Halloween Idioms: Spooky, Creepy & Dark Expressions

If you want to learn some Halloween idioms, words, and phrases, then you’re in the right place. We have all the spooky, scary, creepy, dark, and weird idioms for Halloween that you could ever want. Keep on reading or check out this video for a preview:

Halloween Idioms and Phrases

Let’s get into the best Halloween words and phrases to know.

Skeleton in the Closet

The first Halloween idiom is skeleton in the closet. This means an embarrassing secret. so If you’re a politician or a famous person, you don’t want your skeletons in the closet to come out because it could create a lot of embarrassment for you.

Ghost Town

My second idiom related to Halloween is ghost town. A ghost town is somewhere where there are no people. You might be driving and then you drive through a town and you see stores and buildings but there are no people. That is a ghost town.

Night Owl

Next up for Halloween expressions is night owl. A night owl is someone who loves to stay up very late at night. I might say, my friend, Jill is a night owl. She never goes to bed before 3am.

Scaredy Cat

The next Halloween idiom is scaredy cat. My cat Lucy is scared of everything. She’s scared of people, and she’s scared of loud noises so I would say she is a scaredy cat. But that also can describe a person who is scared of many, many things.

Graveyard Shift

My fifth Halloween idiom is graveyard shift. This is someone who works at night. So I can say, my dad worked the graveyard shift when I was growing up. That means you start work at 10 or 11 at night and then you maybe finish work at seven or eight in the morning.

Spooky Basket

Spooky basket meaning? A lot of people have this question. We’ll explain.

A spooky basket is similar to an Easter basket, but it’s Halloween-themed. You can fill it with creepy idioms and sayings, Halloween candy, and other spooky things. Have a look on Pinterest for some great ideas.

Creepy Idiom: Grave Mistake

A grave mistake means a very large mistake that can have very serious consequences. For example, a doctor might make a grave mistake during a surgery and the results is that someone ends up dying.

It may be the last straw before something really bad happens.

Spill Your Guts

Spill your guts means to tell someone everything. For example, if someone has a new boyfriend or girlfriend, his or her friends could say, “Spill your guts!” This means that the friends want to hear everything about this new person.

Another situation is at work. If there’s some gossip about a coworker, someone might say, “Spill your guts.” They want to hear the gossip too.

Blood Boil

If your blood is boiling, you are very, very angry! Perhaps you have someone at work who makes your blood boil. Or, one of your children knows exactly how to push your buttons and makes your blood boil.

Scared Stiff Halloween Idiom

You could say that someone is stiff if they’re kind of uptight. However, it can also refer to someone who is dead or can’t move because your body stiffens up. If you’re scared stiff, you are so scared that you feel like you wanted to die.

For example, you saw a huge spider and couldn’t move. You wanted to die because you were so scared.

More Idioms, Phrases and Words

If you want to learn more English expressions and phrases, besides just ones from Halloween, then you’ll want to check out this book: 1001 English Expressions and Phrases. Level up your English with some must-know expressions and phrases.

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Halloween Idioms FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What does “skeletons in the closet” mean?

Skeleton in the closet refers to someone’s hidden secrets or embarrassing past that they don’t want others to know about.

What does “ghost town” mean?

Ghost town describes a place that is deserted or has very few people, usually due to a lack of activity or business.

What does “witching hour” mean?

Witching hour refers to the time, usually midnight, when supernatural events are believed to occur or when witches are believed to be most active.

What does “scaredy-cat” mean?

Scaredy-cat is a term used to describe someone who is easily frightened or afraid of taking risks.

What does “trick or treat” mean?

Trick or treat is a popular Halloween tradition where children dress up in costumes and go from house to house, asking for candy by saying “trick or treat.” It implies that if a treat (candy) is given, no prank or trick will be played.

Halloween Phrases and Words: Join the Conversation

Do you have any dark idioms or spooky Halloween expressions that you want to share? Leave a comment and let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

Last update on 2025-06-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API