Halloween Specials

As is usual with all holidays, Halloween inspires many TV shows to have special Halloween themed or especially spooky episodes. I love this holiday as well as how the shows on TV reflect this time of year and I can watch many Halloween episodes over and over again. Here is a list of my favorite Halloween episodes.

Simpsons TreeHouse of Horror
It is true that all the Simpsons Halloween episodes are enjoyable; however there is something special about the very first one in which Lisa and Bart are in their treehouse (hence the title) trying to scare each other with parodies of famous horror stories including a TwilightZone episode, The Amityville Horror and the classic Edgar Allan Poe poem The Raven. One of the reasons that I love this one so much is I like the biting humor of the episode that at the time was still novel in the sitcom world. Plus who can resist James Earl Jones reading The Raven? The popularity of this episode also helped to launch the whole annual tradition of having a Simpsons Halloween episode.

Disney's Halloween Treat (1982)
Okay yes it's pretty much nothing but archive footage of old Disney classics like Lady and the Tramp and Fantasia. But this show evokes such a wonderful feeling of nostaglia from my childhood that it really makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I love the scene from Fantasia where they show the clip from "Night on Bald Moutain" as well as the "Heffalump and Woozle" section from Winnie-the-Pooh. Honestly, the latter scene still reminds me of how freaked out I would get when I was younger. Plus you can't beat Huey, Louie, and Dewie playing a trick on their Uncle Donald with classic results. I'm sure this one may be more obscure but in the age of internet it should be no problem finding it on the internet.

South Park: Pink Eye
Kenny dies (as usual) and his embalming fluid is somehow mixed with Worchestershire sauce which causes him to become a zombie and as such start infecting the fellow denizens of South Park. Chef is the first person to figure it out but sadly gets infected before he can stop it, leaving up to the boys to finish the job. This is one of the first South Park Halloween episodes and one of the funniest because of the whole premise and how everyone starts turning into zombies. Plus you have to love Chef dong the "Thriller" dance with the other zombies once he gets infected.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Halloween
The first Halloween episdoe that showed up in the second season takes us to the newest costume shop in Sunnydale. However it appears that at the same time on Halloween, everyone who brought their costume from Ethan's Costume Shop turns into whatever it is they are pretending to be; for instance Willow "dies" because she is a ghost and Buffy turns into an 18th century lady and is thus powerless for she doesn't have the power of the Slayers. It is interesting in this episode to see the characters act so different what from they usually are (Xander is a confident Army soldier and Buffy as the helpless damsel) and to see how they handle it all is good TV watching. Of course Buffy goes back to normal and saves the day but it's fun to watch everyone try to make sure nothing bad happens.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fear, itself
Okay so don't think it's a cop-out to have two episodes from the same show but this one is equally as entertaining as the first one. Taking place during college in a frat house's annual Haunted House party, a fear demon is called forth, trapping all the party goers with their worst fears along with the Scooby gang. It does get somewhat creepy at some point when the house goes at all with all it has to the Scoobies but the ending will have you laughing when you are confronted with the "fear" demon. Plus you've got to love the symolism behind the demon when he is finally called forth.

MadTV's Halloween Special Edition
An hour long special dedicated to all things spooky including a murder mystery that plays throughout the episode and cultimates in a special appearance from KISS this is a nice way to get into the Halloween spirit by laughing plus you'll love the skit with KISS.

Whatever you watch to get into the mood, have a safe and happy Halloween!!