Treehouse of Horror XXIV/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 25 Episode References
← 531 "Homerland"	532 "Treehouse of Horror XXIV"	"Four Regrettings and a Funeral" 533 →

Cultural references

Opening sequence

• The first part with the zombies is a reference to The Night of the Living Dead. Although, the way the Flying Hellfish deal with said zombie is a reference to World War Z.
• There is a Jaeger and a Kaiju battling it out in a reference to the 2013 del Toro's film, Pacific Rim.
• The Dead Raven landing on the Tire Fire is a reference to Planet of the Vampires.
• Lard Lad becoming alive is a reference to "Treehouse of Horror VI".
• Chief Wiggum looks similar to the Cyclops from the 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
• Alfred Hitchcock tosses bird seed on Mrs. Krabappel and birds attack her, referencing the movie, The Birds.
• The blackboard gag's text is a reference to The Shining.
  • The man standing next to him is Stephen King, author of The Shining.
• Groundskeeper Willie's appearance is a reference to Hellboy and the character he buries under the leaves is Karl Ruprecht Kroenen from the film.
• Homer's mutated appearance is a reference to the reapers from Blade 2. Carl's appearance is a reference to Blade as well.
• Lenny's mug saying "I Hate Mondays" is a reference to Garfield.
• Matt Groening's original designs for the Simpson family from The Tracey Ullman Show are buried underground, as well as the skeleton of Godzilla.
• Mr. Burns is re-imagined as the Pale Man from Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, who ends up eating the unfortunate pixie Smithers.
  • The family also later recreates the final scene of the film during the couch gag.
• Maggie rides on the grocery checkout belt with scarabs from del Toro's first film, Cronos.
• The cash register reads 666, the number of the beast.
• del Toro's second film, Mimic, is referenced, with Marge as the giant cockroach.
• Boxes of Good & Bloody appear in the supermarket, which is based on the candy known as Good & Plenty.
• The magazines seen in the grocery store are Bleeder's Digest, Better Tombs and Gargoyles and The Ghost of Newsweek. All of which parody Reader's Digest, Better Homes and Gardens and Newsweek.
• The music class is substituted by the phantoms of The Phantom of the Opera, Dewey Largo, instead, is dressed as The Phantom of the Paradise.
• Pictures of the music class refer to (from left to right): Starships Poopers from "Treehouse of Horror IX", The Island of Dr. Hibbert from "Treehouse of Horror XIII", The Raven from "Treehouse of Horror" and Milhouse and the Great Pumpkin from "Treehouse of Horror XIX".
• The monster which picks Bart with its tentacles is Cthulhu from At the Mountains of Madness.
• The characters standing on the sidewalk are:
  • Author H. P. Lovecraft is having coffee with the giant winged and tentacled monster Cthulhu, a reference to perhaps his most famous creation.
  • Edgar Allan Poe, who holds up his arm for the three-eyed raven to alight, a reference to Poe's poem "The Raven".
  • Ray Bradbury adding tattoos to a tattooed man, a reference to his book The Illustrated Man.
  • Fantasy and science fiction author Richard Matheson standing next to a hooded, cloaked figure wearing dark glasses, a zombie from the 1971 movie The Omega Man, based on Matheson's novel I Am Legend.
• The Universal monsters who chase after a crowd of Springfield citizens, referencing the mob that chases after the monster:
  • Count Dracula.
  • Frankenstein's Monster.
  • The Wolf Man.
  • The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
  • The Mummy.
  • The Bride of Frankenstein.
  • The Invisible Man.
  • The Mutant from Metaluna from This Island Earth.
• Maggie terrorizes Milhouse behind the wheel of the evil 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III from The Car.
• Among the creatures and characters in the field next to the Simpsons' house are:
  • The Last Elemental from Hellboy II: The Golden Army, also from del Toro.
  • Rod Serling, author and host of the TV series The Twilight Zone, smoking a cigarette.
  • The robot from the TV series Lost in Space.
  • The Xenomorph from the 1979 movie, Alien.
  • "The Man in the Beaver Hat" from the 1927 lost film London After Midnight.
  • A mole person from The Mole People, writing "El Muerto" on the wall, a reference to El Barto.
  • Coming out of the ground, a Morlock from the 1960 movie The Time Machine.
  • A line drawing in profile of Alfred Hitchcock as in the beginning of TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, being drawn by Hans Moleman.
  • Ro-Man from the 1953 movie Robot Monster.
  • Three of Ray Harryhausen's sword-wielding skeletons from the 1963 movie Jason and the Argonauts.
  • Ray Harryhausen's Ymir from the 1957 movie 20 Million Miles to Earth.
  • The object that collides into Kang and Kodos Spaceship is a reference to The First Man in the Moon.
  • Two aliens from the 1957 movie Invasion of the Saucer Men.
  • The Thing from Another World from the movie with the same name.
  • The vampire Count Orlok from the 1921 movie Nosferatu.
  • The flying saucer and robot Gort from the 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still, with Gort shooting out a laser beam from his visor.
  • Brundlefly from the film The Fly.
  • Half-Boy and the pinhead Schlitzie from Tod Browning's 1932 movie Freaks, which could also reference Pepper from American Horror Story: Asylum.
  • The Mummy and the Invisible Man again.
  • Rondo Hatton from House of Horrors.
  • Death.
• Homer is Santi from del Toro's "The Devil's Backbone"
• Lisa falls down the rabbit hole à la Alice in Wonderland.
• Hypnotoad from Futurama makes an appearance.

"Oh, the Places You'll D'oh!"

