'American Horror Story'

Ominous music drifts through the eerie opening scene as an animal’s skeletal remains rattle and dangle from a tree. It’s 1978 in Los Angeles. A little girl in a gold dress stands alone in an overgrown yard, gazing at a vine-covered mansion. She’s completely still.

A set of snarky red-headed twins toss a rock and shatter a stained-glass window. The sound startles the girl. She spins around as they pass through an iron gate. She has Down’s syndrome and one of them taunts her saying, “Hey, freak.” She regards them for a moment as they head to the front door then calls out, “Excuse me. You are going to die in there.”

Gulp. It’s safe to say that viewers who hunkered down in darkened living rooms across the globe watching that scene probably didn’t know the kind of murderous mayhem that stark, seven-word prophesy would unlock.

By the end of the dark, edgy pilot episode, two things were certain: The terrifying, intertwining “American Horror Story” story-verse launched as fast as a bat out of hell. And, a legion of captivated fans in 59 countries grabbed hold and went along for the ride.

Feeding a Thirst for Horror...

People love horror movies. Maybe it’s the adrenaline rush, or the pulse-pounding thrill of silently willing a helpless victim to escape from a predatory villain – for the love of God, don’t go down that basement!

Or maybe it’s feeling safely cocooned on the couch while a terrifying tale unfolds in full digital color. Whatever the draw, horror fans love to immerse themselves in a frightening fictional world, - and horror genre box office totals reflect their enthusiasm.

Classic movie monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolf Man have frightened and entertained horror enthusiasts for decades. Since 1899 (yes, that’s right – 1899), the genre has raked in over $38 billion. In 2019 alone, horror movies grossed over $1.8 billion worldwide.

When they launched “American Horror Story” on FX network in 2011, series co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk were reveling in wild success with their musical dramedy series turned pop culture phenomenon, “Glee.”

The genre-bending, Emmy, and Golden Globe-winning series explored many heavy, hot-button topics as it followed an eclectic group of high school glee club members.

Storylines explored teen pregnancy, suicide, domestic violence, bullying, and so much more. All set to chart-topping soundtracks filled with “Glee” versions of current singles and old classics. The show also featured the first-ever fan-shipped same-sex teen couple with Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss).

So, what could the team that produced such feel-good television do in the sinister horror world?

Push the envelope even more, obviously, and flip the TV horror genre on its severed head.

...With a Groundbreaking Series

Ryan Murphy pioneered a new anthology format and a repertory troupe of actors rotated through each 10-to-12-episode season. Familiar AHS cast members thrilled and chilled raving fans as new characters, with a new story, in a new setting every season.

The groundbreaking series won 19 awards out of 65 nominations, including 17 Emmy nominations in its first season. Oscar-winner Jessica Lange won a Best Supporting Actress Emmy and Golden Globe for her riveting portrayal of Constance Langdon – a southern charmer with evil running through her veins in "Murder House."

To date, "American Horror Story" has scored over 160 award wins and more than 350 nominations.

What more can attest to the fictional fright fest's Fantasy Fan(dom) excellence and dominance?

Complex Characters and ‘Real’ Monsters Galore

Speaking of southern charm - characters like Constance Langdon drive any story and brilliant actors like Jessica Lange embody a fictional person so well that we quickly get emotionally invested in them and the story. The more complex a character is, the more fascinating they are.

Across 10 seasons, indelible, multifaceted characters in the “American Horror Story” universe have burrowed their way into our psyche.

For example, Evan Peters and Taissa Farmiga became instant, early fan favorites as a fated, flawed teen couple, Tate and Violet, ala Romeo and Juliet. Tate’s tousled blonde hair and troubled chocolate eyes pricked at fans’ hearts, as tears streamed down his face one minute and rage consumed him the next.

Ryan Murphy spoke about Peters’ keen ability to pull this off in an EW interview. He said, “To Evan’s great credit and the credit of the writers, I think Evan’s done an amazingly difficult job making a monster sympathetic” and later added, “Tate is the true monster of the show but because Evan has made him so likable and lovable and complex, I think people are torn.”

Murphy is right. Tate is, indeed, the true Murder House monster. He killed 15 people in a mass school shooting. A SWAT team shot him multiple times in his Murder House bedroom. He went on to kill more people as a ghost and also raped Violet's mother, Vivien Harmon.

I had the honor and pleasure of interviewing Evan Peters about his breakout role as Tate Langdon in December 2011, right before the AHS season one finale. I wrote the piece for Examiner.com – and lost the live link when the site closed.

