blood-curdling
Deeply horrifying sound
Blood-curdling describes something so frightening it seems to make your blood thicken and stop flowing—an old folk belief about fear's physical effects.
The word typically modifies sounds: a blood-curdling scream, a blood-curdling shriek.
It can also describe stories, scenes, or experiences that inspire intense terror: a blood-curdling tale of murder.
Intensely frightening or eerie
- hair-raisingExtremely frightening or alarming
- bone-chillingExtremely cold or terrifying
- petrifyingInducing paralytic terror
- horrifyingCausing extreme fear
bloodcurdling · shriek · scream · howl · wail · screech · cry · yell
Dark, mysterious aesthetic
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
- hauntedOccupied by ghosts
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
- ghoulishFascinated by death grotesquely
monstrous · eerie · uncanny · spooky · phantasmal · apparition · grotesque · morbid
Raised skin from cold
- shiverInvoluntary trembling sensation
- chillsShivering spells from illness
- freezingExtremely cold
- paralyzedUnable to move voluntarily
heart-stopping · gut-wrenching · skin-crawling · nerve-wracking · trembling · breathless · recoil · flinch
spine-chilling
Intensely frightening or eerie
- hair-raisingExtremely frightening or alarming
- bone-chillingExtremely cold or terrifying
- petrifyingInducing paralytic terror
horrifying · bloodcurdling · shriek · scream · howl · wail · screech · cry · yell · terror
gothic
Dark, mysterious aesthetic
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
- hauntedOccupied by ghosts
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
ghoulish · monstrous · eerie · uncanny · spooky · phantasmal · apparition · grotesque · morbid · slasher
goosebumps
Raised skin from cold
paralyzed · heart-stopping · gut-wrenching · skin-crawling · nerve-wracking · trembling · breathless · recoil · flinch · gasp
blood-curdlingcalming
Inducing a settled state
soothing · reassuring · comforting · harmless · innocuous
blood-curdlingheartwarming
Evoking tender positive feelings
delightful · pleasant · dulcet · mellifluous · lulling
blood, bloody, bleeding, bloodline, bloodshed, bloodless, curdle, bloodthirsty, bloodbath