macabre
adj.adj. describing something that is very unpleasant, scary, or related to death. You use this to describe things that are dark and creepy.
adj. relating to death or the dead; characterized by a grim or horrifying quality. Often used to describe art, literature, or situations that evoke a sense of dread or unease.
The old house had a macabre atmosphere.
The artist is famous for his macabre paintings that depict twisted, skeletal figures in dark forests.
The novel's opening chapter is a masterclass in macabre storytelling, using vivid descriptions of decaying mansions and ghostly whispers to establish a sense of impending doom.
Borrowed from French macabre, whose etymology is uncertain. Possibly from the term danse macabre, most commonly believed to be from corruption of the biblical name Maccabees; compare Latin Chorea Machabaeorum. Another theory derives the French term (through Spanish macabro) from Arabic مَقَابِر (maqābir, “cemeteries”), plural of مَقْبَرَة (maqbara) or مَقْبُرَة (maqbura).