The Simpsons is one of the few shows that not only celebrates Halloween with an annual special episode each year, but has aired so many that these specials are collected into their own eras as well. The Simpsons has been releasing its Treehouse of Horror specials since Season 2 of the animated series, and there have been so many that it can be tough to figure out which are the best of the best. Which is why it’s a great idea instead to separate each era and figure it all out from there. Beginning with the teens, The Simpsons also started to make a shift.
While the first nine specials for The Simpsons‘ first ten seasons are certainly considered Treehouse of Horror classics, it can be a much different affair for the episodes that came during its teen years. The Simpsons Season 11 through 20 had some strong Treehouse of Horror specials of their own, but it’s also where the early signs of wear started to show with fewer and fewer directly Horror influenced ideas seen in them. Read on below for the best Treehouse of Horror specials released during Seasons 11 through 20.
10). Treehouse of Horror XVIII
The tail end of this era was undoubtedly the weakest as The Simpsons started to veer away from its Horror based parodies in exchange for just more straight movie parodies and takes. A Treehouse of Horror episode can really only be graded by its strongest entry, and unfortunately nothing in XVIII hits those marks. “E.T. Go Home” is a fun pairing of Bart with Kodos, but it ends before it really has any fun with the idea. “Mr & Mrs. Simpson” is just a straight riff of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but it’s not really funny or scary.
And while “Heck House” does end with some chilling imagery of Hell (and has a good gag where Homer realizes he’s going through two of the sinful punishments), it’s one of those cases being too little too late. By the time this one gets spooky, it’s over.
9). Treehouse of Horror XIX
Marking the end of this era, thankfully Treehouse of Horror XIX helps to bring it to a notable enough close. Unfortunately, this year is also subject to the lack of horror overall with “Untitled Robot Parody” being an (intentionally) uninspired riff on Transformers that doesn’t bring laughs or scares. “How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising” is at least unique as Homer kills celebrities so their likenesses can be used for ads, but then it has a messy ending that has Homer still getting away with everything (rather than being punished like in most horror).
But thankfully, “It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse” saves it with its take on the Peanuts classic, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” This third segment gives the episode a fresh art style, and has a magical pumpkin killed by the spirit of Thanksgiving. A rather fun ending to a mostly lackluster year.
8). Treehouse of Horror XII
The earlier releases of the teen era weren’t able to escape these problems either as Treehouse of Horror XII was the first real sign that something had been changing. “Hex and the City” just doesn’t land as while it has some unique visual gags, it relies so much on its unfunny Leprechaun joke to end it. There is a saving grace with “House of Whacks” here with its Piece Brosnan voiced smart house being very much ahead of its time. But it’s all brought down again by “Wiz Kids,” and unfunny Harry Potter riff. But “House of Whacks” is such a strong entry that it’s really heads and tails above everything else seen on this list thus far. The reveal of Homer missing the entire back of his head is definitely one of the best Treehouse of Horror jokes ever.
7). Treehouse of Horror XVI
Treehouse of Horror XVI is just a lot of fun as it kicks off with “B.I. Bartificial Intelligence,” which has a very dark (and hilarious) joke about Bart’s death. There’s legitimate emotion for a bit before the fun kicks off with a replacement robot son, and Bart upgrades his own body to take him down. “Survival of the Fattest” keeps the fun going with a high body count of a number of Springfield’s men dying as Mr. Burns hunts them (with Comic Book Guy’s “Shoot me now” being a particular stand out), but it just falls apart as it ends.
The real creativity comes through with the strongest and final segment, “I’ve Grown a Costume to Your Face” as a witch curses the town to turn into their Halloween costumes. It’s unfortunately a bit too short as it ends before it can really explore the idea, but there are just so many fun visual and one-off bits in rapid succession that the idea hits as well as it does.
6). Treehouse of Horror XIV
Treehouse of Horror XIV is another year that’s really this high on the list based off the strength of its best segment, “Reaper Madness.” Putting Homer in the Grim Reaper’s robe leads to a ton of casual death throughout the segment, and Homer even tricked God at its very fun end. It’s such a strong start that even the weaker (and downright terrible) follow up “Frinkenstein” doesn’t bring it down. It does introduce Professor Frink’s dad voiced by Jerry Lewis, the one who inspired the character in the first place, but it’s just not very fun or scary.
“Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off” does make up for it, however, as it steers even more into that fun and gives us a Bart and Milhouse who are able to stop time. Lots of fun jokes come out of this idea, and it gives fans a unique older version of Bart that fans haven’t seen used anywhere else either. This was a fun, if not entirely scary year.
