This was the first Treehouse of Horror episode to have actually been broadcast on Halloween. This would not happen again until Treehouse of Horror X (1999) in Season 11.
Al Jean pitched the idea of having "scary names" in the opening credits, inspired by old issues of EC Comics.
There was a debate about whether to include Kang and Kodos in all Halloween specials after the episode; eventually, the writers agreed to make it a tradition.
The Monkey's Paw segment is based on a short story written by W.W. Jacobs at the start of the 20th century.
Mr. Burns hums a little of "If I Only Had a Brain" while removing Homer's brain.