Simpsons Review: "Treehouse of Horror"

Happy Halloween, folks! I love Halloween so much! I'm a huge horror fan, and the month of October turns that up to 1000. Also, the holiday gives people a great excuse to feed their candy cravings, and for me and many others, we also hear the three sweetest words in the English language: Treehouse of Horror. Recently, The Simpsons aired their 36th Halloween episode, which has aired under the "Treehouse of Horror" banner title since all the way back in 1990.

As I've mentioned before, the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes aren't your typical Simpsons episode. They are always divided into three segments, usually horror-related, with different storylines. Also, anyone and everyone can be knocked off in these episodes. The "Treehouse of Horror" episodes have been referenced and homaged a number of times, and as stated earlier, 36 such episodes have aired. However, on this Halloween, this story will center on the very episode that started it all.

The episode begins with Marge giving a disclaimer warning viewers about the episode's content, and telling parents with young children to tuck their kids into bed early. After that, we get the scary intro with the words, "The Simpsons Halloween Special" appearing, as the camera pans across a graveyard and stops at the Simpson household. We see Homer appear in a ghost costume celebrating the haul he got trick-or-treating. "I love Halloween," Homer gloats, before he decides to listen in on the kids.

Lisa's finishing a scary story, Maggie's innocently intrigued, and Bart is not impressed. Lisa dares Bart to tell an even scarier story, and with an evil laugh, Bart introduces us to the first-ever segment in Treehouse of Horror history:

Bad Dream House

"Bad Dream House" sees the Simpsons move into a new house, and Homer gives a single dollar tip to the mover, who mutters, "I'm glad there's a curse on this place." Within moments, supernatural moments occur, but they get glossed over until an ominous voice tells the family to leave. Lisa mentions an evil presence, and that activates Marge's alarm bells. She wants to leave. Homer insists on staying, mainly because he got the house very cheap (gee, I wonder why it's so cheap).

The family's talked into staying, and all of them, sans Marge, nearly kill each other when they are manipuated by that same voice. Marge wants out again, and later on, the family discovers an ancient burial ground below the house. Homer accuses the realtor of not revealing this detail. In actuality, Homer was told this repeatedly. Marge prepares the family to leave, only for that evil voice to taunt them and tell them how many ways they'll die. At that moment, Marge snaps and tells the spector to shut up and show some manners, and that's when her tune changes."This is my family and we're not going anywhere!" Marge commands, before telling the being to get used to it. The voice is given time to think things over.

"Life with the Simpsons," he says. "What other choice do I have?" In a shocking moment, the house actually disintegrates, taking that option over having to deal with the Simpsons.

Hungry are the Damned

Lisa is unimpressed, and after Bart fails on his "severed finger" trick, he introduces the second segment, "Hungry are the Damned." In this segment, a family barbecue takes place, with Homer hilariously using every drop of that lighter fluid. All of a sudden, Lisa notices a flying saucer emerge, and that turns into the entire family seeing it, including Homer, who has his burger. One by one, the family is beamed up, though two beams are used for Homer, and they are introduced to Kang and Kodos, who make their debuts in this episode.

The family's fed all sorts of meals by the duo and their chef, with plans to take them to their planet of Rygel IV. While the rest of the family is enjoying the feast, Lisa is suspicious, especially since no additional details are unveiled about this trip. Lisa does some digging and searching and is startled to see a book apparently titled, How to Cook Humans. Lisa's story is disbelieved by the rest of the family, until the book is shown. Homer chews out Kang, who states that the book had some dust on it. It's blown off, revealing the title as How to Cook for Humans. However, Lisa blows off more dust, which shows the title as How to Cook Forty Humans. Lisa didn't get all of it. Kang blows off the rest, and the true title is revealed: How to Cook for Forty Humans.

The aliens are offended and outraged that the Simpsons would think that they would try to eat them, and they drop them off at their home, while boasting that--in so many words--the family blew a good opportunity for peace between their respective planets. Lisa regrets what she did, but Homer and Bart are quick to mess with her about it.

The Raven

It was Lisa's turn to tell the tale now. Bart notices Lisa reading, and Lisa reveals the story she was reading: Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. What follows is some very epic narration (more on that later), and we see Homer in the title role, Marge as the lost Lenore, and Lisa and Maggie as censers. Oh, and of course, Bart was the raven--a spiky haired raven. I always love this segment. Seeing Homer being eloquent and Shakespearean is epic, and of course, Bart as the raven was delicious!

After the story ends, Bart says he wasn't scared, though Lisa suggests that at the time the novel was written, people were easier to scare. Bart comments that he'll have no trouble sleeping, but as he and his sisters leave the treehouse, we see ol' Homeboy--scared shitless. The kids rest and sleep easy, but as for Homer, he's begging Marge to leave the light on. Marge says that they're just stories and turns off the light, but we get one last glimpse of Bart as the raven.

"Oh, I hate Halloween," Homer quips before covering his head with the bedsheets.

Before I continue and give the finish, I promised talk about the narrator of that segment.

This man needs no introduction, but you're out of your mind if you think I'm not going to give him one. To a generation of sci-fi fans, he's Darth Vader. To nine-year-old me, he's Mufasa. When I was younger than that, I remember that voice uttering the words, "This is CNN." James Earl Jones. Where do I start? Icon. Legend. Some would say, GOAT. Jones' booming voice was heard narrating "The Raven" segment in this episode, and I truly think that he was one of Matt Groening's favorite guest stars. He'd return four years later in "Treehouse of Horror V," providing Maggie's voice after she kills Groundskeeper Willie in an alternate world, and he did two more episodes of the series as well. We lost James Earl Jones on September 9, 2024, but he will never, ever be lost in our hearts.

The first "Treehouse of Horror," the third episode of The Simpsons' 2nd season, aired on Fox on October 25, 1990. This was the episode that set the bar for future annual episodes, with "Treehouse of Horror" becoming a household name among fans of the show. Younger fans watching this episode will notices something strange: no scary nicknames. They didn't use them until the following year, and they would be a staple for nearly every ToH after that. The "Treehouse of Horror" episodes are an amazing staple, but we must always remember how it started.

Have a happy Halloween!