witching hour

1. An hour when supernatural events are thought to occur, especially midnight.

2. The hour before the closing of the stock market on the third Friday of the month, when two or more classes of options or futures expire, known for its high trading volume and volatile prices.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

witching hour

(Alternative Belief Systems) the witching hour the hour at which witches are supposed to appear, usually midnight

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

witch′ing hour`

midnight.

[1825–35]

Translations

Geisterstunde

witching hour

[ˈwɪtʃɪŋˌaʊəʳ] N (hum) → hora f de las brujas

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

I turned in the direction of the Earl's house, as it was now 'the witching hour' of five, and I knew I should find them ready for a cup of tea and a quiet chat.

View in context

Then, as he wended his way by swamp and stream and awful woodland, to the farmhouse where he happened to be quartered, every sound of nature, at that witching hour, fluttered his excited imagination, --the moan of the whip-poor-will from the hillside, the boding cry of the tree toad, that harbinger of storm, the dreary hooting of the screech owl, to the sudden rustling in the thicket of birds frightened from their roost.

View in context

MUGGLES beware - the witching hour is finally at hand.

POTT OF GOLD; Boy wizard's new book vanishes off the shelves

Witching hour is 7.30pm, the setting is the Terrace Suite and, should you survive the evening, carriages at 11.30pm.

TRY A THRILLING MURDER NIGHT; COMPETITION

What other imaginative creations can the children of Merseyside come up with before the Witching Hour arrives on October 31?

Little HORRORS

THERE were some strange goingson in the centre of Cardiff as witching hour approached.

POTTER FANS' MANIA

THE witching hour is fast approaching so keep your little horrors happy this Hallowe'en and kit them out in the coolest costumes.

Shopping: Hallowe'en; Who you gonna call on the High Street for the coolest of Hallowe'en costumes around, asks JULIE MacCASKILL

You'll feel and look refreshed and are more likely to last past the witching hour.

Don't be a Halloween nightmare

WHETHER you are fishing for trout or salmon, that last period of daylight is the witching hour.

When last is best

THE LADY IS A VAMP For lipcolour that will last right through the witching hour, you can't beat NARS Lipsticks, EUR24 each (department stores nationwide).

Your LIFE: Don't look a fright.. REAL STORIES GLAMOUR ON A BUDGET With beauty expert Madeline Crisp HERE'S HOW TO LOOK GLAM, NOT GHOULISH, AT YOUR HALLOWEEN PARTY.

The cluster bookworms prepared for a two-day wait outside Waterstones in Piccadilly, Central London, until it and hundreds of other outlets across the country open at the witching hour of midnight tonight.

IN A HARRY TO BE FIRST

Those of you who stayed up past the witching hour will have been bitterly disappointed.

Football: BBC failed the screen test; DOMINIC KING: WAITING TO HEAR HIS FATE FROM SIR ALAN SUGAR