There’s a part near the beginning of C. S. Lewis’s Perelandra in which the narrator speaks of the terror which the word “haunted” inspires:

“Haunted”…”haunting”…what a quality there is in that first syllable! Would not a child who had never heard the word before and did not know its meaning shudder at the mere sound if, as the day was closing in, it heard one of its elders say to another “This house is haunted”?

Lewis understood about the Good Words. Strong words, passionate words, words that inspire emotion and imagination in the reader. These words make us laugh, cry, gasp in fright and shiver with happiness.

Oh, this is too good an opportunity for list-making to pass up! I’ll share some of my favorite words, and invite you to add yours in the comments section. I’m curious to hear whether others are affected by certain words the way I am.

The Good Words
(A Spine-Chilling Vocabulary)

mercy

horror

crept

groan

ethereal

terror

ghastly

pallor

eternity

joy

silence