By: Darien “Mid-Semester Crisis” Johnsen
The Simpsons have been doing their Halloween Treehouse of Horror episodes since season two aired in 1990. The Halloween specials (given progressive roman numerals) are heavy on social commentary and critique, like the show, and include three mini-installments in each episode. Most Halloween episodes are hilarious plays on traditional Halloween tales such as Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” cleverly renamed “It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse,” and parodies of “The Shining,” “The Exorcist,” and the more recent “Stranger Things.”
There are some great originals as well; one of my favourites is “How To Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising.” In this episode, Homer is hired by TV executives to kill celebrities who refuse to allow their names to be used in advertising, since they don’t have to get consent from them if they’re dead. This episode reminds me of Treehouse of Horror episode VI’s segment “Attack of the 50 Foot Eyesores” where Homer steals Lard Lad’s colossal donut and ends up awakening a bunch of mascot ads who proceed to wreak havoc upon Springfield. To solve the problem, Lisa discovers that the ads will lose all their power if you just stop paying attention to them.
One of my favourite parts about the Treehouse episodes is the transformation of the characters into their Halloween counterparts. Ned Flanders in particular is a fun one to see in different spooky situations. The I Know What You Did Last Summer parody titled “I Know What You Diddly-Iddly-Did” sees Flanders as a werewolf.
In two Halloween episodes, Flanders, known for being a devout, church-going character, is transformed into the devil. The first one is the Treehouse episode IX’s segment where Homer sells his soul to devil Flanders for a donut. Homer at one point ends up in hell, where he’s force-fed donuts (which, to the surprise of the demon feeding him, fails to break him whatsoever), and when he inevitably ends up breaking his pact with the devil, he is tried by a “Jury of the Damned” in the “Court of Infernal Affairs.” The jury hilariously includes the starting line of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers, known for being relentlessly aggressive in the 1976 game against the Red Army team of Russia.
The second episode with devil Flanders is the “Heck House Treehouse XVII episode. When Flanders fails at his attempt to get the kids in his “Heck House,” his version of a haunted house, to understand the consequences of sin, he turns to God and says, “Please Lord, give me the power to psychologically torture them into loving you,” and is then transformed into the devil.
The newer Simpsons’ Treehouse specials still remain strong. The best new Halloween episode is probably in Treehouse XXVIII, which includes a play on one of my favourite movies, “Coraline,” titled “Coralisa.” The parody of this movie was hilarious, as the whole Simpson family ends up joining the “other” family because they’re all unsatisfied with their own world. What I really liked about the new Halloween episodes was that the animators started experimenting with different animation styles, adding a different aesthetic to the old tradition.
The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror episodes are one of my favourite parts of the Halloween season, so if you’re looking for something to keep you entertained this coming Halloween evening, these episodes are great for a good chuckle with old, familiar characters.
Darien Johnsen is a UFV alumni who obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with double extended minors in Global Development Studies and Sociology in 2020. She started writing for The Cascade in 2018, taking on the role of features editor shortly after.
She’s passionate about justice, sustainable development, and education.