History Recap / TheSimpsonsS2E3TreehouseOfHorror

** Among the names in the Indian burial ground, the visible ones are [[Literature/TheSongOfHiawatha Hiawatha]], Cochise, UsefulNotes/{{Pocahontas}}, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, [[Radio/TheLoneRanger Tonto]], Crazy Horse, Not-So-Crazy Horse, Sacajawea and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Mahatma Gandhi]]. Also note that both Hiawatha and Tonto are fictional Native Americans.

* OnceOriginalNowCommon: InUniverse--after Bart scoffs at the "The Raven" poem's ''supposed'' scariness, Lisa suggests that maybe people were easier to scare at the time it was written[[note]]"The Raven" was written back in 1845[[/note]]. Hearing this, Bart compares it to [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 the original "Friday the 13th,"]] describing it as being "pretty tame by today's standards [for a horror movie]."

The beginning of an annual ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' tradition! It begins with Marge [[ContentWarnings giving a warning to viewers]], in a parody of ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'' (1931). Then the episode proper opens with Homer out trick-or-treating on Halloween night, disguised as a ghost, when he notices that Bart, Lisa and Maggie are up in the treehouse, with Bart and Lisa attempting to scare each other with their own [[GhostStory horror stories]], and he decides to listen in. Noteworthy as the ''[[ArtifactTitle only]]'' "Treehouse of Horror" episode [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin that actually has a treehouse setting]]. It's also noteworthy for being the first episode composed by Alf Clausen, who continued to compose for the show for ''[[LongRunners 27 years]].''

* AgeAppropriateAngst: "The Raven". The kids aren't scared, but the idea of a beloved wife who may have [[CameBackWrong Come Back Wrong]]? Terrifying to Homer.

After Bart's tale of macabre is finished, Lisa argues that it wasn't that scary, and Bart considers it a "warmup" for his next story, a parody of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E24ToServeMan To Serve Man]]". As the family is having a barbecue, the Simpsons are then [[AlienAbduction abducted by a U.F.O.]] and sent into space. They are then introduced by an alien named Kang, who then introduces his UFO partner Kodos [[EarlyBirdCameo in their first appearances]], and will be taking the Simpsons to their [[ShoutOut home planet of Rigel-4]] for a celebration. The family questions this, but are enticed into having a dinner cooked by the third alien, Serak the Preparer (who has never appeared in any subsequent "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, unlike Kang and Kodos). As they have their own dinner and they give the Simpsons another dinner, the aliens then inform the Simpsons that they will be at a feast when they reach Rigel-4, appearing as the "guests of honor". Serak then says that when the spaceship arrives, there will be enough time to "chew the fat". Lisa then becomes suspicious, convinced that the aliens are fattening the Simpsons so the aliens can eat them. She discovers a book titled ''How to Cook Humans'' in the spaceship's kitchen. The family then believes Lisa as she holds up the book, only for Kang to blow some "space dust" off the cover, revealing the title to be ''How to Cook For Humans''. [[RunningGag Lisa then blows some more dust off, revealing the title to be]] ''[[RunningGag How to Cook Forty Humans]]'', then Kang blows even more dust off, revealing it as ''How to Cook for Forty Humans''. Kang then reveals he, Kodos and a crying Serak were only trying to provide the Simpsons a big banquet, and were promising them with paradise that is now impossible due to their distrustful nature. The spaceship then drops the family off in their backyard and leaves. Lisa concludes that [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters their family were the real monsters on the spaceship]], ''not'' the aliens. The rest of the family asks her to shut up.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: InUniverse--after Bart scoffs at the "The Raven" poem's ''supposed'' scariness, Lisa suggests that maybe people were easier to scare at the time it was written[[note]]"The Raven" was written back in 1845[[/note]]. Hearing this, Bart compares it to [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 the original "Friday the 13th,"]] describing it as being "pretty tame by today's standards [for a horror movie]."

After Bart's tale of macabre is finished, Lisa argues that it wasn't that scary, and Bart considers it a "warmup" for his next story, a parody of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E89ToServeMan To Serve Man]]". As the family is having a barbecue, the Simpsons are then [[AlienAbduction abducted by a U.F.O.]] and sent into space. They are then introduced by an alien named Kang, who then introduces his UFO partner Kodos [[EarlyBirdCameo in their first appearances]], and will be taking the Simpsons to their [[ShoutOut home planet of Rigel-4]] for a celebration. The family questions this, but are enticed into having a dinner cooked by the third alien, Serak the Preparer (who has never appeared in any subsequent "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, unlike Kang and Kodos). As they have their own dinner and they give the Simpsons another dinner, the aliens then inform the Simpsons that they will be at a feast when they reach Rigel-4, appearing as the "guests of honor". Serak then says that when the spaceship arrives, there will be enough time to "chew the fat". Lisa then becomes suspicious, convinced that the aliens are fattening the Simpsons so the aliens can eat them. She discovers a book titled ''How to Cook Humans'' in the spaceship's kitchen. The family then believes Lisa as she holds up the book, only for Kang to blow some "space dust" off the cover, revealing the title to be ''How to Cook For Humans''. [[RunningGag Lisa then blows some more dust off, revealing the title to be]] ''[[RunningGag How to Cook Forty Humans]]'', then Kang blows even more dust off, revealing it as ''How to Cook for Forty Humans''. Kang then reveals he, Kodos and a crying Serak were only trying to provide the Simpsons a big banquet, and were promising them with paradise that is now impossible due to their distrustful nature. The spaceship then drops the family off in their backyard and leaves. Lisa concludes that [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters their family were the real monsters on the spaceship]], ''not'' the aliens. The rest of the family asks her to shut up.

** The plot of the aliens cooking for the humans is a reference to ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E89ToServeMan To Serve Man]]".

* SophisticatedAsHell: "Quoth the Raven: '[[CatchPhrase Eat my shorts]]!'"

* SophisticatedAsHell: "Quoth the Raven: '[[{{Catchphrase}} Eat my shorts]]!'"

* NeverMyFault: Despite the fact that Lisa was the only member of the family to be suspicious about the aliens' motives, she claims that they are ''all'' at fault for the aliens rejecting them. The rest of the family don't buy this for a second.
-->'''Marge:''' Lisa, see what we mean when we say you're too smart for your own good?\\
'''Bart:''' ''(sarcastically)'' Way to go, Lis.\\
'''Homer''' ''(angrily)'' Yeah, thanks Lisa.