Treehouse of Horror IV
The Simpsons, season 5, episode 5. First aired October 28, 1993. 135 moments of about ten seconds each: open one for its frame, what happens and what's said.
← Rosebud Marge on the Lam → The whole episode as text
About the episode
Bart introduces three horror stories from a gallery of eerie paintings. Homer sells his soul for a doughnut to the Devil, who turns out to be Ned Flanders, and when Lionel Hutz flees the trial, Marge saves him; Bart spots a gremlin wrecking his school bus that no one else believes is there; and Mr. Burns turns out to be a vampire who makes Bart one too.
- Written by
- Conan O'Brien (wraparounds); Greg Daniels and Dan McGrath; Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein; Bill Canterbury
- Directed by
- David Silverman
- Guest stars
- Pamela Reed as Ruth Powers
- Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz
- Phil Hartman as Troy McClure
- Frank Welker as Gremlin
- Couch gag
- Zombie Family
- Production code
- 1F04
The synopsis is our own. Credits and guest stars from Wikipedia and the Simpsons wiki.
Every moment
-
No characters are visible in this sequence
0:00–0:11 -
No recognizable regular characters appear in this moment, which takes place in the rain-swept Springfield…
0:11–0:24 -
Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and Bart are in the Simpsons' pink living room with a red couch, a purple table…
0:24–0:28 -
A tall, dark-curly-haired yellow-skinned man in a grey suit and red tie walks with his hands clasped…
“Paintings.”
0:28–0:39 -
Bart walks through a dark gallery lined with framed paintings
“Paintings.”
0:39–0:50 -
Bart stands at left beside a dark painted wall with a blue-and-orange artwork, looking sideways with a sour…
“They become portals to hell, so scary and horrible and gruesome that...”
0:50–1:01 -
Marge holds baby Maggie, who wears a blue bow and sucks a pacifier, against a dark background…
“Good. Now you ho, Maggie. I'm going to buy some earrings at the gift shop.”
1:01–1:03 -
Bart Simpson holds baby Maggie, who wears a blue outfit and blue bow and sucks a pacifier, while standing…
“Good. Now you ho, Maggie. I'm going to buy some earrings at the gift shop.”
1:03–1:13 -
Bart holds Maggie, the baby in a blue outfit with a blue bow and a pacifier, in front of a framed painting…
“vicious, diabolical beast to stalk the earth.”
1:13–1:22 -
Homer Simpson sits in a plush theater audience holding a program beside a woman with a red updo in a green…
“And next in our fall catalog, we love this.”
1:22–1:32 -
Homer sits in a theater seat in a grey suit with his hands pressed together, beside a thin man with glasses…
“Ooh.”
1:32–1:46 -
Homer Simpson appears in the opening frames pulling at his ear and then cowering with his arms raised…
“Sorry, Homer. While you were daydreaming, we ate all the donuts.”
1:46–1:57 -
Homer sits at a control panel in a blue nuclear plant control room with radiation symbols, a fire…
“All right, stay calm.”
1:57–2:08 -
Homer sits at a desk in his office while green credit captions over him name consulting producers, a creative…
“Bastards! He's always one step ahead.”
2:08–2:19 -
Homer and Flanders in a red cape with a moustache, glasses and a blue beaded necklace stand together…
“You're the devil?”
2:19–2:30 -
Mr. Burns and Smithers stand in a corridor peering through a round porthole window at a control room where…
“Do you have a donut or not? Coming up. Just sign here.”
2:30–2:41 -
Homer sits at a control panel while Ned Flanders spreads his arms wide beside him, and a purple devil chef…
“Phew!”
2:41–2:51 -
Homer Simpson and a horned figure in a red cape with a moustache, glasses and a bead necklace, appear…
“Now remember, the instant you finish it, I own your soul for...”
2:51–3:03 -
Homer Simpson sits at a control panel on a curved console in the first frame, facing a huge dark red horned…
“I'm smarter than the devil! You are not smarter than me!”
3:03–3:11 -
Homer is first seen in a control room of a plant, pinching his fingers and gesturing while wearing an ID…
“Not likely.”
