Researching the paranormal frequently involves the study of how people discuss paranormal phenomena’s significance in popular culture. Using Victor Turner’s concept of the liminoid, in this article I survey The Simpsons’ annual “Treehouse of Horror” episodes and suggest that thinking with these episodes can help scholars re-envision the academic construction of religion and the paranormal. I will argue that scholars should collapse the distinction between “religion” and “the paranormal” in academic and popular discussions.

Keywords:
paranormal, religion, The Simpsons, “Treehouse of Horror”, satire, theory, liminoid
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2014
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