How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special) Director Chuck Jones and children's-book author Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) had worked together on the "Private Snafu" training cartoons at Warner Bros. Cartoons during World War II. Jones was interested in adapting one of Geisel's books into a television special and approached him to turn "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" into one in time for the holiday season. Although Geisel was initially reluctant due to his unpleasant experiences making the film "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.", he eventually agreed. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" was produced by The Cat in the Hat Productions in association with the television and
How the Ghosts Stole Christmas not used for awhile. However, Carter, wanting to keep the haunted house motif, decided to set the episode in a haunted house and asked Kaplan to design a mansion set that was "bleak, but not too bleak [...] decrepit, but not too decrepit," and "deserted, but not too deserted." At the time, "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" featured the smallest cast in "X-Files" history, with only David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and the two guest stars interacting. Lily Tomlin, who played the part of Lyda, had originally approached "The X-Files" producers several seasons prior and asked to be cast in an