E. Cobham Brewer 18101897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Hair stand on End.
Indicative of intense mental distress and astonishment. Dr. Andrews, of Beresford chapel, Walworth, who attended Probert under sentence of death, says: When the executioner put the cords on his wrists, his hair, though long and lanky, of a weak iron-grey, rose gradually and stood perfectly upright, and so remained for some time, and then fell gradually down again.
Fear came upon me and trembling, [and] the hair of my flesh stood up.Job iv. 14, 15.