American Horror Story
Summary
Whatever one may recollect of Ryan Murphy as a creator , there ’s no doubt that he ’s proven himself quite capable of tapping into the most troubling and terrific aspects of the collective nous with his anthology serial , American Horror Story , and the scariestAmerican Horror Storyseasons do n’t have to be full of monsters or imaginary creatures . Time and again , the show has force viewers to look at the dark side of American society , whether that be in the confines of the home or in the turbulent spaces of society — the psychiatrical infirmary , the " freak show , " or the hotel .
However , not every season is equally scary , so it ’s sometimes utilitarian to see which one managed to capture the horror of the title most successfully . And it ’s worth noting that a season ’s scariness does n’t inevitably correlate to its quality . Some of the most darling time of year , likeCovenaren’t nearly as scary as some of the more divisive seasons , likeRoanoke .
Season 3 - Coven
Covenis hands down the least scary season . certainly , it has crone and demons and such — and of line , the usual bloodletting — but it ’s not nearly as disturbing as the residuum of the show , in part because it pore so much on the maneuvering among the various witches for the mogul that they all want .
It ends up being much more of a melodrama ( anda very confusingAHSseason ) than a horror , though that sure enough does n’t mean that it is n’t enjoyable . There ’s also the fact that it has some oddly comedic aspects in later instalment like the sever read/write head of Delphine LaLaurie being forced to watchRoots . Part of what makes that some comedic is that Delphine LaLaurie and her exploits that enter the show make for the scariest picture of the season .
Season 10 - Double Feature
Season 10 is such a difficult season to nail because of its two wildly different stories . The first half was subtitled " Red Tide " and focused on a plot of ground where originative minds became successful vampires and those without talent became gruesome vamps with no personality . The second one-half , " Death Valley , " surrounds an exotic invasion of Earth .
" Red Tide " was decently scary with some unsettling scenes of vampire and young Alma Garnder being as ruthless as they derive . " Death Valley " lack a bit in panic attack outside of the invaders possessing a few theatrical role . Most of the scene in " Death Valley " were more uneven than they were frightening . That air division is part of what keeps time of year 10 from being one of the scariestAmerican Horror Storyseasons .
Season 5 - Hotel
There ’s a lot to get laid about this special season of the show , starting with the first appearance of Lady Gaga as the Countess . Once again , there are some genuinely disturbing moment , like vampires lure a couple back to their room and essentially represent with their food before slaughter them . In this case , the season really leans into the mediaeval nature of its write up , with gorgeous cinematography , options , and costume .
Hotelis more about fictitious character who struggle with the fact that they are losing their genial faculties . It also include fictionalize versions of existent - life serial killers , plus celebrated actor Rudolph Valentino , which is just one part ofAHS : Hotelthat does n’t make gumption . However , the end result is an entertaining season but not the scariest in the horror anthology .
Season 4 - Freak Show
Like so many other season , Freak Showexplores an aspect of American society that was once prominent but has now ( gratefully ) fall out of favor : the unfortunately titled “ freak show . ” However , the season goes out of its way of life to show that it ’s not the “ freaks ” who are monstrous but , instead , the supposedly “ normal ” character — most notably , Dandy Mott ( Finn Wittrock ) .
Dandy Mott , however , does n’t provide the scariest succession of this season though . That honor has to go to the reveal of Elsa ’s backstory as a prisoner try out on in a snuff motion picture . It has to be suppose that there are some times when this season leans into the laughable just a bit too much , which means that there are large parts that just are n’t that dire . It does , however , have some very great lineament .
Season 9 - 1984
Season 9 was a minute of an outlier , in part because it did n’t sport eitherSarah Paulson in one of herAHScharactersor Evan Peters , which made1984feel like a completely dissimilar show at multiplication . It ’s also a atavist to the slasher picture show that were such a democratic part of the cultural landscape in the 1980s .
There are quite a few eddy and turns in this baroque game — this is a Ryan Murphy show , after all — but somehow it manages to keep a wet hold on its nucleus group of character . Despite the fact that there ’s a lot of slaying and havoc and ghosts trap on the ground of a summer camp , it ends up not being as scary as otherAmerica Horror Storyseasons . The shuddery moment in this season , however , has to be the reveal of just why Mr. Jingles is free and terrify the camp counselor . It ’s a true slasher twisting when it ’s revealed that someone the group intend they could confide just wanted to see what else the serial Orcinus orca would do to them .
