Treehouse of Horror

Series of Halloween themed episodes of The Simpsons

Treehouse of Horror is a series of annual Halloween themed anthology episodes of the animated sitcom The Simpsons. Also known as The Simpsons Halloween Specials, each episode typically consists of three separate, self contained segments. Each segment involves the Simpson family in some comical horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting; plot elements operate beyond the show's normal continuity, with segments exaggeratedly more morbid and violent than a typical Simpsons episode. With 34 episodes as of 2023, each Treehouse of Horror episode is numbered in Roman numerals, one less than the respective season it is in. The eponymous first installment "Treehouse of Horror" aired on October 25, 1990, during the second season, broadly inspired by EC Comics horror tales. In addition to parodies of horror, science fiction, and fantasy films, episodes include the recurring alien characters Kang and Kodos, unique opening sequences, and 'scary' pseudonyms in the credits. Treehouse of Horror episodes have earned high ratings and broad popularity, spawning a steady stream of merchandise, including a comic book series that ran from 1995 to 2017.

Treehouse of Horror episodes typically consist of four parts: an opening and Halloween themed version of the credits, followed by three segments. These segments usually have a horror, science fiction or fantasy theme and quite often are parodies of films, novels, plays, television shows, Twilight Zone episodes, or old issues of EC Comics. Although they are sometimes connected by "wraparounds", the three segments rarely have any kind of continuing connection within the episode. Some have recurring elements, such as "Treehouse of Horror V", in which Groundskeeper Willie is killed by an axe in all three segments. From "Treehouse of Horror" to "Treehouse of Horror XIII" and resuming with "Treehouse of Horror XXXIII", all three segments were written by different writers. In some cases there was a fourth writer who wrote the opening and wraparound segments. "Treehouse of Horror XXXII" featured five segments.

The first, second, and fifth Treehouse of Horror episodes open with Marge standing on a stage and warning parents about the content of the episode, advising them to put their children to bed. The warning in the first episode was put in as a sincere effort to warn young viewers, as the producers felt it was somewhat scary. Marge's warnings quickly became a burden to write, particularly because – as she herself noted – they were mostly ignored, so after "Treehouse of Horror V", they were dropped. Other Treehouse of Horror episodes have opened with parodies; for example, "Treehouse of Horror III" had Homer introduce the episode in a manner similar to Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The tombstone gags were easy for the writers in the first episode, but like Marge's warnings, they eventually got more difficult to write, so they were abandoned. However, after two decades, this gag made a brief comeback in "Treehouse of Horror XXIX" at the very beginning, this time appearing before the main opening sequence and title. While the early Treehouse of Horror episodes featured a Halloween themed opening sequence, the later ones only included the title and the "created by" and "developed by" credits. Every episode between "Treehouse of Horror III" and "Treehouse of Horror X" featured a couch gag with a Halloween theme, including the Simpson family dressed as skeletons, "Treehouse of Horror II" presented all of the segments as being nightmares of Lisa, Bart and Homer; "Treehouse of Horror III" had Lisa, Bart and Grampa telling stories at a Halloween party; After a few years, the amount of broadcast time for an episode was shortened, allowing less time to tell a proper story. There were no wraparounds for "Treehouse of Horror V" because they had been cut to make more time for the segments. Following that, the writers permanently dropped them.

Two characters that are virtually exclusive to the Treehouse of Horror series are Kang and Kodos, a pair of large green space aliens who were introduced in the "Hungry are the Damned" segment of "Treehouse of Horror". Kang and Kodos have since appeared in every Treehouse of Horror episode, often in cameos. In some episodes, they only appear in the opening segment, but often they will make a cameo appearance in the middle of a different story. For example, a story about zombies attacking the town briefly cuts to them in their space ship, watching the events and laughing maniacally at the Earthlings' suffering. The action then switches back to the actual story. According to Al Jean in 2022, an unofficial rule is that they must be in every episode,

Kang and Kodos were prominent characters in the 2015 episode "The Man Who Came to Be Dinner", which was not Halloween themed.

Beginning with "Treehouse of Horror II", the producers decided to give the cast and crew of the show 'scary names' in the opening and closing credits. Although the names quickly became more silly than scary, there have been a wide variety of special credits, from simple names like "Bat Groening" (for Matt Groening) or "Chains Hell Brooks" (for James L. Brooks) to complex ones like "David2+S.2=Cohen2" (for David X. Cohen). Sam Simon, who left the show during the fourth season, still receives "developed by" and "executive producer" credits, and until "Treehouse of Horror XXII", he had been listed in Treehouse of Horror episodes as "Sam 'Sayonara' Simon" and between "Treehouse of Horror XXII" and "Treehouse of Horror XXV" as "simonsam@TWITterror". However, following his death in March 2015, he has simply been credited as "Sam Simon" starting from "Treehouse of Horror XXVI". The idea for 'scary names' came from executive producer Al Jean, who was inspired by EC Comics because some of the issues also used 'scary' alternate names.

