#70- 18 Words for Halloween and Being Scared

Welcome to episode #70 of The Real Life English with Gabby. In this episode, you're learning all about Halloween and being scared! This episode will teach you  18 popular phrasal verbs, slang words and idioms, such as tense up, goosebumps, sneak up on and more

You’ll also hear real-life examples, clear explanations, and tips on how to use these expressions in everyday conversations. This episode is perfect for English learners who want to expand their vocabulary, boost their confidence, and sound more natural in English.

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• Definitions and example sentences
• The full transcript
• Practice exercises that will challenge you

and more!

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Transcript

[00:00:00] On this episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I'll be teaching you 18 phrasal verbs, slang words, and idioms all about Halloween and being scared. You'll be learning vocabulary like tense up, sneak up on, scared stiff, shook, and more. Let's get to it!
Hey there! Welcome to the Real Life English with Gabby podcast. I'm your host, Gabby—your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City. My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.
Are you ready to improve your English skills? Let's jump right in!

Hey, hey, hey! Greetings from a very scary New York City. Yes, I know our country has [00:01:00] been scary since January 20th when you-know-who took over, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the coolest holiday ever—Halloween! Happy Halloween to you all! This is one of the best holidays in the USA, especially in New York City, and we are just celebrating and having fun. I know that in many of your countries Halloween isn't that popular, but I also know from my students that Halloween has become very popular in many countries around the world in the past few years.

All around the world, on the day that I'm releasing this podcast, many of you are dressed up in costumes, maybe watching some scary movies. Maybe you're going to a Halloween party, and then others of you listening probably didn't even know it was Halloween [00:02:00]—and maybe you don't even know what Halloween is, and that's okay too.

But Halloween is pretty incredible, and that's what we're going to talk about in today's episode. If you've ever experienced an American Halloween, either in person or in the media, you've probably noticed that it's a mix of fun, fear, and creativity. But first, let me just say—Halloween is not just one day.
 It's a season! From the middle of September until the end of October—October 31st—it is Halloween season. You'll notice a slow transformation. Neighborhoods across the USA transform from normal to scary. Houses are covered with spiderwebs, [00:03:00] skeletons, pumpkins, witches, and monsters. Just walking down the street, you might be terrified because a life-size killer clown is staring at you from someone's front lawn. True story, by the way.

Americans love to decorate our homes. We decorate the inside—we change the towels, the tablecloths, the shower curtains. We put decorations on the wall, but we also love to decorate the outside as well, mainly using lights, decorations on the grass, in the windows, even on the roof. We decorate a lot! Every holiday in this country is commercialized, but there are no better holidays for decorations than Halloween and Christmas. And if you've ever been to the [00:04:00] United States from September to January, you know what I mean.

Honestly, Halloween is one of the best holidays in the United States, but especially in New York City. If you ever want to plan a trip to New York, I highly recommend coming in the month of October. You've heard me say this in multiple episodes, including previous ones where we talked about autumn in New York City.
 Autumn here is amazing, but then you add Halloween, and it's just phenomenal. Here in New York City, we have our annual Halloween parade in the city—Manhattan—where thousands of people gather, dress in costumes, and just have fun. It's pretty amazing. On the actual day of Halloween, everyone wears costumes. See, because Halloween is a season, [00:05:00] we go to parties leading up to Halloween, like the weekend right before Halloween. There are always a ton of Halloween parties. And then the week of Halloween, there are a lot of parties too. So we wear costumes a lot throughout the month. On the actual day of Halloween, people typically wear costumes to work. Some jobs have costume contests, they have little costume parties—it’s a lot of fun.

Kids wear their costumes to school. They have Halloween parties at school. This year, one of my sons is Iron Man—he also has his astronaut costume. My other son is Spider-Man, but he also wants to be Ash Ketchum, you know, from Pokémon.
 And for the baby, who is two and a half months old, she is wearing a Snow White costume. [00:06:00] And my husband and I—not really sure what we're doing. I'm probably gonna wear my old Star Wars costume. But you know, on actual Halloween, it's a lot of fun. If you have kids, you're bringing them around from house to house, doing what we call trick-or-treating—meaning you go from door to door in costumes, getting candy and other treats from your neighbors.
It's a lot of fun! But adults have a lot of fun too. As I said, we have costume parties, haunted houses, scary movie marathons, and so many cool decorations all around us.

