with a win in the semifinals the championship remained firmly in their sights

My name is Alice, but— It's a stupid name enough! Humpty Dumpty interrupted impatiently. What does it mean? Must a name mean something? Alice asked doubtfully. Of course it must, Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh, my name means the shape I am—and a good handsome shape it is, too. With a name like yours, you might be any shape, almost.

line 225 But the small birds in their wide boughs embowring / Chaunted their sundrie tunes with sweete consent;

In time The Simpsons would, indeed, resort to spoofing such decidedly non-spooktacular fare like E.T and Mr. And Mrs. Smith (both in “Treehouse Of Horror XVIII”) but in 1992 the field was wide-open and the show could cherry-pick the most iconic and beloved fright fare of all time.