JUMPon theTREND
The Thriller Dance AI trend in short
What it is: Your cat or dog stands up in a red jacket and leads a skeleton kitten and a ghost kitten through the zombie dance in a moonlit graveyard.
How to do it: Add a clear selfie on this page, see yourself in it free, then make the 10-second video. No app, no prompt.
Who to put in it: Your cat, Your dog, You.
Thriller Dance: posts and how-tos
- @moonwalkcats · three AI kittens in a red jacket, a skeleton suit and a ghost sheet, TikTok, 6 Aug 2026, 336.3K plays (read 16 Oct 2026)
- @moonwalkcats · five AI cats on a rain-soaked path, TikTok, 2 Aug 2026, 606.5K plays (read 16 Oct 2026)
- @king_odiee · an AI dachshund in a red leather jacket among autumn leaves, TikTok, 9 Oct 2026, 115.4K plays (read 16 Oct 2026)
- @moonwalkcats · a moonlit street full of costumed AI cats, TikTok, 9 Oct 2026, about 114K plays (read 16 Oct 2026)
Clips belong to their creators and link to the original post. Creators can ask us to remove a link.
What is the Thriller Dance AI trend?
The Thriller dance AI trend is the zombie dance from the 1983 "Thriller" music video, done by AI pets in Halloween costumes: a cat or dog standing on its hind legs in a red jacket, leading a skeleton kitten and a ghost kitten through claw hands, arm stretches and a sideways shuffle. Here you add one photo of your cat or dog, or of you, and you get a free preview still of it in the lead spot, then a 10-second vertical video of the dance.
The dance keeps coming back around Halloween, and in 2026 AI pets joined in. MakeViral dates CapCut "AI thriller dance" templates to July. On 6 Aug the TikTok account @moonwalkcats posted the look that MakeViral's and Zooop's pet templates copy, an orange kitten in a red jacket with a tabby in a skeleton suit and a white cat under a ghost sheet, which had 336.3K plays when we read it on 16 Oct; its five-cat post of 2 Aug had 606.5K, the most-played AI pet version we found. In October the costumed pets were back: two dachshunds from @king_odiee and a cat crowd from @moonwalkcats, both on 9 Oct, with about 115K plays each a week later.
Ours is set in a foggy graveyard under a full moon, with jack-o'-lanterns along a wet stone path. Your pet keeps its own breed, face, coat and markings, stands up in a plain red jacket and dances in step with the same two backup kittens: sway, arms out and shuffle, claws up, a quick bow, then a final pose facing the camera. Pick You instead and you lead at full height, with the kittens dancing at your knees. The video is 100 credits ($9.90), vertical and 1080p. It has wind, thunder and footsteps but not the song, so add "Thriller" in TikTok when you post.
The song and the original
"Thriller" is Michael Jackson's song, the title track of his 1982 album, released as a single in the UK on 11 Nov 1983 and in the US on 23 Jan 1984. Rod Temperton wrote it and Quincy Jones produced it; Wikipedia says Temperton wanted a theatrical song to suit Jackson's love of film. It plays like a horror film: creaking doors, thunder, footsteps and howling in the intro, words that tell a scary story, and a spoken-word section by the horror actor Vincent Price. We explain it rather than print it. That horror-film feel is why it keeps returning in October, back onto the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013, 2018 and 2021, and why a pet in a costume doing the dance lands as a joke. On TikTok, @moonwalkcats and @totummare post on a fan audio called "original sound - mjfangirl07" rather than the official track; when we read it on 16 Oct 2026 it had 576.3K videos, almost all people in costume. Search "Thriller" in TikTok's sounds to add it to your video.
Is the Thriller Dance trend still growing?
Seasonal and still small, heading toward its peak on 31 Oct (18 Oct 2026). The AI pet posts from 9 Oct had about 115K plays each on 16 Oct, and the biggest AI pet versions date from August. What's growing is the template supply: MakeViral and ClipTrend had Thriller pages when we checked on 16 Oct and Zooop added one on 18 Oct. Last year, US searches for "ai halloween costume" peaked on 29 to 31 Oct and were below half that by 4 Nov (Google Trends, our 15 Oct read), so expect this to fade in the first week of November and come back next October.
