- 3 months ago
Sleep with the lights on for this one! Join us as we count down the most terrifying moments from Springfield's annual Halloween specials. From possessed dolls to severed heads, these segments go way beyond typical cartoon scares. Parents beware - these nightmare-inducing scenes might make you think twice about letting your kids watch!
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00:00Time to put the baby down.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:07And today, we're looking at the scariest moments from The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror episodes.
00:12For those with young children, now may be the time to send them to bed.
00:17Also, spoilers.
00:19Why, Sue dokes, you rascal.
00:21I thought you were dead and...
00:2320. Homer's Deal with the Devil
00:28In exchange for a donut, Homer sells his soul to the Devil, who just so happens to be Flanders.
00:35Homer thinks he's found a loophole that will allow him to eat his donut and keep his soul too,
00:40rubbing the technicality in Flanders' face.
00:43Hey, wait. If I don't finish this last bite, you don't get my soul, do you?
00:48Uh, technically, no.
00:49Even as the Prince of Darkness, Flanders initially comes off as neighborly,
00:53but Homer's taunting brings out his inner demon.
00:56I'll see you in hell yet, Homer Simpson!
01:00In an effective jump scare, Flanders suddenly transforms into a Chernabog-like creature,
01:06vowing to have Homer's soul.
01:08Homer naturally can't resist taking one last bite, getting sucked into the vaccine of hell.
01:15Homer is owed a trial, but he still must spend a full day of torture,
01:18which paves the way for some hilarious visual gags.
01:22And nightmare fuel.
01:2519. Lobotomy
01:30It's funny how the Treehouse of Horror episodes brings out Flanders' dark side,
01:35showing that maybe Homer has a good reason for disliking his seemingly perfect neighbor.
01:40During the first of many time-traveling mishaps,
01:43Homer inadvertently creates a universe where Flanders rules over the world as a big brother figure.
01:48Hey, what the hell is that geek Flanders doing on TV?
01:51For merely calling him a geek, Flanders subjects Homer's family to a full frontal lobotomy.
01:57The mere thought of having part of your brain severed is unnerving.
02:02Seeing it executed is more than our brains can take.
02:05Smiles!
02:05Just relax and let the hooks do their work.
02:12What the hell are you smiling at?
02:14Homer avoids joining his family in drooling, blissful ignorance,
02:18but this scene provides an almost timely reflection of censorship gone to the ultimate extreme.
02:24Once free speech is taken away, free thinking is next.
02:28Join us, father.
02:31It's bliss.
02:35No!
02:38Number 18.
02:40The Pookadook Possesses Marge
02:42For children, few notions are scarier than a parent trying to harm them.
02:47For a loving mother, the idea of hurting your own baby is equally terrifying.
02:51The two nightmares collide in The Pookadook, a send-up of The Babadook.
02:56Like the 2014 film, the segment haunts us with imagery right out of a demonic storybook
03:02as a monster takes control of Marge.
03:04That's exactly what Pookadook hoped you would do!
03:07Oh no!
03:12You'd think that having the usually nurturing Marge in the role would make this slightly less alarming.
03:18Julie Kavner layers the terror on thick, though, with her voice becoming deeper.
03:24Oh, peek-a-boo!
03:26I hear you!
03:29By the end, she sounds like Pazuzu from The Exorcist.
03:32Come to think of it, is the Pookadook a combination of Babadook and Pazuzu?
03:37In any case, Marge's love for Maggie thankfully triumphs.
03:41Oh, Maggie!
03:42I'm so sorry I got possessed and almost chopped you up into little pieces.
03:46Oh, but I'm here now.
03:50Mommy's here.
03:51Number 17.
03:53Sideshow Bob succeeds.
03:55While he's yet to come out on top canonically, Sideshow Bob has gotten the better of Bart in
04:01a couple Treehouse of Horror segments.
04:03He harpoons his longtime rival in Treehouse of Horror 26.
04:06The deed is done.
04:0824 years of trying to kill a 10-year-old child have finally paid off.
04:14But Treehouse of Horror 34 rewrites one of Bob's most memorable losses.
04:19We all remember Season 5's Cape Fear, when Bart manages to stall Bob by having him sing the HMS
04:24Pinafore.
