"Treehouse of Horror IV" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the fourth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 28, 1993, and features three short stories called "The Devil and Homer Simpson", "Terror at Feet", and "Bart Simpson's Dracula". The episode was co-written by Conan O'Brien, Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Greg Daniels, Dan McGrath, and Bill Canterbury, and directed by David Silverman. As with the rest of the Halloween specials, the episode is considered non-canon and falls outside the show's regular continuity. The episode makes cultural references to television series such as The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, and Peanuts, as well as films such as The Devil and Daniel Webster, Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Lost Boys. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 14.5, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired. Plot In a parody of Night Gallery, Bart introduces each of the three segments by walking through a gallery of paintings and each time choosing one of them as the focus of his story. The Devil and Homer Simpson In a parody of The Devil and Daniel Webster, at work, Homer states that he would sell his soul for a donut after finding that Lenny and Carl took all the donuts and threw them at an old man (Grampa) "for kicks". The devil, revealed to be Ned Flanders, appears and offers Homer a contract to seal the deal. However, before Homer finishes the donut, he realizes that Ned will not be able to have his soul if he does not eat all of the donut and keeps the final piece in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, while half-asleep and looking for a midnight snack, he eats the final piece of the "forbidden donut", and Ned instantly reappears to take possession of Homer's soul. Marge and Lisa plead with Ned, finally getting him to agree to hold a trial the next day. Until then, Homer is sent to spend the rest of the day being punished in Hell. His first punishment is to be strapped down and force-fed "all the donuts in the world!" (a contrapasso) but he eats them all eagerly. At the stroke of twelve