Word of the Day

Friday March 12, 2010

eldritch [EL-drich]

adjective

We have urban foxes, and they appear to be different from the rural version, being far more arrogant. The other night at around 3am I was woken by their terrible eldritch screeching and, fearing that they might be after our cat, popped down to investigate. There were five of them, sauntering down our street, like hoodies straying into an enemy gang's territory, desperate not to look fearful.

Simon Hoggart, "Simon Hoggart's week: Duckworth and Lewis save the day", The Guardian, Jul 18, 2009
At 88 years old, Bradbury has lived through an unprecedented period of American history. Nurtured by pulp novels and comic books, Bradbury lived through World War II and the Cold War. The Space Race took hold of his imagination, and he churned out stories of distant Martian lands, dystopian book-burning future societies, and eldritch dark carnivals.

Dan Murphy, "Bradbury remains the master storyteller", Buffalo News, Mar 8, 2009
We boys used to overrun the place, and I can still recall my youthful terror not only at the morbid strangeness of this sinister vegetation, but at the eldritch atmosphere and odor of the dilapidated house, whose unlocked front door was often entered in quest of shudders.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890 - 1937) An American author of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. The Shunned House

Origin of the Word

Eldritch, approximately 1500, derives from Middle English elf, a "race of powerful supernatural beings in Germanic folklore."