It’s October, which means that it’s time for my two favorite things that start with S: Simpsons and Spooky Season (aka Halloween). More specifically it is time for The Simpson‘s yearly tradition known as “Treehouse of Horror,” which has been a staple of the series since season two. It got its name because the O.G special depicted Bart and Lisa in their treehouse telling stories to each other. It is also called that because it takes reference from the classic horror movie Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, which was an anthology of six different horror stories.
Being the The Simpsons superfan that I am, and also being the Halloween enthusiast that I am, I decided to combine my love for both in the best way I knew how: by sharing my top 10 favorite Simpsons‘ “Treehouse of Horror” segments.
# 10 the raven: TreeHouse Of horror I
Starting our list off with a special from the O.G Treehouse of Horror, we have “The Raven” from Treehouse of Horror I. This segment is pretty straightforward: Lisa reads the poem The Raven to Bart and we see the Simpsons put their own spin on the poem, with Homer as the protagonist, and Bart as the Raven. I like this segment because The Raven is such an iconic and well-done poem, and it’s interesting to see how the Simpsons parody it, and they do a pretty good job at it.
Seeing Homer as the protagonist and watching him act out and react to the situations in the poem is hilarious, and it’s also funny seeing Bart react to the poem as Lisa reads it to him. But despite all the comedy, the segment still manages to be pretty spooky. The poem is narrated by James Earl Jones and he does a good job at maintaining an atmosphere of dread throughout the poem. Also Homer’s voice actor, Dan Castallaneta, gives a pretty strong performance in this poem, not just in the comedic moments, but also in the dramatic moments, really making you feel the anger and pain of the poem’s protagonist.
#9 The devil and homer simpson: Treehouse of horror iv
Up next on my list is “The Devil and Homer Simpson” from Treehouse of Horror IV. In this segment, after finding out Lenny and Carl took all the donuts at work, Homer ends up selling his soul for a donut to Devil Ned Flanders cause he’s Homer Simpson, so of course he did. And the Devil is the always-pious Ned Flanders because why not.
Ned Flanders Devil tells Homer that as long as Homer does not eat the entire donut, he does not get Homer’s soul. But Homer ends up eating it up anyway because come on, it’s Homer Simpson. Did you really expect him to have self-control? Ned Flanders Devil comes to take possession of Homer’s soul, but fortunately Homer, Marge, and Lisa manage to get Ned Flanders Devil to agree to a fair trial. Does Homer manage to save his soul from the Devil? You’ll have to watch to find out!
I like this episode because of how hilariously absurd it is, I mean, Homer sells his soul for a donut for god’s sake. I mean, that has to be the most Homer thing to do. It’s also hilarious seeing Ned Flanders as the Devil and seeing him be his friendly, amicable self as the prince of darkness. I don’t want to spoil the ending for you guys but I will say it is pretty sweet (no pun intended).
#8 Nightmare on Evergreen terrace: Treehouse of horror vi
For my #8 spot we have “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace.” After Bart gets nearly murdered in his dreams by groundskeeper Willie, and after Martin gets strangled in his dream by Willie, the Simpson children learn that Willie was burned to death after the thermostat was turned up too high and no one helped him— and he is now out for revenge! This special is a good send-up to A Nightmare on Elm Street. Groundskeeper Willie is an effectively terrifying villain, but also funny too. The plan Bart comes up with to stop Willie is pretty smart, and the final showdown between all three Simpson children and Willie is really epic.
#7. the ned zone: treehouse of horror xv
What would you do if you were cursed to have visions of people’s deaths, and no matter what you did, you couldn’t prevent people from meeting their untimely demises? This is precisely the predicament Ned Flanders is faced with in “The Ned Zone.” After getting hit by a bowling ball, Ned Flanders starts to have visions of how the people around him die— and they do.
It comes to a head when Ned has a vision of himself shooting Homer. Homer taunts him to do it but he manages to refrain, but now he has a vision of Homer blowing up Springfield at the nuclear power plant! Will he manage to stop Homer in time or will Springfield be blown to smithereens? I like this segment because we can feel the anxiety Ned feels, along with him at having these visions but not being able to stop them. Plus, there’s the question looming over the segment: can we ever actually change our fate? Or are we just destined to live it out, no matter how hard we fight it? And I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it’s pretty funny.
#6. Time and punishment: treehouse of horror V
Now this segment is absolutely, positively, insane! There are so many twists and turns in this segment and it doesn’t stop to slow down, not even for a minute. In this segment, Homer accidentally creates a time-traveling toaster after he breaks the toaster and tries to fix it. When he tests out the toaster, it ends up transporting him back to prehistoric times. He remembers his father’s advice not to change anything if he travels back in time— but he accidentally swats a fly. Turns out, this seemingly inconsequential mistake turned the present into an Orwellian dystopia where Flanders rules the world and controls everyone’s every move (imagine that lol).
Homer keeps traveling back in time to fix his mistake, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t help but screw up and kill something by accident, leading to some pretty interesting timelines, such as a timeline where Bart and Lisa are giants, a timeline where the Simpsons are rich and it rains donuts, and a timeline where the Simpsons have lizard tongues, this special is wild, and I like it cause you never know where it’s gonna go next.
#5 The bart zone: treehouse of horror ii
Imagine, if you will, living in a world where one person has unlimited power. They can read everyone’s mind, move objects, and turn you into anything they want. And you better be thinking the right thoughts, because if they don’t like what you’re thinking, they will turn you into something so grotesque, it won’t be funny. This is the situation that the people of Springfield find themselves in the segment, “The Bart Zone.”
