List of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes
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Treehouse of Horror, also known as The Simpsons Halloween Specials, is a series of Halloween-themed episodes of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, each consisting of three separate, self-contained segments. These segments usually involve the family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting and always take place outside the normal continuity of the show. Therefore, they are considered non-canon.
The original "Treehouse of Horror" episode aired on October 25, 1990, and was inspired by EC Comics Horror tales.[1] From "Treehouse of Horror" (1990) to "X" (1999), every episode has aired in the week preceding or on October 31; "II" and "X" are the only two episodes that had aired on Halloween. Between "XI" (2000) to "XIX" (2008) and "XXI" (2010), due to Fox's contract with Major League Baseball's World Series, episodes had originally aired in November.[2] "XX" (2009) and each Treehouse of Horror episode since "XXII" (2011) has aired in October, with the exception of season 32's "XXXI" (2020), which it was originally scheduled for October 18, 2020, but was pushed back two weeks later to November 1 due to the 2020 NLCS reaching game 7. This was the first time since "XXI" that a Treehouse of Horror episode aired in November. The same thing happened with season 35's "XXXIV" (2023) and season 36's "XXXV" (2024), which aired on November 5, 2023, and November 3, 2024, respectively.
The first 13 Treehouse of Horror episodes had all three segments written by different writers and in some cases there was a fourth writer that wrote the opening and wraparound segments.[3] The original episode even had three different directors.[4] Starting with season 15's "XIV" (2003), only one writer was credited as having written a Treehouse of Horror episode, and the trend has continued through season 33's "XXXII" (2021).[5][6][7][8] Season 34's "XXXIII" (2022) went back to the earlier notion of having different writers for each segment.
As of 2025, there are 38 Treehouse of Horror episodes, with one airing every year. The 34th season marked the first time two Treehouse of Horror specials were aired, with one episode being a single story ("Not It") and another featuring three segments ("Treehouse of Horror XXXIII").[9] The 36th season likewise had a second special Treehouse of Horror Presents episode ("Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes"). The 31st season included a Thanksgiving-themed spinoff, "Thanksgiving of Horror". They are known for being more violent than an average Simpsons episode and contain several different trademarks, including the alien characters Kang and Kodos who have appeared in every episode. Quite often the segments will parody well-known movies, books, radio shows, and television shows. The Twilight Zone has been parodied quite often, and has served as the inspiration for numerous segments.[10]
Episodes
| No. special | No. overall | Segments | Parody of [a] | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 16 | "Bad Dream House" | Poltergeist and The Amityville Horror[11] | Wes Archer | John Swartzwelder | October 25, 1990 | 7F04 | Season 2 Episode 3 |
| "Hungry are the Damned" | "To Serve Man" [12][13]: 8:10-8:23 | Rich Moore | Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky | |||||
| "The Raven" | "The Raven"[14][15] | David Silverman | Sam Simon & Edgar Allan Poe | |||||
| II | 42 | "The Monkey's Paw" | "The Monkey's Paw" and "A Small Talent for War"[16] | Jim Reardon | Al Jean, Mike Reiss Jeff Martin, George Meyer Sam Simon, John Swartzwelder | October 31, 1991 | 8F02 | Season 3 Episode 7 |
| "The Bart Zone" | "It's a Good Life"[17] | |||||||
| "If I Only Had a Brain" | Frankenstein[17] | |||||||
