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30 strange facts about American horror stories
If I had to describe what American Horror Story was like to someone who had never seen it before, I'd say it was like playing a puzzle - a very hard, rounded puzzle with no edges.
You have to be 100% sure of the ball, as it is very difficult to piece each piece into the bigger picture when it is given to you.
With each revelation about how the seasons are connected, the puzzle gets bigger, more complicated, more complex.
As you watch how the different seasons blend together, you, onlookers, take a step back and find the puzzle uneven.
Simply put, it is a masterpiece of writing.
Oh, and did I mention that terrifying at the best of times ?!
Each season takes you on a roller coaster and you always have you on the edge of your seat, always guessing what will happen next and always be shocked when it takes you completely by surprise.
With such a respectable cast and an incredibly talented team working behind the camera, it's no surprise the show has such a huge following.
So for those of you who are terrifying ordinary people, here are 30 horror facts about American Horror Story for you.
"Ordinary people are afraid of me"
The font in the opening credits, which has since become synonymous with the show and posted on everywhere T-shirts that say "Ordinary People Fear Me," is a variation of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh font.
This font is inspired by the design styles of the Scottish architect and designer of the same name.
Neil Patrick Harris and David Burkta are almost in the first season.
Married couple Neil Patrick Harris and David Burkta were given the roles of Chad Warwick and boyfriend Patrick in Murder House, the two previous owners of the house before the Harmon family.
Instead, Zachary Quinto played Chad and Teddy Sears played Patrick, while NPH and David Burtka went on to have roles in Season 4.
Murder House has used horror scores for its soundtrack throughout the season.
Some of the most notable are from Bram Stoker's Dracula, What Lies Beneath, Psycho and Insidious.
It also uses the Twisted Nerve whistle, originally from Twisted Nerve, but more recently whistled by Daryl Hannah in the iconic Kill Bill: Vol 1 scene.
Jessica Lange initially turned down the role of Constance in Season 1.
However, she accepted it after Ryan Murphy repeatedly suggested to her.
Ryan Murphy and Jessica Lange became great friends in Season 1.
So much so that Murphy consulted her about her upcoming roles in the following seasons.
Lange wants to do a big drunken scene and a musical in Season 2, which is why Sister Jude takes that epic drunk monologue and does that sick name Game.
Lange has always wanted to play a character who wears Chanel outfits and is very elegant, which is why Fiona always dresses up Coven ninths.
In addition to being an actor, Lange is also a photographer who has always been fascinated by the word circus, especially in the 50s, so Elsa Mars is the owner of a bizarre show in Season 4.
Murder House has appeared in other shows.
Season 1's official murder house is a real venue that has done loops in a few different shows.
In fact, the Rosenheim Mansion in Los Angeles, which has been a popular filming scene on television over the years, has previously appeared in Buffy, Bones, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Law & Order: SVU.
The official Part 2 Refugee site is also an actual site, a historic court in Orange County, California.
The title for Part 2, Asylum, has double meaning to it.
It both describes the setting of the season, as well as uses the term to denote shelter for the undesirable and unloved.
Lana's press introduction to Briarcliff Manor at the end of Asylum was based on a real life event.
It is taken directly from the actual footage of Bill Baldini's exhibit at Pennhurst Asylum, reveals the poor living conditions of the patients detained there and leads to the closure of Pennhurst and the release of
The Montgomery family periodically.
Emma Roberts' delicious Madison Montgomery from Coven is a reference to Dr. Charles Montgomery, the original owner of the Murderer's House.
Madison and the good doctor are alike in that they both tried - and partly succeeded - in bringing someone back to life.
Charles did it with his son, Thaddeus, and Madison did it with Kyle.
The Black Sabbath Freak Show connects.
The three notes you hear played over and over again during the Freak Show intro are actually a sample of the opening notes in the song of the same name by the assassin rock band Black Sabbath.
They are played a few octaves higher and on the violin, and are also played in the ending credits.
The Real Lobster Man.
Evan Peters' character in the Freak Show, Jimmy Darling, is based on a real man named Grady Stiles Jr. who is born with fused fingers and toes.
