SPECTRE

US usually specter [noun] [C] [literary] - the influence of a person who is not present, or the expectation of something unpleasant happening which causes fear, or (literary or old use) a ghostThe spectre of his predecessor haunted the new Prime Minister's first few months in office.the spectre of unemployment/bankruptcyThe awful spectre of civil war hangs/looms/hovers over the country.Drought and war have raised the spectre of food shortages for up to 24 million African people.