Treehouse of Horror, also known as The Simpsons Halloween Specials, is a series of Halloween-themed episodes of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, each consisting of three separate, self-contained segments. These segments usually involve the family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting and always take place outside the normal continuity of the show. Therefore, they are considered non-canon.
The original "Treehouse of Horror" episode aired on October 25, 1990, and was inspired by EC Comics Horror tales.[1] From "Treehouse of Horror" (1990) to "X" (1999), every episode has aired in the week preceding or on October 31; "II" and "X" are both the only episodes to air on Halloween. Between "XI" (2000) to "XIX" (2008) and "XXI" (2010), due to Fox's contract with Major League Baseball's World Series, episodes had originally aired in November.[2] "XX" (2009) and each Treehouse of Horror episode since "XXII" (2011) has aired in October, with the exception of season thirty two's "XXXI" (2020), which was originally scheduled for October 18, but was postponed to November 1 due to the 2020 NLCS reaching game 7. This was the first time since "XXI" that a Treehouse of Horror episode aired in November. The same thing happened with season thirty-five's "XXXIV" (2023), which aired on November 5.
The first 13 Treehouse of Horror episodes had all three segments written by different writers and in some cases there was a fourth writer that wrote the opening and wraparound segments.[3] The original episode even had three different directors.[4] Starting with season fifteen's "XIV" (2003), only one writer was credited as having written a Treehouse of Horror episode, and the trend has continued through season thirty-three's "XXXII" (2021).[5][6][7][8] Season thirty-four's "XXXIII" (2022) went back to the earlier motion of having different writers for each segment.
As of 2023, there are thirty-four Treehouse of Horror episodes, with one airing every year. The 34th season marked the first time two Treehouse of Horror specials were aired, with one episode being a single story ("Not It") and another featuring three segments ("Treehouse of Horror XXXIII").[9] The 31st season included a Thanksgiving-themed spinoff, "Thanksgiving of Horror". They are known for being more violent than an average Simpsons episode and contain several different trademarks, including the alien characters Kang and Kodos who have appeared in every episode. Quite often the segments will parody well-known movies, books, radio shows, and television shows. The Twilight Zone has been parodied quite often, and has served as the inspiration for numerous segments.[10]
Episodes
| Installment | Season | No. in season | No. in show | Segments | Parody of[a] | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 2 | 3 | 16 | "Bad Dream House" | Poltergeist and The Amityville Horror[11] | Wes Archer | John Swartzwelder | October 25, 1990 | 7F04 |
| "Hungry are the Damned" | "To Serve Man"[12][13]: 8:10-8:23 | Rich Moore | Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky | ||||||
| "The Raven" | "The Raven"[14][15] | David Silverman | Sam Simon & Edgar Allan Poe | ||||||
| II | 3 | 7 | 42 | "The Monkey's Paw" | "The Monkey's Paw" and "A Small Talent for War"[16] | Jim Reardon | Al Jean, Mike Reiss Jeff Martin, George Meyer Sam Simon, John Swartzwelder | October 31, 1991 | 8F02 |
| "The Bart Zone" | "It's a Good Life"[17] | ||||||||
| "If I Only Had a Brain" | Frankenstein[17] | ||||||||
