Halloween vocabulary in English

Ghosts, witches, monsters… They often appear in horror movies, books and TV series. But sometimes these scary stories are true! In the 17^th century, in the town of Salem, there was a case involving “real” witches.

What happened? And how do people remember it today?

In this short video lesson, you’ll learn lots of useful words for talking about horror topics; you’ll also learn something interesting about U.S. history.

After watching the video, try the little quiz below to see how much you can remember. Happy learning!

Level: Pre-Intermediate to Upper Intermediate (A2-B2)

See a useful Horror vocabulary list at the bottom of this post!

Vocabulary

Here are some useful words that appear in the video.

A witch

An old woman with magic powers who wears a pointed hat and has a black cat.

Witchcraft

If someone practises “witchcraft”, they use magic powers to do bad things to other people.

Trial

A legal process to decide if someone is innocent or guilty of a crime.

The fall (US)

The season of the year between summer and winter. “Autumn” in British English.

To accuse (an accusation)

If person A is “accused” of a crime, people say that person A is responsible for this crime.

To sentence to death

If someone is “sentenced to death” at the end of a trial, they will be executed (killed) by the state.

To haunt

If a house is “haunted”, there are ghosts or evil spirits in the house and strange things happen there.

Possessed

If someone is “possessed”, their body is controlled by an evil spirit or the devil.

To scream

If someone “screams”, they make a loud, high-pitched sound, often because they’re frightened or in pain.

To blame

If person A is “blamed” for something bad, people say that person A did this bad thing or was responsible for it.

Supernatural

Something “supernatural” is believed to exist, but it’s impossible to explain.

To contort

If someone’s body “contorts”, it moves into a strange or unusual shape.

To dress up in costumes

If you “dress up in a costume”, you put on special clothes (so you look like a witch, ghost, monster, etc.) to celebrate a special day, or for a party.

Halloween

Halloween is celebrated on 31^st October. People often dress up as witches, ghosts, monsters…

Tarot

Tarot cards have pictures on them that are used to say what will happen in the future.

Video quiz

You’re going to watch a video with someone talking about jazz. Watch it once and answer the questions. [answers below]

1. Where and when did the Salem Witch trials take place?

2. How many people were accused of practising witchcraft?

3. Who was Samuel Parris?

4. What strange things did Betty and Abigail start doing in January 1692? Name 2 things.

5. What can tourists do these days in Salem? Name 2 things.

6. When do most people prefer to go to Salem? Why?

Speaking

Now talk about this topic with a friend or classmate. Make notes and try to use as much of the new language as you can.

Video script

Hi, my name is Victoria and today I’m going to talk about a famous case from the 17th century known as the Salem Witch Trials. During these trials, many people were accused of being witches. The town where it happened is a famous tourist spot that’s popular in the fall. Now, let’s find out some more about this event.

Many years ago, it was widely believed that witchcraft was real and that the Devil had the power to control the minds of the villagers of Salem. The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. About 200 people were accused of practising witchcraft and many, mostly women, were sentenced to death.

Samuel Parris was a minister at a church in Salem during the trials. His name is well-known because he was one of the many people who believed witches were haunting Salem Village in the 1690s.

His own daughter and niece, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams were thought to be possessed by something supernatural. It is said that in January of 1692, these girls started to behave strangely, screaming, throwing things, and contorting themselves in weird positions.

In addition, an 11-year-old, named Ann Putnam, had similar symptoms as Betty and Abigail. And on February 29^th, the three girls blamed three additional women for afflicting them. But it is said that these girls were forced to do so. The blamed women were Sarah Good, Tituba, and Sarah Osborne. This was just the beginning of a series of accusations that took place in Salem. The trials were declared unlawful in 1702.

Clearly, because of the witch trials, Salem is considered a great destination for any Halloween lover. Salem’s dark past is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting episodes of American history. Many tourists like to visit the Witch House as well as the Salem Witch Museum. These are open all year, but most people prefer to go during the fall.

The whole month of October is celebrated in Salem. It is very common to see people dressed up in costumes walking around downtown Salem, as well as visiting the stores or signing up for a Tarot reading session. It is a lot of fun, and anyone can enjoy this lovely city any time.

Answers

Video quiz

1. Where and when did the Salem Witch trials take place? They took place between 1692 and 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts (the US).

2. How many people were accused of practising witchcraft? About 200 people.

3. Who was Samuel Parris? He was a minister at a church in Salem; he believed that witches were haunting the village.

4. What strange things did Betty and Abigail start doing in January 1692? Name 2 things. They screamed, threw things and contorted themselves into weird positions.

5. What can tourists do these days in Salem? Name 2 things. They can visit the Witch House, the Salem Witch Museum, dress up and walk around downtown, visit stores or have a Tarot reading session.

6. When do most people prefer to go to Salem? Why? They go in the fall (autumn) because this is the month when Halloween is celebrated.