3:11–3:23 -
Homer first appears beside a teal plate holding a donut surrounded by signs reading STOP, DON'T TOUCH, DON'T…
“Forbidden donut.”
3:23–3:33 -
Homer is first shown lying back across a control console while a glowing yellow orb sparks on a checkered…
“Homer, did you eat that donut?”
3:33–3:44 -
Homer Simpson shouts in a cluttered room, then stands with a ring of flames around his belly on a checkered…
“Your wide behind won't save you this time.”
3:44–3:52 -
Lisa and Bart stand at the left of a checkered-floored kitchen, while Marge in a pink dress with her tall…
“Wait, doesn't my father have the right to a fair trial?”
3:52–4:02 -
Marge in her pink dress and tall blue beehive, with Lisa and Bart beside her, stands near a blue door…
“All right, very well. We'll have the trial tomorrow at the stroke of midnight.”
4:02–4:12 -
Homer and a horned green demon in Hell tumble through fiery red rock and then spiral down a swirling…
“That wasn't so bad.”
4:12–4:25 -
Homer is strapped into a metal chair while a blue horned devil leans beside him, grinning and then narrowing…
“So you like donuts, eh?”
4:25–4:35 -
Homer Simpson is fed a column of pink frosted donuts by a grinning blue horned demon in blue overalls…
“Well, have all the donuts in the world! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!”
4:35–4:47 -
Homer Simpson sits in a dark red-lit chamber beside a row of pink and red discs and a purple machine…
“I don't understand it. James Coco went mad in 15 minutes.”
4:47–4:57 -
Marge holds baby Maggie in a pacifier and blue bow on the red couch while Lisa in her red dress and Bart…
“Homer, are you all right?”
4:57–5:07 -
A slim man in a light blue suit with a red tie and brown hair, who holds a fork and gestures while talking…
“No. Mr. Simpson, don't you worry. I watched Matlock in a bar last night.”
5:07–5:17 -
Ned Flanders stands at left beside a Grim Reaper figure in a black hooded robe who sits behind a wooden…
“Hear ye, hear ye.”
5:17–5:26 -
Herb stands beside a horned man in a red cape with glasses, a moustache and a blue bead necklace, in front…
“Very well.”
5:26–5:36 -
Ned Flanders wears a red cape and spreads his arms in a pink room with a curio cabinet of trophies on the left
“No, wait. Silence!”
5:36–5:48 -
Ned Flanders gestures with a raised hand in a pink room with an arched doorway and a wooden cabinet…
“Hey, listen, I did a favor for you.”
5:48–5:59 -
Marge, Maggie, Homer, Bart and Lisa stand close together in a living room while flames roar around them
5:59–6:00 -
Ned Flanders sits in a red armchair in a pink room while Marge watches a hockey player in a blue Flyers…
“I'm sorry, Mr. Blackbeard. We're low on chairs and this is the last one.”
6:00–6:08 -
A bearded pirate in a blue coat, tricorn hat, and sash stands with his hands on his hips while Marge Simpson…
“I'm sorry, Mr. Blackbeard. We're low on chairs and this is the last one.”
6:08–6:17 -
A moustached man with round glasses, brown hair swept up into two pointed horns, and a red coat with a bead…
“I hold here a contract between myself and one Homer Simpson,”
6:17–6:31 -
A moustached man with glasses in a flowing red cape, holding a document, gestures with an outstretched arm…
“I simply ask for what is mine.”
6:31–6:40 -
Troy McClure speaks to a crowd in a pink-walled room, first talking with an open mouth, then grinning…
“Webster's defines it as an agreement under the law which is unbreakable.”
6:40–6:52 -
A man in a blue suit with short brown hair and a green collar stands with his back to us beside a tall wooden…
“Uh, Mr. Hatz?”
6:52–7:02 -
A black-hooded Grim Reaper with a skull face looms over the scene at the start, then in a pink room Homer is…
“Homer Simpson, I have no choice but to sentence you to an eternity.”