Songs of the Freak Show of "Freaks."
In Season 4, several songs sung by the characters were released after 1952, when the show was filming.
Topping these are the amazing covers of Bowie's Life On Mars and Lana Del Ray's Gods & Monsters, as well as Even Peters' cover Nirvana's Come As You Are.
Some viewers complained about this, but show creator Ryan Murphy said in an interview that he chose the artists' songs as "bizarre."
You can stay at the witch academy.
Miss Robichaux's Academy, where all the witches living in Coven and Apocalypse are actually Buckner Mansion in New Orleans.
You can stay there overnight, but it'll cost you $ 20,000 to rent!
Research by Kathy Bates's Baltimore.
In preparation for the role of bearded woman Baltimoreon Ethel Darling, Kathy Bates has prepared for thick voice training by listening to interviews with US Senator Barbara Mikulski and visiting the website "Baltimorese".
Jessica Lange's favorite season.
Freak Show is Jessica Lange's favorite season.
Two heads rotate longer than one head.
Each scene involving Bette and Dot in Season 4 took more than 10 hours to shoot.
This is because it had to be repeated over and over again to cover all interactions between Sarah Paulson, who played both the role of course and all the other actors.
Talk about dedication.
Hotel Cortez really.
Season 5's Hotel Cortez (and season 8) is based on a real Los Angeles hotel called Hotel Cecil.
Over the years, Hotel Cecil has had numerous suicides and murders occurring on its premises, and recently made headlines in 2013 when a young Canadian woman, Elisa Lam, was
Along with that, Hotel Cecil also hosts serial killers Jack Unterwger and Richard “The Night Stalker” Ramirez, who are depicted in the Hotel at the party by James Patrick Marsh.
Horror story and crime story back.
Sarah Paulson missed three episodes of the Hotel because she was filming it parallel to American Crime Story.
A song request by Aileen Wuornos.
When Aileen Wuornos (played by Lily Rabe) was first introduced in the Hotel, the Carnival song was performed by Natalie Merchant.
This song was requested by the real Aileen Wuornos to play at her funeral after she was executed.
Homicide in chicken coop.
The sub-plot of Season 5 focuses on "the murders of the chicken coup" and is based on a real series of events of the same name.
This makes sense because Dennis O’Hare, who played the role of Liz Taylor in Hotel for life, also starred in the 2008 film The Challenge, also based on the "chicken coup murder".
Lady Gaga is a huge fan of the show.
Lady Gaga is such a big fan of American Horror Story that she went to see Ryan Murphy to join the show, not vice versa.
A play to tease Roanoke in part 1.
The concept for my favorite season, Roanoke, was teased in Murder House, as Sarah Paulson's psychic Billie Dean Howard tells the story of Roanoke's ghost colony and how a native elder expelled violent souls
The Mott family recurring.
Edward Philippe Mot from Roanoke (played by Evan Peters in the drama segments of the show) is the distant ancestor of Dandy Mott from the Freak Show.
This is even referenced by the historian at Roanoke, who said
As mentioned earlier, the Freak Show took place in South Florida in the year 1952.
Introduction for co-stars.
Alison Pill's role of Ivy in Season 7, Cult, in part belonged to Sarah Paulson.
Ryan Murphy asked who she wanted to play with and Sarah Paulson chose Alison Pill.
A vibrant season ends.
Due to the reset of the timeline, Apocalypse is the only one that ends with all the characters alive.
Except for Michael, of course, although that opens up the debate about whether the antichrist is back in the world ...
I'm not afraid of ghosts!
Asylum and Cult are the only two seasons (so far) without ghosts.
Clues for the future.
There are references or clues to all future installments in Season 1 except the Freak Show and Cult.
Compete for Misery.
Both Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates are competing for the role of Annie Wilkes in Stephen King's 1990 film Misery.
A role in which Kathy Bates won an Oscar.
No one appeared in every episode.
No actors appear in every episode.
The two biggest stars.
Between the two of them for 8 seasons, Even Peters and Sarah Paulson played 23 different roles.
Even, Peters plays the most roles with 14, including 6 roles in the Cult.