| III | 64 | "Clown Without Pity" | "Living Doll",[12][13]: 3:46–4:30 Child's Play,[18] and Trilogy of Terror [13]: 3:52–5:11 | Carlos Baeza | Al Jean & Mike Reiss | October 29, 1992 | 9F04 | Season 4 Episode 5 |
| "King Homer" | King Kong (original for animation and 1976 version for script) [13]: 8:50–13:20 [14][15] | Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky | ||||||
| "Dial 'Z' for Zombies" | Return of the Living Dead,[19] Night of the Living Dead and Pet Sematary[12] | Sam Simon & Jon Vitti | ||||||
| IV | 86 | "Wraparounds" | Night Gallery[20] | David Silverman | Conan O'Brien[21] | October 28, 1993 | 1F04 | Season 5 Episode 5 |
| "The Devil and Homer Simpson" | "The Devil and Daniel Webster"[12] | Greg Daniels & Dan McGrath[22] | ||||||
| "Terror at 5½ Feet" | "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"[11][15] | Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein[23] | ||||||
| "Bart Simpson's Dracula" | Bram Stoker's Dracula[20] | Bill Canterbury[24] | ||||||
| V | 109 | "The Shinning" | The Shining[11][25][15] | Jim Reardon | Bob Kushell[26] | October 30, 1994 | 2F03 | Season 6 Episode 6 |
| "Time and Punishment" | "A Sound of Thunder"[12] | Greg Daniels & Dan McGrath[27] | ||||||
| "Nightmare Cafeteria" | Soylent Green[11] | David X. Cohen[28] | ||||||
| VI | 134 | "Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores" | N/A | Bob Anderson | John Swartzwelder[29] | October 29, 1995 | 3F04 | Season 7 Episode 6 |
| "Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace" | A Nightmare on Elm Street[11][15] | Steve Tompkins[29] | ||||||
| "Homer3" | "Little Girl Lost"[12] | David X. Cohen[30] | ||||||
| VII | 154 | "The Thing and I" | N/A | Mike B. Anderson | Ken Keeler[31] | October 27, 1996 | 4F02 | Season 8 Episode 1 |
| "The Genesis Tub" | "The Little People"[12] | Dan Greaney[32] | ||||||
| "Citizen Kang" | 1996 U.S. presidential election[15] | David X. Cohen[33] | ||||||
| VIII | 182 | "The HΩmega Man" | The Omega Man[11] | Mark Kirkland | Mike Scully[34] | October 26, 1997 | 5F02 | Season 9 Episode 4 |
| "Fly vs. Fly" | The Fly[35] | David X. Cohen[36] | ||||||
| "Easy-Bake Coven" | Salem witch trials[37] | Ned Goldreyer[34] | ||||||
| IX | 207 | "Hell Toupée" | Hell Toupee (Amazing Stories)[38] | Steven Dean Moore | Donick Cary[39] | October 25, 1998 | AABF01 | Season 10 Episode 4 |
| "The Terror of Tiny Toon" | Stay Tuned[40] | Larry Doyle[41] | ||||||
| "Starship Poopers" | N/A | David X. Cohen[42] | ||||||
| X | 230 | "I Know What You Diddily-Iddily-Did" | I Know What You Did Last Summer[11][15] | Pete Michels | Donick Cary[43] | October 31, 1999 | BABF01 | Season 11 Episode 4 |
| "Desperately Xeeking Xena" | Fantastic Four[35] | Tim Long[44] | ||||||
| "Life's a Glitch, Then You Die" | Year 2000 problem | Ron Hauge[45] | ||||||
| XI | 249 | "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad" | N/A | Matthew Nastuk | Rob LaZebnik[46] | November 1, 2000 | BABF21 | Season 12 Episode 1 |
| "Scary Tales Can Come True" | Grimms' Fairy Tales,[17] specifically Hansel and Gretel and Goldilocks And The Three Bears[15] | John Frink & Don Payne[47] | ||||||
| "Night of the Dolphin" | The Day of the Dolphin,[11] The Birds[11][15] and Jaws[15] | Carolyn Omine[48] | ||||||
| XII | 270 | "Hex and the City" | Thinner[15] | Jim Reardon | Joel H. Cohen | November 6, 2001 | CABF19 | Season 13 Episode 1 |
| "House of Whacks" | 2001: A Space Odyssey and Demon Seed[18][15] | John Frink & Don Payne | ||||||
| "Wiz Kids" | Harry Potter[14][15] | Carolyn Omine | ||||||
| XIII | 292 | "Send in the Clones" | Multiplicity[49] | David Silverman | Marc Wilmore | November 3, 2002 | DABF19 | Season 14 Episode 1 |
| "The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms" | N/A | Brian Kelley | ||||||
| "The Island of Dr. Hibbert" | The Island of Doctor Moreau[11] | Kevin Curran | ||||||
| XIV | 314 | "Reaper Madness" | The Grim Reaper[15] | Steven Dean Moore | John Swartzwelder | November 2, 2003 | EABF21 | Season 15 Episode 1 |