7:02–7:15 -
Homer and Marge are in a hospital examining room, where Homer sits on an exam table with his mouth open…
“Wait a minute. You got married in an emergency room?”
7:15–7:27 -
Marge Simpson with her tall blue beehive stands in the foreground while Homer is surrounded by rising flames…
“Read the back! The back!”
7:27–7:39 -
Mr. Burns sits in a red-lit room holding a small framed photograph of a group that includes Marge's blue…
“Dear Marge, you have given me your hand in marriage.”
7:39–7:50 -
Marge Simpson, Mrs. Krabappel, and a moustached man in a red high-collared cape with glasses stand with other…
“We've heard enough. Your Honor,”
7:50–8:01 -
Homer is engulfed in flames in a pink living room, clutching his chest with his eyes shut, while Marge…
“All right, Simpson, you get your soul back.”
8:01–8:11 -
Homer Simpson appears in a close-up at the left of the first frame, his big white eyes staring wide-eyed…
8:11–8:18 -
Maggie sits in a high chair with a pacifier and blue bow, holding a spoon, while Santa's Little Helper…
“Homer, stop picking at it. Oh, but I'm so sweet and tasty.”
8:18–8:27 -
Homer, whose head appears as a bitten donut, wears a white shirt and pink tie in a purple kitchen while Lisa…
“Well, time to go to work. Dad, I wouldn't go outside if I were you.”
8:27–8:41 -
Bart and Lisa stand in front of a red-framed painting of a yellow Springfield Elementary School bus…
“The next exhibit in our ghoulish gallery is entitled...”
8:41–8:49 -
Bart and Lisa stand in front of a red-bordered picture of a yellow Springfield Elementary school bus…
“Nope, says right there. School bus.”
8:49–8:58 -
Several small, indistinct passengers ride inside a yellow Springfield Elementary School bus, with the driver…
“Hey, Bart, look!”
8:58–9:06 -
Milhouse and Bart sit side by side on an orange bench in front of a window
“Hey, Bart, look!”
9:06–9:18 -
Milhouse and Bart sit side by side on an orange bench by a window
“Hmm.”
9:18–9:29 -
Otto steers a yellow school bus along a road lined with evergreen trees under a blue sky, and passengers…
“Hmm.”
9:29–9:41 -
Lisa sits at the kitchen table beside Bart, who wears an orange shirt and stares wide-eyed with his mouth open
“I just had a vision of my own horrible, fiery death.”
9:41–9:53 -
Homer stands in the kitchen holding a red megaphone-like item and a spray can while Bart covers his ears…
“Marge, look at all this great stuff I found at the marina.”
9:53–10:03 -
Principal Skinner sits on a red bus seat in the rain holding a brown paper bag, speaking and then turning…
“Hello, Simpson.”
10:03–10:13 -
Lisa and Bart stand in the aisle of a crowded red bus while passengers stare at them
“so could everyone please be extra nice to him?”
10:13–10:24 -
Bart Simpson rides a yellow Springfield Elementary School bus through heavy rain, with Milhouse in glasses…
10:24–10:34 -
A blue-green lizard-like creature with dark hair scrambles across a rain-streaked wooden surface…
“Millhouse, Millhouse, wake up. Quick, look out the window.”
10:34–10:43 -
Milhouse stands in a bus aisle wearing a pink shirt and grins and grimaces while talking, as a stubbly-haired…
“No way, Bart. If I lean over, I leave myself open to wedgies,”
10:43–10:55 -
Otto steers a yellow Springfield Elementary School bus through heavy rain while Bart sits in the seat…
“Eh, no problemo, Bart, dude. I'll get rid of...”
10:55–11:05 -
Bart is first seen in a small yellow car driving through a storm, then pressed against a window…
11:05–11:17 -
Bart Simpson climbs onto a bus seat beside Milhouse, who wears a blue cap and red-framed glasses, while rain…
“Everybody, there's a monster on the side of the bus!”
11:17–11:23 -
Seen through the windows of a bus in heavy rain, Lisa with her pearl necklace and an unnamed passenger…
“There's no monster.”
