Michael Jackson’s classic hit “Thriller” has great makeup, costumes, and a high-energy pop sound that made him a legacy. In 1982 Jackson created a music video that started a trend of theatrical, dramatic arrangments with a balance of dance-floor beat and Broadway-style narrative. His interest in horror movies led naturally to collaborating with Vincent Price, a classic star of film and theatre. Incorporating Price’s classic spoken word into the piece gave us one of the greatest Halloween music videos.
Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y’awl’s neighborhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse’s shell
The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller.
