʃkrɑ:ft/ |
|
| wicked |
bad or evil |
/wɪkɪd/ |
|
| blood |
red liquid running through veins of people and warm blooded creatures |
/blʌd/ |
|
| black cat |
They are said to bring good luck in parts of the UK and Ireland. |
/blæk kæt/ |
According to folklore, black cats are said to have supernatural powers and witches often keep them as pets.
In most places, though, black cats are supposed to be unlucky (because they are associated to witches)
|
| candle |
a wax cylinder with a wick in the middle that can be lit with a match to provide light |
/kændəl/ |
|
| wand |
a stick used for casting magic spells |
/wɒnd/ |
|
| cloak |
an outer garment or cape |
/kləʊk/ |
vampires wear a long black clock on their backs, often with a red lining
|
| lantern |
a type of lamp |
/læntə*n/ |
|
| All Hallows Eve |
Another name for Halloween |
/ɔ:l hæləʊz i:v/ |
|
| ghost |
undead spirit that haunts houses |
/gəʊst/ |
|
| grave |
a burial space for a coffin in a cemetery |
/greɪv/ |
Also: TOMB
|
| evil |
malicious, bad, ill intentioned |
/i:vəl/ |
|
| warlock |
a male witch |
/wɔ:*lɒk/ |
|
| candy |
sweet treats given to children at Halloween |
/kændɪ/ |
used in American English. In British English the word is SWEET
|
| moon |
large, round satellite that revolves around The Earth which can be seen in the sky at night |
/mu:n/ |
|
| broom |
a type of brush with a long wooden handle used by witches to fly, according to legend |
/brʊm/ |
Also broomstick
|
| grisly |
horrid, gruesome, bloody |
/grɪzlɪ/ |
|
| to scare |
to frighten a person or animal |
/tə skeə*/ |
|
| skeleton |
the hard inner frame of a person's or an animal's body, formed from bones that join together |
/skelətən/ |
|
| bogeyman |
a fictional scary person used to frighten children who misbehave |
/bʊgɪmæn/ |
This monster has no specific appearance in the mind of an adult or child, but is simply a non-specific embodiment of terror.
|
| banshee |
an unhappy, wailing ghost which features in Irish and Scottish folklore. |
/bænʃi:/ |
Banshees are said to appear when somebody is about to die.
|
| monster |
a fearful, horrid imaginary creature |
/mɒnstə*/ |
|
| festival |
a celebration or special event |
/festɪvəl/ |
|
| spell |
a magic rite cast by witches |
/spel/ |
|
| vampire |
an undead creature who sleeps in a coffin by day and ventures out at night to drink people's blood |
/væmpaɪə*/ |
|
| devil |
an evil spirit |
/devɪl/ |
|
| casket |
coffin |
/kɑ:skɪt/ |
|
| gruesome |
repellent, horrible, bloody, macabre |
/gru:səm/ |
|
| bag |
a container for candy/sweets used by kids who dress up in customes to carry the sweets they collect |
/bæg/ |
|
| tombstone |
a large, upright stone placed at the head of a grave |
/tu:mstəʊn/ |
They often have information about the person who is buried in the grave carved into them, such as their date of birth, when they died or another information about their life.
|
| sweets |
sugary treats given to children at Halloween |
/swi:ts/ |
in American English the word used is CANDIES
|
| trick |
a practical joke |
/trɪk/ |
|
| scythe |
a long, sharp and curved blade |
/saɪð/ |
|
| cape |
a long and voluminous outer garment, or cloak. Often worn by vampires. |
/keɪp/ |
|
| haunted |
a place frequented by ghosts or other spirits of the death |
/hɔ:ntɪd/ |
|
| Grim Reaper |
the name traditionally used to symbolise Death |
/grɪm ri:pə*/ |
In European folklore, Death is usually depicted as a skeleton in a long black cloak, carrying a scythe.
|
| creepy |
unsettling or scary |
/kri:pɪ/ |
|
| wraith |
a Scottish word that means ghost |
/reɪθ/ |
|
| treat |
a fun and unexpected surprise designed to please someone |
/tri:t/ |
|
| phantom |
a ghostly apparition |
/fæntəm/ |
|
| graveyard |
a place where dead people are buried |
/greɪv jɑ:*d/ |
Also called CEMETERY
|
| Jack O'Lantern |
a lantern carved from a pumpkin with a candle inside |
/dʒæk əlæntə*n/ |
|
