Warning: spoilers for various seasons of American Horror Story.
American Horror Storyhas had its fair dose of scares and disturbing moments throughout 12 seasons, but some episodes stand out as the scariest of the show so far. Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk,American Horror Storystood out for its anthology format and horror approach.American Horror Storypremiered on FX in 2011 with the season now known asMurder House, and its success granted it more seasons. At the time of writing,American Horror Storyis preparing for its 13th season, though it’s still unclear what its main theme will be.
Throughout 12 seasons,American Horror Storyhas explored a variety of horror themes, sometimes more than once, mixed with different social issues and real-life events. So far, the show has covered haunted houses, mental institutions, witchcraft, haunted hotels, circuses, cults, vampires, the apocalypse, and more, and it’s to be seen what it will use next. Given its tone and genre,American Horror Storyis expected to be scary and disturbing, and there are some episodes that excel at scaring the audience, with some even going a bit too far.
10“Camp Redwood” - American Horror Story: 1984
American Horror Story: 1984, Episode 1
Season 9 ofAmerican Horror Storyis1984, and it took the audience to the title year to follow the staff of Camp Redwood, outside Los Angeles.Camp Redwood was the setting of a massacre 14 years before the events of the season, but it was ready to open its doors again.1984’s first episode, appropriately titled “Camp Redwood”, opened with a flashback to show the massacre that led to the closing of the camp.
It’s a strong and disturbingly graphic beginning to the season, and the events that followed were a good example of what would come next the rest of the season. “Camp Redwood” appealed to some very real fears, mainly that of serial killers, with not only one but two targeting the camp’s counselors.
9“Test of Strength” - American Horror Story: Freak Show
American Horror Story: Freak Show, Episode 7
Season 4 ofAmerican Horror Storytook the audience to a circus inFreak Show. This season went back to the 1950s to follow Elsa Mars’ (Jessica Lange) freak show, exploring not only the individual stories and trauma of the “freaks”, but also the dangers and challenges they faced due to their conditions, as there were people in and around the show with horrifying intentions.
Episode 7, “Test of Strength”, was proof of the latter, with the show’s strong man, Dell (Michael Chiklis), blackmailed by Stanley, who wanted to sell “freaks” to the Museum of Morbid Curiosities.Stanley told Dell he would out him unless he gave him the body of a freak, and after failing to kill Amazon Eve, Dell went after Ma Petite.
American Horror Story: How Every Freak Show Character Died
American Horror Story: Freak Show’s character deaths are quite brutal, with the season also having a particularly high body count for the series.
It’s not just that Ma Petite was one of the most innocent and beloved members of the crew (and one who Elsa adored), but the way Dell tricked her and killed her was heartbreaking,proving how far some people can go for their own interests– and to top it off, Ma Petite’s body was shown in the museum, making her death even more tragic.
8“Bitchcraft” - American Horror Story: Coven
American Horror Story: Coven, Episode 1
For its third season,American Horror Storycovered witchcraft.Covenintroduced Fiona Goode (Lange) and her group of witches – and, of course, they earned a couple of enemies, such as voodoo priestess Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett) and her lifelong enemy, Madame LaLaurie (Kathy Bates). “Bitchcraft” started strong with a flashback to 1834 to showLaLaurie using human blood harvested from her slaves as a beauty treatment, but what followed was what made this episode scary.
After learning that her daughter had sex with a slave named Bastien,LaLaurie tortured him and put a bull’s head over his head, turning him into the Minotaur. In the present timeline, the horrors came in Madison (Emma Robers) being sexually assaulted by a group of fraternity brothers, and though she got her revenge, she never fully recovered from this.
What happens to Madison is a horrifying reality for many around the world.
Delphine LaLaurie was a real person, and she was a serial killer believed to have tortured and murdered slaves, which makes her introduction inCoveneven scarier. In addition to that, what happens to Madison is a horrifying reality for many around the world, adding to why this episode is so disturbing.
7“Checking In” - American Horror Story: Hotel
American Horror Story: Hotel, Episode 1
American Horror Storyseason 5,Hotel, took the audience to Hotel Cortez, in Los Angeles, which has many disturbing secrets that go from paranormal horrors to the presence of vampires in it. BeforeHotel’s first episode properly introduced vampire leader the Countess and her partner, Donovan (Matt Bomer), it followed Gabriel (Maxx Greenfield).
American Horror Story: Hotel - The True Story That Inspired Season 5
American Horror Story: Hotel, the show’s fifth season, explored the Hotel Cortez’s strange inhabitants who are rooted in the annals of history.
Gabriel was a heroin addict who checked in at Hotel Cortez, but to his and the audience’s shock,he was violently raped by the Addiction Demon in his room. The scene is graphic, very disturbing, and tragic, and it’s just a taste of the horrifying events that take place at Hotel Cortez. Gabriel’s death was followed by the Countess and Donovan having a foursome and killing the other couple for their blood, which was also an unsettling sight.
