There are just some traditions you don’t skip, and watching The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror every year is definitely one of our favorites. This year, we’re getting a little extra horror business from the folks in Springfield, with not one but two Halloween specials for fans to look forward to.
First up is Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening, which brings a slasher twist to the animated series. According to the official description, Halloween goes off the rails when a killer arrives in Springfield and begins hacking their way through town. The warning is clear: no Simpson is safe from THE REVENGENING!
The new special premieres on Fox on Sunday, October 18, with streaming on Hulu the following day. You can check out the official poster for the episode below.
That isn’t the only spooky visit on the schedule. The all-new Treehouse of Horror XXXVII arrives on Fox the following Sunday, October 25. This year’s installment features Marge getting a horrifying new perspective on marriage, Bart and Santa’s Little Helper heading into a bone-chilling adventure, and Homer taking a driving lesson that sounds like it could go terribly wrong.
For a series that has been entertaining audiences for nearly four decades, finding fresh horror stories to parody is no easy task. The annual specials have taken aim at countless horror classics over the years, but The Simpsons has found ways to keep Halloween on the calendar even when the traditional three-story format takes a break.
The original Halloween special debuted during Season 2, with Bart and Lisa telling scary stories in their treehouse. Since then, the tradition has grown into one of the show’s most recognizable annual events. The series has also experimented with full-length Halloween episodes, including 2015’s Halloween of Horror and Season 34’s Not It, a parody of Stephen King’s IT.
Season 36 brought another format change with Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes, an anthology featuring three separate stories. Whether The Revengening follows that same approach or delivers a full-length slasher story remains to be seen, though its “Treehouse of Horror Presents” title suggests another spin on the format.
Either way, we’re always happy to make room for a little Springfield horror during the Halloween season. First, get ready for The Revengening on October 18, then return for Treehouse of Horror XXXVII on October 25. Two Sundays, two spooky specials, and hopefully a few more reasons to keep this long-running tradition alive.