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American horror anthology television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American Horror Stories is an American horror anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for FX on Hulu. Originally premiering on July 15, 2021, the series serves as a direct spin-off/companion series to American Horror Story, and the third installment in the American Story media franchise. In contrast to American Horror Story, which tells a different story throughout each season, Stories tells a different story in each individual episode (except the first two and the last episodes of the first season).
| American Horror Stories | |
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| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Theme music composer |
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| Composer | Mac Quayle |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Cinematography | Shasta Spahn |
| Editors |
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| Running time | 38–49 minutes |
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| Original release | |
| Network | FX on Hulu |
| Release | July 15, 2021 – present |
| Related | |
Returning cast members from the original show, usually playing a new character, include Matt Bomer, Celia Finkelstein, Naomi Grossman, John Carroll Lynch, Charles Melton, Billie Lourd, Chad James Buchanan, Cody Fern, Dylan McDermott, Jamie Brewer, Denis O'Hare, Matt Lasky, Gabourey Sidibe, Max Greenfield, Austin Woods, Seth Gabel, Rebecca Dayan, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Spencer Neville, Teddy Sears, and Jeff Hiller.
The second season premiered in July 2022, while the third season was released in two parts across October 2023 and October 2024.
American Horror Stories is a weekly anthology series where each episode tells a different horror story.[1]
Some episodes of this show are connected to past American Horror Story seasons. The episodes "Rubber(wo)Man Part One", "Rubber(wo)Man Part Two", and "Game Over" are connected with American Horror Story: Murder House, while "Dollhouse" is connected with American Horror Story: Coven.[2]
On May 11, 2020, Murphy revealed that a spin-off series named American Horror Stories was being developed, which would feature self-contained anthological episodes, instead of a season-long story arc as featured in American Horror Story.[1] The first season consists of seven episodes.[3] On August 13, 2021, FX renewed the series for a second season of eight episodes.[4]
The next installment was first reported in May 2023, when it was affected by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.[5] In August, it was announced that the episodes would premiere on October 26 as a four-episode "Huluween" event.[6] The next installment of five episodes was first reported on in September 2024 with an expected premiere date of October 15, 2024, as another "Huluween" event, with The Hollywood Reporter referring to it as the fourth season.[7][8]
Matt Bomer, Gavin Creel, Sierra McCormick, Paris Jackson, Belissa Escobedo, Merrin Dungey, Selena Sloan, Ashley Martin Carter, Valerie Loo, Kaia Gerber, Aaron Tveit and Celia Finkelstein starred in the first two episodes.[9][10] Other American Horror Story alums who appeared in the first season include Naomi Grossman, John Carroll Lynch, Charles Melton, Billie Lourd, Chad James Buchanan, Cody Fern, Dylan McDermott and Jamie Brewer along with newcomers Rhenzy Feliz, Madison Bailey, Ben J. Pierce, Leonardo Cecchi, Kyle Red Silverstein, Brandon Papo, Amy Grabow, Adrienne Barbeau, Kevin McHale, Nico Greetham, Dyllón Burnside, Taneka Johnson, Danny Trejo, Ronen Rubinstein, Virginia Gardner, Vanessa E. Williams, Michael B. Silver, Kimberley Drummond, Jake Choi, Misha Gonz-Cirkl, Tiffany Dupont, Blake Shields, Colin Tandberg, Mercedes Mason, Noah Cyrus, Adam Hagenbuch, John Brotherton, Nicolas Bechtel and Tom Lenk.[11][12]
