Watch · TVNo. 3849 · The 2026 edition
The best Treehouse of Horror episodes, ranked.
All 37 Simpsons Halloween episodes, best first: Treehouse of Horror V leads, IV and VI follow, and XXXIII is the lone recent entry in the top ten. Labeled for teens, not small kids.
Since 1990, The Simpsons has marked Halloween with a Treehouse of Horror: a set of short stories, usually three, that sits outside the show’s regular continuity, so anyone can die and the family is back on the couch next week. With 36 yearly entries plus a 2024 spin-off, the best Treehouse of Horror episodes are easy to lose among the rest, so this list does the sorting.
We rank all 37 by IMDb rating, best first, and when ratings tie the episode with more votes goes ahead. Episodes III through VII fill the top five, and from 2006 on, XXXIII and XXV lead the way, with XX and XXIII next. Use it to pick a first night or settle a rewatch order. The show is labeled for teens, so keep small kids out of the room.
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01
Treehouse of Horror V
Start here. A Shining spoof turns Homer homicidal as a winter caretaker without TV and beer, a toaster becomes a time machine, and Skinner puts detention kids on the lunch menu. Ideal for newcomers.
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02
Treehouse of Horror IV
A donut buys Homer’s soul, only Bart can see the gremlin sabotaging the school bus, and Mr. Burns turns out to be a vampire. Tidy, quick and the natural second pick.
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03
Treehouse of Horror VI
Giant ad mascots rampage through town, Groundskeeper Willie stalks kids in their dreams, and Homer slips into a computer-animated third dimension. A good fit for animation fans.
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04
Treehouse of Horror VII
Kang and Kodos impersonate both presidential candidates, and a petri-dish civilization decides Lisa is God and Bart is the Devil. Sharp sci-fi satire, plus an evil twin in the attic.
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05
Treehouse of Horror III
Three different movie flavors: an evil Krusty doll, a King Kong spoof with Homer as the ape, and zombies raised by Bart’s library spell book. A crowd-pleaser for a mixed group.
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06
Treehouse of Horror XXXIII
Only one recent episode cracks the top ten: spoofs of The Babadook, Death Note and Westworld, with android Simpsons breaking out of their own theme park. Good for viewers who like film and anime references.
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07
Treehouse of Horror
The original, with the kids swapping stories in the treehouse: a haunted house that quits on the Simpsons, aliens with a cookbook, and Poe’s Raven played by Bart. Gentler than what followed.
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08
Treehouse of Horror II
Three candy-fueled nightmares: a monkey’s paw whose wishes backfire, an all-powerful Bart turning Homer into a jack-in-the-box, and a robot running on Homer’s brain. Twilight Zone fans will spot the middle one.
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09
Treehouse of Horror VIII
A neutron bomb leaves Homer apparently alone in Springfield, Bart swaps heads with a housefly, and a Puritan-era witch tale gives trick-or-treating a joke origin. A brisk, silly group watch.
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10
Treehouse of Horror IX
For fans of the show at its weirdest: a hair transplant possesses Homer, Bart and Lisa get trapped in a violent Itchy & Scratchy special, and Maggie’s alien father turns up.
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11
Treehouse of Horror X
The Y2K story is a time capsule: Homer’s negligence collapses civilization. Elsewhere, Bart and Lisa become a superhero duo, and a covered-up death draws a hook-wielding stalker.
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12
Treehouse of Horror XI
One good deed stands between Homer and Heaven, Bart and Lisa get lost in a fairy-tale forest, and dolphins declare war on humanity. A good mix for viewers who like their horror silly.
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13
Treehouse of Horror XII
Watch it for House of Whacks, where a smart house falls for Marge and plots against Homer. A fortune-teller’s curse and a Harry Potter spoof fill out the rest. Suits sci-fi fans.
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14
Treehouse of Horror XIII
Teens and up, with some openly adult gags: a magic hammock clones Homer into a runaway army, zombie outlaws rise after Lisa’s gun ban, and Dr. Hibbert’s resort turns guests into animal hybrids.
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15
Treehouse of Horror XIV
Death dies and Homer inherits the robe, Professor Frink revives his father in a Frankenstein spoof, and Bart and Milhouse stop time to prank the town. Suits classic-horror fans.
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16
Treehouse of Horror XV
Ned Flanders foresees deaths after a bowling-ball knock, Lisa and Bart play Victorian detectives, and the family shrinks inside Mr. Burns to save Maggie. A good pick for genre-hoppers.
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17
Treehouse of Horror XXV
Hell turns out to be Bart’s dream school, Moe leads a Clockwork Orange-style gang, and the family is haunted by its own earlier selves. Film buffs get a Kubrick riff.
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18
Treehouse of Horror XVI
The family swaps a comatose Bart for a robot boy, Mr. Burns hunts Springfield’s men for live TV, and a disqualified witch makes costumes real. Three familiar story ideas, each played for laughs.
