About six weeks later, this past Saturday, I found myself at the Downtown YMCA with 100 of my fellow 'zombies' doing it for real, with about another 100 friends and family members cheering us on.
But then, we found ourselves marching to Westlake Park, where about 300 total strangers were waiting for us to entertain and scare. Then, down to Pike Place Market where we squeezed into a tiny area next to the fruit stands to perform for patrons. We were rewarded with $2 beers at a little pub inside.
Throughout all this, these total strangers were snapping photo after photo, wanting us to pose with them and their kids. We're just everyday people. Many of us had dancing skills limited to the electric slide before this event. But as my new friend and fellow 'zombie' Jillian aptly put it, we became celebrities for a day. It's an amazing testament to how that one video 24 years ago made such an impact on generations.
There's already talk of doing it again next year. It will be interesting to see how many of the spectators choose to join the Thriller movement.
Cue the music: "It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark..."