Obsession's Wacky Horror Plot Was Inspired By A Classic Simpsons Episode

This article contains spoilers for "Obsession."

Curry Barker's "Obsession" is a classic "be careful what you wish for" horror tale. Shy guy Bear (Michael Johnston) uses a "One Wish Willow" novelty gift to wish for his crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) to love him "more than anyone else in the world." Soon, Nikki has become lethally obsessed with Bear, with no way to undo his selfish wish unless one of them dies.

/Film has described "Obsession" as like an R-rated "Goosebumps" book, but another undeniable comparison is W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw," about an enchanted monkey's paw that grants wishes but with terrible consequences. Indeed, "The Monkey's Paw" was one of Barker's influences when making "Obsession"... or rather, another story itself inspired by "The Monkey's Paw" was. Speaking to Variety, Barker recalled an episode of "The Simpsons" that helped inspire "Obsession."

"Bart gets a monkey paw and causes a bunch of chaos. [...] We've seen 'Be careful what you wish for' tons of times. But we've never seen my version of it. I instantly started thinking about what I could do with that."

Well, now the world has gotten Barker's version, and unlike a monkey's paw or One Wish Willow, there's been no drawbacks to "Obsession."

The "The Simpsons" episode Barker refers to is "Treehouse of Horror II," specifically the first segment. Lisa has a nightmare about the family visiting Morocco and acquiring a monkey's paw. The family gets four wishes, one per person (minus Marge), but each comes with dire consequences. There are dozens upon dozens of "Treehouse of Horror" segments, but "The Simpsons" take on "The Monkey's Paw" still ranks as one of the best over 30 years later.

Curry Barker's memory of Bart wreaking havoc with wishes is a little off, because almost the whole Simpson clan get a turn with the monkey's paw. Homer buys the paw for himself, but each of his kids tries it out first.

Maggie wastes a wish by wishing for a new pacifier, before Bart wishes for the family to be rich and famous. Soon, all of Springfield is sick of the Simpsons. (Little did the makers of "The Simpsons" know how enduring Simpsons-mania would actually be.) Lisa then makes a wish for world peace, but that only softens Earth up for an invasion by Kang & Kodos. Homer claims the last wish, asking for a mere turkey sandwich on rye bread.

"I don't want any zombie turkeys, I don't want to turn into a turkey myself, and I don't want any other weird surprises," Homer specifies. But even without those parameters, the monkey's paw screws the Simpsons — because the turkey in the sandwich is a little dry! "Obsession" fans know Bear had an unlucky lunch that was almost as terrible as Homer's sandwich. Homer pawns the depleted monkey's paw onto Ned Flanders, who manages to put it to good use.

"Treehouse of Horror" is built on homage of all kinds; think of all the segments that parody "The Twilight Zone," for instance. For many "Simpsons" fans, the anthology series is how they first learn of those stories. I knew "Treehouse of Horror" years before I'd ever watched "The Twilight Zone." 

Thanks to "Treehouse of Horror," the tale of the monkey's paw is as synonymous with "The Simpsons" as it is with W.W. Jacobs, and the episode's legacy lives on in "Obsession."