Spooky Vocabulary: 20 Halloween Words in Spanish and French

Halloween is a rewarding topic for vocabulary learning: the words are vivid, you run into them everywhere in October, and they stick because they’re a little creepy. For this small learning pick, we’ve put together 20 words about witches, dolls, cemeteries, and skulls, each in Spanish and French. Plus example sentences and three ways to practice the list in a week.

The thematic hook comes from HAUNTED: Are You Alone?, a mixed-reality horror game for Meta Quest. Almost every chapter there has a main character or an object that also shows up on our list: the witch, the doll, the cemetery, the skulls, the mirror. The game itself is in English and PEGI 18, but you don’t need it for the vocabulary. On Oct 10, 2026, it cost £3.99 in the UK Meta Horizon Store.

The list: 20 words

For nouns, the article is included, because you learn the gender best right along with it.

English	Spanish	French
the witch	la bruja	la sorcière
the doll	la muñeca	la poupée
the cemetery	el cementerio	le cimetière
the skull	la calavera	le crâne
the ghost	el fantasma	le fantôme
the pumpkin	la calabaza	la citrouille
the spider	la araña	l’araignée (f.)
the bat	el murciélago	la chauve-souris
the spider web	la telaraña	la toile d’araignée
the grave	la tumba	la tombe
the zombie	el zombi	le zombie
the candle	la vela	la bougie
the costume	el disfraz	le déguisement
the candy	los dulces	les bonbons
the fear	el miedo	la peur
the moon	la luna	la lune
the darkness	la oscuridad	l’obscurité (f.)
the mirror	el espejo	le miroir
the flashlight	la linterna	la lampe de poche
the wall	la pared	le mur

A note on “skull”: in Spanish there’s also “el cráneo,” which sounds more anatomical. “La calavera” is the word you’ll hear most often around Halloween and Día de Muertos.

Example sentences to take with you

Single words are quickly forgotten. In a sentence they stick better. Here are six short sentences that combine several words from the list:

1. Spanish: La bruja está en el rincón. – The witch is in the corner. French: La sorcière est dans le coin.
2. Spanish: Tengo miedo de la oscuridad. – I’m afraid of the dark. French: J’ai peur de l’obscurité.
3. Spanish: La muñeca me mira. – The doll is looking at me. French: La poupée me regarde.
4. Spanish: Hay una araña en la pared. – There’s a spider on the wall. French: Il y a une araignée sur le mur.
5. Spanish: Necesito una linterna. – I need a flashlight. French: J’ai besoin d’une lampe de poche.
6. Spanish: ¿Truco o trato? – Trick or treat? French: Des bonbons ou un sort !

Sentence 6 isn’t a literal pair: kids in Spanish-speaking countries often say “¿Truco o trato?”, while in French “Des bonbons ou un sort !” is common. It’s exactly these kinds of differences that make themed lists interesting.

Three ways to practice the list

1. With LingFit: your own Halloween chapter

In LingFit you can have a complete chapter built from up to 20 words. You type in the words or photograph this list, and the app turns them into exercises with audio and images, in the same formats as the main course: swipe cards, image-to-word, listening exercises, fill-in-the-blanks, sentence building. Or you just enter a topic, like “Halloween night,” and review the suggested word list before creating it. A package like that costs one credit, and every new account starts with one free credit. Every word can be tapped, listened to slowly, explained by AI, and saved.

English speakers can learn both Spanish and French in LingFit. More at lingfit.app.

Best for: Learners who want to turn their own word list into ready-made exercises instead of building flashcards themselves.

Skip if: You don’t want to pay anything. LingFit is a subscription with a seven-day trial on the annual plan. On Oct 10, 2026, Premium cost $12.99 per month or $44.99 per year in the US App Store.

2. With Anki: build your own flashcards

Anki is a well-known flashcard program with scheduled repetition. It’s free on desktop and Android, while the iPhone app is a one-time purchase. You create one card per word, ideally with the article and an example sentence.

Best for: People who like organizing things themselves and want full control over their cards.

Skip if: You don’t feel like creating cards by hand.

3. No app at all: sticky notes

The simplest method: write the words for objects you have at home on sticky notes and stick them on. In October you’ll find candles, mirrors, flashlights, walls, and pumpkins in plenty of homes. Every time you walk past, say the word out loud.

One week, 20 words

Day	Task
Monday	Read words 1–7 and say them out loud
Tuesday	Add words 8–14
Wednesday	Add words 15–20
Thursday	Copy out the six example sentences
Friday	Recite all 20 without a cheat sheet
Weekend	Make up your own spooky sentence

Price and platform note

We noted the LingFit prices on Oct 10, 2026, in the US App Store. They vary by country and can change. Check Anki on its respective store page.