Nasty nouns for Halloween

As the end of October approaches, and all things creepy are upon us, it’s time to brush up on some more Halloween vocabulary. Having set the scene with our abysmal adjectives for Halloween, now it’s time to meet the cast of objects and creatures that populate the monstrous side of the English language. The following list gives descriptions of specific nouns that you might find over the course of this horrible holiday.

afterlife – worlds or existence that follow death
bogeyman – an evil character known to hide in cupboards and under beds, with the general purpose of kidnapping children. Also used to describe general sinister people.
cadaver – a dead body.
cemetery – a graveyard, where bodies are buried.
cobweb – where a spider lives. Or least the mess a spider’s spinning leaves.
coffin – the box you bury bodies in.
corpse – a dead body.
crypt / tomb – a chamber where a dead body is stored, often underground and made of stone.
demon – an evil spirit or devilish character.
devil – the ultimate evil lord, or one of many demons with special power or authority.
enchantment – when an object is given some kind of magical quality.
fairy – usually a small magical person, often with wings.
fangs – sharp teeth (as you’d find on a vampire).
genie – a magical being who can grant wishes.
ghost – the spirit of a dead being.
ghoul – a type of demon usually fixated on the dead.
goblin – an ugly and often cheeky creature that causes trouble.
grave – the place where a specific body is buried.
gravestone / tombstone – the marker for a grave.
Grim Reaper / Death – the (often-skeletal) man who takes people to the afterlife.
Halloween – the holiday celebrated on October 31^st.
haunted house – a typical scenario for Halloween, a creepy home that has been inhabited by spirits.
hocus pocus – an expression that usually refers to silly or nonsense magic.
howl – a loud cry, normally associated with wolves.
jack-o’-lantern – traditional carved pumpkin lantern.
mausoleum – a large, grand tomb.
mist – fog, a cloudlike layer, a darker atmosphere.
monster – a monstrous creature – something is frightening.
moonlight – the light of the moon.
mummy – ancient reanimated corpse, usually wrapped in bandages.
nightmare – the terrifying kind of dreams!
ogre – giant, ugly creature.
phantasm – an apparition or thing of fantasy.
phantom – a ghostly being.
poltergeist – an invisible force with the power to move real objects.
potion – a type of liquid with magical powers.
pumpkin – an orange vegetable (squash) associated with Halloween.
scarecrow – sinister humanoid object used to scare birds, often stuffed with straw.
skeleton – the human bone structure.
skull – the bone structure of the head.
spell – a magical enchantment (often poetry that can create magic).
spider – that scary little eight-legged creature.
spirit – a mystical being with no physical form.
tarantula – a type of large and furry spider.
troll – supernatural beings often ugly experience, either giants or dwarves.
vampire – an immortal who sucks blood and avoids the daylight.
warlock – a male user of dark magic.
werewolf – a man who becomes a humanoid wolf under the full moon.
witch – a person (usually a woman) who uses magic or sorcery.
witchcraft – the practice of sorcery or magic.
wraith – a visible spirit.
zombie – a reanimated, usually mindless, dead body.