--- ---  # How _The Simpsons_ Winks at a Spooky Theory True Superfans Will Recognize  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Sep 28, 2018 8:13 PM UTC  LONDON - JULY 25: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) 'Homer Simpson' (L) and 'Bart Simpson' pose on the yellow carpet at the UK premiere of "The Simpsons Movie" at The O2, Greenwich on July 25, 2007 in London, England. (Photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images) LONDON - JULY 25: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) 'Homer Simpson' (L) and 'Bart Simpson' pose on the yellow carpet at the UK premiere of "The Simpsons Movie" at The O2, Greenwich on July 25, 2007 in London, England. (Photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images)Claire Greenway—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Sep 28, 2018 8:13 PM UTC [_The Simpsons_](http://time.com/3636198/the-simpsons-25-years/)is one of television’s longest running shows, accruing plenty of [eerie predictions about the future](http://time.com/4667462/simpsons-predictions-donald-trump-lady-gaga/) and fan theories along the way. Now, as the series heads into its 30th season, showrunner Al Jean says that a particularly pervasive fan theory about Bart Simpson will be recognized in the season opener. In an interview with [_Entertainment Weekly_](https://ew.com/tv/2018/09/28/simpsons-showrunner-season-30-preview/), Jean explained that the premiere episode will put Bart in the hospital, something he doesn’t want to tell Marge, leading to him telling a series of tall tales. This dramatic scenario factored into the title of the episode, which is “Bart’s Not Dead.” Die-hard fans have long ascribed to the longtime theory that there is a never-aired episode of the show called “[Dead Bart](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dead-bart),” which is pretty self-explanatory. The title is ‘Bart’s Not Dead,’ and I guess it’s a slight allusion to the dead Bart rumor that was untrue in season 1,” Jean said. “He’s definitely not dead — he’s very much alive and lying to his mother.” The Simpsons Hinted at This Spooky Bart Simpson Fan Theory ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5410146/the-simpsons-barts-dead/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5410146/the-simpsons-barts-dead/"},"headline":"How The Simpsons Winks at a Spooky Theory True Superfans Will Recognize","datePublished":"2018-09-28T20:13:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:55:10.562Z","description":"Season 30 of the Simpsons gives a sly wink to one of the most pervasive fan theories about the long-running series.","url":"https://time.com/5410146/the-simpsons-barts-dead/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37d93bdaa0669808/69893b77096a9460b76a393f/bart-simpson-fan-theory-season-30.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37d93bdaa0669808/69893b77096a9460b76a393f/bart-simpson-fan-theory-season-30.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Simpsons Movie - UK film premiere - Red Carpet","caption":"The Simpsons Movie - UK film premiere - Red Carpet","creditText":"Claire Greenway—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5410146/the-simpsons-barts-dead/","name":"How The Simpsons Winks at a Spooky Theory True Superfans Will Recognize"}}]}] ```