The Simpson kids hide in the family treehouse and tell each other spooky stories. The first regards haunted houses, the second introduces Kang and Kodos for the first time in an alien abduction, and the third is a Simpson-adapted retelling of The Raven.
Halloween special sustains 3.4 jokes per minute across three horror parodies.
Directed by Wes Archer, David Silverman, Rich Moore · Written by John Swartzwelder, Jay Kogen, Jon Vitti
WAR
51.4
Wins Above Replacement
“Treehouse Of Horror” ranks #69 of 226 The Simpsons episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 82.6 — Elite. The episode packs 55 scored jokes at 3.4 per minute, averaging 7.1 on craft and 6.8 on impact, with Homer landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
It destroyed itself rather than live with us. You can't help but feel a little rejected.
Homer Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Ooh, a vortex. Catch!
Homer Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy ★ Rewatch -It's an ancient Indian burial ground. -Man, this place has everything!
Lisa Homer Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Why are you scaring us? To keep us from getting close... and maybe even loving you?
Marge Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Looks like a vortex. A gateway into another dimension.
Homer Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch All Jokes — 55 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Hello, everyone. You know, Halloween is a strange holiday. I don't understand it. Kids worshiping ghosts, pretending to be devils... things on TV that are inappropriate for children.
Marge Irony/Sarcasm Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch But tonight's show, which I wash my hands of, is really scary.
Marge Character Comedy Meta/Self-Referential ...instead of writing us angry letters. Thanks for your attention.
Marge Meta/Self-Referential Observational But it was too late. End of story. I heard that in the third grade. It's not scary.
Bart Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement -Here's a story that's scarifying. -Oh, brother.
-I'm glad there's a curse here. -Huh?
Well, he must have been motivated. Prime location, 18 rooms, moat. We shouldn't be able to afford this.
Marge Observational Setup/Punchline -What on earth was that? -Oh, just the house settling.
Looks like a vortex. A gateway into another dimension.
Homer Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Ooh, a vortex. Catch!
Homer Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Quit throwing garbage into our dimension.
It's a fixer-upper. What's the problem?
Homer Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy We're not talking about a few dollars. We're talking a few thousand dollars!
Homer Character Comedy Escalation It's got great high ceilings!
Homer Character Comedy Misdirection -Are you my conscience? -I'm-- Yes, I am.
-Sorry, Dad. -Sorry, Bart. -Sorry, Mom.
This family has had its differences... but we've never had knife fights. I blame this house.
Marge Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement -It's an ancient Indian burial ground. -Man, this place has everything!
Lisa Homer Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch He says he mentioned it.
Homer Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Stop saying those horrible things and show some manners!
Marge Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Come on! Do it! Do it! Do it!
Homer Character Comedy Escalation Why are you scaring us? To keep us from getting close... and maybe even loving you?
Marge Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch My name is Marge Simpson, and we're not going anywhere. We're going to have to live together, so you better get used to it. Please.
Marge Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Life with the Simpsons. What choice do I have?
It destroyed itself rather than live with us. You can't help but feel a little rejected.
Homer Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Eww! Baby spit!
Bart Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy Ooh! That was a big mama.
Homer Character Comedy Observational Cool, man!
Bart Reaction Beat Character Comedy -You speak English. -I'm speaking Rigelian. By coincidence, our languages are exactly the same.
Homer Kang Absurdist Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch To pronounce it correctly, I would have to pull out your tongue.
Kang Dark/Subversive Absurdist These are hard to make. They're an advanced race.
Marge Character Comedy Observational The girl's right. Let's get some applesauce for these pork chops!
Homer Character Comedy Misdirection -What are you looking at, buddy? -Your wife's quite a dish.
Homer Kang Wordplay/Pun Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch -Do you get HBO? -No. That's extra.
-That's just Pong! -Get with the times, man.
Anyone that has mastered intergalactic travel, raise your hand. All right, then.
I have a feeling you'll be the guests of honor.
Kang Dark/Subversive Irony/Sarcasm When we arrive, there will be plenty of time to chew the fat.
Kang Wordplay/Pun Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch It's a harmless cookbook. It's just a little dusty.
Kang Misdirection Visual Gag Let me get this straight. They thought we would eat them.
Kang Irony/Sarcasm Misdirection ★ Rewatch Wait, there's still more space dust on here.
Kang Callback Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Well, if you wanted to make Serak cry, mission accomplished.
Kang Character Comedy Absurdist For a superior race, they really rub it in.
Homer Character Comedy Observational There were monsters on that ship, and we were them.
Lisa Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm -Way to go, Lis. -Yeah, thanks, Lisa.
-Wait. That's a schoolbook. -Don't worry, you won't learn anything.
Bart Lisa Character Comedy Meta/Self-Referential -Are we scared yet? -Bart, he's establishing mood.
Bart Lisa Meta/Self-Referential Character Comedy This better be good.
Homer Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement You know what's scarier? Anything!
Bart Character Comedy Observational -Eat my shorts! -He says, 'Nevermore.' And that's all he'll ever say.
-Perfumed by some unseen censer -Stupid censer.
-Nevermore -Why you little--
It was written in 1845. Maybe people were easier to scare.
Lisa Observational Meta/Self-Referential Like Friday the 13th Part I. It's pretty tame by today's standards.
They're just children's stories. They can't hurt you.
Homer Irony/Sarcasm Setup/Punchline Top Episodes — The Simpsons
