In the eighth annual Treehouse of Horror episode, Homer Simpson is the last Springfieldian left alive when a neutron bomb destroys Springfield until a gang of mutants come after him, Homer buys a transporter that Bart uses to switch bodies with a housefly, and Marge is accused of witchcraft in a Puritan rendition of Springfield in 1649.

It was written by Mike Scully, David X. Cohen and Ned Goldreyer, and was directed by Mark Kirkland.

He falls on his desk dead and his blood spells the title, "The Simpsons Halloween Special VIII".

While dancing naked in church, he is confronted by a band of hostile Springfield citizens who have become mutants from the blast.

Homer flees back home where he discovers that his family survived as their house was protected by its many layers of lead paint.

Quimby assures her that she is entitled to due process which means she will be thrown off a cliff with a broomstick; if she is a witch she will be able to fly to safety, in which case the authorities expect her to report back for punishment.

After being shoved off the cliff, Marge flies up on the broomstick revealing that she really is a witch, turning Chief Wiggum into a giant gopher and officers Lou and Eddie into a fairy and snowman, before returning to her sisters Patty and Selma.

They knock on the Flanders' door and demand their sons, but before they leave, Maude offers the witches gingerbread men instead.

[2] Originally, the TV-rating was supposed to stab Censor with a dagger, but Fox objected because it was too gruesome and was changed to a cutlass.

It was also the last episode Brad Bird worked on; he left the show to direct The Iron Giant at Warner Bros.

[5] "Treehouse of Horror VIII" won a Golden Reel Award in 1998 for "Best Sound Editing – Television Animated Specials" for Robert Mackston, Travis Powers, Norm MacLeod and Terry Greene.

[6] Alf Clausen received an Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" for this episode, which he ultimately lost.

Club named Comic Book Guy's line "Oh, I've wasted my life" as one of the quotes from The Simpsons that can be used in everyday situations.

Club, Erik Adams praised Alf Clausen's score, "its mournful oboe like a fall breeze shaking the last leaves from the branches.