place in Alabama, named from a Muskogee tribal town taskeke (first recorded in Spanish as tasquiqui), literally "warriors."
1801, "spectre, apparition, ghost;" first attested in a comical dialect poem, credited to "an old Dutch man in Albany" and printed in Vermont and Boston newspapers, which credited it to Springer's Weekly Oracle in New London, Conn.
The word is from Dutch spook, from Middle Dutch spooc, spoocke "a spook, a ghost," from a common Germanic source (German Spuk "ghost, apparition, hobgoblin," Middle Low German spok "spook," Swedish spok "scarecrow," Norwegian spjok "ghost, specter," Danish spøg "joke"), a word of unknown origin.
OED finds "No certain cognates." According to Klein's sources, possible outside connections include Lettish spigana "dragon, witch," spiganis "will o' the wisp," Lithuanian spingu, spingėti "to shine," Old Prussian spanksti "spark." Century Dictionary writes "There is nothing to show any connection with Ir. puca, elf, sprite ...."
The word also entered American English by 1830 as spuke, shpook, at first in the German-settled regions of Pennsylvania, via Pennsylvania Dutch Gschpuck, Schpuck, from German Spuk.
Meaning "superstition" is by 1918; as "superstitious person" perhaps by 1901. In 1890 a less refined word for a spiritualist or medium was spookist. Spooktacular, a pun on spectacular, is by 1945. Spook show meaning “frightening display” is by 1880, as “popular exhibition of legerdemain, mentalism or staged necromancy” by 1910. Spook house “abandoned house” is by 1857, as “haunted house” by 1866.
The sense "Black person" is attested by 1938, originally in African-American slang and not typically used with a sense of disparagement, nor considered an offensive word. Black pilots trained at Tuskegee Institute during World War II called themselves the Spookwaffe (a play on Luftwaffe):
Col. [Richard S.] Harder (Rip to his friends for reasons known only to us of the old "Spookwaffe," as it was fondly known during World War II) has had a distinguished career in the Air Force and deserves mention along with many other fine officers who are a product of the formerly "Negro Air Force." [Lt. Col. George E. Franklin, USAF (Ret.), in Ebony, Oct. 1968]
The word was used earlier in aeronautic jargon to mean “novice pilot” (1939), which might also have influenced this particular use.
"Spooks" are a standard feature of every U.S. airport. They are the air-hungry amateur and novice pilots who haunt the hangars, hire planes, and learn to fly, not just to get places or save time but mostly for the fun of flying. [Life, Sep 11, 1939]
It is also attested as "a white jazz musician" by 1939, and as a disparaging term for a white person by 1947, possibly 1942, in the works of Nelson Algren (whose works also include the term used for Black characters.) The derogatory racial sense of "Black person" is attested from 1945, U.S., originally in hep-cat slang and defined specifically as "frightened negro" (compare spooky for sense development), used generally as a disparaging term for a Black person by 1953. Green's Dictionary of Slang also proffers it as a slur for Italians and for Chinese/Vietnamese, though his examples might be attributable to other senses of the word.
The meaning "undercover agent" is attested from 1942. In student slang, a spook could be an unattractive girl (ca. 1942), or a quiet, introverted student similar to a nerd (ca. 1945).