| III | 4 | 5 | 64 | "Clown Without Pity" | "Living Doll",[12][13]: 3:46-3:48, 4:24-4:30 Child's Play,[18] Trilogy of Terror,[13]: 3:52-3:54, 5:03-5:11 Gremlins,[13]: 3:54-3:56 Vaudeville "that's bad" / "that's good" routine,[13]: 4:06-4:20 Love, American Style,[13]: 4:59-5:01 and Cape Fear;[13]: 7:00-7:08 title is a parody of "Town Without Pity"[13]: 3:32-3:41 | Carlos Baeza | Al Jean & Mike Reiss Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky Sam Simon, Jon Vitti | October 29, 1992 | 9F04 |
| "King Homer" | King Kong (original for animation and '77 version for script)[13]: 8:50-8:58, 11:40-11:51, 12:55-13:20 [14][15] | ||||||||
| "Dial 'Z' for Zombies" | Return of the Living Dead[19][failed verification], Night of the Living Dead[12][13]: 18:04-18:10, 19:12-20:00 , and Pet Sematary;[12] a brief segment parodies Waldo[13]: 17:52-17:54 | ||||||||
| IV | 5 | 5 | 86 | "Wraparounds" | Night Gallery[20] | David Silverman | Conan O'Brien[21] | October 28, 1993 | 1F04 |
| "The Devil and Homer Simpson" | "The Devil and Daniel Webster"[12] | Greg Daniels & Dan McGrath[22] | |||||||
| "Terror at 5½ Feet" | "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (episode of The Twilight Zone)[11][15] | Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein[23] | |||||||
| "Bart Simpson's Dracula" | Bram Stoker's Dracula[20] | Bill Canterbury[24] | |||||||
| V | 6 | 6 | 109 | "The Shinning" | The Shining[11][25][15] | Jim Reardon | Bob Kushell[26] | October 30, 1994 | 2F03 |
| "Time and Punishment" | "A Sound of Thunder"[12] | Greg Daniels & Dan McGrath[27] | |||||||
| "Nightmare Cafeteria" | Soylent Green[11] | David X. Cohen[28] | |||||||
| VI | 7 | 6 | 134 | "Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores" | — | Bob Anderson | John Swartzwelder[29] | October 29, 1995 | 3F04 |
| "Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace" | A Nightmare on Elm Street[11][15] | Steve Tompkins[29] | |||||||
| "Homer3" | "Little Girl Lost"[12] | David X. Cohen[30] | |||||||
| VII | 8 | 1 | 154 | "The Thing and I" | The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Basket Case and Dead Ringers[15] | Mike B. Anderson | Ken Keeler[31] | October 27, 1996 | 4F02 |
| "The Genesis Tub" | "The Little People"[12] | Dan Greaney[32] | |||||||
| "Citizen Kang" | 1996 U.S. presidential election[15] | David X. Cohen[33] | |||||||
| VIII | 9 | 4 | 182 | "The HΩmega Man" | The Omega Man[11] | Mark Kirkland | Mike Scully[34] | October 26, 1997 | 5F02 |
| "Fly vs. Fly" | The Fly[35] | David X. Cohen[36] | |||||||
| "Easy-Bake Coven" | — | Ned Goldreyer[34] | |||||||
| IX | 10 | 4 | 207 | "Hell Toupée" | "Hell Toupee" (Amazing Stories)[37] | Steven Dean Moore | Donick Cary[38] | October 25, 1998 | AABF01 |
| "The Terror of Tiny Toon" | Stay Tuned[39] | Larry Doyle[40] | |||||||
| "Starship Poopers" | — | David X. Cohen[41] | |||||||
| X | 11 | 4 | 230 | "I Know What You Diddily-Iddily-Did" | I Know What You Did Last Summer[11][15] | Pete Michels | Donick Cary[42] | October 31, 1999 | BABF01 |
| "Desperately Xeeking Xena" | Fantastic Four[35] | Tim Long[43] | |||||||
| "Life's a Glitch, Then You Die" | Year 2000 problem | Ron Hauge[44] | |||||||
| XI | 12 | 1 | 249 | "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad" | — | Matthew Nastuk | Rob LaZebnik[45] | November 1, 2000 | BABF21 |
| "Scary Tales Can Come True" | Grimms' Fairy Tales,[17] specifically Hansel and Gretel and Goldilocks And The Three Bears[15] | John Frink & Don Payne[46] | |||||||
| "Night of the Dolphin" | The Day of the Dolphin,[11] The Birds[11][15] and Jaws[15] | Carolyn Omine[47] | |||||||
| XII | 13 | 1 | 270 | "Hex and the City" | Sex and the City and Thinner[15] | Jim Reardon | Joel H. Cohen | November 6, 2001 | CABF19 |
| "House of Whacks" | 2001: A Space Odyssey and Demon Seed[18][15] | John Frink & Don Payne | |||||||
| "Wiz Kids" | Harry Potter[14][15] | Carolyn Omine | |||||||
| XIII | 14 | 1 | 292 | "Send in the Clones" | Multiplicity[48] and "Send in the Clowns"[25] | David Silverman | Marc Wilmore | November 3, 2002 | DABF19 |