11:23–11:34 -
Two green, big-eyed aliens with fanged mouths and blue belts sit in a red spaceship cockpit, watching…
“Foolish earthlings.”
11:34–11:40 -
Two green, tentacled aliens with wide fanged mouths and glass-like helmets sit at the controls of a red…
11:40–11:51 -
A blue, furry, lizard-like creature sits hunched on a rain-streaked yellow floor, gripping its jaw, before…
“Now I've gotten word that a child is using his imagination and I've come to put a stop to”
11:51–12:04 -
Bart Simpson sits by a rain-streaked window in a red interior and looks around with wide eyes, then glances…
“Ah!”
12:04–12:14 -
Sideshow Bob first peers in through a rain-streaked bus window, then boards and stands gripping a pole…
“My mule wouldn't walk in the mud, so I had to put 17 bullets in him.”
12:14–12:26 -
Milhouse and Bart sit together on an orange bench in a red train car with a rainy window and an EMERGENCY…
“Mmm. You believe me, don't you? You're my friend who believes me.”
12:26–12:39 -
Milhouse sits on an orange couch holding a red book in his lap beside a chubby blond boy in green overalls…
“Oh, guten tag.”
12:39–12:51 -
A blue gremlin with long arms and wild black hair clings to a spinning black tire sunk in an orange-rimmed…
“Gremlins taking off the wheel. Stop the bus or we're all gonna die.”
12:51–13:01 -
Bart Simpson stands on a red bus seat shouting with his arms flung wide while two purple-haired women…
“Gremlins taking off the wheel. Stop the bus or we're all gonna die.”
13:01–13:13 -
Bart Simpson sits on a bus seat with his wrists bound by rope in an orange shirt and blue shorts…
“Uh, sure.”
13:13–13:25 -
Bart Simpson sits in a rain-streaked airplane cabin beside a heavyset, blond-haired man in a white Wang…
13:25–13:39 -
Homer presses a red wall button beneath a partly hidden sign reading "...NCY ...ASE" while rain falls…
13:39–13:49 -
Bart Simpson leans out of a yellow school bus window in the rain, holding a lit torch toward a blue fish-like…
“Hey boy!”
13:49–14:00 -
Principal Skinner is pinned against the driver's seat of a red-trimmed yellow school bus while Sideshow Bob…
“Pullly pull!”
14:00–14:10 -
Ned Flanders grips the wheel of a blue station wagon on a rain-soaked road as a yellow bus with a large wheel…
“Oh, dear Lord.”
14:10–14:21 -
Ned Flanders stands in the rain hugging a green-skinned, blue-faced creature with green hair and a fanged…
“Oh, isn't that cute? He's trying to claw my eyes out.”
14:21–14:32 -
Bart lies strapped to a white hospital gurney in a gown while a thin man in a blue suit and orange tie stands…
“Whoa!”
14:32–14:42 -
Bart Simpson lies strapped to a hospital gurney in a white restraining jacket while an older man…
“Perhaps spending the remainder of your life in a madhouse will teach you some manners”
14:42–14:55 -
Bart sits in a vehicle cabin with his back to the viewer, watching a pale blue, spiky-haired creature…
“I'll leave home, bird!”
14:55–15:00 -
Bart Simpson stands in a dark gallery in front of framed paintings, first with a black screen and a close-up…
“We come now to the final and most terrifying painting of the evening”
15:00–15:09 -
Bart Simpson stands in a dark gallery lined with paintings, first smirking with his hands clasped…
“We come now to the final and most terrifying painting of the evening”
15:09–15:18 -
Homer leans in front of a gold-bordered painting of dogs playing poker, then screams with his mouth wide open…
“They're dogs, and they're playing poker!”
15:18–15:31 -
Homer, Marge, Maggie, Lisa and Bart appear in their pink living room, first with Homer and Marge's wide-eyed…
“Enjoy!”
15:31–15:40 -
An older, wrinkled man with white hair and a red blazer over a blue tie, who resembles Kent Brockman, sits…
“drained of his blood with two teeth marks on his throat.”