• "The Fat in the Hat" is a parody of The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. The segment's title "Oh, the Places You'll D'oh!" is a parody of Dr. Seuss's book Oh, the Places You'll Go!. The names, rhyming and anapestic (short-long-short) meter in this segment are true to that of Dr. Seuss's writing.
• While blowing up City Hall the Fat in the Hat wears Guy Fawkes' Mask from the movie V for Vendetta.
• The pants that The Fat in the Hat pulls down are the Scary Green Pants from the story What Was I Scared Of? from The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss.

"Dead and Shoulders"

• The title of the second segment, "Dead and Shoulders" is a reference to the shampoo brand Head & Shoulders.
• The second segment is similar to the Futurama Season 2 episode, "Put Your Head on My Shoulders", when Philip J. Fry is beheaded during a flying car accident in Mercury, and his head is attached to Amy Wong's body. It is also similar to the ending of the segment "Homer's Nightmare" in "Treehouse of Horror II" where Mr. Burns' head ends up attached to Homer's body. It also is a reference to such science fiction movies as the 1971 film The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant and the 1972 film The Thing with Two Heads.

"Freaks no Geeks"

• The title of the third vignette, "Freaks No Geeks" is a pun of the title of the TV series Freaks and Geeks. In addition, geek is the term for a sideshow performer of repulsive acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken.
• When Kang and Kodos say they are from a globular cluster and show their fear of the dark, it is a reference to the premise of Nightfall (Asimov short story and novel).
• The plot and characters of "Freaks No Geeks" are parodies of Freaks, a 1932 Pre-Code horror film about sideshow performers. The chorus of "one of us, one of us" comes directly from that movie.
  • Barney Gumble is a parody of Prince Randian.
  • Carl Carlson and Lenny Leonard are a parody of Schlitzie.
  • Gil Gunderson is a parody of Josephine Joseph.
  • The Miniature Marvels are a parody of The Doll Family.
  • Raphael is a parody of Johnny Eck.
• In the end of the episode Homer says to his kids: "And that, kids, is how I met your mother" which is a reference to the TV show How I Met Your Mother. The theme tune for the show then plays after he says it.
• Jumbo is a reference to Dumbo.

Credits

The Simpsons: Tapped Out Icon

Denise Sirkot Icon

• In the cast credits, during the scene in which Burns' manor is destroyed, the credit to Denise Sirkot is presented as an App Icon, which resembles The Simpsons: Tapped Out's.
• simonsam@twitTERROR is a reference to Twitter and Sam Simon's Twitter account name.
• Marknado is a reference to the film Sharknado.
• To Live & Die in LaZebnik is a reference to the film To Live and Die in L.A..
• Tim Long-Il is a reference to Kim Jong-il.
• Curse of the Werebrook is a reference to The Curse of the Werewolf.
• The Longest Yeard(ley) is a reference to the film The Longest Yard and the 2005 remake.
• Andrea "No Relation To George" Romero refers to George A. Romero, a Canadian-American film director.
• The Dukexorcist is a reference to The Exorcist.
• Nightmare on Elfstreet is a reference to Nightmare on Elm Street.
• @mxedtr is the name of Chris Ledesma's Twitter account.

Trivia

• This is the second Treehouse of Horror episode to have a Halloween-themed opening sequence. The first was "Treehouse of Horror IX" in Season 10.
• With an airdate of October 6, 2013, "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" is so far the Treehouse of Horror episode that has aired the earliest in the calendar year.
• In the opening, Lard Lad comes to life with lightning referencing "Treehouse of Horror VI".
• This is the first Treehouse of Horror episode since "Treehouse of Horror IX" to have a chalkboard gag.
• This episode features the first Halloween-themed couch gag since "Treehouse of Horror X".
• This is the first (and only) Treehouse of Horror episode whose segment uses the word D'oh.

Continuity

• In the Music room, various versions of the Phantom of the Opera appear along with pictures of the Grand Pumpkin from "Treehouse of Horror XIX". Along with the animal people from "Treehouse of Horror XIII", half alien Maggie "Treehouse of Horror IX" and Homer as the tortured narrator "Treehouse of Horror".
• Defonzo Palmer and Marcus Le Marquez appear. "Jazzy and the Pussycats"
• A reconstructed Griff McDonald is seen as one of the soldiers fighting off zombies. ("Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"")
• The Lard Lad statue comes to life again. ("Treehouse of Horror VI", The Simpsons Game)
• The music that plays during the supermarket scene is the same music that played when Lisa ate the poison apple in the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. ("Four Great Women and a Manicure")
• The music that plays as Bart skateboards past the famous authors and away from the classic movie monsters is the same music that played during the battle scene of In The Na'Vi. ("Treehouse of Horror XXII")
• Pictures in the music room include:
  • The Raven Narrator. ("Treehouse of Horror")
  • Alien Maggie. ("Treehouse of Horror IX")
  • The Manimals. ("Treehouse of Horror XIII")
  • The Grand Pumpkin. ("Treehouse of Horror XIX")

← Season 24 Season 25 References Season 26 →

Homerland • Treehouse of Horror XXIV • Four Regrettings and a Funeral • YOLO • Labor Pains • The Kid Is All Right • Yellow Subterfuge • White Christmas Blues • Steal This Episode • Married to the Blob • Specs and the City • Diggs • The Man Who Grew Too Much • The Winter of His Content • The War of Art • You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee • Luca$ • Days of Future Future • What to Expect When Bart's Expecting • Brick Like Me • Pay Pal • The Yellow Badge of Cowardge