The Simpsons Halloween recap: Treehouse of Horror I

In honor of Halloween, here’s  a look at The Simpsons annual Treehouse of Horror episodes, beginning with the one that started it all.

The Simpsons Halloween special as it was originally known as begins with Marge walking on a stage and warning the audience about what is to come. After this brief introduction there is the special Halloween themed opening of the episode, complete with the now famous shot of the Springfield cemetery.

After coming home from Trick-or-Treating, Homer notices that Bart and Lisa are telling scary stores in the tree house (hence the title Treehouse of Horror) and decides to listen in. Since Bart is unimpressed with Lisa’s last story, he decides to come up with some of his own.

Bad Dream House

The Simpsons move into a massive new house that they got for an incredibly good price. But it’s not long before something seems wrong with the house; the walls bleed and there is a portal to another dimension in the kitchen. It’s not long before they find out that the house is trying to get them to kill each other because it was built on an Indian Burial Ground. Marge immediately puts a stop to this by commenting that they’ve had their disagreements before, but that never included knife fights.

The house tries to taunt the Simpsons further, but Marge refuses to tolerate it. Bart begins demanding the house make the walls bleed again, while Lisa tries to psycho-analyze the house. When Marge says they’ll all have to learn to live in the house together and get along, the house asks for a moment to think and promptly chooses to self destruct rather than spend any more time with them, a fact not lost on Lisa.

Hungry are the Damned

The Simpsons are preparing for a backyard cookout when a UFO appears in the sky and beams them all aboard one at a time. But it seems Homer puts a strain on the tractor beam, as the UFO doubles the effort to bring Homer aboard while he continues to eat a hamburger.

Once aboard, they are greeted by their alien hosts Kang and Kodos (in their first appearance). They promise they mean the family no harm and they are just taking them to their home planet that has infinite comforts. The aliens are extremely hospitable, as they serve the Simpsons their favorite foods.

Lisa is immediately suspicious, but the rest of the family ignores it. Eventually she asks why they never see the aliens eat and is told that they wouldn’t want to spoil their appetites for the feast waiting on their home planet. The aliens also weigh the Simpsons and seem pleased by their respective weights.

Eventually, Lisa finds the aliens’ cookbook that she thinks says “How to cook Humans,” but it turns out that the book really says “How to cook for 40 Humans.” The aliens are hurt by the suspicion at their hospitality and promptly return the Simpsons back to Earth, where the family sarcastically thanks her for ruining their opportunity.

The Raven

In a satire of the famous work by Edgar Allan Poe, James Earl Jones narrates the story as Homer is tormented by a raven that takes on the shape and mannerisms of Bart. The Raven’s taunts of “Nevermore,” sound so much more mocking in Bart’s voice.

Since Bart isn’t impressed by the poem, he and Lisa go to bed. Homer meanwhile lies awake, having been terrified by the stories in the Treehouse of Horror.