The history of Halloween goes back more than 2,000 years.
 The history of Halloween dates back to Europe over 2,000 years ago, but it has evolved a lot. Americans added a lot of new customs and traditions—carving [00:07:00] pumpkins, which we call jack-o’-lanterns, dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating—and Halloween has become one of the most loved holidays in the United States.

Halloween is fear and terror, but also community and fun. Every community has a day in the park with free candy and things like that, and it's really great. Everybody wants to participate in some way. Now, in this episode, we're gonna be taking a look at the scarier side of Halloween—the fun and the fear—because Halloween is fun, but it's also the scariest time of year.

Now me? I am a chicken. I am a punk, as we say. I do not do well with scary! I don't like watching killer movies. I don't like [00:08:00] watching scary things at all because I scare very easily. There are some things I like—like I love watching stuff about zombies. I can handle zombies. But stuff that's too real, like real-life killers? I'm not a fan. Because you know what? We've got a lot of killers here in the United States. We have more serial killers than any other country in the world. So me, personally, I'm not into scary movies. For me, the show Stranger Things is as scary as I can do. I know, I'm a punk!

If you like horror movies, then Halloween is the perfect season for you.
 But in honor of Halloween, whether you celebrate or not, go watch a scary movie today. Have some fun. Make it in English so you can improve! So today we're gonna focus on the scary side, because there are so many different ways in English to express fear. And [00:09:00] fear is something that most people experience every single day—even if it's small. Like you see a mosquito in your house and you're afraid that it's gonna bite you, or you're afraid about the future of your country or your job. There are so many things to be afraid of and scared about. And so, in this episode, we are going to talk about that.

Before we talk about the vocabulary from this episode, I just want to do a little side note about pronunciation. One of the words that I love to hear my students say—because it's so difficult for so many students—is the word H-O-R-R-O-R.
Listen again: H-O-R-R-O-R. Right now, before I say it—I mean, I've already said it in the episode—but [00:10:00] before I tell you how this word is said, I want you to say it out loud. What do you think the pronunciation is for this word, H-O-R-R-O-R?

The reason why this word is so difficult is because of the H sound and because of the double R. In many languages, there is just no way to translate this directly. So, ladies and gentlemen, the proper way to say this sound is horror.
Horror. It's kind of like “rerr.” We don't say horror; we say horror. Horror! I know it's a very difficult word because I've spent 15 years hearing international students say this word—and it's difficult. Say, “I love horror movies,” or, [00:11:00] “I don't like horror movies.” It's a hard word, so you're going to need to practice as much as you can.

All right, that's the end of the pronunciation side note.

Before we continue, I just want to tell you about a free study guide that I made just for you. Waiting for you is a study guide that will help you practice everything that you learned in this episode. Repetition is the best way to truly remember things that you hear in English, so that you can become a confident English speaker.
 In this free study guide, you'll have all of the words, definitions, and example sentences, along with the story, the transcript, and most importantly, practice activities. If you want to get the free study guide, click the link in the episode description. Okay, now let's talk about the vocabulary that you are going to learn in this [00:12:00] episode.

Spooky, creepy. Dress up. Sneak up on. Creeped out. Scare off. To give someone the creeps. Petrified or terrified. Jumpy. Chicken out (of). Tense up. Send shivers down your spine. Freak out. Break out in a cold sweat. Scared stiff or scared to death. Make your blood run cold. Chills, goosebumps, or have the heebie-jeebies. Afraid of your own shadow. And shook.

Now let's get to the story. Today's [00:13:00] story is a story I wrote about a very common tradition for many people around Halloween. And as I read the story, listen to all of the vocabulary used in context and see if you can use context clues to figure out the meanings. And then after I read the story, we'll talk about the definitions of these words and expressions.

Here we go.

Susanna's favorite time of year is Halloween. She loves it so much that she and a few friends went to spend Halloween weekend in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is the infamous town where the famous Salem Witch Trials took place in the late 1600s. During these witch trials, many women were accused of being [00:14:00] witches and were killed.
 Because of the witch trials, the town has turned into the Halloween capital of the USA, where you can experience Halloween all year long, but especially from August to November.

