Treehouse of Horror
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- This article refers to the first Treehouse of Horror episode. For an overview of the series of episodes, please see The Simpsons Halloween episodes.
"Treehouse of Horror" (on screen title: "The Simpsons Halloween Special") was the first of a series of many Halloween-themed episodes of The Simpsons. It became a yearly tradition thereafter. The Treehouse of Horror episodes generally don't obey the rest of the series' rules of realism, and are not treated as canon, although the first three (and to a lesser extent the fourth) are set-up in a fashion that they could be considered canon. In addition, since 1995, Bongo Comics has produced an annual comic book titled Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror.
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[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Opening Segment
Marge warns the audience that this episode may scare some members of the audience.
[edit] Set-up
Homer eavesdrops as Bart and Lisa tell three scary stories in the treehouse.
[edit] Bad Dream House
The Simpsons move into an old house, wondering why it was so inexpensive. Their questions are soon answered when the walls begin to bleed and objects begin to fly through the air. Marge wants to leave, but Homer tells her to sleep on it first. That night the house possesses Homer and the kids, making them chase each other with butcher knives. Marge intervenes and confronts the house, demanding that it treat them with respect while they are living there. The house thinks it over, and opts to destroy itself instead.
[edit] Hungry are the Damned
The Simpsons are abducted by aliens. The aliens introduce themselves as Kang and Kodos, and tell the Simpsons they are taking them to their home planet. En route they present the family with enormous amounts of food and watch eagerly as they gorge themselves on it. Lisa is suspicious, so she sneaks into the kitchen where she finds a book called "How To Cook Humans." She steals the book and confronts the aliens with it. They inform her that part of the title was obscured by space dust, which they blow away to reveal the real title - "How To Cook For Humans." Lisa blows off more space dust, revealing the title as "How To Cook Forty Humans." The aliens blow off the last of the space dust, finally revealing the real title - "How To Cook For Forty Humans." Enraged at Lisa's distrust, they return the Simpsons to Earth.
[edit] The Raven
Lisa reads The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. In this parody, Bart is the raven, Homer is the poem's lead character, Lisa and Maggie are seraphim, and Marge appears in a painting as Lenore; James Earl Jones narrates. Apart from a brief interruption from Bart ("Eat my shorts" in place of "Nevermore") and an interjection from Homer ("Why you little-!"), the poem is read (and acted out) verbatim, with some of the poem edited out for time.
[edit] Conclusion
None of the kids are frightened in the least by the stories. They climb down from the treehouse and sleep peacefully that night. Homer, on the other hand, is scared out of his wits.
[edit] Trivia
- Kang and Kodos would go on to appear in every other Treehouse Of Horror episode.
- According to the DVD commentary, the original ending to "Hungry Are The Damned" featured one more bit of space dust on the book cover obscuring the full title - "How To Cook For Forty Humans... And Then Eat Them."
- James Earl Jones would later re-appear in Treehouse of Horror V as Maggie.
- Homer's ill-fated attempt to light a barbecue in "Hungry Are The Damned" is repeated in season 7's "Lisa The Vegetarian" with much more conventional results.
[edit] Cultural References
- Marge's "warning" at the beginning of the episode is a reference to a similar warning that played to audiences before Frankenstein.
- "Bad Dream House" is primarily a parody of The Amityville Horror, but also contains elements of The Shining, Poltergeist and The Fall of the House of Usher.
- When possessed by the house, Maggie's head turns completely around like Linda Blair in The Exorcist.
- "Hungry Are The Damned" parodies the "To Serve Man" episode of The Twilight Zone.
- Some of the books in Homer's study in "The Raven" include "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Tell Tale Heart, and "The Purloined Letter" - all works by Poe.
[edit] External links
| The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror |
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| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI | XVII |
