ghost story
Spooky fireside narrative
A ghost story is a tale featuring supernatural apparitions, hauntings, or the spirits of the dead.
The genre emphasizes atmosphere and dread over gore: We told ghost stories around the campfire.
Ghost stories often involve unfinished business—murdered victims seeking justice, restless souls unable to move on.
The term sometimes applies loosely to any spooky narrative.
Visible supernatural manifestation
- phantomInsubstantial apparition
- wraithSpectral apparition of someone
- poltergeistDisruptive supernatural entity
- bansheeDeath-foretelling Irish spirit
revenant · haunting · possession · exorcism · seance · medium · paranormal · afterlife
Disturbingly strange
- creepyDisturbingly strange
- ominousSuggesting something bad approaches
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- uncannyEerily beyond normal
sinister · shadowy · mysterious · gothic · gloomy · unsettling · tension · dread
Dwelling believed spirit-inhabited
- graveyardPlot for interring the dead
- cemeteryPlace for interring remains
- abandonedLeft behind completely
- mansionLarge, stately home
attic · basement · castle · moor · fog · midnight · witching hour · asylum
Spoken or written narrative
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- yarnTwisted strand for crafts
lore · oral tradition · campfire tale · urban legend · anthology · fiction · thriller · mystery
apparition
Visible supernatural manifestation
- phantomInsubstantial apparition
- wraithSpectral apparition of someone
- poltergeistDisruptive supernatural entity
banshee · revenant · haunting · possession · exorcism · seance · medium · paranormal · afterlife · spiritualism
eerie
Disturbingly strange
- creepyDisturbingly strange
- ominousSuggesting something bad approaches
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
uncanny · sinister · shadowy · mysterious · gothic · gloomy · unsettling · tension · dread · apprehension
haunted house
Dwelling believed spirit-inhabited
- graveyardPlot for interring the dead
- cemeteryPlace for interring remains
- abandonedLeft behind completely
mansion · attic · basement · castle · moor · fog · midnight · witching hour · asylum · shipwreck
tale
Spoken or written narrative
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
yarn · lore · oral tradition · campfire tale · urban legend · anthology · fiction · thriller · mystery · plot twist
marshmallows
Pillowy sugar foam
firelight · woods · tent · nighttime · starlight · moonlight · flashlight · sleeping bags · scouts · summer camp
- storiestale, tales, myth, legend, fable
- talestale, funny stories, tall tales, yarns, folk tale
- folklorefairy tales, fairytales, folktales, folk tales, folk tale
- folktalesfolktales, animal fables, folktale, moral fables, fairy tales
- campfire storytellertall tale, campfire song, dramatic pause, suspense building, plot twist
- fiction genresfiction, fantasy, novel, horror, thrillers
ghost storydocumentary
Factual film about reality
realistic fiction · fairy tale · romance · comedy · true crime
ghost storycomedy
Work meant to amuse
bedtime story · romantic comedy · happy ending · children's story · lullaby
ghost storytrue story
Narrative of actual events
eyewitness account · documentary · historical record · news report · journalism
story, ghost, history, ghostly, ghosting, ghosts, specter, ghosted, ghost town