Horror Fiction Vocabulary

adjective having a damp, sticky, and unpleasantly cool feel

• The patient's clammy skin indicated a possible fever.
• I hate how clammy my hands get when I'm nervous.
• His palms were so clammy, it was gross.
• The tension in the room was palpable, like a clammy fog settling over us.

noun a small beetle that makes a ticking sound, believed in folklore to portend a death

• The deathwatch beetle is known for the tapping sound it makes in the walls of old buildings.
• I heard a deathwatch beetle in the attic last night, it was so loud!
• I swear, that deathwatch beetle is driving me crazy with its noise.
• The constant ticking of the clock felt like a deathwatch counting down the hours of his life.

noun the internal organs, especially the intestines

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• The surgeon carefully examined the entrails to determine the cause of death.
• I can't stand the sight of entrails when I'm cooking.
• I heard that horror movie is full of guts and entrails.
• The entrails of the company's financial statements revealed some troubling information.

noun a supernatural being or entity believed to possess malevolent or harmful intentions

• The villagers believed that the illness was caused by an evil spirit.
• People say there's an evil spirit haunting that old house.
• I heard there's a creepy evil spirit hanging around the cemetery.
• The evil spirit of greed seemed to possess him, driving him to make unethical decisions.

noun a person or animal that consumes the flesh of other creatures

adjective describing something that feeds on or consumes flesh

• Flesh eating bacteria can cause serious infections if not treated promptly.
• I heard about this flesh eating virus going around, it's really scary.
• Watch out for that flesh eating bug, it's been spreading like wildfire.
• The gossip in this town is like flesh eating, it spreads quickly and destroys reputations.

noun a spirit or apparition of a dead person that is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image

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• The legend of the ghost haunting the old mansion has been passed down for generations.
• I swear I saw a ghost in that creepy abandoned house last night!
• Dude, that place gives me the heeby-jeebies, I think it's haunted by ghosts.
• The ghost of his past mistakes still haunts him to this day.

noun a person who consumes food

verb the action of consuming food

• The man eating at the restaurant seemed to be enjoying his meal.
• I saw the man eating a burger at the park.
• Check out that man eating like a champ!
• The man eating away at his worries with each bite of food.

verb causing severe physical or mental suffering

• The tormenting thoughts of failure kept him up at night.
• She couldn't sleep because of those tormenting nightmares.
• I can't stand that tormenting noise coming from the construction site.
• The tormenting memories of the past haunted her every day.

noun a mythical creature that is a human by day and transforms into a wolf-like creature by night

• The villagers were terrified of the werewolf roaming the forest.
• I heard a rumor that there's a werewolf living in the old abandoned house.
• Dude, that movie about the werewolf was so scary!
• His temper was like a werewolf, unpredictable and dangerous.

adjective relating to or characteristic of a zombie; zombie-like

• The scientist conducted research on the zombic behavior of infected individuals.
• I heard that movie has a lot of zombic creatures in it.
• I can't believe how zombic that party was last night!
• The dull expression on his face made him look almost zombic.

noun a fictional creature or being that resembles a zombie

adjective resembling or characteristic of a zombie

• The scientist studied the zomboid behavior in the infected population.
• I heard that movie has some creepy zomboid characters in it.
• That haunted house was full of zomboid creatures, it was so scary!
• The abandoned town had a zomboid atmosphere, with no signs of life.