How to do the Thriller Dance trend: by hand or in one click
By hand: put your photo into the scene with an image model, regenerate until the face looks like you, give that still to an image-to-video model with the moves written out, then check the face holds to the last frame.
Here, in one click: add a photo for each person, see a free preview still of you in the scene, then make the 1080p video from it. You pay only when it’s ready.
Thriller Dance mixes
- Your pet
- You: Person version: no pet from a photo; the person leads at full adult height, full length, in a plain red jacket over a black T-shirt, dark trousers and black shoes; no glove, hat or make-up. The two kittens stand upright at their feet, about knee height, doing the same moves; the person's hands curl like claws and they stay the same size throughout
Photo tips for Thriller Dance
- One sharp, well-lit photo with only your pet in it, face visible and as much of the body as you can.
- A full-length photo helps: the dancers are seen head to toe, tail included.
- For you, one clear front-facing photo with no sunglasses or hat; full length if you have one.
- What you or your pet wear in the photo doesn't matter: the red jacket comes from the scene.
Who to cast
- Your cat
- Your dog
- You
- Your partner or best friend, each in their own video
Thriller Dance FAQ
Is there a free Thriller Dance AI video generator?
You can preview yourself in the Thriller Dance scene free. The full 1080p video costs 100 credits, charged only when it's ready. Credits come in packs from $9.90 for 100 and work on any trend.
Which app makes the Thriller Dance AI video?
Creators put their photo into the scene with an image model, then animate it with an image-to-video model. This page does both for you from one photo: a free preview still first, then the video.
How many photos do I need for Thriller Dance?
One clear, front-facing photo per person (or pet). This template has room for 2. Add up to 3 photos of each for a closer likeness.
What happens to my photos?
They are stored privately, sent to the video model through short-lived links, never used for training, and deleted with your video after 30 days.
What is the Thriller dance AI trend?
AI videos of the zombie dance from the 1983 "Thriller" music video, starring pets in Halloween costumes: usually a cat or dog on its hind legs in a red jacket, with a skeleton kitten and a ghost kitten dancing backup. It took off with @moonwalkcats' kittens in August 2026 and is back for Halloween.
How much does it cost?
The preview is free: add a photo and in about a minute you see a still of your pet, or you, in the red jacket in the graveyard. The 10-second video is 100 credits ($9.90), vertical and 1080p. On 18 Oct 2026 Zooop charged 180 credits for its 480p version and MakeViral's started at 180 credits.
Can I make my cat do the Thriller dance?
Yes. Keep Your pet selected and add one sharp photo of your cat. It stands up in the red jacket, keeps its own face, coat and markings, and leads the two backup kittens. More cat and dog trends are on our pets page.
Can I make my dog do the Thriller dance?
Yes, the same way: one photo of your dog, ideally with its whole body in view. It takes the lead spot with the skeleton kitten and the ghost kitten beside it, which is half the joke.
Can I do the Thriller AI dance with my own face?
Yes. Pick You and add a clear, front-facing photo. You lead the dance at full height in the red jacket, with your own face, hair and glasses, and the two kittens dance at knee height either side.
What is the Michael Jackson Thriller dance AI?
The same trend, named after his song. The AI versions going round in 2026 star pets, or people through templates, not the singer. We don't make him: ours stars your pet or you, in a plain red jacket.
Does the video have the Thriller song in it?
No. Your video has wind, distant thunder and footsteps, but no music. Add "Thriller" in TikTok or Reels when you post, and shift the start so the bow lands where you like.
How long is the video?
10 seconds, vertical 9:16: sway, arms out and shuffle, claws up, a quick bow, then a final pose facing the camera. The template sites we checked make 15-second clips, so ours is a shorter, punchier cut of the routine.
Is the Thriller dance trend over?
Not before Halloween. It's seasonal: the song has charted again around Halloween in several years, and we expect the AI pet versions to fade in early November. For more spooky trends, see our Halloween page.
How do I do the real Thriller dance?
It's the zombie routine from the 1983 video: claw hands, arms stretched forward, shoulder rolls and a sideways shuffle. Film yourself full body, in costume if you have one. If you'd rather skip learning it, add a photo here and the video does it for you.
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Independent tool. Not affiliated with TikTok, the creators of the trend posts, or the rights holders of the songs. Only upload people who agreed to be in it.