ghost story
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ghost story
First recorded in 1810–20
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was a bit like a scene from a ghost story; after the buried treasure or family secret is discovered, the disruptive spirit that catalyzed the action is finally allowed to rest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Strikingly, “Ghost-Eye” has none of the eerie mood of a Gothic novel or ghost story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
“Presence” was a ghost story about teenage loneliness, filmed from the perspective of a spirit haunting the house a grieving family has just moved into.
From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2026
And that’s fitting, of course, for a ghost story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
Wind howled around the house the way it did on the radio for a ghost story, and Marly shivered in bed and covered herself clear to the eyes.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