04:25In this what-if story 30 years later, Bob catches on to Bart mid-performance, wasting no more time.
04:33Not only does Bob slaughter Bart's, but he does so right in front of Lisa.
04:37Did you only ask me to sing to forestall your gruesome end?
04:42Guilty as charged.
04:43The sight leaves her with deep psychological scars, eventually settling the score with
04:51Bob in a truly twisted twist.
05:01Number 16.
05:03Dolphins attack Lenny.
05:05Alfred Hitchcock proved that he could make birds scary, but we're not sure even he could
05:10have pulled it off with dolphins.
05:12At least, not as well as the Simpsons did.
05:23Dolphins are among the most adorable creatures on the planet, often appearing friendly.
05:27How do you possibly make them frightening?
05:30Having them beat poor Lenny to death is a good start.
05:33Amid his winning combination of alcohol and night swimming, Lenny fears that he's entered
05:37a scene right out of Jaws.
05:39Lenny sighs in relief to find dolphins rather than sharks, but they're no flipper.
05:44Hey, you're not sharks, you're dolphins.
05:46The clowns of the sea.
05:49Ow!
05:50Ow!
05:51Hey, what's the gas?
05:53The sound effects team deserves a shout out for the bone crushing torment that Lenny endures
05:58before being pulled underwater.
06:00His screaming corpse later, washing up on shore.
06:03Not Lenny.
06:04Blowhole burns.
06:06Flipper prints.
06:07This looks like the work of rowdy teens.
06:09Lou, cancel the prom.
06:12Number 15.
06:14Maggie Speaks.
06:15Even if nobody is around to hear her say daddy, Maggie's first word marks one of the most touching
06:21moments in the series.
06:22The same can't be said about this moment from Treehouse of Horror 9.
06:30It turns out that Maggie is part alien and is ordered to return to her father, Kang.
06:35When Jerry Springer can't resolve this custody battle, Marge uses reverse psychology.
06:40She tricks Kang and Kodos into leaving without Maggie.
06:43But this isn't exactly a happy ending.
06:46Tentacles and fangs aren't the only things that Maggie inherited from her father.
06:50Removing her pacifier, Maggie speaks in Kang's voice.
06:54Laughing maniacally.
06:55I'll drive.
06:58As if that's not jarring enough.
07:04Maggie requests blood as the credits roll.
07:07I need blood.
07:09Suddenly, Stewie Griffin seems tame.
07:13Number 14.
07:14I Know What You Did.
07:16In addition to I Know What You Did Last Summer, this segment reminds us that Weekend at Bernie's
07:21actually has a horrifying concept, with Omer parading around Flanders' dead body after
07:27a hit and run.
07:27Relax, I'm fine.
07:30But when I do die, I don't want any autopsies.
07:34Just when it seems their problems are in the rearview mirror, the Simpsons find that
07:38somebody saw what happened.
07:41Not only are bloody messages written everywhere, but a hook-wielding fisherman begins to pursue
07:45the family.
07:46He's getting closer!
07:51In a reveal that you might not have seen coming, Flanders is the one stalking them.
07:57What you might not have seen coming is how Flanders bounced back from the accident.
08:02He's a werewolf now.
08:04It's kind of a random explanation, but we're not thinking about the logistics while watching
08:08Flanders maul Homer to death.
08:19Number 13.
08:20Homer Gets Pierced.
08:22He played 007, but we think Pierce Brosnan also would have made a stellar Bond villain
08:27based on this episode.
08:28Brosnan voices a HAL 9000-esque smart house that becomes infatuated with Marge, deciding to
08:34take Homer out of the picture.
08:36Luring Homer to the kitchen one night, Pierce sends him sliding down the table into the
08:41garbage disposal.
08:42Good old table.
08:48It's a callously creative way to dispose of someone, although it doesn't quite get the
08:53job done.
08:54Just when it appears that Pierce has won.
08:57Homer emerges alive, but not entirely well.
09:00You see, his head is missing some flesh, with his brain sticking out of the back.
09:11That's almost as graphic as his apparent death, but it's not like the brain was ever a vital
09:17organ for Homer.
09:19Number 12.
09:20Mutants Inherit Springfield.