| "Frinkenstein" | Frankenstein[14] | |||||||
| "Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off" | "A Kind of a Stopwatch"[17] | |||||||
| XV | 336 | "The Ned Zone" | The Dead Zone[14][25] | David Silverman | Bill Odenkirk | November 7, 2004 | FABF23 | Season 16 Episode 1 |
| "Four Beheadings and a Funeral" | From Hell and Sherlock Holmes[17] | |||||||
| "In the Belly of the Boss" | Fantastic Voyage[17] | |||||||
| XVI | 360 | "B.I. Bartificial Intelligence" | A.I. Artificial Intelligence[17] | David Silverman | Marc Wilmore | November 6, 2005 | GABF17 | Season 17 Episode 4 |
| "Survival of the Fattest" | "The Most Dangerous Game"[17] | |||||||
| "I've Grown a Costume on Your Face" | "The Masks"[50] | |||||||
| XVII | 382 | "Married to the Blob" | The Blob[51] | David Silverman Matthew Faughnan | Peter Gaffney | November 5, 2006 | HABF17 | Season 18 Episode 4 |
| "You Gotta Know When to Golem" | The Golem[52] | |||||||
| "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid" | The War of the Worlds[14] | |||||||
| XVIII | 405 | "E.T., Go Home" | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial[35] | Chuck Sheetz | Marc Wilmore | November 4, 2007 | JABF16 | Season 19 Episode 5 |
| "Mr. & Mrs. Simpson" | Mr. & Mrs. Smith[35] | |||||||
| "Heck House" | N/A | |||||||
| XIX | 424 | "Untitled Robot Parody" | Transformers[14] | Bob Anderson | Matt Warburton | November 2, 2008 | KABF16 | Season 20 Episode 4 |
| "How to Get Ahead in Dead-vertising" | Mad Men (intro)[53][54] and celebrity advertising[55] | |||||||
| "It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse" | It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown[14] | |||||||
| XX | 445 | "Dial 'M' for Murder or Press '#' to Return to Main Menu" | Strangers on a Train[12][15] | Mike B. Anderson Matthew Schofield | Daniel Chun | October 18, 2009 | LABF14 | Season 21 Episode 4 |
| "Don't Have a Cow, Mankind" | 28 Days Later, I Am Legend[11] and Children of Men[35] | |||||||
| "There's No Business Like Moe Business" | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street[14] | |||||||
| XXI | 468 | "War and Pieces" | Jumanji[14] | Bob Anderson | Joel H. Cohen | November 7, 2010 | MABF16 | Season 22 Episode 4 |
| "Master and Cadaver" | Dead Calm[17] | |||||||
| "Tweenlight" | Twilight[14][15] | |||||||
| XXII | 489 | "The Diving Bell and Butterball" | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly[35] | Matthew Faughnan | Carolyn Omine | October 30, 2011 | NABF19 | Season 23 Episode 3 |
| "Dial D for Diddly" | Dexter[35] | |||||||
| "In the Na'Vi" | Avatar[35] | |||||||
| XXIII | 510 | "The Greatest Story Ever Holed" | N/A | Steven Dean Moore | David Mandel & Brian Kelley | October 7, 2012 | PABF17 | Season 24 Episode 2 |
| "Un-normal Activity" | Paranormal Activity[17][15] | |||||||
| "Bart & Homer's Excellent Adventure" | Back to the Future[35] | |||||||
| XXIV | 532 | "Oh the Places You'll D'oh" | Dr. Seuss works, specially The Cat in the Hat and Oh, the Places You'll Go![17] | Rob Oliver | Jeff Westbrook | October 6, 2013 | RABF16 | Season 25 Episode 2 |
| "Dead and Shoulders" | The Thing with Two Heads[56] | |||||||
| "Freaks no Geeks" | Freaks[12] | |||||||
| XXV | 556 | "School is Hell" | N/A | Matthew Faughnan | Stephanie Gillis | October 19, 2014 | SABF21 | Season 26 Episode 4 |
| "A Clockwork Yellow" | A Clockwork Orange[14][25] | |||||||
| "The Others" | The Others[57][15] | |||||||
| XXVI | 579 | "Wanted: Dead, Then Alive" | N/A | Steven Dean Moore | Joel H. Cohen | October 25, 2015 | TABF18 | Season 27 Episode 5 |
| "Homerzilla" | Godzilla[35] | |||||||
| "Telepaths of Glory" | Chronicle[35] | |||||||
| XXVII | 600 | "Dry Hard" | The Hunger Games and Mad Max: Fury Road[14] | Steven Dean Moore | Joel H. Cohen | October 16, 2016 | VABF16 | Season 28 Episode 4 |
| "BFF R.I.P" | N/A | |||||||
