Geisterstunde

witching hour, dead of night

noun GAIS-ter-shtoon-duh Rare

Usage Note

Geisterstunde literally means 'ghost hour' and refers to midnight or the hours around it, associated with supernatural events. Used both literally and jokingly. Um die Geisterstunde = 'around midnight'.

Examples

"Das Kind wachte zur Geisterstunde auf und hatte Angst."

Natural Translation

The child woke up at the witching hour and was scared.

Literal Translation

The child woke at the ghost-hour and had fear.

Related Words

Explore German by topic

GermanNow

Wo, Wohin, Woher: Three Ways to Say Where

German splits where into three: wo (location), wohin (destination), and woher (origin). Learn the wo vs wohin rule, the hin/her logic, and common mistakes.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German Adjective Endings Made Simple

German adjective endings come down to one question, not three tables: does the article already show gender and case? If yes, the adjective stays lazy.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German False Friends: 25 Words That Trick You

German false friends like Gift (poison) and bekommen (to receive) trick English speakers daily. Here are 25 words that mean the opposite of what you'd guess.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

German Body Parts: Vocabulary + How to Say It Hurts

Learn German body parts with der/die/das and plurals, plus the two ways to say something hurts: Mir tut der Kopf weh and Ich habe Kopfschmerzen.

June 9, 2026 5 min read