15:40–15:46 -
Chief Wiggum stands before a bank of microphones, grimacing and then looking worried as reporters hold them…
“Police are baffled. We think we're dealing with a supernatural being, most likely a mummy.”
15:46–15:58 -
Lisa Simpson stands on a colorful oval rug in the pink living room while Homer, Marge holding baby Maggie…
“No, no, they're wrong. The creature they seek is the walking undead.”
15:58–16:09 -
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II sit or stand in the pink living room…
“These, uh, vampires are make-believe, just like elves, gremlins, and Eskimos.”
16:09–16:21 -
Mr. Burns appears on a television screen with blood dripping from his mouth as he gestures with his yellow…
“Oh, I'm very excited about this deal.”
16:21–16:32 -
Homer drives a pink car at night with Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie in the back seat, all wearing wide-eyed…
“It sure was nice of Mr. Burns to invite us for a midnight break.”
16:32–16:43 -
Lisa, Marge, Bart, Maggie and Homer ride in a pink car at night, with Lisa in the back seat wearing a red…
“Ah, there's something fishy about this whole setup.”
16:43–16:55 -
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and baby Maggie stand on a stone landing before a large wooden door with green metal…
“Welcome.”
16:55–17:05 -
The Simpsons family, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, stand together in a doorway of a dark stone…
“Well, if it isn't my good friends, the, uh...”
17:05–17:17 -
Mr. Burns stands in a red robe with his hands clasped, while Smithers stands in a green jacket at the right…
“Simpson, family master. Simpson, eh?”
17:17–17:28 -
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie sit at a long candlelit banquet table in a stone hall, with Smithers…
“He was a boy!”
17:28–17:40 -
Bart and Lisa sit side by side at a bar holding glasses of red wine
“Whoops!”
17:40–17:48 -
Lisa and Bart stand in a dark stone-walled passage
“Lisa, Burns isn't a vampire, and even if he was,”
17:48–17:59 -
Bart and Lisa, the boy with spiky hair in an orange shirt and the girl with star-shaped spiky hair in a red…
“Satisfied? Big deal. It's no different from the basement in Grandpa's rest home.”
17:59–18:11 -
Bart and Lisa stand in a dim crypt lined with cobwebs and candelabras
“Oh, my God!”
18:11–18:22 -
Lisa Simpson and Bart Simpson stand in a dark, cobweb-strewn chamber with arched openings and a wall…
“Yeah, I've seen your curly too.”
18:22–18:32 -
Lisa runs and tumbles down a curving stone slide in a dark, brick-walled hellish setting, reaching out…
“I know I really shouldn't.”
18:32–18:43 -
Bart lies on the floor of a dim stone crypt while a green-skinned zombie woman with teal hair and a pink…
“Well, if it isn't little...”
18:43–18:54 -
A thin, hook-nosed old man with a bald head and light-blue hair at the sides, wearing a red jacket and white…
“Mom, Dad, Mr. Burns is a vampire and he has Bart!”
18:54–19:05 -
Mr. Burns scowls in a stone archway wearing a red cape, while Bart in an orange shirt and blue shorts leans…
“Hello, Mother.”
19:05–19:16 -
Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie sit at a dining table set with plates of food, a platter of picked bones…
“Beer kills brain cells. Now let's go back to that...”
19:16–19:28 -
Lisa Simpson first stands at a blue curtain, then screams in bed as she grips the blanket
“Come join us, Lisa. It's so cool.”
19:28–19:39 -
Milhouse tumbles through a dark blue void past a dark green shape while streaks of motion fly by, his hands…
“And if you say you're a vampire, you get a free small soda at the movies.”
19:39–19:50 -
Lisa screams in bed in a blue bedroom as Bart bites at her shoulder with bared fangs while Homer shouts…
“Bart!”
19:50–20:01 -
Grampa raises two wooden stakes overhead and shouts while Marge watches from the left and Homer stands…
“We have to kill the boy! How'd you know he's a vampire?”
