Michael Jackson's other Halloween song

Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is a masterpiece. The video made history for Michael by being the first black person to have a music video on MTV. The music video, or more like music “movie” was amazing. The choreography is a classic that is difficult to do, based on personal experience. Last but not least the song is amazing and can make anyone want to get out of their seat. However, that is not Michael Jackson’s only Halloween song. One of Michael Jackson’s most underrated songs in my opinion, was the 1997 song “Ghost” on his "Blood on the Dance Floor" album.

One of the reasons why “Thriller” was popular was because the album itself was a very good, if not the best album of all time. However, “Ghost” did not have much success as “Thriller” did due to the fact that the album that “Ghost” was on, Blood on the Dance Floor, was not as strong as Thriller. Let’s take a further look into the song, the music video and its history as well as why in my opinion, this was one of the most underrated songs of Michael Jackson.

The song:

“Ghost” gave a visual insight with the lyrics by providing creepy and unsettling lyrics that remind you of a haunted house:

There's a thumpin' in the floor

There's a creak behind the door

There's a rocking in the chair

But nobody's sitting there

There's a ghostly smell around

But nobody to be found

And a coughin' and a yawnin'

Where a restless soul is going

However, the lyrics also intertwine with what he was going through during this time with the controversies that he had faced with such lyrics like:

And who gave you the right to scare my family?

And who gave you the right to scare my baby, she needs me

If you think about the lyrics and try to intertwine the controversies that Michael Jackson was going through during this time, you can say that it implies that he could not see who was doing these vile things behind his back, scaring his family and whomever he was seeing at the time.

The music video:

The music video is...long. In fact, I think that the music video still holds up as the longest music video in the Guiness World Record. It gives off a “Frankenstein” meets a haunted house. In the video, the town people run him out and try to go to his home. Furthermore, the mayor, played by Michael Jackson himself, is supposed to be a parody of the lawyer involved in the case against Michael. While the music video has a short version of 3 minutes and 58 seconds, there is actually a short film that is 34 minutes long that Stephen King took part in!

Why do I feel it is an underrated Masterpiece?

Michael Jackson had meaning behind this song. Personally, I felt he had more meaning behind this song rather than Thriller. He focused on the controversies that he was going through, but at the same time, he showed yet again his talent with the lyrics, choreography and even the acting. Let’s not forget the dancers in this video as well. They too were amazing and should get more credit as well. Furthermore, during that time and still today, the CGI is pretty good as well.

Conclusion

I can go on about this music video and song, but I think that since it is the holiday season, I am going to post a link for the short video version. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have!

Link (short video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh9Cp4rd7mI