When they arrived in Salem, they were amazed. Everything was spooky. The streets were full of people dressed up as witches, vampires, superheroes, zombies, and more. Every house had glowing pumpkins, fake spiderwebs, and creepy decorations. They had a busy weekend ahead planned with a lot of Halloween activities, like eating at a creepy Halloween restaurant, going into a haunted corn maze, and catching scary slasher movies at the theater.

However, [00:15:00] what they were looking forward to the most was the haunted house called Salem Murder Mansion. It had the reputation of being one of the scariest haunted houses in the whole United States. Most haunted houses had zombies, monsters, and a few crazy people trying to sneak up on you, trying to creep you out, and scare you off. However, this experience was on a totally different level.

The minute they arrived on the property of Salem Murder House, it gave them all the creeps. The mansion and surrounding property were terrifying. The lights were flickering, the wind was blowing, and there was dark fog everywhere. Stacey, one of the friends who was more jumpy [00:16:00] than the others, was immediately beginning to regret this experience.

Stacey and Jeremy laughed and said, “Don’t chicken out now, Stacey!” So they all went inside.

The moment they stepped inside, they could feel their bodies tensing up. It was dark, cold, and something smelled weird, like a house that hadn't been cleaned or lived in for decades. Suddenly, they felt a cool breeze that sent shivers down their spine. Then they started to hear a creepy voice calling out, “Stacey, Jeremy, Susanna, help me!”

Stacey freaked out, thinking that it was a ghost.

Jeremy said, “Wow, we just got [00:17:00] here, and I'm already breaking out in a cold sweat.”

They ran into the next room and saw a woman in white slowly walking toward them. She looked half-dead. They were completely scared stiff because she was just staring at them with empty eyes. Then she suddenly screamed, which made their blood run cold. They started screaming too and ran up the stairs to the second floor.

But by that point, they were all petrified. Every sound in the house gave them goosebumps, and they were afraid of their own shadows. Every room they went into had such scary things like empty coffins or chained-up monsters. They didn't know what was real [00:18:00] or not real anymore.

Suddenly, a man with an ax jumped out and started chasing them through the second floor. They ran back downstairs, and thankfully, when they turned around, they didn't see him following them. They were relieved until a bat suddenly flew out of the ceiling.

That was it. That was the last straw. They were all totally shook and ran out of the house faster than they'd ever run in their lives.

Once they got outside, they all looked at each other, relieved that they were no longer in the Murder House.

“We made it!” said Susanna.
 “I'm gonna have nightmares for a week though,” said Stacey.
 “I'm not gonna be able to get rid of the heebie-jeebies for a long time.”
 “Oh, please, it wasn't that bad,” said Jeremy.

[00:19:00] At that very moment, they heard a wolf howl in the distance, and Jeremy was the first one to start running back to their car.

As they got in the car and tried to start it, it wouldn't start. In the distance, they saw a creepy-looking person walking toward them.

“Hurry up! Start the car!” Stacey said.

Thankfully, the car started, and they sped away quickly from the Murder House. Susanna looked at her friends and said, “Next year, we are doing a beach vacation.”

And they all laughed. The end.

So, what did you think of my scary story? I didn't wanna make it too scary, but I wanted it to show a very big part of American culture, which is haunted houses.

All right, now let's talk about the vocabulary that you just heard.

First [00:20:00] up, we have spooky or creepy. These are adjectives. They started out as slang and kind of morphed into accepted English. This happens very often. Spooky and creepy both mean things that are strange or scary in a way that makes you feel nervous or uneasy. You just get a bad feeling.

For example: That old house at the end of the street looks really spooky at night. The word spooky is more often associated with the supernatural — things that have to do with ghosts or things that can't be explained. Creepy is used more every day. We use this very often, like, “This guy was staring at me on the subway — it was really creepy. It made me feel uneasy.” So creepy is the one that we use more often; spooky is normally specifically for ghosts, vampires, or supernatural creatures.

Next up, we have the phrasal verb dress up. [00:21:00] Now, we've talked about this before with fashion. Dress up has two meanings. In the fashion episode, we talked about dress up meaning wearing fancy clothing. So if you normally wear very casual clothing, when you dress up, you're wearing really special clothing — dressier clothing. In this context, dress up means to wear a costume.

