Gothic Grammar Jeopardy

Darker Words

100

Replace the word "scary" with a more sophisticated word. 

Terrifying, frightening, eerie, sinister, ETC.

200

Replace "dark" in this sentence: "The hallway was dark."

Shadowy, dim, gloomy, pitch-black

300

Replace "old" in this sentence: "The old mansion stood on the hill"

Ancient, decrepit, crumbling, weathered

400

Replace BOTH basic words: "The weird man walked into the scary house"

"The mysterious man entered the ominous house"

500

Rewrite this sentence using at least THREE stronger vocabulary words: "The bad storm made the old house look scary"

"The violent storm made the decrepit mansion appear sinister"

Vivid Verbs

100

Replaced "walked" with a verb that suggest someone is moving slowly or quietly.

Crept, tiptoed, shuffled

200

Replace "said" with a verb that shows someone is speaking angrily or fearfully.

Snarled, hissed, whispered, stammered

300

Replace "looked" with a stronger verb: "The ghost looked at me through the window"

Stared, glared, peered

400

Change the verb "moved" to make this sentence more frightening: "Something moved beneath the bed"

"Something slithered beneath the bed"

500

Rewrite this sentence using TWO vivid verbs: "The girl went down the hallway and saw a shadow"

"The girl crept down the hallway and glimpsed a shadow"

Figurative Fears

100

Identify the figurative language:

"The wind howled like a wolf"

Simile

200

Identify the figurative language:

"The shadows danced across the walls"

Personification

300

Complete this simile: 

"The abandoned house was as silent as ____________________"

Option: "A graveyard at midnight"

400

Create a metaphor comparing a haunted house to something frightening. Do NOT use "like" or "as"

The haunted house was a sleeping monster

500

Create ONE sentence that gives a storm human qualities through personification

Option: The furious storm clawed at the windows and screamed through the trees.

Sentence Surgery

100

Correct this sentence: 

"the ghost appeared at midnight."

The ghost appeared at midnight.

200

Fix the punctuation:

"The door creaked open but nobody was there"

"The door creaked open, but nobody was there."

300

Fix this run-on-sentence: 

"The lights went out the girl screamed"

"The lights went out, and the girl screamed"

400

Combine these short sentences into ONE smoother sentence: "The house was abandoned. The windows were broken. The roof was falling apart."

"The abandoned house had broken windows and a crumbling roof."

500

Fix this run-on AND improve the vocabulary: "The girl was scared she went into the dark basement it was weird."

"The terrified girl crept into the eerie, shadowy basement."

One-Sentence Horror

100

Write ONE sentence describing a haunted house. Include at least ONE adjective.

Example: "The abandoned house stood silently on the hill."

200

Write ONE sentence describing a mysterious sound. Include a vivid verb.

Option: "A faint scratching echoed from behind the bedroom wall."

300

Write ONE sentence describing a creepy setting using TWO senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste).

Option: "Cold air brushed my skin as footsteps echoed through the darkness."

400

Write ONE sentence that creates suspense without using the words "scary," "afraid," or "fear."

Option: "The footsteps stopped the moment I turned around."

500

Write ONE Gothic sentence that includes a vivid verb, advanced vocabulary, AND figurative language.

"The sinister shadows slithered across the floor like snakes searching for prey."