| "Moefinger" | Goldfinger and Kingsman: The Secret Service[14] | |||||||
| XXVIII | 622 | "The Sweets Hereafter" | Sausage Party[58] | Timothy Bailey | John Frink | October 22, 2017 | WABF18 | Season 29 Episode 4 |
| "The Exor-Sis" | The Exorcist[58] | |||||||
| "Coralisa" | Coraline[58] | |||||||
| "Mmm... Homer" | Survivor Type[58] | |||||||
| XXIX | 643 | "Intrusion of the Pod-Y Switchers" | Invasion of the Body Snatchers[59] | Matthew Faughnan | Joel H. Cohen | October 21, 2018 | XABF16 | Season 30 Episode 4 |
| "Multiplisa-ty" | Split[59] | |||||||
| "Geriatric Park" | Jurassic Park[59] | |||||||
| XXX | 666 | "Prologue" | The Omen[60] | Timothy Bailey | J. Stewart Burns | October 20, 2019 | YABF18 | Season 31 Episode 4 |
| "Danger Things" | Stranger Things[60] | |||||||
| "Heaven Swipes Right" | Heaven Can Wait[60] | |||||||
| "When Hairy Met Slimy" | The Shape of Water[60] | |||||||
| XXXI | 688 | "Toy Gory" | Toy Story[61] | Steven Dean Moore | Julia Prescott | November 1, 2020 | ZABF17 | Season 32 Episode 4 |
| "Into the Homerverse" | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse[61] | |||||||
| "Be Nine, Rewind" | Russian Doll[61] | |||||||
| XXXII | 709 | "Barti" | Bambi[62] | Matthew Faughnan | John Frink | October 10, 2021 | QABF16 | Season 33 Episode 3 |
| "Bong Joon Ho's 'This Side of Parasite'" | Parasite[62] | |||||||
| "Nightmare on Elm Tree" | N/A | |||||||
| "Poetic Interlude (aka "The Telltale Bart")" | Artwork of Edward Gorey[62] | |||||||
| "Dead Ringer" | The Ring and TikTok[62] | |||||||
| Not It | 733 | "Treehouse of Horror Presents: Not It" | It[9] | Steven Dean Moore | Cesar Mazariegos | October 23, 2022 | UABF17 | Season 34 Episode 5 |
| "Not It: Part Two" | It Chapter Two[9] | |||||||
| XXXIII | 734 | "The Pookadook" | The Babadook[63] | Rob Oliver | Carolyn Omine | October 30, 2022 | UABF18 | Season 34 Episode 6 |
| "Death Tome" | Death Note[63] | Ryan Koh | ||||||
| "Simpsons World" | Westworld[63] | Matt Selman | ||||||
| XXXIV | 755 | "Wild Barts Can't Be Token" | Snowpiercer and non-fungible tokens[64] | Rob Oliver | Jeff Westbrook[65] | November 5, 2023 | OABF17[67] | Season 35 Episode 5 |
| "Ei8ht" | Seven and The Silence of the Lambs[64] | Jessica Conrad[65] | ||||||
| "Lout Break" | Outbreak[64] | Dan Vebber[65] | ||||||
| XXXV | 773 | "The Information Rage" | Pacific Rim[68] | Timothy Bailey[69] | Rob LaZebnik[70] | November 3, 2024 | 35ABF13 | Season 36 Episode 5 |
| "The Fall of the House of Monty" | Winchester and "The Fall of the House of Usher"[68] | Dan Vebber[70] | ||||||
| "Denim" | Venom[68] | Matt Selman[70] | ||||||
| Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes | 775 | "Wraparounds" | The Illustrated Man[71] | Debbie Bruce Mahan | Jessica Conrad | November 24, 2024 | 35ABF14 | Season 36 Episode 7 |
| "Story #1" | "The Screaming Woman"[72] | |||||||
| "Story #2" | "Marionettes, Inc."[72] | |||||||
| "Story #3" | Fahrenheit 451[73] | |||||||
| XXXVI | 793 | "The Last Days of Crisco" | Jaws and The Blob[74] | Matthew Faughnan[75] | Broti Gupta[75] | October 19, 2025[76] | 36ABF15 | Season 37 Episode 3 |
| "Clown Night with the Devil" | Late Night with the Devil[77] | Michael Price[75] | ||||||
| "Plastic World" | Waterworld and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga[77] | Dan Greaney[75] | ||||||
| The Revengening | TBA | "Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening[78]" | TBA | TBD | Nick Dahan[79] | 2026 | 37ABF13 | Season 38 |
| XXXVII | TBA | TBA | Freaky Friday | David Silverman[80] | Joel H. Cohen[81] | 2026 | 37ABF14[83] | Season 38 |
| TBA | Pet Sematary[81] | Jessica Conrad[81] | ||||||
| TBA | Smile | Tim Long[81] | ||||||
Notes
- Properties are only listed if a significant portion of the segment's plot is a parody, and has been cited by the show creators or a review published by a reliable source. Excluded are title-only references and brief jokes.