spec·ter (US) or chiefly Brit spec·tre 
/ˈspɛktɚ/ noun
plural spec·ters /ˈspɛktɚ/ noun [count] literary : a ghost or spirit of a dead person
▪ “Ghost of the Future,” he exclaimed, “I fear you more than any spectre I have seen…” — Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1867)
▪ “Ghost of the Future,” he exclaimed, “I fear you more than any spectre I have seen…” — Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1867)
the specter of (something)
: something bad that might happen in the future
▪ a nation alarmed/haunted by the specter of famine/war ▪ News of the disease raised the specter of [=made people worry about] a possible plague.
▪ a nation alarmed/haunted by the specter of famine/war ▪ News of the disease raised the specter of [=made people worry about] a possible plague.
