Ranking the top 10 specials:

1. The Devil and Homer Simpson (IV)
2.  Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace (VI)
3. Send in the Clones (XIII)
4. The Thing and I (VII)
5. Life’s a Glitch, Then You Die (X)
6. Citizen Kang (VII)
7. Married to the Blob (XVII)
8. Homer3 (VI)
9. Clown without Pity (III)
10. The Island of Dr. Hibbert (XIII)

If any cartoon does Halloween specials, nobody does better than “The Simpsons”. Halloween is spooky with bats, spiders, ghosts, black cats and pumpkins. It’s amazing how it mixed so well with this out of this world cartoon known as “The Simpsons”.

Since 1990, “The Treehouse of Horror” specials have been on the air, captivating audiences as they gather families around the world with a whole lot of laughter and… well since it’s Halloween, SCREAMS!!! And I, an avid fan of the series as a whole, rank the top 3 of my top ten Halloween episodes. It’s time for some spookiness and a lot of donuts…mmmm donuts indeed!

The Devil and Homer Simpson-Treehouse of Horror IV

Homer’s love for donuts is just as strong as the sound of a thunderstorm. Homer’s obsession with donuts leads him to saying he would sell his soul for a donut. His so called wish becomes reality as the devil who looks like his neighbor Ned Flanders (it was) who, is a very religious person by the way, somehow enters the workplace of Homer at the nuclear power plant. The Devil hears Homer’s desire and makes a deal with Homer that if he eats the whole donut, his soul belongs to the devil himself. Homer though, not the smartest fellow eats the donut halfway through the deal so he decides to put the last piece of donut known as the “forbidden donut” in the fridge. However, he sleepwalks and has a midnight snack, which was you name it, the donut! The devil arrives ready to do as he promised before Homer’s family pleads not to take his soul. Well, maybe not Bart that is, he was so amazed at what happened that he didn’t even care that his dad was about to be soul-ridden. The family makes a deal with Devil Flanders and agrees to make a trial the next day. The Devil though, makes Homer torment in Satan’s place as the blue devil tries to torment Homer with multiple donuts. Homer does eat them, and the blue devil is confused at why Homer isn’t full yet.

At midnight, Homer is able to return home around a ring of fire. The Simpson’s lawyer Lionel Hutz is not too good at his job and flees from the scene, making Marge show a photo of her wedding day and the back says Homer pledges his soul to her, not Devil Flanders. Homer and company wins the trial but the Devil gets his own wish as he transforms Homer’s head into a doughnut while Homer continues to eat it, Marge encourages him to stop and what he didn’t know was that millions of cops were with their coffee waiting for Homer to come so they can eat the doughnut in what was a shadow of a doubt the best “Treehouse of Horror” ever! A+ for this special!

Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace-Treehouse of Horror VI

After Homer by mistake, turns on the heat and causes the furnace to explode and catch Groundskeeper Willie on fire, Willie runs to everyone asking for help with no success. Willie promises he will creep into their children’s nightmares. Bart has a nightmare that Willie slashes his body and still has the scars when he is awake. Willie’s rampage continues when he strangles Martin Prince in his dream and then Martin dies in the real world! Man, what a creepy groundskeeper! The Simpson children realize that if they fall asleep, they might be next on Willie’s path of destruction. After a couple days of staying awake, Bart decides to fight Willie in his dream. Lisa tries to stay awake so she can awake Bart if he’s in danger. However, soon Lisa follows suit and both are asleep. In the dream, Willie appears as a lawn mower/harvester (very weird). Bart taunts him by calling him Yard Boy (a parody of the lawn tractor company). Willie, angered by this manages to accidentally mow right into the sandbox with quicksand. Bart thinks he won, however Willie returns as a giant bagpipe spider (also very weird) and has Lisa with him. It looks like Willie is about to win when the baby Maggie enters the dream and removes the vent of the spider body and Willie explodes! They wake up to find Willie alive and standing by a bus stop, vowing revenge and then losing his shoe and trying to catch up with a bus which is meant to be a parody of “Nightmare on Elm Street”. Just like the movie, this episode is a classic!

Send in the Clones-Treehouse of Horror XIII

After trying to reach the spirit of Ned Flander’s deceased wife, Maude, the Simpsons and Ned get their wish, however now a demonic ghost, Maude decides to tell a scary tale which prompts Homer to scream. The story begins with Homer lying in his hammock which then collapses. Homer purchases a new one and the man warns Homer that it has a curse, which he ignores. Homer lies down and realizes it can produce clones of anyone who rests on it. A Homer clone appears with no belly button, which excites Homer, giving him an idea. Homer produces clones to help his family so he doesn’t have too. However, one clone kills Ned Flanders and Homer realizes this could make things worse. Homer drives the clones alongside the hammock in a pickup truck to somewhere far away. They arrive at an isolated cornfield. Homer asks if the clones know how to get home, three answer and Homer shoots them. He shoots the hammock thinking that the clones weren’t going to make it without it. However, it backfired and the clones multiplied and some included the “Tracy Ullman Show” version of Homer, a obese Homer, a Homer with thick black glasses and Peter Griffin from “Family Guy”. The clones start to attack Springfield and it’s so bad the army must come up with a solution. Thanks to Homer frowning over an empty doughnut box, Lisa comes up with a plan. They have a helicopter bring large sprinkled doughnuts in cables to lure the clones to their doom in Springfield gorge. They all fall down and die. At the end of the episode Marge is glad Homer is alright, when she finds out it’s a clone and Homer is dead!