The man behind “Thriller” and Halloween just go together. So it’s pretty wonderful that Michael Jackson once came right out and told fans how he liked to spend the night.
The song that made Michael the king of Halloween
Press play on “Thriller” first, because it sets the whole mood. Twenty-five years ago this Halloween, this was already the spookiest, most famous music video on earth, and it still is.
Now for the fun part.
Twenty-five years ago this month, on October 30, 2001, Michael did something he rarely did. He sat down for a half-hour audio chat with fans on a website called getmusic.com. It was the same day his album “Invincible” came out, so everyone expected him to talk shop.
Instead he got personal and playful.
Michael told the fans that on Halloween night he was planning to go trick-or-treating. Actual trick-or-treating. He wanted to knock on some doors and collect some candy, just like any kid in the neighborhood.
And then he shared his favorite way to dress up for it. His words were, “I like dressing up like a monster and getting candy!”
Imagine opening your door to find the biggest pop star in the world standing there in a monster mask, holding out a bag for sweets. That was Michael’s idea of a perfect night.
He said a couple of other sweet things in that chat too. “Being on stage and watching cartoons are my favourite things in the entire world,” he told them. And this gem, which fans have treasured ever since: “Mentally, I’m always in Never-Neverland.”
The playfulness didn’t stop there. A few years later, in October of 2008, Michael reportedly took his three children, Prince, Paris and Blanket, out in Halloween disguise. The story goes that the little family slipped in through the back door of a shop so they could browse in peace, hidden behind their costumes like any other family out for a fun afternoon.
That one tells you everything about the kind of dad he wanted to be. Famous enough to shut down a street, yet all he wanted was a quiet, ordinary outing with his kids.
So this Halloween, when you pull on a mask or drop candy into a pillowcase, you’re doing something Michael Jackson genuinely loved to do himself.
A monster costume and a bag of candy. Turns out the King of Pop wanted the same simple night the rest of us did.