Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. under the influence of a malign spirit.

1950		E. Hemingway letter 9 Sept. in Baker Sel. Letters (1981) 713: He is spooked of it like a man is of a booby trapped house.
1953		E. Hemingway letter 20 Feb. in Baker Sel. Letters (1981) 807: He is spooked to die.

2. (also spooked up) frightened, alarmed.

1926		W. James Smoky the Cowhorse 176: Smoky had got spooked up at the sudden sight of the rider.
1939		E. Hemingway letter 4 Apr. in Baker Sel. Letters (1981) 483: I’m spooked of the necessity to interrupt again.
1955		E. Hemingway letter 5 Dec. in Baker Sel. Letters (1981) 852: He and two other doctors were very spooked by the analyses.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Mama Black Widow 150: He galloped through the rear door [...] with his spooked hooligans tramping his heels.
1978		J. Webb Fields of Fire (1980) 386: Goodrich was spooked. The whole sky hovered, grey and ominous, weeping on them.
1989		M. Amis London Fields 403: I do hope you’re not going to be spooked by this TV business.
1996		P. Temple Bad Debts (2012) [ebook] I hate to say it, but I was completely spooked.
1998		(con. 1986) G. Pelecanos Sweet Forever 38: With that crash so close to him, he probably got spooked.
2002		T. Dorsey Triggerfish Twist (2002) 270: He got buggy and spooked.
2005		J. Stahl I, Fatty 122: To know how spooked Zukor was, you have to know how dicey the whole film business was looking.
2009		P. Temple Truth 20: I’m a bit spooked. There’s a car hanging around.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 108: I wasn’t spooked before when he was throwing it around at a hunded miles an hour.
2013		T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] ‘She’s still pretty spooked’.
2020		G. Disher Consolation 184: ‘Something’s not right [...] I’ve poked around and it’s got me a bit spooked.

3. (also spooked up) enthused, excited, energized.

1939

Wodehouse Uncle Fred in the Springtime 43: A character described himself as being all spooked up with zip and vinegar.

4. annoyed; disgusted.

1958		M.A. Crane ‘Misc.’ in AS XXXIII:3 225: Somewhat less frequently aired are the synonyms for annoyed: bugged, dragged, spooked, hacked and hung.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 24: His brief, who’s totally fuckin spooked by now with the geezer, agrees with us.