Pulling from my transcript, Peters told me he counts himself lucky for landing the part of Tate Langdon.

“I thought the character was really cool because on the break down it said you never k now if he’s gonna kiss or kill you. I’ve tried to make that sort of the spine of the character. It’s been a fun character to play."

- Evan Peters to Lori Melton - Dec. 2011 interview for Examiner.com

We also discussed how a sociopathic monster can also seem vulnerable and sympathetic.

“I think what it is, is that they write him as a nice guy. A nice, sort of normal, charming guy who has feelings that can get hurt easily and he’s just sort of a very human character, and he’s written that way,” Peters said, “And then what happens is, they have that guy, kill people, and do evil things. So that you sympathize with him and care about him and really feel for him and then at the same time his actions, they’re confusing, they’re conflicting because he’s doing the evil things - his demonic things... It's very well written. It’s really the writing I think.”

Peters remains one of the series mainstay cast members - having portrayed a plethora of intriguing, intense, and of course, insane characters.

“American Horror Story” really raises the character bar because some of its villains are based on real-life “monsters.”

Peters has donned a lot of hats for the series, including appearing as real-life cult leaders Marshall Applewhite and Jim Jones, and serial killer Charles Manson, all in “Cult.” In all, he's played 16 characters in eight AHS seasons. Including wrongfully-accused Kit Walker in "Asylum," and lobster hand man Jimmy Darling in "Freak Show."

In “Hotel,” Peters played sadistic serial killer James Patrick March, who hosted dinner parties with the likes of John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the Zodiac Killer.

March built the Hotel Cortez and sealed multiple victims within its walls during construction. March is based on real-life serial killer H.H. Holmes, a pharmacist in Chicago who built a “Murder Castle” in the 1880s that later became a hotel during the Chicago World’s fair.

Grammy-winning pop star Lady Gaga made her “American Horror Story” acting debut also in “Hotel” opposite Peters as the vampire Hotel Proprietress, The Countess. In fact, the pair is married.

The Countess is based on Elizabeth Bathory, a Transylvanian woman from the 1500s who asked her hubby for a torture chamber in their “castle” as a wedding present. While The Countess in "Hotel" drank blood in hopes to stay young, Countess Bathory bathed in the blood of young women she killed, believing it would keep her young forever. Isn’t that lovely? (Not!)

Gaga traded her fangs in for casting evil spells as Scáthach, in season six, “Roanoke.”

Zachary Quinto arguably played one of the scariest monsters in the "American Horror Story" landscape as Dr. Oliver Thredson, aka Bloody Face in season 2, "Asylum."

Thredson kidnapped his victims, tied them up, and eventually skinned them alive. Even worse, he wore a mask of their skin! Thredson is based on Ed Gein, a grave robber who also "wore" his victims.

Oscar-winner Kathy Bates is a master mistress of onscreen evil. In AHS season 3, “Coven,” she plays Madame Delphine LaLaurie, who was a real-life New Orleans socialite of the same name. LaLaurie kept slaves hostage and tortured them extensively. In the series, LaLaurie turned one of her slaves into a Minotaur.

Like her fellow castmates, Bates assumed a variety of memorable roles in the AHS stratosphere. She played Agnes Mary Winstead aka “The Butcher” in “Roanoke,” Iris in “Hotel,” Ethel Darling, The Bearded Lady in “Freak Show,” and Miriam Mead in “Apocalypse.” She’s slated to return for season 10.

In addition to Constance Langdon, Jessica Lange played nun-with-a-secret Sister Jude in "Asylum," Supreme Fiona Goode in "Coven," freak show owner who wants to be a star, Elsa Mars, in "Freak Show." She reprised Constance for "Apocalypse."

Beloved "Asylum" character Pepper is microcephalic. She was abducted by aliens that upgraded her intelligence to a genius level. Wrongly accused of murder, she was committed to Briarcliff Manor. Flashbacks in "Freak Show" reveal Pepper's earlier life.

I met and later interviewed Naomi Grossman in 2014, who breathed extraordinary life into Pepper, for Examiner.com.

Grossman is also a seasoned comedic actress, who wrote, produced, and starred in two solo shows, one of which is "Carnival Knowledge." The theme parallels "Freak Show's" circus atmosphere.

We discussed "American Horror Story's" wild popularity, soaring ratings, and ardent fans. I asked her opinion of what keeps viewers coming back, and drawn to AHS' complex characters and unique worlds.

