10 Scariest Simpsons Episodes That Aren't Treehouse Of Horror
The current season of The Simpsons, season 34, will be the first in the show’s history to feature two “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween specials. Not only have the writers cooked up a traditional three-part horror anthology; they’ve also got a full episode-length parody of It up their sleeves. But the “Treehouse of Horror” specials aren’t the only Simpsons episodes that spook fans.
From the one with the creepy babysitter to the one with a home invasion to the one with a death row game show, there are plenty of terrifying non-“Treehouse of Horror” Simpsons episodes to enjoy this Halloween.
The Frying Game (Season 13, Episode 21)
Season 13’s “The Frying Game” has a very disturbing storyline followed by a very shocking twist. Homer and Marge are guilt-tripped into becoming an elderly lady’s personal servants, then get framed for her murder. They’re sentenced to the death penalty and get taken to the electric chair with seemingly no way out.
And then the whole thing turns out to be an episode of an elaborate hidden-camera reality show called Frame Up, hosted by Carmen Electra. This jaw-dropping twist ending recalls the satirical ‘80s slasher April Fool’s Day.
Itchy & Scratchy Land (Season 6, Episode 4)
The Simpson family goes on vacation when the producers of Itchy & Scratchy open up a theme park in the season 6 episode “Itchy & Scratchy Land.” In a riff on Westworld, the cyborgs that populate the park turn on the guests.
After causing mischief and mayhem during their visit, the Simpsons are left behind when the survivors flee in helicopters. The episode primarily parodies Westworld, but the red-eyed robotic terror skews closer to The Terminator.
El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer (Season 8, Episode 9)
Season 8’s “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer,” translated to “The Mysterious Voyage of Homer,” features some of the most gonzo, surrealistic animation in the show’s history. After ingesting a couple of Guatemalan insanity peppers at Springfield’s chili cook-off, Homer runs off into the desert where he’s subjected to some soul-searching hallucinations.
He’s attacked by a giant butterfly, he meets a space coyote with the voice of Johnny Cash, and he sees grotesque reimaginings of familiar characters with extra eyes and rippling lips.
Black Widower (Season 3, Episode 21)
Kelsey Grammer made his second guest appearance as Sideshow Bob in season 3’s “Black Widower,” in which he claims to be reformed and romances Selma. Bart soon deduces Bob’s sinister plan to kill his new bride and, as usual, foils it
The series of shots in which Bob goes to find Selma’s corpse, turns the chair to find Bart waiting for him, and instead sees a still-alive Selma standing in the doorway is a shot-for-shot remake of the chilling climactic sequence in Alfred Hitchcock’s horror masterpiece Psycho.
The Blunder Years (Season 13, Episode 5)
When Homer visits a hypnotist in the season 13 episode “The Blunder Years,” he has a repressed traumatic memory unrepressed. As Marge and the kids try to get to the bottom of the mystery, they uncover a horrifying childhood experience in which a young Homer was swimming in a lake and encountered a decaying corpse.
The flashback to a rotting cadaver bursting out of a sewage pipe and landing on an impressionable young Homer wouldn’t be out of place in an animated horror film.
The Springfield Files (Season 8, Episode 10)
The Simpsons meets The X-Files in season 8’s “The Springfield Files.” When Mulder and Scully came to Springfield to investigate a possible alien sighting, it resulted in one of the most successful crossovers in television history, because it exemplifies the best of both shows.
“The Springfield Files” is as wacky and hilarious as the average Simpsons episode, but it’s also as spooky, otherworldly, and genuinely unnerving as the average X-Files episode.
Bart Of Darkness (Season 6, Episode 1)
The season 6 premiere “Bart of Darkness” is a spoof of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window in which Bart, confined to his bedroom with a broken leg, begins to suspect that Ned Flanders has murdered his wife and is attempting to cover up the killing.
With its use of Hitchcockian suspense-building techniques and the original Franz Waxman music cues, “Bart of Darkness” is just as tense as the thriller it parodies.
Halloween Of Horror (Season 27, Episode 4)
“Halloween of Horror” is the first Halloween-themed episode in 27 years of The Simpsons that doesn’t relate to the “Treehouse of Horror” brand. This episode hardly even has any jokes; it’s more interested in terrifying its audience than making them laugh.
When Homer unwittingly gets three employees fired from a Halloween pop-up store, they vow revenge and break into the Simpson house to terrorize the family. “Halloween of Horror” is more The Strangers than The Simpsons.
Cape Feare (Season 5, Episode 2)
Sideshow Bob took center stage for a third time in season 5’s “Cape Feare,” this time with a more direct plan to murder Bart for constantly foiling his criminal schemes. In an homage to J. Lee Thompson’s Cape Fear and Martin Scorsese’s remake of the same name, Bob terrorizes the Simpsons right into the witness protection program.
“Cape Feare” has its fair share of laughs – including the unforgettable rake gag – but it also deftly recaptures the tension of the classic thrillers it was based on.
Some Enchanted Evening (Season 1, Episode 13)
According to the DVD commentary, season 1’s “Some Enchanted Evening” was the first half-hour episode produced for The Simpsons, but it ended up airing as the season finale, because the Christmas special “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” was bumped up to the front of the season.
If “Some Enchanted Evening” had aired as the pilot as planned, the show might not have lasted past season 1. With its tale of a creepy babysitter tormenting the Simpson children, “Some Enchanted Evening” is more of a horror show than a sitcom.
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