Zombies go for the Thrill of it all in Somerville

Oct. 16: Organizers can't find right space in Somerville, so Thrill the World has joined with a Boston Halloween celebration. Fume. Don't they know Davis Square is ZOMBIE CENTRAL? It's hosted several zombie marches in the past few years, most recently on Easter.

Oct. 23: Rain forecast has postponed the Boston fest; Thrill the World is back to Somerville! Editor e-mails: "You must dress as a zombie!" Reflect on my total inability to get the zombie thing. Vampires are sexy. Zombies are gross.

Oct. 24, noon: Purchase skull socks and children’s glow-in-dark T. Consider buying "Thriller" shirt but it costs $9.99 on its own and I don’t know if I’m gonna get this expensed.

2:20: Investigate Thrill the World training videos, figuring the hardest part will be the childhood flashbacks. Am confronted with 40 YouTube clips and a mnemonic script that pairs movements with phrases like "hip 'n' roar" and "shuffle ha slide." Dance-learning workshop starts at 3.

2:40: Call editor: Did she mean for me to do the dance, or just dress up and watch? "It's your call," she says, then tells me her mother LOVES MJ and never believed the accusations. Concludes, raspily, "Just get your glove and go learn the 'Thriller' dance."

3:10: Enter Unity Church of God basement to a roomful of people dancing and chanting "boo-ty-bounce-and-boo-ty-bounce." Co-organizer Benny Wheat of Somerville demonstrates the proper thrust of one’s booty. She has shredded leggings, Dorothy Hamill hair and a pierced tongue. I join the line.

3:30: Right hip - right hip - right hip - in out - left hip - left hip - in and roar.

3:45: Attempt properly rakish "shoulders look left." We use an audio track overdubbed with the dance instructions. Respect for MJ's talent skyrockets.

4: Water break. Nick Cuenca of Cambridge, 24, tells me he took a Thrill the World dance workshop the night before. Realize he was born after "Thriller."

5:30: Workshop ends. Laney DiGiovanni of Cambridge, 24, didn’t listen to MJ growing up because "My dad was like, 'He's a pervert.'"

Anne Moore of Somerville, 33, dressed in day-glo, tells me about an inspiring "Thriller" video created by Southeast Asian prisoners. She's psyched to learn the dance for parties. "Plus," she says, "this is really dorky but I'm really excited to get in the Guinness Book of World Records."

Check in with head command. Co-organizer Alex Storer, 26, says, "Zombies kind of unify us all because we can all become zombies." Benny says, "You know what also unifies us all? DANCE!"

5:45: See woman wearing a pouffy prom dress. Remember ripped white lace "Bride of Frankenstein" dress at home.

7: Return to basement dressed like Bride of Frankenstein. Squeeze through crowd to apply face paint and flour. One guy is wearing a red vinyl MJ "Thriller" outfit. The temperature in the room has gone up 8 degrees since 3.

It's Alex's birthday! Benny has us sing Happy Birthday, instructing us on proper technique: "Your larynx has started to rot and degrade."

We rehearse again, skidding on the flour-and-sweat-slimed floor. Agree to use the overdubbed audio track; organizers will replace the sound in the video afterward.

Musician Mere Doyle of Walpole, 24, brings out a bag of free "MJ Forever" T-shirts. Zombies swarm. "I had to come," she says. "I cried every night for weeks when he died." She tried to give away the shirts at an anime convention but no one bit.

8:15: Benny waits for the official call as everyone signs in for the record.

8:29: Lower self onto clammy linoleum, flat on back, for optimal rising-from-dead effect. What the hell, I'll have to shower anyway. "MJ" takes his natural position at the front of the crowd. Benny shouts "IT'S THRILL TIME!" The music starts.

8:30: March right - left - right - left. We lurch, then spring.

8:34: Drat, screw up the "shoulders - look left" move.
8:36: Vincent Price's laugh echoes to a halt. The room erupts in cheers and high-fives. "MJ" poses for photos. Don't stop ('til you get enough)! We're gonna take it to Davis Square! But it's raining hard enough to fill graves. The crowd disperses into the wet night.

Aftermath:
Go to a party showered and ready to demonstrate. No one cares. 90 zombies participated in Somerville, raising $658 for the Somerville Community Corporation. Markeljevic is compiling the final numbers for the Guinness record. Zombie James Falvo teaches the dance to a small but bloody contingent at the rescheduled Boston festival. Me, I have a fake-bloodied dress on my door and a Michael Jackson dance script in my head. Call if you want a Thrill. Left hip - left hip -in and roar!

Contact Danielle at somervillescene@gmail.com.