6“Monsters Among Us” - American Horror Story: Freak Show
American Horror Story: Freak Show, Episode 1
Freak Show’s first episode wasn’t just the introduction of the “freaks”, but also that of two of the season’s biggest villains: Twisty the clown (John Carroll Lynch) and Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock). First was Twisty, who was shown murdering a teenage girl’s boyfriend and a boy’s parents, imprisoning the girl and the boy in an old bus he used as a hideout. Then came Dandy, who wasn’t a deformed clown nor a “freak” like those in Elsa’s show – he was simply a spoiled, disturbed, and evil young man.
Dandy’s actions appeal to a more psychological and real type of horror, as he was a normal-looking man but also a psychopath.
Dandy became obsessed with conjoint twins Bette and Dot (Sarah Paulson), who he would continue to pursue for the rest of the season. Twisty’s crimes and appearance were graphic, disturbing and shocking, but Dandy’s actions appeal to a more psychological and real type of horror, as he was a normal-looking man but also a psychopath.
5“Holes” - American Horror Story: Cult
American Horror Story: Cult, Episode 5
American Horror Storyseason 7 was all about cults, and thus isthe only season of the show so far without supernatural elements. Appropriately titledCult, the season followed Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) and his cult, through which he terrorized an entire town and infiltrated many areas. “Holes” began with the murder of Bob (Dermot Mulroney) and the gimp in his basement, but it got worse.
After cult member Beverly (Adina Porter) advised Kai to cut ties with fellow member RJ (James Morosini) for being weak, what followed wasthe entire cult turning against RJ and taking turns shooting him in the head with a nail gun. By then, the audience already knew how dangerous Kai could be, but it was disturbing seeing the cult’s members turning against one of theirs and giving him a slow death.
4"I Am Anne Frank (Part 2)" - American Horror Story: Asylum
American Horror Story: Asylum, Episode 5
The season ofAmerican Horror Storywidely regarded as the best isAsylum, the show’s second season.Asylumtook viewers to Briarcliff Manor, an insane asylum in the 1960s that was the setting of various horrors, crimes, and atrocities.Asylumalso covered the mystery ofthe Bloody Face killer, who had been terrorizing the town. In “I Am Anne Frank (Part 1)”, Dr. Thredson (Zachary Quinto) promised to take Lana (Paulson) out of the asylum when his visit was over, and he kept his promise in Part 2.
However, once at his home,Lana made a horrifying discovery: Thredson was Bloody Face, and he murdered Lana’s partner, Wendy. The way this episode built the reveal of Thredson’s real identity and the suspense in how Lana slowly figured it out make thisAsylumepisode one of the most shocking and disturbing episodes of the entire show, truly living up to the show’s name.
3"Requiem 1981/1987 Part Two" - American Horror Story: NYC
American Horror Story: NYC, Episode 10
American Horror Story’s 11th season,NYC, usedthe real-life tragedies of the AIDS epidemicin 1980’s New York City as its central theme, with supernatural elements to better represent the fear and dangers of this virus. AlthoughNYChad a serial killer and a disturbing accidental death in a flashback, the scariest and most tragic episode of the season was the finale. “Requiem 1981/1987 Part Two” is set in 1981 and 1987, with the first showing Adam (Charlie Carver) learning of Hannah’s (Billie Lourd) death after he transmitted the virus to her through artificial insemination.
What made this episode darker and more heartbreaking was the montage of Gino’s friends and acquaintances dying while he continued to avoid Big Daddy for years.
The 1987 part showed Gino (Joe Mantello) preparing for Patrick’s (Russell Tovey) funeral. What made this episode darker and more heartbreaking was the montage of Gino’s friends and acquaintances dying while he continued to avoid Big Daddy for years until his death in 1991, with Adam preparing to give a eulogy at his funeral.NYCportrayed a dark chapter in history that’s equal parts scary and tragic, and it peaked in its final episode.
2“Piggy Piggy” - American Horror Story: Murder House
American Horror Story: Murder House, Episode 6
The season that started it all,Murder House, also had its fair dose of scary episodes, and the one that stood out was “Piggy Piggy.”Murder Housewas set in the title house, which had been witness to various crimes for decades, and the ghosts of those who died in it were trapped in it forever. One of those ghostly residents was Tate Langdon (Peters), and this episode showed how he became one – and for that, it took the audience back to 1994.
Tate’s past was also a mirror of many real-life tragedies in the US, making this episode even scarier and too real.
It was revealed thatTate shot and killed various students in a school shootingand, back home at the Murder House, he was shot dead by the SWAT team. By then, viewers had been led into sympathizing with Tate and Violet (Taissa Farmiga), but after this reveal, it was very difficult to stay on Tate’s side. Tate’s past was also a mirror of many real-life tragedies in the US, making this episode even scarier and too real.
1“The Coat Hanger” - American Horror Story: Asylum
American Horror Story: Asylum, Episode 9
American Horror Story’s best season also has the scariest episode of the show so far. In “The Coat Hanger”, Lana learned she was pregnant, the result of being raped by Thredson when kidnapped by him in the episode mentioned some entries ago.Lana tried to end the pregnancy with a coat hanger, a scene that was as disturbing as it was realistic, sparking debate over abortion rights. To top this episode off, Monsignor Timothy Howard (Joseph Fiennes) was crucified, sothis episode brought together the topics of abortion, rape, and religion and how disturbing these can be.
