This is the 198th most frequent Italian word.
morte
Death.
In this sentence, 'morte' is used as a noun to refer to the concept or phenomenon of death in general.
La morte è inevitabile.
Death is inevitable.
Here, 'morte' is again a noun, representing the event or state that one is afraid of, giving it a more existential implication.
Ho paura della morte.
I am afraid of death.
In this instance, 'morte' is a noun describing a specific event within a narrative context, showing its use to detail a key happening.