Dark Inspirations

Some stories are too terrifying to be mere fiction. Behind the eerie plots of American Horror Story lurk real-life horrors—stories of murder, madness, and inexplicable evil. Many of the show’s most infamous characters and locations are inspired by history’s darkest corners, weaving together fact and nightmare.

From a sadistic socialite to a twisted clown, and from a jazz-loving killer to a haunted hotel, these sinister origins blur the line between entertainment and reality. Here are the chilling true stories behind some of American Horror Story’s most haunting figures.

Twisty the Clown—A Nightmare Born from Reality

Few characters in the American Horror Story universe inspire as much dread as Twisty the Clown. With his grotesque mask and murderous ways, he embodies every childhood fear of circus horrors. But what makes him even more terrifying? He was likely inspired by a real-life monster: John Wayne Gacy, the infamous Killer Clown.

Gacy was a respected member of his Chicago community in the 1970s, even dressing as a clown named Pogo to entertain children at parties. But beneath the greasepaint lurked a sadistic predator. Luring young men to his home, he subjected them to unspeakable torment before burying their bodies in the crawlspace beneath his house.

Authorities uncovered 26 corpses under his home, with additional victims discarded in a nearby river. Gacy was convicted of 33 murders but hinted there were more. He showed no remorse and spent his final years on death row painting macabre artworks—one of which, eerily titled "Goodbye Pogo the Clown," depicts his sinister alter ego.

Twisty may be a fictional horror, but the real-life Gacy ensured that the fear of clowns is not entirely irrational.

Delphine LaLaurie—The Socialite of Torture

Kathy Bates’ portrayal of Madame Delphine LaLaurie in American Horror Story: Coven was a masterclass in villainy, but the true story is even more disturbing.

Born into wealth in 1775, Delphine LaLaurie was a well-respected woman in New Orleans—until the night her mansion’s walls betrayed her secrets.

In April 1834, a fire broke out in her home, and neighbors rushed to help. When LaLaurie refused to hand over the keys to the slave quarters, they forced their way in—only to uncover an unspeakable horror. Chained together in unimaginable agony, LaLaurie’s slaves bore the marks of inhuman experiments. Reports described men with their limbs stretched beyond their limits, bodies mutilated beyond recognition, and a man with a gaping hole in his skull, crawling with insects.

The fire had been deliberately set by a 70-year-old enslaved cook, who had been chained to the stove and preferred death over LaLaurie’s punishments. She whispered a chilling warning before she was taken away: "Those who enter the upper rooms never return."

An enraged mob stormed the house, but LaLaurie had already fled to Paris, where she reportedly died years later. Some believe her body was exhumed and secretly returned to New Orleans, but no official record exists. What does remain? A haunted mansion, a city that still whispers her name in fear, and the echoes of suffering that refuse to fade.

Jimmy Darling—The Tragic Tale of Lobster Boy

In American Horror Story: Freak Show, Jimmy Darling is a man cursed by a rare genetic condition, forced into a life of spectacle and cruelty. His character bears a striking resemblance to Grady Stiles Jr., a real-life sideshow performer known as Lobster Boy.

Born in 1937 with ectrodactyly, a disorder that left his hands and feet fused into claw-like extremities, Grady followed in his family’s tradition of circus performance. But behind the curtain, he was a violent, alcoholic brute.

Despite his physical limitations, Grady possessed immense upper-body strength—strength he used to terrorize his family. In a shocking act of cruelty, he murdered his daughter’s fiancé on the night before their wedding, shooting him in cold blood. Due to his disability, Grady avoided prison and was instead sentenced to probation.

But karma had other plans. In 1992, after years of abuse, his wife hired a hitman to kill him. A 17-year-old gunman shot Grady in his home, ensuring that the horrors he inflicted on others would not continue.

The legend of Lobster Boy remains, preserved in eerie glimpses throughout Freak Show—a grotesque nod to a man whose reality was far darker than fiction.

The Axeman—A Jazz-Loving Killer

New Orleans has a long history of hauntings, but few are as terrifying as the Axeman, a serial killer who stalked the city between 1918 and 1919.

His method was brutal—breaking into homes, butchering entire families with an axe, and vanishing without a trace. His targets were mostly Italian immigrants, fueling rumors that the murders were mob-related. But what truly cemented his legend was a letter sent to a local newspaper, claiming to be from the Axeman himself.

Dated March 13, 1919, it carried a bizarre warning:

"At exactly 12:15 AM on the night of March 19, I will pass over New Orleans. And I swear, by all the devils in the nether regions, that I will leave no more harm to those homes where a jazz band is in full swing."

Panic gripped the city. That night, every club and home played jazz until sunrise, hoping to keep the Axeman at bay. No murders occurred that night.

The Axeman was never caught, but some believe his reign of terror ended when Joseph Mumphrey, a man linked to the killings, was shot and killed in 1920 by the widow of one of his victims. Was Mumphrey the true Axeman, or was the real killer never unmasked? The mystery remains unsolved.

The Cecil Hotel—A Haven for Death

The bloodstained history of Los Angeles’ Cecil Hotel inspired American Horror Story: Hotel, and for good reason—its walls have witnessed murder, suicide, and inexplicable horror.

Among its infamous guests was Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, who slaughtered at least 13 people in the 1980s. He lived on the top floor for $14 a night, returning from his killing sprees covered in blood, discarding his clothes in the hotel dumpster before slipping into the darkness of his room.

Another killer, Jack Unterweger, stayed there in 1991 while murdering three prostitutes.

And then there was Elisa Lam, the young woman whose eerie final moments were captured on surveillance footage. She was last seen in the hotel’s elevator, behaving strangely—pressing multiple buttons, peeking out nervously, and seemingly interacting with something unseen. Weeks later, her body was discovered in the rooftop water tank after guests complained of foul-tasting water. Her death was ruled an accident, but the footage—and the circumstances—tell a different story.

Today, the Cecil has been rebranded as Stay on Main, but the spirits of its past still linger. Ghost hunters flock to its halls, drawn by whispers of demons and the tragedies that refuse to be forgotten.

American Horror Story takes its inspiration from the grotesque truths of history, proving that reality is often more terrifying than fiction. These real-life horrors remind us that the past never truly dies—it lingers in shadows, waiting to be rediscovered.

Are you brave enough to look?