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19
Treehouse of Horror XX
A new genre every segment: a black-and-white Hitchcock send-up, a tainted Krusty Burger zombie outbreak, and Moe as a Sweeney Todd-style barman in a stage musical. Suits anyone who likes variety.
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20
Treehouse of Horror XXIII
Opens with Mayan doomsday, then a basement black hole, a Paranormal Activity homage and a Back to the Future riff. The demon story gets openly adult, so teens and up.
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21
Treehouse of Horror XIX
Peanuts fans should catch the best segment, a Charlie Brown spoof where Milhouse summons a man-eating Grand Pumpkin. A Transformers parody and Homer as a celebrity assassin fill out the rest.
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22
Treehouse of Horror XXI
Tweenlight, a Twilight send-up where Lisa falls for a vampire named Edmund, is the highlight. A town-sized board game and a sailboat-honeymoon thriller round it out. Best for vampire-romance parody fans.
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23
Treehouse of Horror XXVIII
Not for squeamish viewers: Maggie is possessed in an Exorcist spoof, Lisa meets a button-eyed family in Coralisa, and Homer starts eating himself. The candy-bar opening is a dark joke of its own.
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24
Treehouse of Horror XXXIV
Bart becomes an NFT and a doughnut virus turns everyone into Homer, but the standout is Ei8ht, where Lisa hunts a serial killer in a Silence of the Lambs-style crime story.
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25
Treehouse of Horror XVIII
Heck House is the draw: Ned Flanders turns a haunted house into a tour of the seven deadly sins. Around it sit an E.T. spoof with Kodos and a married-assassins comedy.
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26
Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes
Ray Bradbury works get the Simpsons treatment in this Treehouse-style spin-off, including Fahrenheit 451, with a circus Illustrated Man framing it. Pick it for books over movie spoofs.
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27
Treehouse of Horror XVII
Alien slime turns Homer into a rampaging blob, Bart sics a golem on his tormentors, and Springfield ignores a real invasion after falling for a War of the Worlds hoax. Suits monster-movie fans.
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28
Treehouse of Horror XXIV
Dr. Seuss for viewers with a strong stomach: the Fat in the Hat takes the kids trick-or-treating on a violent rampage. Also Bart’s head on Lisa’s body, and a circus sideshow tale.
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29
Treehouse of Horror XXX
A Stranger Things spoof strands Milhouse in the Over Under, Homer hops between bodies, and Selma falls for Kang in a Shape of Water riff. Opens with Maggie in Omen mode.
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30
Treehouse of Horror XXVII
Mr. Burns hoards the water in a Hunger Games and Mad Max spoof, Lisa’s imaginary friend turns murderous, and Moe’s barflies play secret agents. Longtime fans get callbacks to earlier villains in the opening.
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31
Treehouse of Horror XXXII
Five stories instead of the usual three: a Bambi spoof, a Parasite spoof, a killer-tree tale, a Gorey-style bedtime poem and a cursed TikTok. Quick, uneven and best sampled in pieces.
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32
Treehouse of Horror XXVI
Sideshow Bob finally kills Bart, then builds a machine to keep doing it. Homer plays Godzilla, and three kids get telekinetic powers in a Chronicle spoof. A pick for Sideshow Bob fans.
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33
Treehouse of Horror XXII
A 127 Hours opening has Homer gnawing off limbs for candy, followed by a Dexter spoof with Ned Flanders as a killer and an Avatar spoof. Gross and grim, so teens and up.
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34
Treehouse of Horror XXXI
Toy Story and Spider-Verse fans get a spoof each here: Bart’s mistreated toys take their revenge, and Homer meets his multiverse selves. A time-loop birthday for Lisa and an election skit round it out.
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35
Treehouse of Horror XXXV
The Fall of the House of Monty is the keeper: a period ghost story where Mr. Burns is chased by his workers’ spirits. Kaiju and a pair of alien jeans fill out the rest.
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36
Treehouse of Horror XXXVI
The newest in the run: a fatberg stalks Springfield in a spoof of Jaws and The Blob, Krusty’s live special turns demonic, and survivors dig through a plastic-buried world. For viewers keeping up.
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37
Treehouse of Horror XXIX
Last by rating, but it has Homer beating Cthulhu at an oyster-eating contest, a retirement-home Jurassic Park spoof and a Split-style turn for Lisa. One for completists.
Everyone dies, nothing sticks, and the family is back on the couch next week.
For a first night, stack Treehouse of Horror V, IV and VI, then add III or XXXIII if the room wants more. Candy corn and low lights suit the mood, and the bottom of the list can wait for a completist weekend. Start at the top rung and climb down only as far as your patience allows. For gentler picks the kids can watch, the full watchlist has more Halloween episodes and movies for every age.