Single word for being half in this world, half in some other spooky plane of existence

Question

I'm looking for a word meaning being part of our mortal real world, and part of the fey/spirit world.

The moors are haunted by Sigwiff, an ancient witch cursed to the form of a wolf. Part ghostly apparition, and part shadowy manifestation, a _____ existence, trapped between this world and the other.

Similar to “crepuscular” in spookiness factor, and similar in that crepuscular can denote creatures that exist between the two worlds of daylight and night. Ideally not a mundane word, and probably a word of some heritage, but possibly fallen out of modern use. A little bit wanky.

I have explored synonym chains adjacent to ethereal, twilight, otherworldly, fey, metaphysical, unearthly .. to no avail.

Answer 1

liminal is the exact word for this context.

1. Adjective: of, relating to, or situated at a sensory threshold : barely perceptible or capable of eliciting a response

2. Adjective: of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : IN-BETWEEN, TRANSITIONAL

ORIGIN OF LIMINAL 1880–85; < Latin līmin- (stem of līmen) threshold + -al

Example of use from 2: And the restaurant seems to inhabit a liminal zone between full service and casual, clearly refined in the past two years to serve both new and longtime neighbors. — Jen Thomas, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Briefing: What we know about the Gilroy shooting so far," 29 July 2019

Apart from bearing the right meaning, the more subtle reasons I like liminal for this context are that it speaks somewhat of erudition, and that it has a strong connection with the psychological.

Answer 2

Intermundane can be considered.

existing between worlds

Merriam-Webster

Etymology of the word:

inter- prefix + Latin mundus world, mundānus of or belonging to the world

It is more of a futuristic term in terms of astronomy but it mostly appears in fantasy or religion context when I search the word.

Etymonline includes a note about intermundane under interplanetary:

Boyle and Locke both used intermundane in the same sense; the Roman Epicureans had intermundia (neuter plural) for "spaces between the worlds" (translating Greek metakosmia).

Intermundia is a slightly different term and the singular from is intermundium which is defined as:

space between worlds

Merriam-Webster

Answer 3

• inbetween

  adjective. being between one thing, condition, etc., and another: a coat for in-between weather.

• intermediate

  adjective. being, situated, or acting between two points, stages, things, persons, etc.: the intermediate steps in a procedure.

• inter-whatever

  a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “between,” “among,” “in the midst of,” “mutually,” “reciprocally,” “together,” “during” (intercept; interest); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (intercom; interdepartmental).

Words that don't refer to being between worlds, but might work to complete the sentence.

• transient ("ghostly... shadowy manifestation", implying movement between worlds.)

  adjective

  1. not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.
  2. lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary: transient authority.
  3. staying only a short time: the transient guests at a hotel.

• wretched

  adjective. very unfortunate in condition or circumstances; miserable; pitiable.

Answer 4

A word that gives the feeling you want (although its original meaning is very different) is demimonde.

From Wikipedia:

• The showtime series Penny Dreadful (TV series) makes mention of the demimonde. Recasting it as a spiritual dimension.

Author Ben Aaronovitch also uses demi-monde to mean half-human, half-fey in his Rivers of London series.

The novels centre around the adventures of Peter Grant, a young officer in the Metropolitan Police; who, following an unexpected encounter with a ghost, is recruited into the small branch of the Met that deals with magic and the supernatural.

Here's a small excerpt:

‘Well, he’s definitely associated with the demimonde,’ began Nightingale.

‘The demi-monde?’ asked Seawoll, who didn’t appreciate being unhappy and liked to spread it around when he was.

‘It’s what we call all the people involved in some way or the other with weird bollocks,’ I said, in an effort to head them both off. ‘Some of them are just people that know things and others are people who are a bit strange in themselves.’ Out loud it sounded even weaker than it had in my head. But Seawoll nodded.

‘Individuals like Reynard are not uncommon,’ said Nightingale. ‘And it’s hard to tell whether they have, consciously or unconsciously, sought to mimic a figure from folklore or myth, or whether they are indeed an incarnation of that figure.’

Answer 5

Chimera: an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts.

as found in Merriam-Webster...