Is It Scary – English Lyrics

• By: Michael Jackson
• Album: Blood On the Dance Floor: HIStory In the Mix

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Michael Jackson's intense and atmospheric track, "Is It Scary," a song rich with dramatic orchestration and gothic undertones. Learning the lyrics in English offers a direct window into the artist's mind as he confronts his public image, making it a fascinating piece for understanding his later artistic statements.

[English]

There's a ghost out in the hall

There's a ghoul under the bed

Now it's coming through the walls

Now it's coming up the stairs

There's a spirit in the dark

Hear the beating of his heart

Can you feel it in the air?

Ghostly haunting everywhere

I'm gonna be exactly what you wanna see

It's you who's taunting me

'Cause you're wanting me

To be the stranger in the night

Am I amusing you or just confusing you?

Am I the beast you visualized?

And if you wanna see eccentric oddities

I'll be grotesque before your eyes

Let them all materialize

Is that scary for you, baby?

Am I scary for you? Oh

Is it scary for you, baby?

Is it scary for you?

You know the stranger is you

Is it scary for you, baby?

Oh, babe

There's a creaking in the floor

There's a creak behind the door

There's a rocking in the chair

But nobody's sitting there

There's a ghastly smell around

But nobody to be found

And a coffin and it lay open

Where a restless soul is hoping

I'm gonna be exactly what you gonna see

So did you come to me to see your fantasies

Performed before your very eyes?

A haunting ghostly treat, the ghoulish trickery

And spirits dancing in the night

But if you came to see the truth, the purity

It's here inside a lonely heart

So let the performance start

Is that scary for you, baby?

Am I scary for you? Oh

Am I scary for you, baby?

Am I scary for you? Oh

So tell me, is it scary for you, baby?

Tell me

So tell me, is that realism for you, baby?

Am I scary for you?

You know the stranger is you

Am I scary for ya?

Masquerade the heart

Is to hide a hurting soul

Just not what you seek of me

Can the heart reveal the proof?

Like a mirror reveals the truth?

See the evil one is you

Is that scary for you, baby?

Am I scary for you? Oh, no

Am I scary for you, baby?

Am I scary for you? Oh

So tell me, am I scary for you, baby?

Am I scary for you, baby?

Is it scary for you, baby?

Am I scary for you? Oh

(I don't want to talk about it)

(I don't want to talk about it)

(I don't want to talk about it)

(I don't want to talk about it)

Is this scary for you, baby?

Is this scary for you?

I'm tired of being abused

You know you're scaring me too

I see the evil is you

Is it scary for you, baby? Oh

Oh, baby

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
ghost ɡoʊst A1	noun - the soul of a dead person, a disembodied spirit often thought to appear in bodily form
ghoul ɡul B1	noun - an evil spirit or monster that is said to eat human flesh
spirit ˈspɪrɪt A2	noun - the non-physical part of a person which is often thought to remain after death
haunting ˈhɔntɪŋ B1	adjective - continuously disturbing or remaining in the mind
taunting ˈtɔntɪŋ A2	verb - to mock or tease someone in a cruel or hurtful way
eccentric ɪkˈsɛntrɪk B1	adjective - unconventional and slightly strange
grotesque ɡroʊˈtɛsk B2	adjective - comically or repulsively ugly or distorted
materialize məˈtɪriəlaɪz B2	verb - to become real or apparent
creaking ˈkriːkɪŋ A2	verb - to make a harsh, high-pitched sound, typically due to friction
ghastly ˈɡɑstli B1	adjective - causing great horror or disgust
coffin ˈkɒfɪn A2	noun - a long, narrow box in which a dead body is buried or cremated
restless ˈrɛstlɪs A2	adjective - unable to rest or relax as a result of anxiety or boredom
fantasies ˈfæntəsiz B1	noun - the faculty or activity of imagining things, especially things that are impossible or improbable
purity ˈpjʊərɪti A2	noun - the quality or condition of being pure
masquerade ˌmæskəˈrɑd B2	verb - to pretend to be someone or something that you are not
hurting ˈhɜrtɪŋ A1	verb - to cause physical pain or injury to someone

Key Grammar Structures

• There's a ghost out in the hall

  ➔ Present continuous for habitual action/general truth

  ➔ The use of 'There's' (there is) introduces the existence of something. The present continuous ('is haunting') suggests this isn't a one-time event, but a recurring or generally true situation.

• Am I amusing you or just confusing you?

  ➔ Tag questions

  ➔ This sentence uses a tag question ('or just confusing you?') to seek confirmation or agreement from the listener. It's a rhetorical device, implying the speaker suspects the answer is 'confusing'.

• I'm gonna be exactly what you wanna see

  ➔ Contraction and colloquial future ('gonna')

  ➔ The use of 'gonna' is a contraction of 'going to' and is very common in informal speech and song lyrics. It indicates a future intention or prediction.

• You know the stranger is you

  ➔ Pronoun 'you' used generically

  ➔ Here, 'you' doesn't refer to a specific person, but to anyone who might be experiencing the feelings described in the song. It's a universal statement about self-deception or confronting one's own darkness.