horror
Overwhelming fearful dread
Horror is intense fear, dread, or revulsion—the feeling when confronting something shocking or terrifying.
A horror is something that causes this feeling: the horrors of war, a horror show.
Horror films and horror fiction are genres designed to frighten.
To have a horror of something is to dread it intensely.
In casual speech, horror amplifies dismay: To my horror, I'd left the stove on.
Intense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- fearEmotional response to threat
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- frightSudden intense fear
revulsion · disgust · shock · trepidation · apprehension · unease · foreboding · anxiety
Anxious uncertainty about outcomes
- tensionStretched or strained state
- cliffhangerSuspenseful unresolved ending
- twistRotating motion or surprise
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
stalker · chase · cat-and-mouse · anticipation · dread · paranoia · isolated · trapped
Unhealthily drawn to darkness
- gruesomeCausing horror and disgust
- ghoulishFascinated by death grotesquely
- grotesqueDistorted, bizarre figure
- eerieDisturbingly strange
sinister · grisly · cadaver · decaying · skeleton · cemetery · tombstone · morgue
Blood-drinking undead creature
- werewolfShapeshifting wolf-person
- zombieReanimated dead body
- ghostApparition of the dead
- demonMalevolent supernatural being
witch · mummy · ghoul · banshee · poltergeist · cryptid · creature · beast
Knife-wielding horror villain
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
- paranormalBeyond scientific explanation
- psychologicalOf the mind
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
body · cosmic · folk · splatter · anthology · B-movie · exploitation · possession
Occupied by ghosts
- castleFortified medieval residence
- vampireBlood-drinking undead creature
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- phantomInsubstantial apparition
crypt · cobweb · candlelight · moonlight · fog · ruins · gargoyle · turret
Graphic bloody violence
- bloodBody's oxygen carrier
- slaughterKilling for meat
- massacreLarge-scale unlawful killing
- mutilationDamaging a body severely
dismemberment · carnage · butchery · bloodbath · severed · wound · stabbing · evisceration
dread
Intense anticipatory fear
fright · revulsion · disgust · shock · trepidation · apprehension · unease · foreboding · anxiety · distress
suspense
Anxious uncertainty about outcomes
- tensionStretched or strained state
- cliffhangerSuspenseful unresolved ending
- twistRotating motion or surprise
mystery · stalker · chase · cat-and-mouse · anticipation · dread · paranoia · isolated · trapped · survival
morbid
Unhealthily drawn to darkness
- gruesomeCausing horror and disgust
- ghoulishFascinated by death grotesquely
- grotesqueDistorted, bizarre figure
eerie · sinister · grisly · cadaver · decaying · skeleton · cemetery · tombstone · morgue · autopsy
vampire
Blood-drinking undead creature
demon · witch · mummy · ghoul · banshee · poltergeist · cryptid · creature · beast · Frankenstein
slasher
Knife-wielding horror villain
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
- paranormalBeyond scientific explanation
- psychologicalOf the mind
survival · body · cosmic · folk · splatter · anthology · B-movie · exploitation · possession · demonic
haunted
Occupied by ghosts
- castleFortified medieval residence
- vampireBlood-drinking undead creature
- specterGhostly threatening presence
phantom · crypt · cobweb · candlelight · moonlight · fog · ruins · gargoyle · turret · manor
gore
Graphic bloody violence
mutilation · dismemberment · carnage · butchery · bloodbath · severed · wound · stabbing · evisceration · brutal
dreamscape
Imagined realm during sleep
- insomniaPersistent inability to rest
- darknessTotal absence of light
- shadowsDark areas from blocked light
hallucination · subconscious · screaming · bed · lurking · recurring · vivid · torment · harrowing · inescapable
- booksnovel, textbooks, study guides, book, paperback
- entertainmentmovie, movies, films, band, television
- genresaction, comedy, detective fiction, fantasy, documentary
- Halloweenjack-o-lantern, trick or treating, haunted mansion, pumpkin, trick-or-treat
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- Novelsnovel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby
horrorbeauty
Aesthetic excellence
loveliness · splendor · magnificence · paradise · vision
horrorfearlessness
Complete lack of dread
reassurance · security · peace of mind · confidence · courage
- horror movieCinema meant to terrify
- horror storyNarrative intended to terrify
- horror storiesNarratives meant to frighten
- horror filmsMovies meant to frighten
- Rocky HorrorGlam rock musical phenomenon
- body horrorGenre exploiting physical revulsion
horrible, horrid, horrific, horrify, horrifying, horribly, horrified, horrors, abhorrent