Practice

It's close to midnight and 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

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 creepin' up behind
You're outta time

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


Both of these texts are from the same source: the song 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson.
Both of the texts also tell roughly the same story, but using different words and styles:
You're outside at midnight and terrified by what you see and hear because monsters are coming to get you.

 

We'll watch the iconic videoclip with the song later in the block, when talking about film techniques. But let's have a look at the lyrics of the song already, that provide us with a story to analyse.

Activity 1:
Write down the scary elements in both pieces of text, that have to do with:
- sound
- smell
- sight
- other physical sensations
- setting
- the supernatural
 

Activity 2:
Discuss the following questions with your neighbour.
We'll discuss the answers in class afterwards,

- What kind of narrative ending do both pieces of text have?
- Is is the same type of narrative ending?
 

Activity 3: (EXTRA)
- Compare the rhyme scheme of both pieces of text.
- Can you spot all the alliterations (look it up if you don't remember from Dutch class) in the second piece of text? Underline them.