References to films, novels, plays, television shows, and other media are commonly featured, and many segments have been parodies of a specific work in the horror, science fiction, or fantasy genre. Many segments are spoofs of episodes of The Twilight Zone, and entire segments will be based on a single episode. Some of the Twilight Zone episodes parodied include "A Kind of a Stopwatch", "To Serve Man", "A Small Talent for War", "Living Doll", "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", "Little Girl Lost", and "The Little People". The "Bart's Nightmare" segment of "Treehouse of Horror II" parodies the episode "It's a Good Life" and is even presented in a format similar to an episode of The Twilight Zone. A Nightmare on Elm Street, Paranormal Activity, and Dead Calm. Science fiction films have also occasionally been used as inspiration for segments, and in later episodes, many of the segments were based more on science fiction than horror. Science fiction works parodied include The Omega Man, the novel Nineteen Eighty Four, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and Orson Welles's The War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Sweeney Todd, the Twilight film series, and Jumanji.

A modified version of the production logo for Gracie Films is displayed after the closing credits. The shushing sound is replaced by either a scream or another sound effect from the episode, and the jingle is played in a minor key on a pipe organ. The first three episodes did not feature the scream. "Treehouse of Horror VI" and "Treehouse of Horror XIX" did not feature the organ or scream; the former incorporated a Myst homage and the latter used a piano rendition following its parody of Peanuts. The music in "Treehouse of Horror VI" was reused in "The Scorpion's Tale" without the Gracie Films jingle.

The first Treehouse of Horror installment aired on 1990 as part of the second season, and its on screen title was "The Simpsons Halloween Special." ("Treehouse of Horror XIII" was the first to feature "Treehouse of Horror" in the on screen title.) It was inspired by EC Comics Horror tales. Although every episode is entitled Treehouse of Horror, the first was the only episode that actually used the treehouse motif. The episodes often go through many last minute changes, with rewrites requiring new lines to be recorded. "Treehouse of Horror III" in particular underwent somewhere between 80 and 100 line changes in the six week period between the arrival of the animation from Korea and the airing of the episode. By the fourth season, executive producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss were less enamored of Treehouse of Horror episodes and considered dropping them, but the other writers insisted that they be kept. In some cases, the writers will have an idea that is too violent and far fetched or too short for a normal episode, but can be used as a segment in the seasonal special. Early episodes seem mild compared to the carnage that followed in later episodes, according to Jean, who calls it "a societal thing". He points out that his 10 year old daughter loves films like Coraline, and that, "[in] the age of scary stories [ ] appropriateness has gotten lower." Although gruesome for the most part, some segments, such as "Citizen Kang" in "Treehouse of Horror VII", satirize political issues. The opening segment of "Treehouse of Horror XIX" featured Homer attempting to vote for Barack Obama but a rigged electronic voting machine instead registers a vote for John McCain. Rather than taking sides in the election, Jean says it is "mostly a comment on what many people believe to be the irregularities in our voting system". In "Treehouse of Horror XVII", a segment called "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid" ends with Kang and Kodos taking over Springfield as part of a mission called "Operation: Enduring Occupation". The script originally called for Kodos and Kang to look over the smoking ruins of Springfield and say: "This sure is a lot like Iraq will be." The Fox network did not have any objection to the line, but it was rejected by some of the writers as too obvious and was cut from the broadcast. While cut from the aired version, the line does appear in the "review" version sent to newspapers and magazines. The first Treehouse of Horror episode marked the first time that an alternate version of the theme that airs over the end credits was used. Originally, it was intended to use a theremin, but one could not be found that could hit all the necessary notes. For the 34th season of The Simpsons, two Treehouse of Horror episodes were produced; the first episode was "Not It", a parody of the 2017 supernatural horror film It and its 2019 sequel It Chapter Two.

Although Treehouse of Horror episodes are Halloween themed, for several years, new episodes premiered in November following the holiday due to Fox's coverage of Major League Baseball's World Series. Season 12's "Treehouse of Horror XI" was the first episode to air in November. There have been several references to this in the show, such as in Season 15's "Treehouse of Horror XIV" where Kang looks at a TV Guide and says, "Pathetic humans. They're showing a Halloween episode in November!" and Kodos replies "Who's still thinking about Halloween? We've already got our Christmas decorations up!" The camera then cuts to a shot of the fireplace with Christmas decorations, and festive Christmas music plays over the opening credits. Season 21's "Treehouse of Horror XX" aired October 18, before the World Series, but the following year's episode, Season 22's "Treehouse of Horror XXI", aired on November 7. Season 23's "Treehouse of Horror XXII" aired on October 30 as the 2011 World Series (which went the maximum of seven games) had concluded on October 28. Subsequent Treehouse of Horror episodes have premiered in October, although they have moved back to November on occasion. The 31st season included a Thanksgiving themed spinoff, "Thanksgiving of Horror". The 32nd season however pushed "Treehouse of Horror XXXI" to November 1, 2020, because the National League Championship Series went into Game 7, with the World Series that followed stretching to Game 6, resulting in Fox airing Treehouse after Halloween for the first time since 2010. Citytv in Canada however aired the episode as originally scheduled. "Treehouse of Horror XXXII" aired on October 10, 2021, to avoid airing in November due to the World Series overrun, and, with no 2022 World Series game scheduled on a Sunday, "Treehouse of Horror XXXIII" aired on October 30, 2022. "Treehouse of Horror XXXIV," however, aired on November 5, 2023.