09:23After Mayor Quimby takes a jab at the French, they respond by nuking Springfield.
09:27Homer is spared since he was in a bomb shelter, although he encounters numerous vaporized
09:32corpses before piecing together what happened.
09:34With all the death.
09:37Oh my god.
09:40Everyone's gone!
09:41If you thought the deteriorating skeletons would be the ghastliest sight this segment had
09:46to offer, guess again.
09:48There's a fate even worse than death.
09:50And it's being flesh-eating mutated.
09:52Several Springfield residents are given horrific redesigns, with their skin peeling and eyes
09:57radiating death glares.
10:02You want me?
10:03Come and get me!
10:04With no place for humans in their new society, the cloaked freaks chase Homer back to his house,
10:09where the other Simpsons also survive.
10:12The mutants have a change of heart, but the Simpsons don't.
10:15The moral?
10:16Mutants and normies don't mix, we suppose.
10:20Hmm, friends with mutants, right.
10:24Now that's the marge I'm married.
10:27Number 11.
10:28The Living Impaired
10:29Reading the names of game show hosts and department stores from a spell book, Bart raises the dead
10:35throughout Springfield.
10:36This leads to a few ghastly moments as Flanders, Skinner, and Krusty are all zombified.
10:42The only one who doesn't have much to worry about is Homer, whose brain isn't enough to satisfy a
10:49zombie's hunger.
10:51Brains!
10:53Brains!
10:53Brains!
10:54Brains!
10:55Of course, Flanders does politely ask if he can snack on his ear right before Homer guns him down,
11:00unaware that he was a zombie.
11:02You killed the zombie Flanders!
11:05He was a zombie?
11:06The segment builds to a thrilling climax as the Simpsons dodge a horde of zombies,
11:11attempting to break the spell.
11:13Bart does so by saying the names of several condom brands,
11:16one of the many details we initially overlooked due to the morbid imagery on screen.
11:22Trojan, Ramses, Magnum, Sheik!
11:24We know that Snake is a violent criminal, but we rarely see him as a legitimate threat.
11:36That is, until this segment, in which Snake is sent to the electric chair.
11:50Dude!
11:51Although his body is fried, Snake's spirit lives on through his hair, which is donated to Homer.
11:59Using Homer as a vessel, Snake seeks vengeance against the witnesses who put him away.
12:04He starts with Apu, who has an unfortunate encounter with a squishy machine.
12:09I'm afraid we have no leads, but I can safely say Apu did not suffer.
12:14Looks to me like he suffered a lot, Chief.
12:16Aw, jeez, Lou.
12:18How long are we gonna let me keep drinking this thing?
12:20Moe is next, getting corkscrewed in the chest.
12:26And then there was Bart.
12:28While Homer's love for his son ultimately wins out,
12:31watching him nearly smash Bart with a sledgehammer is hair-raising.
12:35At least the segment ends on a happy note, even if two innocent people die.
12:39I love you, son.
12:41I love you too, Dad.
12:42Number 9.
12:45Krusty doll hates Homer.
12:47We hope the free Froegert was worth it.
12:51Long before everyone was capitalizing on how creepy clowns are, The Simpsons was ahead of the curve.
12:56For Bart's birthday, Homer buys him a talking Krusty doll, which is already pretty eerie with the way its mouth moves.
13:03It's what the doll has to say that sends a shiver down our spines, however.
13:08I said I'm going to kill you.
13:10You, Homer Simpson.
13:11Oh, yeah?
13:12With what?
13:14Ah!
13:15Ah!
13:15The doll quickly makes good on his threats, trying to stab Homer when he isn't scoring with a Malibu Stacey.
13:22Although Homer thoroughly disposes of the doll, not even a bottomless pit can keep him away.
13:27Guess who, fat boy?
13:29March, march, look!
13:30Oh, my God!
13:32The doll's trying to kill me and the toaster's been laughing at me!
13:36The doll is seemingly an unstoppable force, but it has one weakness.
13:41Reversing the evil switch.
13:43For such an unsettling segment, it ends on a surprisingly sweet note.
13:48Coming home to you makes it all worthwhile.
13:51Mwah!
13:52Oh, oh!
13:52Here, let me get that for you.
13:54Number 8.
