 " Ghosts " was written , composed and produced by Michael Jackson and Teddy Riley in 1997 . Commentators made observations about the paranoid lyrics , a common theme in Jackson 's work . The double A @-@ side was promoted with a music video for each song . " HIStory " was set in a nightclub , in a futuristic era , and recalled Jackson 's filmography . " Ghosts " was a five @-@ minute clip taken from the much longer film of the same name . The song would become a top five hit in the UK and Italy , but did not chart as highly elsewhere . 
