Michael Jackson's 'Ghosts': Remembering the Forgotten Horror Video
Michael Jackson’s ‘Ghosts’: The Forgotten Horror Video Written By Stephen King
When you think of terrifying music videos, Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video, where the undead come alive in an epic dance melody with Jackson at the center and the maniacal, haunting ending is usually the first thing to come to mind. But, in 1996, the King of Pop collaborated with one of the greatest horror authors of our time to create a horrifying, ghoulish short film—one that many people seem to have forgotten about.
Ghosts included star-studded features on and behind the camera. Including Oscar-winning special effects makeup artist Stan Winston and rapper turned actor Yasiin Bey (a.k.a Mos Def). The plot of Ghosts was created by the thrilling mastermind Stephen King, Mick Garris and Jackson. This heavy-hitting work of art ended up with a cinematic budget of $15 million, which still goes down in history as one of the most expensive music videos ever made.
The 40-minute short film and music video tells the story of Maestro, played by Jackson, who owns a haunted manor in Normal Valley. When the mayor, also played by Jackson, and a gang of angry patrons mob the mansion to scare Maestro out, he instead challenges the mayor to a scaring contest with some ghoulish tricks up his sleeve. In the film, Maestro gathers the help of the undead, ghoulish goblins and ghosts, and even for a moment possesses the mayor, and he starts moonwalking with the undead.
The supernatural music video also featured songs “2 Bad” and “Is It Scary” that were all later released on the History remix album Blood on the Dancefloor: History in the Mix in 1997.
Nearly 30 years later, Ghosts is a haunting horror mini-movie that several fans of the genre would get a kick out of indulging in, along with a peek into the stunning makeup and costumes long before the time of CGI. Despite it being a soul-stirring thriller with heavy-hitting creatives behind the film, it is often one that several people tend to forget about.
Many people believe that the feature film could not come out of the shadow of its predecessor, Thriller. Also during the time of its release, Jackson was at the center of controversy, having recently divorced Lisa Marie Presley and being the subject of allegations.
Still, Ghosts holds up as a captivating piece of work and music video that shows that Jackson was a mastermind far beyond his time.
You can watch the full mini-movie music video on YouTube below.
Michael Jackson’s ‘Ghosts’: The Forgotten Horror Video Written By Stephen King was originally published on foxync.com
