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Published Oct 19, 2026, 11:16 PM EDT
Shawn Van Horn is a Senior Author for Collider. He's watched way too many slasher movies over the decades, which makes him an aficionado on all things Halloween and Friday the 13th. Don't ask him to choose between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees because he can't do it. He grew up in the 90s, when Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, and TGIF were his life, and still watches them religiously to this day. Larry David is his spirit animal. His love for entertainment spreads to the written word as well. He has written two novels and is neck deep in the querying trenches. He is also a short story maker upper and poet with a dozen publishing credits to his name. He lives in small town Ohio, where he likes to watch professional wrestling and movies.
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The Simpsons is one of the most culturally significant shows in the history of television. Now in its 38th season, Matt Groening's Fox series has influenced countless similar animated half-hour comedies that have come after. Its success with a teenage and adult crowd made the likes of Beavis and Butt-Head and South Park possible. It's also so very easy to see the similarities between The Simpsons and Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy. The two shows are so alike that, more than once, the former has taken jabs at the latter, including in multiple Halloween "Treehouse of Horror" episodes. Now, Family Guy is copying The Simpsons in another way with their own annual Hulu Halloween specials, and they're doing it even better than The Simpsons.
'Family Guy' Used To Be Inconsistent With Their Halloween Episodes
To hype up Family Guy's Halloween episodes is not to dismiss what The Simpsons has accomplished with "Treehouse of Horror." Starting in Season 2, there have now been horror anthologies every October since. Although the earlier seasons have the more memorable episodes, some of the best have come in later years. "Treehouse of Horror" is arguably the most anticipated thing The Simpsons has done every year, and what it means to pop culture can't be denied. For example, Curry Barker's Obsession only happened after Barker found inspiration from a "Treehouse of Horror" episode which parodied The Monkey's Paw.
Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek
Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🚀Star Wars
💍Lord of the Rings
🧙Harry Potter
👑Game of Thrones
🖖Star Trek
FIND YOUR UNIVERSE →
01
What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.
ABeing part of something larger than myself — a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me. BThe journey itself — the places I'll go, the companions beside me, the world I'll discover on the way. CLearning — unlocking what I'm capable of, understanding the world's hidden mechanics, growing into something more. DLegacy — the name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me. EUnderstanding — exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit? The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.
AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture — connected by conflict, trade, and the Force. BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges. CA world hidden inside our own — full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned. DA brutal, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation. EA future where humanity has reached the stars — and must decide what kind of species it wants to be.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
How do you prefer your conflicts resolved? The shape of a world's conflicts tells you everything about its soul.
AThrough sacrifice and courage — someone has to make the impossible choice so others don't have to. BThrough fellowship — the impossible becomes possible when the right people walk the same road. CThrough growth — confronting what you fear, understanding what you lack, and becoming equal to the challenge. DThrough strategy — outthinking, outmaneuvering, positioning yourself so the outcome was never in doubt. EThrough dialogue — finding the third option, the peaceful resolution, the answer that doesn't require a body count.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
Who do you want beside you when things get difficult? Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.
AA small crew — a pilot, a rogue, a warrior — each broken in their own way, unbeatable together. BA fellowship of different kinds of people, bound by purpose and deepened by the long road. CFriends who grew up alongside me — who knew me before I knew myself, and stayed anyway. DAllies whose loyalty I've earned — and tested — and whose ambitions align with mine, for now. EA crew of brilliant, curious, principled people from every corner of known space.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
What is your relationship with power? How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.
AI want to use it to protect — and I'm terrified of what I might become if I'm not careful. BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up. CI want to earn it — through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it. DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me. EI want to understand it — its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real threat.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
How does your universe treat good and evil? A world's moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.
AThere is a dark side and a light side — and the choice between them is always present, always personal. BEvil is real and ancient and patient — and goodness, however small, is the only thing that can undo it. CGood and evil are real, but they live inside people — and people are complicated, always capable of both. DGood and evil are mostly a matter of perspective and proximity. Power is the only honest currency. EEvil is usually the result of ignorance, fear, or broken systems — and understanding it is the first step to solving it.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
What role would you naturally fall into? Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?
