Top 13 Best Halloween Specials

When it comes to the best Halloween specials, The Simpsons seems to have that category rapped up. However, South Park has given the show a run for its money, and a few other shows have come up with their own creative Halloween specials, as well. This is a look at some of the best Halloween specials of all time, from the weird to the wild and the gruesome to the mild. However you prefer your Halloween specials, you'll sure to enjoy some of the best here:

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween Specials - I'll start this list with the show that has perfected the art of Halloween specials, and can definitely claim to be responsible for some of the best. I've chosen three from the long list of these Halloween specials, starting, of course, with the first Treehouse of Horror, for it's creative take on Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' and the introduction of aliens Kang and Kodos to The Simpsons universe.

Treehouse of Horror III is the second of my choices from the best Simpsons Halloween specials, because I find the living Krusty the Clown doll idea extremely creepy. Homer as King Kong is also great, with a happier ending than the movie. But the final part of the episode is best, with the residents of Springfield being turned into zombies. In the most memorable part of the episode, Homer's family is shocked that he has blown the head off of zombie Ned Flanders, to which Homer cryptically replies, "He was a zombie?"

Treehouse of Horror VI - This episode features the billboards of Springfield coming to life and groundskeeper Willie playing a part that's perfect for him, a Freddy Krueger-esque madman that attacks children in their sleep. However, the part of the episode that's most notable is when Homer finds himself in a terrifying 3D computer animated world. And to classic animators, CGI has really become their worst nightmare brought to life.

South Park Halloween Specials - Now I move on to the best South Park Halloween specials, which are a little more outrageous than the Treehouse of Horror specials. From a killer goldfish to Satan throwing the biggest party the afterlife has seen, these Halloween specials are definitely some of the kookiest and craziest on TV. I'll start with Spookyfish, in which Stan receives a really creepy pet goldfish that kills people. The episode is filmed in "spooky vision", with pictures of Barbra Streisand on the corners of the screen, but the scariest part of the show has to be the nice version of Cartman.

Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery - The band Korn guest stars in this Scooby Doo spoof as a seemingly squeaky-clean group of dudes trying to help the citizens of South Park solve a mystery involving pirate ghosts (or is ghost pirates?). There's a disturbing plot about digging up Kyle's dead grandmother, and Cartman carries his mother's inflatable Antonio Banderas doll around with him, thinking it's his early Christmas present. It's one of the best Halloween specials on this list because it so creative, although it's definitely not for everyone.

Hell on Earth 2006 - For the final of the best South Park Halloween specials, I'll go with this great attack on MTV's 'My Super Sweet 16', with Satan becoming a whiny diva whilst trying to throw the best Halloween party ever. Serial killers are resurrected as the Three Stooges, and Butters befriends Biggie Smalls. There's also a "too soon' reference to Steve Irwin, something that many people were not too happy about. Still, South Park thrives on being controversial, and the show did what it does best: got people talking about it.

How I Met Your Mother Halloween Special: Slutty Pumpkin - This is one of the few live-action best Halloween specials on this list, but it is a funny parody of another animated Halloween special, 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'. Ted wistfully waits all Halloween night for a girl in a "slutty pumpkin" Halloween costume (a jack-o'-lantern with strategically-placed holes), which he had met in 2001. He spent every Halloween afterward dressed in the same costume (a hanging chad) at the same party waiting to run into her again. But, sadly, the show ends in a similar way to the Peanuts special: she never comes. (Although the episode does provide a great drink recipe for a treat called the Tootise Roll: Kahlua and Root beer; it's a great way to cheer yourself up).

The Office Halloween Specials - Halloween is the first of the two The Office Halloween specials on this list, with Michael dressing up like a two-headed version of himself. He unsuccessfully tries to fire Creed, who obviously tells Michael off and is not fired. Creed later dresses up like one of the three Jokers in the second of The Office Halloween specials, Employee Transfer (seeing the three Jokers is pretty freaky). Pam's Charlie Chaplin/Hilter costume is also great in this episode, as is Jim's boring "Dave" costume. Both Halloween specials feature your usual workplace storylines involving employee quarrels, rivalries, and pranks, but seeing the characters in costumes just makes the episodes even more fun than usual.

Married with Children Halloween Special: Take My Wife, Please - Peg Bundy would make a pretty good Elvira, based on how she looks as the Grim Reaper in this episode of the classic 90's series. The Bundys dress in an odd group Halloween costume for a family, as the Village People, and Al realizes that he can't escape Peg's nagging, dead or alive. It's a freaky and funny Halloween special, and one of my favorite Married with Children episodes.

King of the Hill Halloween Special: Hilloween- This is one of the best Halloween specials on this list because it focuses on the efforts of a conservative church member to shut the holiday down (a proposition some towns in America are actually faced with every year). Hank uses his handyman skills to create a haunted house, but a religious fanatic tries to convince everyone that Hank is a Satanist for celebrating Halloween. It's one of the many episodes where Hank has to fight for the right of tradition, something he's become very good at doing over the years.

SpongeBob Squarepants Halloween Special: Scaredy Pants- And now for a few of the best Halloween specials that are a little more kid friendly. SpongeBob wants nothing more on Halloween than to seem scary to the residents of Bikini Bottom, so he decides to dress as the most terrifying thing he can think of, the ghostly Flying Dutchman. However, his simplistic costume is less than scary, and the Flying Dutchman himself makes a trip to the world of the living to mock him. But SpongeBob wins in the end, as his ghostly sheet costume is removed and the residents of Bikini Bottom are truly terrified by what he did to make his square head appear to be round.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - This is probably the best Halloween special ever, because it is the only one that is truly enduring. Year after year we wait with Linus for the Great Pumpkin, knowing that he won't come, and Charlie Brown will still only get rocks instead of Halloween candy. It's depressing, really, but at least we can console ourselves with fun-size candy bars.

So grab a bag of your favorite Halloween candy and some pumpkin ale and enjoy celebrating Halloween with the same fun spirit you did as a kid by watching some of the best Halloween specials. (And don't let the scale spook you; it's one of those holidays that calories don't count on.)