New Yorkers Go All Out Dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in Annual Halloween Parade
Every Halloween, New Yorkers turn out for one of the city’s most colorful and spooky traditions, the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.
This year marks the 52nd annual event, and thousands of people in costumes are expected to fill Sixth Avenue for a night of music, dancing, and Halloween spirit.
One of the parade’s most popular highlights comes from a group called ThrillerNYC. They’ve been performing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance at the parade for almost twenty years.
What started back in 2004 as a small group dancing with a speaker in the back of a car has now become one of the main attractions of the night.
After Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, the performance gained new life. That was also the year Erin Hamilton joined the group and helped turn it into something bigger and more organized. “It’s this cool thing in New York where you can bring 100 New Yorkers who maybe would have walked past one another on the subway, but now here you are in this room, and you have this awesome experience together,” Hamilton said.
🔥🚨BREAKING: An absolutely massive group of people in New York started doing the Michael Jackson Thriller dance during a Halloween parade. How can you not love this county? pic.twitter.com/KtOrslmXER
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) November 1, 2025
Each year, ThrillerNYC brings together dancers from all levels, from beginners to professionals, to learn and perform the famous routine. Those who want to join usually have to sign up early and attend rehearsals, since spots fill up quickly. The group performs the full “Thriller” dance several times along the parade route, and crowds love it every time.
This year’s parade theme was “It’s a potluck!” and City Harvest, a nonprofit that helps bring free fresh food to New Yorkers in need, served as the Grand Marshal. The event kicked off at 7 p.m. at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue and continued up to 15th Street.
In addition to the zombies and dancers, there were 14 floats, all built in Clifton, New Jersey. The parade was free and open to anyone who wanted to watch or take part in costume.
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