How to say "hair-raising" in Japanese

• 身の毛のよだつみのけのよだつ
  expression, godan verbMatches the literal image of 'hair-raising': something so horrible, bloodcurdling or shocking that your hair stands on end. A vivid expression for horrifying stories and experiences, though a less common one.
  それは身の毛みのけのよだつ思おもいだよ。↗

  That's a hair-raising thought.
• おどろおどろしい
  i-adjectiveCovers the eerie, uncanny side of 'hair-raising': a weird, sinister atmosphere or appearance that makes the flesh creep. Suited to ghostly or menacing scenes where the eeriness itself is what chills you.
• 鬼哭啾啾きこくしゅうしゅう
  taru-adjective, adverb (with と)A formal, literary four-character idiom: spine-chilling like the wailing and weeping of a restless ghost. Seldom the word you want for plain 'hair-raising' — it really paints a ghost-haunted scene.

Use 「身の毛のよだつ」 for things so horrible or shocking that your hair stands on end, 「おどろおどろしい」 for eerie, uncanny atmospheres, and 鬼哭啾啾 only in literary descriptions of ghostly, spine-chilling scenes.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 身の毛のよだつみのけのよだつhair-raising
• おどろおどろしいeerie
• 鬼哭啾啾きこくしゅうしゅうspine-chilling (like the wailing and weeping of a restless ghost)