Terrifying Facts About American Horror Story
"I have long stopped asking why the mad do mad things."—Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon, American Horror Story: Murder House.
American Horror Story is an American anthology TV series produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, who, believe it or not, also co-created the musical television series Glee and the FX medical drama Nip/Tuck. Each of the shows eight seasons function as a self-contained miniseries with different characters, locations, and storylines, with some aspects of the show being inspired by true events—and of course, a little bit of crossover between some seasons. The show and the cast have received critical praise, and it has been renewed by its home network FX through season ten. Below are 42 terrifying facts about this hit series that brought horror back to the small screen.
American Horror Story Facts
42. True Crime Story
In American Horror Story: Hotel, the story of poor Ms. Evers, the laundress of Hotel Cortez, is based on a true crime from the 1920s. In the show, Ms. Evers’ son was kidnapped on Halloween. While his remains were never found, it was believed that he, along with several other boys, were murdered on a chicken ranch in California. The real case, coined the “Chicken Coop Murders,” was the discovery of a mass grave of bones on a chicken farm in Northern California. The murders were charged to the farm’s owner serial killer Gordon Northcott in 1929, but prosecutors were only able to prove that he’d killed three of the boys. If a mass grave on his property isn’t enough evidence, what is?
41. Unraveling the Mystery
The opening credits for American Horror Story contain important clues about the upcoming season, and it’s not usually until about episode nine that the meaning of the images are explained. Whether it’s a pair of bloody hedge clippers, a basement full of strange jars, or a floating white Christening dress, all will become clear after watching the episodes. That’s one way to make sure viewers never miss an episode!
40. Series Staples
Fans of AHS are used to seeing several of the same actors appearing from season to season in different roles, but Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters have the distinction of having appeared in every season of the show to date. Between them, they’ve played a staggering 23 roles in the eight seasons. Paulson has played a total of nine characters (including conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler in Freak Show) and Peters 14 characters, six of which appeared in Cult. I wonder how they keep them all straight!