"I think horror is the new black right now. It’s enjoying a real renaissance. Only for the first time, we’re seeing it done so well-- it’s no longer B-actors getting slashed up, " Grossman said. "It’s A-listers, sinking their acting chops into complex, well-written characters, who happen to get slashed up."

Naomi Grossman to Lori Melton - September 2014 for Examiner.com

Perhaps no cast member has stretched herself more in the "American Horror Story" world than Sarah Paulson. For the most part, she's played the tough-as-nails heroine that we're rooting for.

Paulson played medium Billie Dean Howard in "Murder House," journalist turned mental ward hostage Lana Winters in "Asylum," trod-upon then triumphant Cordelia Foxx in "Coven," joined-at-the-head Siamese twins Bette and Dot Tattler in "Freak Show," heroin addict Hypodermic Sally in "Hotel," narcissistic actress Audrey Tindall in "Roanoke," scorned wife Ally Mayfair-Richards in "Cult," and "Coven"-reprised Cordelia Goode and the ultra-wicked Wilhemina Venable, in "Apocalpyse."

A truly shocking moment: Cordelia gouged her own eyes out with a pair of garden shears. Can anything be more horrific than that?!

This mash-up reel of her amazing work from FX Network reveals "The Many Faces of Sarah Paulson."

Psychological Suspense

A huge component of horror is psychological suspense and "American Horror Story" serves it up in abundance. Evil lurks in Murder House's dark and dingy basement "laboratory," corpses are sealed behind Hotel Cortez's lethal walls, and c'mon, who can ever look at a clown the same way again after watching a slice-and-dice run-in with "Freak Show's" Twisty the Clown?

We constantly wonder: Is anyone, anywhere, going to make it out alive?

Zombie lovers can delight in "Asylum's" mutant wanderers. The "Coven" witches brew up some wicked spells.

Electroshock therapy? Check. Vampires, crazy cult leaders, creepy campground killing, and antichrist takeovers - check, check, check, check. Let's not forget to check off monster baby, Infantata:

There's arguably not a horror stone left unturned in the terrifying AHS world!

Strong Social Themes

While some AHS storylines may seem absurd - let's remember that horror is frightening fantasy. However, some fictional stories might be based on real-life trauma and terror.

Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are virtually fearless when it comes to broaching strong social themes. Racism, homophobia, school shootings, Nazism, Cults, bullying, and unjust treatment of mental patients are just a few of the heavy topics the series explores.

"American Horror Story" is intense, edge-of-your seat scary and the writing is superb. The Emmy-winning FX teams pour hundreds of painstaking hours into makeup and other special effects to create the original looks for the horrific AHS monsters and make the violent acts look so vivid and real. The award-winning cast has continually proven its chameleon-like prowess to assume a multitude of characters at the turn of a page.

And Wait For It...

All Of The AHS Worlds Are Intertwined!

Diehard fans work feverishly to pick up clues to connect the overlapping storylines, characters, and settings. For example, Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) from "Coven" shares a last name with Dr. Charles Montgomery who built the Murder House for his wife.

Around 100 years before "Hotel," The Countess visits Dr. Montgomery at the underground abortion clinic at Murder House.

Michael Langdon is Tate and Vivien's son, conceived at the Murder House. Grown Michael is the antichrist in "Apocalypse," in which his grandmother, Constance Langdon, reappears. And the list goes on and on.

Is there another horror fan(dom) with so many separate story worlds that interconnect and intertwine? Marvel's MCU might do it - but that's all adapted from comic books written years ago.

By comparison, the "American Horror Story" story-verse is filled with original stories - some based loosely on historical, facts that all fit together like a Rubik's cube.

Ryan Murphy confirmed it in a 2014 EW interview.

"They’re all connected. We’re just beginning to tell you how they’re connected. They’re all very separate but there’s clues every season that we’re now telling you how the different worlds are intertwined."

He added:

"Part of the fun of the show is the Rubik’s cube design of it, but, yes, there are purposeful connections, character connections, and similarities and things that connect that we’ll continue to connect moving forward.

AHS Spinoffs

Beyond all of these fantasy fandom topping aspects, "American Horror Story" spawned its first true spinoff, "American Horror Stories," which returned to "Murder House" in the season premiere and season finale. How twisted is that?

Evan Peters Is In Drag In Season 10 "Red Tide"

And I Got to Hold a Severed Minotaur Head from "Coven":

"American Horror Story" simply rules the Fantasy Fan(dom) roost - need I pour my bleeding heart out anymore?