Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US black) a white person.

1939		P.E. Miller Down Beat’s Yearbook of Swing n.p.: spook: a white musician.
1944		D. Burley Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive 19: Us young homes, and lanes and hipstuds, gray and fay, and spook and spade.
1971		B. Malamud Tenants (1972) 124: ‘Let the white spook exit out.’ The spook, whiter than ever, humiliated to the soles of his shoes but still in one piece.
1985		R.G. Barrett You Wouldn’t Be Dead for Quids (1989) 154: He belted the nearest whitey [...] ‘Come on boys, let’s give it to the spooks’.

2. a derog. term for an Italian.

1901		Intermountain Catholic (Salt Lake City) 5 Oct. 4/4: The sensational pulpit bangers who point out spooks with rosary beads racing for political office.
1942		N. Algren Never Come Morning (1988) 19: A couple of spooks runnin’ a roadhouse with a gas pump out front.
1947		N. Algren Neon Wilderness (1986) 130: What would I want an oil-hair spook like that for anyhow, fancy?

3. a derog. term for a black person.

1940		Pittsburgh Courier (PA) 27 Apr. 7/7: Get a sun-tanned spook.
1947		N. Algren Neon Wilderness (1986) 65: He [...] let some spook beside him finish his hand.
1958		C. Himes Real Cool Killers (1969) 48: These is white cops [...] They believe spooks are crazy.
1965		C. Himes Cotton Comes to Harlem (1967) 70: No matter how white a spook might become he’s still a nigger.
1967		K. Tennant Tell Morning This 293: [She] was doing time for going with ‘spooks’ — negroes.
1977		E. Bunker Animal Factory 59: I’d go over there if it wasn’t all spooks.
1986		C. Hiaasen Tourist Season (1987) 134: Look who’s talking, goddamn junkie spook.
1992		R.C. Cruz Straight Outta Compton 57: ‘We got a spook,’ the officer radioed in.
2001		C. Stella Eddie’s World 193: If this spook has half a brain, he’s in Tahiti by now.
2009		(con. 1960s) J. Ellroy Blood’s a Rover 30: Spooks: The restaurant was thick with them [...] Colored waiters, colored lobbyist, colored baseball ace.
2012		(con. 1943) G.S. Manson Coorparoo Blues [ebook] ‘He was doing a bit of backdoor stuff with some darkies [...] spooks’.
2017		D. Winslow The Force [ebook] The spooks are scared shitless of dogs.
2021		S.A. Crosby Razorblade Tears 2512: ‘Come into my house [...] and bring a spook with you’.

4. (US) an intelligence agent, esp. CIA [Yale University secret society Skull & Bones, from among whose members were recruited the personnel of the OSS, the WWII predecessor of the CIA].

1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1969		S. Greenlee Spook who Sat by the Door (1972) 14: You know they call CIA agents spooks?
1976		P. Theroux Family Arsenal 98: ‘You’re an American [...] How were they supposed to know you weren’t a spy or – ’ ‘They thought I was a spook?’.
1986		C. Bowles G’DAY 26: A spook wears dark glasses and a trenchcoat and works for ASIO (like the CIA but apparently totalh incompetent).
1989		T. Blacker Fixx 237: Spooks. Counterspooks. Spooks who were in it for the money, for the glory, for the sheer hell of it.
1993		T. Jones Pugilist at Rest 32: He told the spooks in the Phoenix Program they could take his stripes.
2007		W. Ellis Crooked Little Vein 29: ISA, which I knew were the president’s own spooks, formed by Carter.
2018		C. Hammer Scrublands [ebook] Or could the cops have actually called on ASIO for assistance? That seems unlikely; there wouldn’t be much the spooks could offer a homicide investigation.
2019		N. Walker Cherry 58: ‘I’m a spook. That’s counterintelligence’.
2019		M. Herron Joe Country [ebook] ‘No editor’s going to print that St Len’s is the Spooks’ Chapel’.
2024		J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 394: [Gore Vidal] famously remarked that the holy ghost could not hope to compete with the holy spooks.

5. a derog. term for a Chinese or Vietnamese person.

1961		M. Terry Old Liberty (1962) 202: You want to see all these spooks and fags you brought here get hurt? [...] we’re going to clean you, man, and run her back to town like the dirty little Chink whore she is.
1986		L. Heinemann Paco’s Story (1987) 6: Listen, you squint-eyed spook, you ain’ tellin’ me annathang I don’ know.

6. (US black) used to describe a fellow black person.

1945		C. HImes If He Hollers 3: [W]e spooks were still trying to prove how happy we were.
1960		C. Himes Big Gold Dream 24: A young brown-skinned woman [...] laughed melodiously. ‘Hey, baby, come and look at this spook with his house on his back.’.
1965		W. King ‘The Game’ in King Black Short Story Anthol. (1972) 304: Always running down them spooks who ain’t into anything.
1974		N. Heard Cold Fire Burning 25: I had me some white pussy any time I wanted it. Not many spooks could say that.
1980		J.L. Gwaltney Drylongso 231: You see all these spooks jumpin’ up and down talkin’ about ‘come sweet Savior!’.

7. (drugs) a heroin addict.

1970

E. Thompson Garden of Sand (1981) 406: Here’s the spook she shoulda done in [...] Shot enough shit through him to put his little family on easy street.

8. (Aus.) a derog. term for a native Australian.

1977		K. Gilbert Living Black 27: The police would pull up [...] and say, ‘What are you doing with that spook?’.
1989		R.G. Barrett Boys from Binjiwunyawunya 17: One poor, skinny spook from Redfern’s put the bustle on you and you’ve all shit yourselves.
2005		M.B. ‘Chopper’ Read Chopper 4 180: Abos, spooks, coons, slopes, chows, dagos, spags, spics, greasers and wogs – and whatever other third world gin jockey or porch monkey that came along.

9. (S.Afr.) a fright, a scare.

1986

Crux Aug. 43: Well, these Israelites only catch a big spook – like they were all too chicken to take this ou on [DSAE].