"Treehouse of Horror" is the third episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 25, 1990. The episode was inspired by 1950s horror comics, and begins with a disclaimer that it may be too scary for children. It is the first Treehouse of Horror episode. These episodes do not obey the show's rule of realism and are not treated as canon. The opening disclaimer and a panning shot through a cemetery with humorous tombstones were features that were used sporadically in the Treehouse of Horror series and eventually dropped. This is also the first episode to have the music composed by Alf Clausen. The plot revolves around three scary stories told by the Simpson children in the family's treehouse. The first segment involves a haunted house that is based on various haunted house films, primarily The Amityville Horror (1979) and Poltergeist (1982). In the second segment, Kang and Kodos are introduced when the Simpsons are abducted by aliens. The third segment is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem "The Raven". James Earl Jones guest starred in all three segments. The episode was received positively, being included on several critics' "best of" lists. Critics singled out The Raven for praise, although Simpsons creator Matt Groening was concerned that it would be seen as pretentious. Plot On Halloween, Bart and Lisa sit in the treehouse and tell scary stories. Homer, who had just come home from trick or treating, eavesdrops on them. In "Bad Dream House", Bart tells a story where the Simpsons move into an eighteen bedroom house they got a good deal on. The walls of the cursed house begin to bleed and objects begin to fly through the air, Lisa senses an evil presence in the house (judging by the ghostly, echoing voice that tells the family to get out). There is also a portal to another dimension, a vortex, in the kitchen: Homer tests it out by throwing an orange in it, a piece of paper is thrown back at him as a response (on it is written "Quit throwing your garbage into our dimension"). Marge expresses the desire to leave, but Homer asks her to sleep on it. That night, the house possesses Homer and the children, manipulating their minds and making them chase each other with