| "The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms" | — | Brian Kelley | |||||||
| "The Island of Dr. Hibbert" | The Island of Doctor Moreau[11] | Kevin Curran | |||||||
| XIV | 15 | 1 | 314 | "Reaper Madness" | Grim Reaper[15] | Steven Dean Moore | John Swartzwelder | November 2, 2003 | EABF21 |
| "Frinkenstein" | Frankenstein[14] | ||||||||
| "Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off" | "A Kind of a Stopwatch"[17] | ||||||||
| XV | 16 | 1 | 336 | "The Ned Zone" | The Dead Zone[14][25] | David Silverman | Bill Odenkirk | November 7, 2004 | FABF23 |
| "Four Beheadings and a Funeral" | From Hell and Sherlock Holmes[17] | ||||||||
| "In the Belly of the Boss" | Fantastic Voyage[17] | ||||||||
| XVI | 17 | 4 | 360 | "B.I. Bartificial Intelligence" | A.I. Artificial Intelligence[17] | David Silverman | Marc Wilmore | November 6, 2005 | GABF17 |
| "Survival of the Fattest" | "The Most Dangerous Game"[17] and "survival of the fittest"[25] | ||||||||
| "I've Grown a Costume on Your Face" | "The Masks"[49] | ||||||||
| XVII | 18 | 4 | 382 | "Married to the Blob" | The Blob[50] | David Silverman Matthew Faughnan | Peter Gaffney | November 5, 2006 | HABF17 |
| "You Gotta Know When to Golem" | The Golem[51] | ||||||||
| "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid" | The War of the Worlds[14] | ||||||||
| XVIII | 19 | 5 | 405 | "E.T., Go Home" | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial[35] | Chuck Sheetz | Marc Wilmore | November 4, 2007 | JABF16 |
| "Mr. & Mrs. Simpson" | Mr. & Mrs. Smith[35] | ||||||||
| "Heck House" | — | ||||||||
| XIX | 20 | 4 | 424 | "Untitled Robot Parody" | Transformers[14] | Bob Anderson | Matt Warburton | November 2, 2008 | KABF16 |
| "How to Get Ahead in Dead-vertising" | Mad Men (intro)[52][53] and Celebrity advertising[54] | ||||||||
| "It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse" | It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown[14] | ||||||||
| XX | 21 | 4 | 445 | "Dial 'M' for Murder or Press '#' to Return to Main Menu" | Strangers on a Train[12][15] and Dial 'M' for Murder[25] | Mike B. Anderson Matthew Schofield | Daniel Chun | October 18, 2009 | LABF14 |
| "Don't Have a Cow, Mankind" | 28 Days Later, I Am Legend[11] and Children of Men[35] | ||||||||
| "There's No Business Like Moe Business" | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street[14] | ||||||||
| XXI | 22 | 4 | 468 | "War and Pieces" | Jumanji[14] | Bob Anderson | Joel H. Cohen | November 7, 2010 | MABF16 |
| "Master and Cadaver" | Dead Calm[17] | ||||||||
| "Tweenlight" | Twilight[14][15] | ||||||||
| XXII | 23 | 3 | 489 | "The Diving Bell and Butterball" | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly[35] | Matthew Faughnan | Carolyn Omine | October 30, 2011 | NABF19 |
| "Dial D for Diddly" | Dexter[35] | ||||||||
| "In the Na'Vi" | Avatar[35] | ||||||||
| XXIII | 24 | 2 | 510 | "The Greatest Story Ever Holed" | — | Steven Dean Moore | David Mandel & Brian Kelley | October 7, 2012 | PABF17 |
| "Un-normal Activity" | Paranormal Activity[17][15] | ||||||||
| "Bart & Homer's Excellent Adventure" | Back to the Future[35] | ||||||||
| XXIV | 25 | 2 | 532 | "Oh the Places You'll D'oh" | The Cat in the Hat[17] | Rob Oliver | Jeff Westbrook | October 6, 2013 | RABF16 |
| "Dead and Shoulders" | The Thing with Two Heads[55] | ||||||||
| "Freaks no Geeks" | Freaks[12] | ||||||||
| XXV | 26 | 4 | 556 | "School is Hell" | — | Matthew Faughnan | Stephanie Gillis | October 19, 2014 | SABF21 |
| "A Clockwork Yellow" | A Clockwork Orange[14][25] | ||||||||
| "The Others" | The Others[56][15] | ||||||||
| XXVI | 27 | 5 | 579 | "Wanted: Dead, Then Alive" | — | Steven Dean Moore | Joel H. Cohen | October 25, 2015 | TABF18 |
