{"id":53155,"date":"2024-10-25T11:30:40","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T15:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/?p=53155"},"modified":"2025-10-31T13:34:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T17:34:39","slug":"snl50-11-great-spooky-sketches-that-arent-david-s-pumpkins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/2024\/10\/25\/snl50-11-great-spooky-sketches-that-arent-david-s-pumpkins\/","title":{"rendered":"SNL@50: 11 Great Spooky Sketches (That Aren\u2019t David S Pumpkins)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Saturday<\/a>
Images via NBC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Comedy and horror often rely on the same element of surprise to provoke the desired reaction with their audience. And over the years, Saturday Night Live<\/em> has used that similarity to find laughs undermining various horror tropes and scenarios. Although Halloween usually brings out the spooky side of SNL, the show would go into horror-tinged territory no matter when it was. Of course, the most popular of these sketches seems to be the two appearances of guest Tom Hanks as David S Pumpkins, so setting him aside, here are 11 other greater sketches that are either set at Halloween or invoke its spooky vibes.<\/p>\n

Note: Most of these sketches are available on SNL’s official YouTube channel with the exception of “Return Of The Coneheads” and “Mr. Death.” These two can be seen in their individual full episodes available for streaming on Peacock.<\/p>\n

Exorcist II (Season 01, Episode 07)<\/h3>\n

With the release of Star Wars still two years away, William Friedkin\u2019s The Exorcist<\/strong> was the reigning box office champ of the 1970s. And while blaxploitation producers had already done their own version of The Exorcist<\/strong> with 1974\u2019s Abby<\/strong><\/a>, Saturday Night Live<\/em> turned in their own version with guest host Rhichard Pryor serving as an assistant priest for the exorcism of a possessed little girl played by Laraine Newman. Pryor\u2019s work here and in the rest of the episode was the first spark that would ultimately lead to his own, albeit shortlived, prime time sketch series two years later. It should be not that that while I can see the impulse to criticize the show and producer Lorne Michaels for casting its second black lead in this sketch with outside actor Thamulus Rasulula instead of cast member Garrett Morris, it should be noted that this was done at Pryor\u2019s request.<\/p>\n