Michael Jackson is F*cking Terrifying

I've focused on a lot of childhood scares on this blog, and for good reason.  Sadly, as the years have passed, I've grown immune to fictionalized horror. Some might say that this is because I've watched too many scary movies or played too many scary games.  I think it's because as I've entered adulthood, I've realized there are lots more things to be terrified of in the real world than there are in any horror story. 

I mean, there are people out there who voted for this woman! SHE WON AN ELECTION!!

 

I remember the first time I got scared out of my wits as a kid.  My parents went through a divorce when I was young and my dad often let me watch scary things before shipping me back to my mom.  I'm sure it all wasn't passive aggressive-- I remember begging to watch movies like Pet Cemetery and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. One of the first nightmares I remember ever having happened though, because I watched a video featuring this guy:

 

This is Michael Jackson in the music video for Thriller.  While most people remember dancing zombies and the Thriller Dance, I remember the werewolf/cat creature he transformed into at the beginning of the video.  I also remember that I couldn't sleep for days after I saw it the first time. 

 

Thriller is a terrific song, album, and video.  The choreography alone is still a cultural phenomenon even though the video was released over 30 years ago.  Not to mention that the song featured horror legend Vincent Price!  But Thriller alone is not the only reason that Michael Jackson is terrifying. 

For one thing, he started to LOOK like this towards the end of his life

 

While Michael Jackson was UNBELIEVABLY talented, he was also a tortured soul who used plastic surgery to modify himself to the point  where he looked subhuman.  While many celebrities do similar things (I'm looking at you Donatella Versace), it certainly made him superficially abnormal to the media and  public. 

 

Michael lived his entire life in the public eye, which was probably a contributing factor in his untimely death in 2009.  Many rumors circulated about him, including that he owned the bones of the Elephant man, pictured above.  While most of these rumors were untrue, it is very likely that he molested a bunch of underage boys throughout the course of his life.  His issues with pederasty came to a head in a much publicized trial in the mid-90's. 

 

But no matter how strange his later years were, no one can say they didn't see it coming.  Another one of my favorite scary Michael Jackson moments is his theme song for the movie Ben.  If you're unfamiliar, Michael recorded a song about his pet rat named Ben and named it after him.  The song was used as the theme for a horror movie that featured a boy and his rat who go on a blood-fueled killing spree of vengeance.  The rat's name was Ben.  The song wound up being Michael's first #1 solo single.  And the rest is history!

 

Despite his issues, Michael Jackson was an unrivaled talent. RIP, to this horror and music icon.

And Happy Halloween, everybody.

Recommended links:

Michael Jackson Wikipedia article

Thriller video

YouTube video for Ben