Besides the candy and the costumes, my favorite Halloween tradition has always been the annual Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror" episodes. The show will air "Treehouse of Horror XIX" this Sunday. November 2nd. Want to know what distinguishes a "Treehouse of Horror" episode from a normal episode of The Simpsons? Here are some distinguishing characteristics (I have thought of some on my own, and have gotten some help from this Wikipedia entry):

* Each episode contains 3 mini-parodies of famous sci-fi or horror movies.
* Halloween specials tend to be more violent and bloody than normal Simpsons episodes. In fact, when the writers think of plot twists that are too violent for normal episodes, they save them for Halloween specials!
* The aliens Kang and Kodos make an appearance in each Halloween special. Sometimes plots revolve around the aliens or sometimes the aliens just kind of watch over the episode, but in any case, they are always there. My personal favorite episode was in 1996 when Kang and Kodos ate Bob Dole and Bill Clinton, therefore taking over the elections and forcing people to vote for either Kang or Kodos. At the end of the episode, when humanity is enslaved and forced into building some sort of giant space ray for their alien masters, Homer lets out an exasperated sigh and says "Don't blame me! I voted for Kodos!" Brilliant.
* Scary names: in the credits, the writers change to "scarier" versions of their names. Today, I shall be Jaina "Jackknife."

Happy Halloween, everyone!