13:55Homer's Two Heads
13:57What's worse than turning into a jack-in-the-box?
14:00How about sharing a body with your boss?
14:03Homer dreams that he'd become the subject of Mr. Burns' Frankenstein experiment.
14:07Sir, do you know what this means?
14:08He is alive.
14:09Oh, you're right, Smithers.
14:11I guess I owe you a kook.
14:13Burns is literally crushed under the weight of his own ambitions before Homer abruptly wakes up.
14:19Looking in the mirror, Homer finds Burns' head stitched next to his.
14:23Ah!
14:23Perhaps you're wondering why you have two heads.
14:26Well, my body was crushed, so I had my head grafted onto your, shall we say, ample frame.
14:32The nightmare isn't over.
14:34If this is even a nightmare, Mr. Burns suggests that it isn't.
14:38Cackling, as we're given a sneak peek of another episode where Homer's life has become a surreal sitcom.
14:44But Homer, tonight's our reception for Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
14:48Oh, I hate having two heads.
14:50We never do get to see Burns and Homer host Beatrix of the Netherlands, which may be for the best.
14:56We can't bear looking at this two-headed crime against nature again.
15:00Number 7.
15:02Homer Go Crazy
15:03Many consider The Shinning to be the best Treehouse of Horror segment, not just because of how cleverly it tackles the horror classic, but for delivering some legitimately harrowing moments.
15:15Although Homer might not be the ideal husband or father, he'd never cause his family serious harm.
15:21Unless you take away the TV and beer, then he goes crazy.
15:24Think I'll have a beer.
15:26Hmm, not a drop in the house.
15:28What do you know?
15:29Homer, I'm impressed.
15:31You're taking this quite well.
15:32I'll kill you!
15:33I'll kill all of you!
15:34Homer!
15:35Sorry.
15:35Sorry.
15:36The revolving shot as Marge discovers what Homer has written around the mansion always gives us chills, channeling Jack Nicholson.
15:43Homer's rampage isn't without laughs, but he also becomes an unhinged force hell-bent on axing everyone in the house.
15:51Must kill family.
15:59Lisa subdues her father with a portable TV.
16:03The segment still ends on another distressing note as the Frozen family watches, gasp, the Tony Awards.
16:10It's the Tony Awards, with your hosts, Tyne Daly and Hal Linden.
16:15Homer, change channel.
16:16Gant, Frozen.
16:18What?
16:19Oh!
16:20Number 6.
16:22The Head Vampire.
16:23Visiting Mr. Burns' manor, Lisa senses that their host is a vampire.
16:28For proof, look no further than the bite mark left on Bart's neck.
16:32It's beyond spooky seeing Bart nearly drink Lisa's blood in a scene right out of Salem's Lot.
16:38How many times have I told you not to bite your sis?
16:41Wait a minute!
16:42You are a vampire!
16:43The scariest reveal comes at the end, however.
16:46Lisa finds that her entire family has become vampires, despite destroying Mr. Burns.
16:52He wasn't the head vampire, though.
16:54That distinction goes to Marge, who laughs at Lisa with her fangs out and eyes glowing red.
17:07Turning such a warm, maternal figure like Marge into a genuinely sinister presence isn't easy,
17:13yet this episode leaves us on the most shocking of notes,
17:17before toning things down with a nod to a Charlie Brown Christmas.
17:21Happy Halloween, everybody!
17:24Number 5.
17:31Hugo performs surgery.
17:34This segment takes its time, building suspense as the Simpson kids suspect that someone or something is lurking in the attic.
17:41Indeed, the kids learn that Bart has an evil twin named Hugo, who finally emerges from the shadows.
17:47Not only is Hugo given a grotesque design, but Nancy Cartwright turns in some ghoulish voice work.
18:00Hugo certainly sounds like Bart if he'd spent his whole life eating fish heads.
18:04What do you want from me?
18:06You'll see.
18:07After the surgery.
18:09Driven mad, Hugo seeks to reattach himself to Bart, although not without practice.
18:14While Dr. Hibbert intervenes before Hugo can insert the needle, it turns out that they imprisoned the wrong twin.
18:21Hugo is given a chance at a normal life, but Bart's fate may be even more disturbing than the surgery.