Season 11 - NYC
NYCis the most ground season ofAmerican Horror Storyto escort . prepare in the 1980s in New York and focusing on a community of merry men as they become infected by a mystifying virus and strain to cover a serial killer in their community , the season is largely unfeigned to sprightliness . Of course , the big seeming villain of the time of year , Big Daddy , symbolizes the very computer virus veer homophile adult male down in large numbers .
It ’s far from the scariestAmerican Horror Storyseason , but what make the season so unsettling is how rooted in reality it is . There are n’t any hag or mythological monsters responsible for the tragedies of the time of year , just unwellness and other human beings . As a result , it ’s difficult to nail what the scariest moment in the season is as an ominous notion is present throughout the entire 10 - instalment streamlet without relying on jump scares or violence that is as graphic as other seasons of the series . It might be Fran explaining the conspiracy theory that the government is really responsible for the illnesses afflicting mass , something also rooted in the reality of government experiment in account .
Season 1 - Murder House
time of year 1 was also one ofAHS ’s most distressing . It stay on one of the scary seasons ofAmerican Horror Storymore than a decade subsequently . For one affair , it focuses on the home , which is presuppose to be a reference of safety and solace for families . In this character , unluckily , the home becomes a prison house for those who happen to die there , and their vindictive spirits terminate up doing all sort of horrible things to the support .
It ’s a ghost story with a sharp edge , and this helps to push it into more frightening territory than some of the subsequent seasons . Plus , since it was the inaugural season , audiences had no idea what to gestate as any tropes had yet to be established . Despite all the ghost stories present in the time of year , the scariest sequence in the first season ofAmerican Horror Storyis actually one that is disturbingly realistic : the flashback to Tate being responsible for a school shooting . Not only was it completely unexpected for the audience at the metre , but it also reverberate a very material ongoing problem .
Season 2 - Asylum
It can be argued thatAsylumis the bestAmerican Horror Storyseason . The writing is close , the acting is perfectly superb — the crackle enmity between Jessica Lange ’s and Sarah Paulson ’s characters is palpable — and there are few things more terrifying than the sentiment of being ensnare in a psychiatric hospital . One of those things might be the reveal that Lana has n’t get away a that prison house , but has terminate up in the home of a serial killer .
Though it end on a happy note , there ’s quite a passel that spectator — and characters — must endure to get to that point . It ’s uncommon that a show can balance a serial killer , fiendish monomania , consistence mutilation , extraterrestrial , and more , butAsylumdid it well .
Season 7 - Cult
This was one of those season that , for many reason , cut a spot too close to the ivory . For one affair , it takes shoes in the then - present day , in the backwash of the 2016 presidential election , which is what get it a particularly scary time of year ofAmerican Horror Story .
It ’s more than that , though . The main villain , the religious cult leader Kai , is terrifying because he seems so realistic , and it ’s sluttish to see how the cycle of murder , havoc , and terror depict in this series could very well cease up befall in the tangible world . Cultalso has many twiststhat keep witness on bound . In a show that features the supernatural and things that do n’t survive , this was so scarey because it could licitly happen . In particular , the scariest scene of the time of year featured rage members deciding to kill a humanity who bed too much using a nail gunslinger . The complete disregard for human spirit and the decision to break away the track record for the act of nails to his head before destruction is incredibly disturbing .
Season 6 - Roanoke
This season explore one of America ’s most long-suffering mysteries : what happened at the bemused colony of Roanoke ? In the series ’ recounting of events , the settler are presently spook that recall to a plot of land to receive the bloodline sacrifice of anyone who happens to be inhabit there at the time .
This season makes some sheer option when it come to storytelling , nesting the various story strands indoors of one another — though it ’s true that someplot elements ofRoanokedon’t make sense ) . It ’s authentically one of the scariestAmerican Horror Storyseasons with its use of different horror styles and depictions of ghosts , cannibals , and more terrifying existence . The most horrible thing about it , though , is that it ends with yet another cycle of bloodshed getting quick to take place , suggest that there is no escape from it .