For example: The kids love to dress up as superheroes for Halloween.

Next up, we have a three-word phrasal verb: sneak up on. To sneak means to move very quietly. This is a verb — so when my kids fall asleep, I wanna quietly leave the room, so I'm gonna sneak. I'm gonna walk very lightly on my feet and do it as quietly as I can.

Sneak up on is specifically when you approach someone quietly so that they don't notice you.

For example: Don't sneak up on me like that! You scared me half to death.

Next up, we have creep out. [00:23:00] This means feeling uncomfortable or scared because something seems strange or unnatural. So this goes back to creepy — they’re related. Creepy is an adjective; creep someone out is a phrasal verb. To be creeped out means to feel uncomfortable or scared because something seems strange or unnatural.

For example: She got creeped out because she thought the doll’s eyes were moving.

Next up, we have the phrasal verb scare off. This means to make someone go away because they're scared.

For example: The loud scream scared off the children who were trick-or-treating.

Next up, we have to give someone the creeps. This means to make someone feel uneasy, scared, or really uncomfortable.

For example: That clown at the circus really gave me the creeps.

Next up, we have two higher-level words. Instead of saying “very scared,” you can say terrified or petrified — [00:25:00] both mean extremely frightened, often unable to move because of how scared you are.

For example: I was petrified when I heard footsteps behind me in the dark.

Next up, we have the adjective jumpy. This means easily scared by sudden noises or movements.

For example: After watching that horror movie, I was so jumpy all night long.

Next up, we have chicken out (of). This means to decide not to do something because you're too scared. You may have heard “to be a chicken,” which means to be scared. So to chicken out means to not do something because you're too scared.

For example: I was gonna go into the haunted house, but I chickened out at the last minute.

Next up, we have the phrasal verb tense up. To be tense means to feel very tight or not relaxed. As a phrasal verb, tense up means [00:27:00] to tighten your muscles because you're nervous or afraid.

For example: I always tense up when I'm home alone and hear strange noises.

Next, we have the idiom to send shivers down your spine. A shiver is when your body shakes suddenly — usually because of fear or cold. Your spine is your backbone. So when something sends shivers down your spine, it makes you feel very afraid (or sometimes excited, but in a scary way).

For example: That scene in the movie sent shivers down my spine.

Next up, we have the phrasal verb freak out. This means to become very scared, shocked, or upset. It can describe any strong emotional reaction.

For example: I freaked out when the lights suddenly went off.

Next up, we have break out in a cold sweat. This means to start sweating because of fear or anxiety — but it’s a cold sweat, not the kind from exercise.

For example: She broke out in a cold sweat when she realized that [00:29:00] someone was following her.

Next up, we have scared stiff or scared to death. This means extremely frightened — so scared that you can’t move.

For example: When I saw the shadow behind me, I was scared stiff.

Next up, we have make your blood run cold. This means to make someone feel intense fear or horror, as if all the warmth disappears from your body.

For example: His creepy laugh made my blood run cold.

Next up, we have chills, goosebumps, or the heebie-jeebies. These refer to the physical reaction or feeling of being scared or nervous — that tingly, uncomfortable feeling.

For example: The ghost story gave me the chills, and I was scared the rest of the night.

Next up, we have afraid of your own shadow. This refers to someone who’s very easily frightened — scared of everything.

For example: My little brother is so scared that he’s afraid of his own shadow.

And lastly, we have the slang word shook. This means deeply scared, disturbed, or shocked by something.

For example: After that haunted house, I was totally shook.

So guess what? Now you know how to express fear in a bunch of different ways!

Now for your homework — remember what I mentioned earlier: repetition is the best way to truly learn. So for homework, I want you to download the study guide, take a look at it, and pick about seven to ten words that you want to use this week so that you can start to really remember them. If you continue to do this, you'll be able to use these words [00:32:00] naturally, no matter how you practice them — just make sure that you practice!

Well, that's a wrap for today's episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast. Be sure to download today's study guide so that you can learn how to use this vocabulary confidently. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe for more weekly adventures in English learning. Also, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave me a review.

Thanks so much for tuning in!