Springfield is under the control of an omnipotent Bart Simpson, with the aforementioned powers. And the people of Springfield best keep thinking happy thoughts, and let Bart have his way, lest they face his wrath. This episode is a send up of The Twilight Zone episode “It’s a Good Life” and it does a great job at parodying The Twilight Zone, from the opening narration, to the eerie feeling, and like I said earlier it’s always fun to see the Simpsons put their own twist on things. I also like the feeling of dread that permeates this special, and Bart, with his ability to make Springfield bend at his will, is a terrifying villain, and the episode pulls it off well.
#4 Dial z for zombies: treehouse of horror iii
This is my personal favorite Treehouse of Horror. While I think that there are others that are better than it, hence why it’s fourth on my list, I definitely think it’s the funniest. When Bart has to do over his book report for the class, he goes into the library and winds up finding a book about dark magic. That night, when Lisa is mourning the death of her cat, Snowball, Bart suggests there might be a spell in the book to bring Snowball back to life. They try a spell at the pet cemetery, but it turned out they accidentally raised the dead!
Now, the zombies are off causing havoc in Springfield, and the Simpsons must fight their way to the library to find a way to reverse the spell, all while avoiding being turned into zombies themselves. This special is my personal favorite, all because of how insane it is, and how funny it is. I mean Homer literally has to fight off zombie Shakespeare and Einstein at one point for goodness’s sake (why those guys are buried in Springfield, I’ll never know). This special is action-packed and has plenty of good jokes, and I highly recommend it.
#3 The shinning: treehouse of horror v
This special parodies Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. In my opinion, it is one of the best Treehouse of Horror parodies. In this special, the Simpsons are working as caretakers at Mr. Burns’ haunted lodge while it’s closed for the winter. Thinking that it will guarantee the family’s hard work, Mr. Burns cuts the television and confiscates the beer. Meanwhile, Groundskeeper Willie discovers that Bart has the power to read his thoughts, or the “Shinning” (just don’t call it “the Shining” if you don’t want to get sued).
Willie tells Bart to call him with his Shinning if Homer should go insane. Unfortunately, as it turns out, Mr. Burns could not have been more wrong about removing the TV and beer. Rather than causing him to work harder, the lack of Homer’s two favorite things drive him crazy and he goes on a murderous rampage against his family! Are they able to escape? Is Bart able to successfully summon Willie? Is Homer able to snap out of his insanity? I like this special because I think it’s pretty iconic, I mean, who could forget that very meme-able scene of Homer’s mental breakdown? Also I love it its humor and references to The Shining, like when Homer breaks down the door and says “Heeeres Johnny!” but he gets the wrong room— twice. This is one of the most iconic Treehouse of Horror specials in my opinion.
#2 tweenlight
This is the best Treehouse of Horror that is based on a movie because I feel like it understands its source material really well. In this segment, Lisa falls for a mysterious new student at her school named Edmund. After Edmund ends up saving Lisa from a bus, two cars, a bicycle, and a Segway PT (damn did everyone in Springfield turn into bad drivers all of a sudden?), Edmund reveals to Lisa that he’s a vampire, but Lisa isn’t scared by this, and the two of them start dating.
Marge invites Edmund and his Father, Count Dracula, over for dinner, but Lisa and Edmund, both embarrassed by their fathers, decide to leave. Homer and Dracula track them down to a cathedral in “Dracula-la land,” where they find Edmund climbing up a tower with Lisa. Lisa wants to become a vampire, but gets second thoughts after realizing she’d be eight forever. However, Edmund has to bite something, because he says “The blood lust is upon him.” Like I said earlier, This special understands its source material really well. They’ve got the dark, angsty vibe of Twilight nailed down. For example, in the opening of the segment and with the music, and they nailed the absurdity of it too, such as when they make fun of the scene from Twilight where Edward saves Bella from getting hit by a car, or they have Milhouse in the place of Jacob, but he turns into a poodle. This special is my favorite movie parody, and it does a good job at capturing what made Twilight so entertaining.
#1 dial m for murder or press # to return to the main menu
We’ve done it folks, we’ve reached the end of the list. We’ve reached what I consider to be the best Treehouse of Horror segment. After Lisa gets sent to detention by Ms. Hoover, she wants revenge. Bart tells her that if she pulls a “ding-dong ditch” on Ms. Krabappel, he’ll do the same to Ms. Hoover. Thinking that this means ringing Ms. Krabappel’s apartment and leaving, Lisa does just that. However, Lisa later learns that Bart killed Ms. Hoover, and he meant for her to kill Ms. Krabappel! Lisa refuses to kill Ms. Krabappel, so Bart blackmails Lisa into killing her, telling Lisa that Groundskeeper Willie will frame her for Ms. Hoover’s murder.
Does Lisa give in to Bart’s extortion? Does she manage to resist the threats? What I like about this segment is that they parody Alfred Hitchcock perfectly, from the segment being in black in white to the score. Also this episode is crazy suspenseful. You never know what will happen next and there are some moments that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat. There are some moments where you could cut the tension in this episode with a knife. It does a good job at making you feel scared for Lisa. Also, the chase scene at the end is pretty epic, with a lot of great Hitchcock references in it.
So there you have it— my top 10 Treehouses of Horror episodes. Happy Halloween everybody! Hope you all get lots of candy!
