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THE BASEMENT — Mentioning a basement on Halloween conjures up images of ghost stories and horror movies.
Creaking wooden old stairs; a single, dim lightbulb with a pull string; and something under the stairs waiting to grab your ankles are common devices when creators are trying to give us a fright, big or little.
But in one basement in America, it's a little different. It's the playground for three grown men who choreograph 60-second dances to post on TikTok. And at Halloween, the only choice for anyone making stuff for the internet is an homage to Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
Just in case there are any outliers who haven't heard "Thriller," here's the scoop: The iconic song was released in 1984 by The King of Pop — Michael Jackson — and is revered in its own right. But it's really the 14-minute, cinematic music video that brought the song up to epic levels.
The short includes werewolves, zombies, a ton of dancing, and the unmistakable voice of Vincent Price, a horror icon himself, narrating at the end. It's a song and video with a greatness that may never be beaten, and thus it is the subject to many homages.
This TikTok group, known as the Basement Gang, could not let this Halloween pass without their own dance tribute.
@kadeem Whoever had the hat was MJ :man_in_business_suit_levitating::skin-tone-5: ##spookychonicles##thriller @nathanieljames1 @nickk_mcdonald
♬ Thriller - Michael Jackson
Their dancing is great. But what is more great about this group is that in all of their videos, they are radiating pure joy as they dance their goofy dances together. It makes you want to jump up and be a part of their dancing gang.
Hopefully, it brings a little joy to the odd Halloween of a very challenging 2020.
Yesterday's Have You Seen This?
Have You Seen This? This kid already won Halloween
While I thought I was pretty good at coming up with clever costumes as a kid, I realize I couldn't hold a candle to the little guy in this video.