| "Homerzilla" | Godzilla[35] | ||||||||
| "Telepaths of Glory" | Chronicle[35] | ||||||||
| XXVII | 28 | 4 | 600 | "Dry Hard" | The Hunger Games and Mad Max: Fury Road[14] | Steven Dean Moore | Joel H. Cohen | October 16, 2016 | VABF16 |
| "BFF R.I.P" | — | ||||||||
| "Moefinger" | Goldfinger and Kingsman: The Secret Service[14] | ||||||||
| XXVIII | 29 | 4 | 622 | "The Sweets Hereafter" | Sausage Party[57] | Timothy Bailey | John Frink | October 22, 2017 | WABF18 |
| "The Exor-Sis" | The Exorcist[57] | ||||||||
| "Coralisa" | Coraline[57] | ||||||||
| "Mmm... Homer" | Survivor Type[57] | ||||||||
| XXIX | 30 | 4 | 643 | "Intrusion of the Pod-Y Switchers" | Invasion of the Body Snatchers[58] | Matthew Faughnan | Joel H. Cohen | October 21, 2018 | XABF16 |
| "Multiplisa-ty" | Split[58] | ||||||||
| "Geriatric Park" | Jurassic Park[58] | ||||||||
| XXX | 31 | 4 | 666 | Prologue | The Omen[59] | Timothy Bailey | J. Stewart Burns | October 20, 2019 | YABF18 |
| "Danger Things" | Stranger Things[59] | ||||||||
| "Heaven Swipes Right" | Heaven Can Wait[59] | ||||||||
| "When Hairy Met Slimy" | The Shape of Water[59] | ||||||||
| XXXI | 32 | 4 | 688 | "Toy Gory" | Toy Story[60] | Steven Dean Moore | Julia Prescott | November 1, 2020 | ZABF17 |
| "Into the Homerverse" | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse[60] | ||||||||
| "Be Nine, Rewind" | Russian Doll[60] | ||||||||
| XXXII | 33 | 3 | 709 | "Barti" | Bambi[61] | Matthew Faughnan | John Frink | October 10, 2021 | QABF16 |
| "Bong Joon Ho’s 'This Side of Parasite'" | Parasite[61] | ||||||||
| "Nightmare on Elm Tree" | — | ||||||||
| "Poetic Interlude" (aka "The Telltale Bart") | Artwork of Edward Gorey[61] | ||||||||
| "Dead Ringer" | The Ring and TikTok[61] | ||||||||
| Not It | 34 | 5 | 733 | "Treehouse of Horror Presents: Not It" | It and It Chapter Two[9] | Steven Dean Moore | Cesar Mazariegos | October 23, 2022 | UABF17 |
| "Not It: Part Two" | |||||||||
| XXXIII | 6 | 734 | "The Pookadook" | The Babadook[62] | Rob Oliver | Carolyn Omine | October 30, 2022 | UABF18 | |
| "Death Tome" | Death Note[62] | Ryan Koh | |||||||
| "Simpsons World" | Westworld[62] | Matt Selman | |||||||
| XXXIV | 35 | 5 | 755 | "Wild Barts Can't Be Token" | Snowpiercer and non-fungible tokens[63] | Rob Oliver | Jeff Westbrook[64] | November 5, 2023 | OABF17[65] |
| "Ei8ht" | Seven and The Silence of the Lambs[63] | Jessica Conrad[64] | |||||||
| "Lout Break" | Outbreak[63] | Dan Vebber[64] | |||||||
| XXXV | 36 | 4 | 776 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | November 3, 2024 [b] | 35ABF?? |
| TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||||
| TBA | TBA | TBA |
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Gimple, Scott M.; Matt Groening (December 1, 1999). The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-098763-3.
- Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M.
- McCann, Jesse L.; Matt Groening (2002). The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Still Continued. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-050592-3.
- McCann, Jesse L.; Matt Groening (2005). The Simpsons One Step Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued Yet Again. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-081754-2.
- Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Foreword by Douglas Coupland. (1st ed.). Toronto: Random House Canada. ISBN 978-0-679-31318-2. OCLC 55682258.
External links
- Official episode guide at the Fox website TheSimpsons.com. Retrieved on October 25, 2010
- Episode guide from Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood's book "I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide" on the BBC website. November 10, 2007