✅ Linger means to remain longer than expected (The smell of pumpkin pie lingered; We lingered in the coffee shop so long that we were almost late).

✅ Tarry means to delay, linger, or loiter (We tarried over the spooky displays).

✅ Linger and tarry both mean to be in a place longer than expected.

✅ Tarry suggests delaying something or causing yourself to be late by being in that place so long. Linger doesn’t necessarily suggest any reason for the delay.

✅ A tantrum is a sudden burst of explosive emotion, often of anger but sometimes sadness (I resisted having a tantrum when we ran out of pumpkin spice).

✅ A conniption is a fit of anger or excitement, generally a hysterical one (He had a conniption over how early I decorated for Halloween).

✅ Tantrum and conniption both suggest an unjustified outburst. They’re also both fairly informal words which suggest an outburst that shouldn’t be taken seriously.

✅ Tantrum generally suggests a childish burst of emotion, while conniption is often used for more mature fits (if they exist).

✅ Haunting describes something that lingers, especially something that isn’t easily forgotten (Haunting music came from behind the locked door).

✅ Eerie describes something uncanny which causes you to feel inexplicable fear, or a fear of the supernatural (The house on the corner gave me an eerie feeling).

✅ Haunting can be used to describe mundane things that become persistent. However, it often suggests some element of the supernatural.

✅ Eerie describes something that has a strong element of weirdness or something that suggests supernatural happenings—like entries to our Haunting Hooks contest.

Our Haunting Hooks writing contest is back… with guest judge R.L Stine! Enter now.