In 1996, Stephen King, the king of horror, teamed up with Michael Jackson, the king of pop, to create a music video/short film called Ghosts. Of all the people in pop culture for King to work with, Jackson seems kind of out of left field, at least on paper. The two don't exactly seem like they would've run in the same social circles. Yet collaborate they did, at least to an extent. Sadly, they didn't write a book together, although that would probably have been quite interesting too.
Perhaps the weirdest thing about the King and Jackson collaboration is how few people seem to remember it. Perhaps that's due to the same time period in the mid-1990s not being great for Jackson, as he dealt with his first of two very public trials on charges of child molestation, and was basically convicted in the court of public opinion despite being acquitted. While a large portion of Jackson's fanbase stayed loyal, it's impossible to deny that much of the 1990s was spent with Jackson as the butt of jokes related to his odd relationships with children.
That said, Jackson remains an iconic figure in pop culture history, as does King, and the fact that they worked together is worth remembering. Here's a look back at their joint project, Ghosts, and how it came about.
Stephen King's Forgotten Michael Jackson Movie Explained
As Stephen King would discuss publicly following Michael Jackson's death in 2009, it was the king of pop that approached the author to work with him on Ghosts. Jackson had a story idea, and wanted King to write it. Ghosts would be both an extended music video for several of Jackson's songs, and a short horror film. Jackson called King to request his participation in 1993, while King was on the set of The Stand miniseries. King agreed, intrigued by writing a musical for the first time. King's pal and frequent collaborator Mick Garris was set to direct. Then, after a few weeks, production was suddenly halted, for reasons King isn't sure of.
Three years later, Jackson got Ghosts moving again, but Garris had to bow out, as he was busy directing King's TV remake of The Shining. Special effects legend Stan Winston took over as director. The music video/short film stars Jackson as a strange character called The Maestro, who the mayor of Normal Valley (also Jackson) wants to run out of town for supposedly doing something untoward with the local children. The Maestro proclaims his innocence, and challenges the mayor to a contest where the first to get scared loses. The mayor ends up running away after The Maestro turns into a demon, which is honestly a bit of an odd way to prove one isn't a threat.
As many have since pointed out, the storyline of Ghosts reads very oddly when one considers its parallels to Jackson's real-life issues with child abuse allegations. For King's part, he says what ultimately became the final product of Ghosts was pretty far from his original script, which makes sense, as King is only given a story credit on the finished film, with Winston and Garris credited for the screenplay. Those curious can check out the full 40-minute version of Ghosts on YouTube.