AThe reluctant hero — ordinary origins, extraordinary moment, changed forever by the choice to act. BThe unlikely carrier — the one nobody expected to matter most, quietly bearing the weight of everything. CThe student — not yet who I'll become, learning through every mistake, growing into something the world needs. DThe player — sharp enough to see the game for what it is, ambitious enough to try to win it. EThe explorer — drawn to the unknown, driven by curiosity, most alive when standing somewhere no one has stood before.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
What do you ultimately believe about the future? The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.
AThat hope is real — that even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible. CThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try. CThat love and friendship and doing what's right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise. DThat the wheel keeps turning — that power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it. EThat humanity — or whatever we become — is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be.
REVEAL MY UNIVERSE →
Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…
Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.
Star Wars
You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.
- You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
- You'd find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
- Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story.
- The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.
Lord of the Rings
You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.
- Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
- You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival.
- Tolkien's universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
- Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.
Harry Potter
You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.
- The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
- You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
- Harry Potter's universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
- That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely.
Game of Thrones
You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.
- Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
- You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don't confuse the world as it is with the world as you'd like it to be.
- Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
- Winter always comes. You are already prepared.
Star Trek
You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.
- Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
- You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
- The Federation is the universe's most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
- You don't just hope that's possible. You think it's the only thing worth working toward.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
Meanwhile, Family Guy spent the vast majority of its run without a dedicated Halloween episode. There were episodes geared towards horror here and there, but only a few, such as the celebrated Season 9 episode, "Halloween on Spooner Street", have been set on the spookiest holiday of the year. With Family Guy having its finger on the pulse of pop culture (admittedly too much sometimes), and the series having so many Christmas-themed episodes, not having one every year for Halloween was a missed opportunity. Then came 2024 and a huge change.
Annual Hulu Halloween Specials Have Put 'Family Guy' on Par With 'The Simpsons'
In October 2024, Family Guy began the first of its exclusive Halloween episodes with Hulu. Separate from the regular season episodes which air on Fox, the Halloween specials are meant to have their own feel away from the series, just as Family Guy does with its now annual Christmas episodes. The first of these specials, and the first time Family Guy didn't premiere on Fox, went all out. "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheater" has guest star cameos from Glen Powell as a pumpkin contest winner named Patrick McCloskey and Derek Jacobi bringing Stewie's teddy bear, Rupert, to life, now as a murderous toy who wants to kill Brian for how he treats the boy who loves him.
The first attempt, which was a regular-length episode, received a mixed reaction from fans, but it should be commended for the effort, and for not being tempted to clone The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror" anthology route. The second Hulu Halloween episode in 2025 was much better. "A Little Fright Music" keeps a more cohesive focus on the main characters, this time with Brian and Stewie trying to come up with the ultimate Halloween song (spoiler alert: they succeed), and in the best part of the episode, Peter, Quagmire, Cleveland (Arif Zahir), and Joe (Patrick Warburton), being stalked by masked killers with chainsaws.
This year, Family Guy was back at it for Halloween time with a third straight yearly Hulu special, "Happy Hell-o-ween." Released on the streamer on October 5, the third outing is the best so far. In the episode, rather than jumping back and forth between storylines with the Griffins, the story stays focused on Brian and Stewie. Many of the best Family Guy episodes, such as "Brian & Stewie" and "Road to the North Pole", work by getting away from too much chaos and centering themselves on the twisted boy and his dog adventures. "Happy Hell-o-ween" is no different. This time, Brian and Stewie die and find themselves in Hell with Satan. Lucifer is voiced by one of the best cameos yet, Emmy and Oscar winner Kieran Culkin. With the residents of Hell constantly complaining about the heat and forced torture, Brian and Stewie take over for the Devil, promising air conditioning and voluntary eternal torture. It's not the first time they've taken over such important duties (they once replaced Santa Claus), but with how often Hell's damned criticize their surroundings, the job is going to be more difficult than they thought.
The Simpsons continues the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes every year. They're not as great as they used to be, though, and despite huge name cameos like Michael Keaton and Idris Elba (the latter played the Devil last season), the Halloween episodes are often a reminder of how good it used to be. Family Guy, however, now three years into its own annual Halloween content, has gotten better each time. With Family Guy extended to at least 2029, look for the Hulu Halloween episodes to keep improving in quality. It's not often that Family Guy can say they do something better than The Simpsons, but when it comes to going for hilarious scares in October, the Griffins have supplanted the family who did it first.
