As the leaves turn brilliant shades of orange and red and a crisp chill fills the air, Americans get ready for one of their most beloved holidays: Halloween. It is a time for jack-o’-lanterns, spooky movies, and trick-or-treating. But the ghoulish fun of Halloween does not just stay on our doorsteps; it has crept into the English language, giving us a rich collection of expressions and idioms that we use all year round. For English language learners, understanding these phrases can be a treat, not a trick! They offer a fascinating glimpse into culture and add a spooky flair to your vocabulary.
Many of these expressions deal with secrets and consequences. One of the most vivid is having a skeleton in the closet, which refers to a hidden and shameful secret from one’s past. For example, a politician might lose an election if a reporter uncovers a skeleton in his closet. Just as a hidden secret can be revealed, a past mistake can also reappear to cause problems later. We describe this by saying the action will come back to haunt you. You might hear someone say, “I knew that not studying for the exam would come back to haunt me when I saw my final grade.”
The eerie feeling of the late-night hours has also inspired several common phrases. Anyone who works from midnight until morning is said to be on the graveyard shift, a name that evokes the quiet, lonely stillness of that time. That specific time, around midnight, is often called the witching hour, traditionally believed to be when supernatural beings were most powerful. In a more modern sense, parents might refer to the time of day when their baby gets fussy as their personal witching hour. When a place is eerily empty and devoid of activity, especially at night, it is often called a ghost town, a term originally used for abandoned mining towns. You could say, “After the factory closed, the main street became a complete ghost town.”
Beyond secrets and spooky times, the language also has powerful ways to describe the feeling of fear itself. The expression to make one’s blood run cold perfectly captures a feeling of intense horror or fright, describing the physical sensation of a sudden, deep chill. A sentence like, “The sound of footsteps in the empty house was enough to make my blood run cold,” clearly communicates a terrifying experience.
So, this Halloween season, do not be a scaredy-cat! Listen for these spooky expressions in movies, TV shows, and conversations. Trying to use them yourself is a fantastic way to make your English sound more natural and dynamic. Happy Halloween!
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