From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Eldritch \El"dritch\, a.
Hideous; ghastly; as, an eldritch shriek or laugh. [Local,
Eng.]
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :
eldritch
adj 1: suggesting the operation of supernatural influences; "an
eldritch screech"; "the three weird sisters";
"stumps...had uncanny shapes as of monstrous creatures"-
John Galsworthy; "an unearthly light"; "he could hear the
unearthly scream of some curlew piercing the din"- Henry
Kingsley [syn: eldritch, weird, uncanny,
unearthly]