What did Einstein mean by “Spooky Action at a Distance"? By the phrase "spooky action at a distance", Einstein was referring to the phenomenon of quantum entanglement. If two particles are entangled, then even if they are far apart, the state of one particle affects the state of the other particle as well. The interaction is said to be even faster than light. It is really spooky if you think about it how something be changed without being touched at all.