5). Treehouse of Horror XIII
Treehouse of Horror XIII is rather special as it was the first of The Simpsons‘ Halloween specials to be officially coined as a “Treehouse of Horror.” This was also a year with three strong segments. “Send in the Clones” was just ton of Homer fun with an entire army of Homers copying his habits before throwing themselves off a cliff. “The Fright to Creep and Scare Arms” brought back famous outlaws from the dead to terrorize Springfield after they got rid of their guns (until Homer goes back in time to tell them to keep their guns, resulting in the very funny visual of them firing into graves).
And finally, “The Island of Dr. Hibbert” turned everyone into animals Dr. Moreau style. Once again, it’s not a year that’s particularly “scary” but the segments still have some of those Horror roots that made the earlier specials so, well, special.
4). Treehouse of Horror XVII
Treehouse of Horror XVII is certainly a late teens surprise. It’s brought down by its middle segment, “You Gotta Know When to Golem” that has a few jokes that haven’t really aged to well (and weren’t that great in the first place) but it at least has a unique monster in its titular golem. But it starts out very strong with “Married to the Blob” as Homer eats some space goo to become a blob that eats a ton of people. Just packed to the brim with jokes, it really undersells how horrific of an idea it truly is.
Then there’s “The Day the Earth Looked Stupid” which inserts Orson Welles’s “The War of the Worlds” broadcast into its sepia-toned world to show a Springfield reacting to the news. It’s got such a bitter tone when it ends that it really sticks with you in that perfect way a good Horror story does. It really does just fire on all cylinders.
3). Treehouse of Horror XV
That’s absolutely the case for Treehouse of Horror XV as well. “The Ned Zone” is a very strong opening segment that’s just a ton of jokes at Ned’s expense as he tries to save Homer from himself (like the “big dog” comment). It’s also just a fun visual when Ned has the visions as well. The second entry, “Four Beheadings and a Funeral” is a bit weaker but shifts out the location to 16th century England and makes some very fun jokes as a result. It’s also particularly brutal in how many women die throughout it.
But the Fantastic Voyage parody, “In the Belly of the Boss” might take the cake. It’s not very Horror focused, but it has some great ’60s inspired sci-fi gags. It also ends with a gross visual of Homer growing inside of Mr. Burns to cap it all off. It’s just so much fun to watch all the way through regardless of its lack of truly scary moments.
2). Treehouse of Horror X
The final two entries on this list do make sure to bring all of the Horror, however. Treehouse of Horror X takes on I Know What You Did Last Summer when the Simpsons kill Ned and he comes for revenge after. The final gag of him turning into a werewolf and Homer laughing because Ned can’t finish him all is a spooky way to end it too. “Desperately Xeeking Xena” unfortunately doesn’t have much Horror at all. It makes up for it with a ton of fun gags as “Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl” take on a hilariously evil version of Comic Book Guy. Truth be told, Lucy Lawless’ excellent guest spot as herself is what really puts this over the top.
What really gets it this high on the list is its strongest segment, “Life’s a Glitch, Then You Die” where Homer dooms everyone to Y2K. It has one of the bleakest endings in Treehouse of Horror history to this point, and if you weren’t alive in the 2000s, it really is the best way to get that technological apocalypse idea across.
1). Treehouse of Horror XI
The strongest Treehouse of Horror of this era is undoubtedly XI as it has three very strong segments with its final one being the best of this era overall. It starts out with a fantastic opening credits sequence that apes The Munsters but has them all killed. The fun then continues with “G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad,” which challenges a ghostly Homer (who died after eating broccoli) to doing a good deed within 24 hours (and before doing so, ends up killing Agnes Skinner in the process).
“Scary Tales Can Come True” then keeps the horrific fun going with a rather bleak take on Fairy Tales. It doesn’t skimp out on the laughs, but the witch at the end is burned alive while the others laugh. It’s a wild juxtaposition to see in action, and even wilder to see the joke land as hard as it can. The real star of the show, however, is “Night of the Dolphin” where dolphins return to land and force humans back to the sea. It’s just jokes all the way through, and there’s admittedly a lot of terror in how many characters die before it’s all over.
It also comes to a hopeless end (which the best Treehouse of Horror shorts do), and has everyone lose to the invading force. It’s just an incredible watch even after all this time, and you’d probably be mistaken in thinking it came from a much earlier season it’s just that well made.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