20:01–20:13 -
Lisa Simpson and Homer Simpson are in a dim blue room
“The only way to get Bart back is to kill the head vampire, Mr.”
20:13–20:24 -
Homer, Marge, Lisa and baby Maggie, the baby with a pacifier and blue bow, descend a stone staircase in a dim…
“This is dangerous.”
20:24–20:34 -
Homer, Marge, Maggie and Lisa stand together in a dim stone crypt; Lisa grips a wooden stake and clenches…
“You must drive this stake right through his heart.”
20:34–20:42 -
Homer Simpson stands behind a dark wooden railing in a dim, cramped space with pale padded walls, and Lisa…
“Take that, vile fiend!”
20:42–20:53 -
Marge lies in an open coffin in a red cape over a white lining while a yellow hand from the left drives…
20:53–21:03 -
Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie sit at the kitchen table, where Homer looks on with his mouth open…
“You're fired!”
21:03–21:16 -
Bart sits at the green kitchen counter eating cereal from a bowl, then looks up in alarm with wide eyes
“This cape is giving me a rash. Grandpa's a vampire?”
21:16–21:28 -
Lisa Simpson stands on a checkered kitchen floor beside a blue oven, pointing and looking up with wide eyes
“You're the head vampire?”
21:28–21:40 -
Lisa, Bart, Marge, Maggie and Homer crowd together in a room with purple and green patterned wallpaper…
“Happy Halloween, everybody!”
21:40–21:45 -
Lisa, Bart, Maggie, Marge, Homer and a stooped old man in a black vest and red bow tie stand in a purple…
21:45–21:55 -
No Simpsons characters appear in this sequence, which consists only of black title cards with green text…
“Thank you.”
21:55–22:05 -
A black title card sequence with green text on a dark background
22:05–22:16 -
No Simpsons characters appear; the scene is a black screen with green credit text in a cartoonish…
22:16–22:26 -
The screen is black with green credit text, starting with Animation Production Manager Fran-Ken…
22:26–22:36 -
No Simpsons characters appear in this moment; the scene is a black background with green text, a credits…
22:36–22:47 -
A silhouetted audience sits in rows of cinema seats, including one figure with a tall bouffant hairdo…
22:47–22:56 -
The five frames are entirely black, so no characters can be identified and no people, place, or action are…
22:56–23:06 -
The five frames are entirely black, so no characters are visible and no one can be identified in this moment
23:06–23:16 -
The frames are entirely black, so no characters can be identified and no people, places, or actions are…
23:16–23:26
Who's in it
Bart Simpson, Homer Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Marge Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Milhouse Van Houten, Grampa Simpson, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Chief Wiggum, Krusty the Clown, Lenny Leonard, Carl Carlson, Dr. Hibbert, Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Nelson Muntz, Kent Brockman, Otto Mann, Martin Prince, Ralph Wiggum, Reverend Lovejoy, Groundskeeper Willie, Santa's Little Helper, Lou, Lewis Clark, Wendell Borton, Richard, Jimbo Jones, Eddie, Miss Hoover, Snowball II, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Sherri Mackleberry, Terri Mackleberry, Nina Skalka, Janey Powell, Hans Moleman, Adrian Belew, Becky Shorter, Sophie Jensen, Itchy, Girl with glasses, Long-haired girl, Ruth Powers, Jaffee Ziswhisky, Buck-toothed boy, Lionel Hutz, Buck-toothed girl, Lewis' lookalike, Troy McClure, Chuck Berger, Black Weasel, Yellow Weasel, Smug Girl, Space Mutants, Üter Zörker, Kang, Kodos, Richard Nixon, The Devil, Elvis Presley, Grim Reaper, John Wilkes Booth, Benedict Arnold, Lizzie Borden, The Three Stooges, Count Dracula, Devil Flanders, J. Edgar Hoover, John Dillinger, Mr. Boswell, Blackbeard, Blue Demon, Count Burns, Green Demon, Gremlin
Everyone who appears in it, from the Simpsons wiki. Every character