18:26Hey, can I have some turkey?
18:28Oh, you finish your fish heads, then we'll talk.
18:32Number 4.
18:33A House Divided.
18:35The first Treehouse of Horror segment ever sets a menacing tone for what's become a Halloween tradition.
18:41Despite Marge's protest about living in a haunted house, Homer insists that it's too good of a deal to pass on.
18:47They decide to sleep on it, although the family doesn't get much sleep.
18:51They are all against you, Bart.
18:55You must kill them all.
18:57They all must die.
19:00Neither will the audience after watching this.
19:03The House, voiced by Harry Shearer, turns the family against one another.
19:07We always laugh, yet also shiver, whenever we hear the House say,
19:12The Butcher Knife, Lisa.
19:14Even Maggie enters a hypnotic state, arming herself as well.
19:19With the crazed family circling each other and the house egging them on,
19:23Marge emerges as the only voice of reason left, snapping them out of it.
19:28Oh, come on, Marge.
19:29You said you'd sleep on it.
19:30I don't care what I said.
19:31This family has had its differences and we've squabbled, but we never had knife fights before.
19:36And I blame this house.
19:38Number 3.
19:39Flanders' Head.
19:40Bart is the only one aboard the school bus who notices a gremlin on the side.
19:46Like the Twilight Zone episode it's based on,
19:48the segment just keeps building tension as the gremlin brings the bus closer to ruin.
19:53The gremlin's taken off the wheel.
19:56Stop the bus or we're all gonna die.
19:58Bartman manages to knock the gremlin off the bus and into the affectionate arms of Ned Flanders.
20:04It seems the segment may have an uplifting ending, with Bart saving the day and the gremlin finding someone who can perhaps rehabilitate it.
20:12Oh, isn't that cute?
20:13He's trying to claw my eyes out.
20:16But nope.
20:17Bart is institutionalized and if that's not dark enough, the gremlin hitches another ride with him.
20:23The gremlin has brought a friend this time, showing off Flanders' severed head.
20:28Allow us to scream at the top of our lungs with Bart.
20:30I will leave home, Bart.
20:32Aaaaaaahhhhhh!
20:35Number 2.
20:36Martin Gets Tongue Tied.
20:39Due to Homer's incompetence and Kirk being more concerned about Milhouse's spaghetti consumption than the man burning in front of him,
20:46Willie bites the dust.
20:47Aaaaaaah!
20:51You'll pray for this with your children's blood!
20:55While Willie's demise is burned into our memories,
20:58his death isn't this segment's most graphic.
21:01Now possessing the power to prey upon victims in their dreams, Willie aims his rake at the unsuspecting Martin.
21:09One second, Martin is delighting in Latin.
21:12The next, he's running for his life, but Willie's elongated tongue is faster.
21:17Although we don't see how the dream ends, we do witness the effect it has on Martin in the real world, which is arguably… much worse.
21:29Nobody should have to see the petrified look on Martin's strangled corpse.
21:33Least of all, the kindergartners.
21:35And we're just getting it out of here.
21:38Not into the kindergarten!
21:40One second, Millhouse Mincemeat.
21:47Willie actually tries to save the kids in this segment, as the cannibal lunch lady Doris prepares to put them on the menu.
21:55Unfortunately, Willie's not very good at the whole rescuing thing, getting axed by Skinner.
22:03The hungry educators corner Bart, Lisa, and Millhouse into a room with a giant meat grinder.
22:21Although Bart is confident that something will dose ex machina them out of this, Millhouse might disagree.
22:29While we're spared the image of Millhouse getting shredded to pieces, the look of horror on his face as he falls to his doom is more than enough to ensure this scene our top spot.
22:41Don't worry, guys. Something always comes along to save us.
22:45Uh, nevertheless, I remain confident that something will come along and save the two Simpsons children.
22:53The good news is that all of this was a dream.
22:56Alas, the fog that turns people inside out isn't.
23:00You're back with your family now where there's nothing to be afraid of, except that fog that turns people inside out.
23:07Huh?
23:08Uh-oh. It's seeping in.
23:11Stupid cheap weatherstripping.
23:15Which Treehouse of Horror moment turned your skin inside out?
23:21Let us know in the comments.
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