The Simpsons have, thanks to the loose reality of being an animated show, come back from some ridiculous injuries over the years. While death remains a possibility, it's far easier to bounce back from injuries in this setting. Even the intro for almost every episode is quietly dangerous, and one wrong turn could bring down the family -- as proven during a memorable Treehouse of Horror intro that isn't even the most brutal take on the show's traditional opening.

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How The Simpsons Intro Works

The Simpsons Treehouse Intro Horror 1

Although there are edited versions of the show's intro for longer episodes and the segment was given a redesign starting with Season 20's "Take My Life, Please," the opening always follows the same standard beats. Across Springfield, the Simpsons finish out their daily routines -- Bart departs from detention, Lisa leaves her music class, Marge drives Maggie from the grocery store and Homer returns from work. The family reach the house at the same time, with Homer barely dodging Bart on his skateboard, Lisa on her bike and Marge in her car. The family then take their seats on the couch, setting up a rotating gag. Some of the only episodes of the series to completely forgo the traditional opening has always been the Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials.

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Early entries in the subseries of episodes would open with a warning from the cast, laying out the unique nature of the episodes compared to regular storylines. These were eventually replaced with brief comedic yet horrific cold opens -- like Season 7's "Treehouse of Horror VI," which featured the headless horseman recast as Krusty. However, one Treehouse re-imagined the traditional intro more in-line with the Halloween show's sensibilities. Season 10's "Treehouse of Horror IX" follows the normal beats of the traditional opening, but now with a series of horrifying tweaks and twists.

Treehouse of Horrors Killed The Simpsons in the Intro

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As Homer drives into the drive-way, Bart lands on Homer's car. Instead of sticking the landing , Bart tumbles to the ground -- seemingly breaking his neck. Not realizing her brother is on the ground, Lisa crashes her bike into Bart's body and is propelled directly into the house head first, embedding her through the drywall and seemingly killing her. Homer barely has time to react before Marge pulls up and doesn't stop, crushing Homer against the wall with the car and killing him.

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Meanwhile, Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger and Friday the 13th's Jason Vorhees wait on the couch, annoyed the family hasn't arrived to get killed yet. It's a brutal version of the classic intro, highlighting how easy things could go wrong for the family at any moment. It's also notably not the only time The Simpsons would play with the intro like this.

While Guillermo Del Toro would recreate the intro infused with references to over a century of horror films and characters with Season 25's "Treehouse of Horror XXIV," the nominally normal episode -- Season 28's "Dad Behavior" -- makes the intro even scarier. Opening like a traditional intro, things take a turn when Barney -- annoyed that Bart landed on him with his skateboard -- snaps it in two, forcing Bart to trudge home on foot.

Meanwhile, terrible accidents befall the rest of the family. The radioactive rod Homer usually drops behind his shirt instead bounces into his mouth and causes him to choke. As Lisa performs her jazz solo leaving the music room, she conks herself on the head and falls to the ground unconscious. In Marge's car, Maggie takes the driver's wheel from her sleeping mother, sending them careening into a lake. Marge's lifeless body then bobs to the surface, implying Maggie remained in the car and drowned. Only Bart makes it home in one piece. Even in regular episodes, The Simpsons intro can be surprisingly dangerous -- and the show's dark sense of humor could turn on the main cast at any time.