ESLSongs

Celebrate Halloween in your ESL class with this classic 80’s song, Thriller by Michael Jackson.

These song lyrics include 17 examples of halloween-related vocabulary: beast, blood, corpse, creature, creatures, darkness, demons, evil, ghoul, ghouls, horror, hounds of hell, midnight, mortal, possess, soul, terror, terrorize, the dead & tomb

There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here.

Lyrics

It’s close to midnight, something evil’s lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes
You’re paralyzed

[Chorus]
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike
You know it’s thriller, thriller night
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

You hear the door slam and realize there’s nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you’ll ever see the sun
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination
But all the while you hear a creature creeping up behind
You’re out of time

[Chorus]
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
There ain’t no second chance against the thing with forty eyes, girl
Thriller, thriller night
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

[Bridge]
Night creatures call and the dead start to walk in their masquerade
There’s no escaping the jaws of the alien this time
They’re open wide, this is the end of your life, ooh

They’re out to get you
There’s demons closing in on every side
They will possess you unless you change that number on your dial
Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, yeah
All through the night I’ll save you from the terror on the screen
I’ll make you see

[Chorus]
That this is thriller, thriller night
’Cause I can thrill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try
Thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller, chiller, thriller, here tonight
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
Girl, I can thrill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try
Thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller

Spoken Outro…

I’m gonna thrill you tonight

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize your neighborhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse’s shell

I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Thriller, ooh, babe
I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Thriller, oh, darling
I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Ooh, babe
I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Oh, darling
Thriller night, babe
Ooh

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grisly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller!

Suggested activity: fill the gaps

Download this exercise (PDF)

Check that you know the meanings of the halloween vocabulary in the list below, then listen to the song and fill the gaps: beast, corpse, creature, creatures, darkness, demons, evil, ghoul, horror, mortal, possess, soul, terror, terrorize, the dead & tomb

It’s close to midnight, something ¹_____________’s lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream but ²_____________ takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as ³_____________ looks you right between the eyes
You’re paralyzed

[Chorus]
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one’s gonna save you from the ⁴_____________ about to strike
You know it’s thriller, thriller night
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

You hear the door slam and realize there’s nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you’ll ever see the sun
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination
But all the while you hear a ⁵_____________ creeping up behind
You’re out of time

[Chorus]
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
There ain’t no second chance against the thing with forty eyes, girl
Thriller, thriller night
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

[Bridge]
Night creatures call and ⁶_____________ start to walk in their masquerade
There’s no escaping the jaws of the alien this time
They’re open wide, this is the end of your life, ooh

They’re out to get you
There’s ⁷_____________ closing in on every side
They will ⁸_____________ you unless you change that number on your dial
Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, yeah
All through the night I’ll save you from the ⁹_____________ on the screen
I’ll make you see

[Chorus]
That this is thriller, thriller night
’Cause I can thrill you more than any ¹⁰_____________ would ever dare try
Thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller, chiller, thriller, here tonight
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
Girl, I can thrill you more than any ¹¹_____________ would ever dare try/Thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller

Spoken Outro…

I’m gonna thrill you tonight

¹²_____________ falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
¹³_____________ crawl in search of blood
To ¹⁴_____________ your neighborhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the ¹⁵_____________ for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a ¹⁶_____________’s shell

I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Thriller, ooh, babe
I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Thriller, oh, darling
I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Ooh, babe
I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Oh, darling
Thriller night, babe
Ooh

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grisly ghouls from every ¹⁷_____________
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive/Your body starts to shiver
For no mere ¹⁸_____________ can resist
The ¹⁹_____________ of the thriller!

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the “King of Pop“, he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres. Through stage and video performances, he popularized street dance moves such as the moonwalk, which he named, and the robot.