There has been a variety of merchandise based on the Treehouse of Horror episodes, including books, action figures, comic books, video games, DVDs and a "Treehouse of Horror" version of Hasbro's board game Monopoly. Although every Treehouse of Horror episode until "Treehouse of Horror XIX" has been released along with its season in a boxset, in 2003, The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror DVD was released. It includes Treehouse of Horrors V, VI, VII and XII. A Treehouse of Horror comic book was published annually from 1995 to 2017, and collected into several books, including The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Fun Filled Frightfest, Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror Spine Tingling Spooktacular, Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror Heebie Jeebie Hullabaloo and The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Hoodoo Voodoo Brouhaha. Several video games based on The Simpsons include levels with a Halloween theme, including The Simpsons: Hit & Run and The Simpsons Game. In 2001, Fox Interactive and THQ released The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror on Game Boy Color. The entire game has a Halloween theme as the player tries to save the Simpson family from the Treehouse of Horror. Many of the special character designs featured in the episodes have become action figures. The "Treehouse of Horror 2" set was released in 2001 and included an interior alien spaceship playset as well as Kang, Kodos and "Alien Ship Homer". The entire set was based on "Treehouse of Horror". The "Treehouse of Horror 3" set was released in 2002 and included a playset based on the "Ironic Punishment Division" of Hell in "Treehouse of Horror IV". It came with "Donuthead Homer", "Witch Marge", Hugo Simpson and "Dream Invader Willie". The final "Treehouse of Horror 4" set was released in 2003 and included a playset based on Comic Book Guy's "Collector's all plastic lair". It came with "The Collector", "Clobber Girl Lisa", "Stretch Dude Bart" and Lucy Lawless. All the designs were based on "Treehouse of Horror X". On 2019, Funko revealed a 2 pack Kang and Kodos vinyl figure set presented as an exclusive for San Diego Comic Con 2019, along with a Treehouse of Horror Pop! wave, including King Homer (Treehouse of Horror III), Fly Bart (Treehouse of Horror VIII), Cat Marge (Treehouse of Horror XIII), Demon Lisa (Treehouse of Horror XXV), and Alien Maggie (Treehouse of Horror IX). After the Playmates Toys sets were finished, McFarlane Toys produced four Treehouse of Horror themed playsets including the "Ironic Punishment Box Set" released in 2004, the "In the Belly of the Boss — Homer & Marge Action Figures" released in 2005, "The Island of Dr. Hibbert Box Set" released in 2006, and a "Lard Lad Box Set" released in 2007.

The Treehouse of Horror episodes are often among the top rated episodes of their seasons, In its first airing, "Treehouse of Horror" finished with a 15.7 Nielsen rating and a 25% audience share, less than The Cosby Show. It was said that it "set a level of excellence that viewers never expected creator Matt Groening to repeat", although it was also described as "kind of stupid and unsatisfying". "Treehouse of Horror V" is considered the best episode by several critics: it finished ninth on Entertainment Weeklys top 25 The Simpsons episode list, fifth on AskMen. com's "Top 10: Simpsons Episodes" list, and was named best episode of the sixth season by IGN. com. In 2006, James Earl Jones, who guest starred in "Treehouse of Horror" and "Treehouse of Horror V", was named seventh on IGN's "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances" list. In 2006, IGN. com published a list of the top ten Treehouse of Horror segments, and they placed "The Shinning" from "Treehouse of Horror V" at the top, saying it was "not only a standout installment of the annual Halloween episode, but of The Simpsons, period". In 2000, "Treehouse of Horror VII" was ranked Simpsons creator Matt Groening's seventh favorite episode, and the line he likes best is: "We have reached the limit of what rectal probing can teach us." "King Homer" of "Treehouse of Horror III" is one of Groening's favorite segments. "Treehouse of Horror III" is also noted for the moment where Homer shoots Ned Flanders and Bart says "Dad, you killed the Zombie Flanders!" only for Homer to reply, "He was a zombie?" In 1998, "Treehouse of Horror VIII" won a Golden Reel Award for "Best Sound Editing – Television Animated Specials"; the recipients were Robert Mackston, Travis Powers, Norm MacLeod, and Terry Greene. Bob Beecher also received a nomination for "Best Sound Editing in Television Animation – Music" for "Treehouse of Horror X". The second, third, fifth, eighth, ninth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and eighteenth Treehouse of Horror episodes were nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" at the Primetime Emmy Awards. The second and third "Treehouse of Horror" episodes were also nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special". In 1996, "Treehouse of Horror VI" was submitted for the Primetime Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)" category because it had a 3D animation sequence, which the staff felt would have given it the edge. The twenty third and twenty fifth Treehouse of Horror episodes were nominated for the same award in 2013 and 2015 respectively. The thirty third episode finally won the Emmy.