Treehouse of Horror: Difference between revisions

* [[Becoming the Costume]]: In one short, a witch curses the townspeople into being whatever their costume is during a Halloween party.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Ned Flanders turning evil ([[Villain with Good Publicity|or being secretly already evil]]) is a frequent plot. So far he's been Satan; a global dictator in an alternate timeline; a werewolf; Satan ''again'' and a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] serial killer.

* [[Bloodier and Gorier]]: Used to set the Halloween episodes apart from the usual episodes.

** [[Black Comedy]]: Also a main feature of many TOH shorts.

** Oddly, clips from these episodes ''show up'' in [[Clip Show]] episodes...

* [["Close Enough" Timeline]]: A story from "Treehouse of Horror V" ends with everything normal, except for people having long, forked, prehensile tongues. Homer [[Trope Namer|names the trope]] by saying this line.

* [[Contrived Clumsiness]]: Bart uses the "My finger slipped" excuse when Lisa's science experiment turns into a miniature civilization.

* [[Couch Gag]]: The first few specials featured a darker spin. Such as the family being zombies, the family shown dead and hanging from nooses (with Maggie being barely alive enough to suck on her pacifier), or dropping dead in front of the Grim Reaper who was waiting for them on the couch... One time they didn't make it to the couch ''at all'' (which was for the best since Freddie Krueger and Jason were waiting on the couch for them).

* [[Downer Ending]]: A lot of TOH shorts have these...

* [[Evil Twin]]: Hugo {{spoiler|is a subversion. Bart turns out to be the evil twin}}.

* [[Furry Confusion]]: Scratchy (the [[Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better|bipedal]] [[Funny Animal]] cat) and Snowball II (the normal quadrupedal cat) show up together in "Treehouse of Horror IX" segment, "The Terror of Tiny Toon". The two cats are at [[Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism|such differing levels of anthropomorphism]] that [[Furry Confusion]] ensues. As Scratchy is male and Snowball II is female, this also inverts [[Humanoid Female Animal]] hard.

* [[Genre Anthology]]: Parodies of [[Night Gallery]] and other horror related TV shows were common.

** Played for ''laughs'' in an episode parodying [[The Most Dangerous Game]], where Homer suggests they resort to cannibalism after a 'few minutes' of being hunted, even though there's fruit all around them. Also in another episode where Marge is a witch and she and Patty & Selma decide they're going to eat Springfield's children as revenge for casting Marge out. At first it appears that Flanders has persuaded them that inventing trick or treating is preferable to doing so... then Marge comments she wishes they hadn't filled up so much on ''other'' kids before getting to the Flanders before burping, at which the three fly away.

* [[Jury of the Damned]]: "Treehouse of Horror IV" ("The Devil and Homer Simpson" segment), when Homer sold his soul for a doughnut, included a jury consisting of John Wilkes Booth, Lizzie Borden, John Dillinger, Blackbeard, Benedict Arnold, the starting lineup of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers (who, for your information, are arguably much worse than the rest of these guys), and [[Richard Nixon]] (who, at the time of the show's premiere, was still alive, making this dialogue a mix of [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]] and [[Hilarious in Hindsight]])

'''Nixon''': Yes, master. }}

* [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]]: In ''Homer³'':

* [[Millennium Bug]]: Happens in TOH X, on a [[Downer Ending]], but this happened to [[Nightmare Fuel|air]] in 1999...

* [[Nautical Knockout]]: The way they kill ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' in ''XXI''.

* [[Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here]]: Unless...<ref>You were in a Treehouse of Horror episode...</ref>

* [[Nothing Is Scarier]]: Invoked in the re-telling of "The Raven" (when the protagonist finds "darkness there and nothing more" behind his chamber door) - only to be promptly dismissed.

'''Bart:''' [[Comically Missing the Point|Anything!]] }}

* [[Ominous Fog]]: The short featuring werewolf-Flanders parodies the hell out of this trope. "Guess I forgot to put the fog lights in!" Also, the short song with the fog that turned people ''inside out'' featured some [[Ominous Fog]].

* [[Parody Magic Spell]]: In one episode, Bart reads a spell from a magic book that's basically a list of odd brand names and famous surnames.

* [[Portal Door]]: Memorably in "Homer³":

* [[Prophecy Twist]]: Ned thinks in ''The Ned Zone'' that he must avoid his scary vision about Homer, instead {{spoiler|Homer causes a nuclear meltdown and Ned was forced to shoot him}}. Also see, [[For Want of a Nail]].

* [[Put Off Their Food]]: Parodied in "Treehouse of Horror IX". In the "Starship Poopers" segment, Homer and Lisa lose their appetite after seeing Maggie's fang. Homer then suddenly grabs Lisa's food and exclaims, "Wait, mine came back."

* [[Running Gag]]: Each story in "Treehouse of Horror V" features Groundskeeper Willie getting killed with an axe to the back after saying he'll help.

* [[Sapient Cetaceans]]: In one [[Treehouse of Horror]] episode, dolphins invade the land and take over. They can speak English.

* [[Self-Deprecation]]: In one segment, D-list celebrities are going to get shot into the sun. Tom Arnold voices himself here and proves to be a good sport.

* [[Shout-Out]]: See the ever so convenient [[Whole-Plot Reference]].

* [[Troubling Unchildlike Behavior]]: Bart ''and'' Lisa in TOH XX...

* [[Vampire Monarch]]: In a parody of ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula|Bram Stokers Dracula]]'', in order to de-vampirize Bart they have to kill the head vampire. Lisa figures Burns to be it since he bit Bart. So the family sneak back into his castle and stake him. However...

'''Marge''': Well I do have a life outside this house, you know. }}

* [[When Animals Attack]]: Dolphins of all animals, and it was Lisa's fault it happened...

* [[Wingding Eyes]]: Parodied in the "Treehouse of Horror XV" segment "The Ned Zone": When Homer hears about Flanders's ability to predict peoples' deaths, his eyes turn into skulls, then dollar signs, then American flags and finally a dog chasing a cat before his normal pupils return.

* [[Yank the Dog's Chain]]: The ending of ''XI'''s "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad". With one minute left to perform a good deed in order to get into Heaven, Homer saves a baby from a runaway carriage. Unfortunately...

'''Saint Peter:''' I'm afraid so, yes. }}

* [[Your Brain Won't Be Much of a Meal]]: In "Treehouse of Horror III", a zombie horde clamoring for "Braaaains" inspects Homer's head, then abandon him in disgust. Most ridiculously, the zombie taps Homer on the head and a very hollow sound is heard before it moves along.