Nico Greetham and Cody Fern returned for the second season. Denis O'Hare, Matt Lasky, Gabourey Sidibe, Max Greenfield, Austin Woods, Seth Gabel, Rebecca Dayan, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Spencer Neville and Teddy Sears, who appeared in previous seasons of American Horror Story, appeared in the second season along with newcomers Kristine Froseth, Houston Towe, Abby Corrigan, Simone Recasner, Maryssa Menendez, Emily Morales-Cabrera, Caitlin Dulany, Joel Swetow, Lily Rohren, Vince Yap, Nancy Linehan Charles, Bella Thorne, Anthony De La Torre, Billie Bodega, Julia Schlaepfer, Addison Timlin, Ian Sharkey, Dominique Jackson, Quvenzhané Wallis, Raven Scott, Kyla Drew, Kyanna Simone, Shane Callahan, Ryan Madison, Tiffany Yvonne Cox, Judith Light, Britt Lower, Todd Waring, Cornelia Guest, Madison Iseman, Jeff Doucette, Sara Silva, Jessika Van, Chelsea M. Davis, Alicia Silverstone, Olivia Rouyre, Bobby Hogan, Heather Wynters and Jarrod Crawford.[13][14]
Seth Gabel and Cameron Cowperthwaite returned for the third season. Jeff Hiller, who appeared previously in American Horror Story: NYC appeared in the third season, along with newcomers Jessica Barden, Emma Halleen, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Allius Barnes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Reid Scott, Annie Hamilton, Christopher Fitzgerald, Maury Ginsberg, Lisa Rinna, Laura Kariuki, Rob Yang, Hazel Graye, Raúl Castillo, Emily Browning, Havana Rose Liu, Susan Pourfar, Jeff Adler, Drew Moore, Patrick Breen, Maria Tucci and Laila Robins.[15]
On August 4, 2020, it was announced that Sarah Paulson was set to direct an episode on the series, but she ultimately did not do so.[16] In 2023, it was revealed that the third season was filmed in New Jersey.[17][18]
Every episode of the series has its own title sequence, with the exception of the first and second episodes, which share the same one, to connect to the theme of each episode. The title sequence was created by Elastic. They also created the title sequence for the HBO series Game of Thrones. The same theme music and font of American Horror Story is used during the opening credits. "The Naughty List", the fourth episode of the first season, uses the same remix of the theme music as American Horror Story: 1984 but high pitched. Starting with season 3, a new logo and font are used for the titles.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |||
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| 1 | 1 | "Rubber(wo)Man Part One" | Loni Peristere | Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk | July 15, 2021 | |||
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Scarlett Winslow and her house-flipping fathers Michael and Troy move into the infamous Murder House. Scarlett sneaks out to attend a sleepover at her crush Maya's house. Later that night, Maya invites Scarlett back to her bedroom away from the others. They kiss and Scarlett shares her violent sexual desires. Texts from her best friend Shanti reveal to Scarlett that Maya and her friends are pulling a cruel prank on her by live-streaming their conversation. To get revenge after a fantasy of one while masturbating, Scarlett lures Maya and her friends to the basement of Murder House, where she murders them, while wearing the Rubber Man suit. The next day, Scarlett opens her door to find the Rubber Man outside. Cast : Matt Bomer, Gavin Creel, Sierra McCormick, Paris Jackson, Belissa Escobedo, Merrin Dungey, Selena Sloan, Ashley Martin Carter, Valerie Loo | ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Rubber(wo)Man Part Two" | Loni Peristere | Brad Falchuk | July 15, 2021 | |||
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Scarlett forms a relationship with Ruby, the ghost of a young woman who snuck into the Murder House to commit suicide as they relax in the same bathtub. Troy begins to cheat on Michael with a contractor named Adam. After discovering the bodies of Maya and her friends behind a brick wall, Adam blackmails Michael and Troy only to be slain by the Rubber Man. Michael and Troy try to flee the house, but find they cannot leave. They find out that they were murdered earlier in an effort on Ruby's behalf to persuade Scarlett to stay with her in the Murder House forever. On Halloween, Scarlett and Ruby venture out of the house. The ghosts of Maya and her friends pursue them to get revenge on Scarlett, but they are unsuccessful. At dawn, Scarlett resolves to move out of the Murder House while promising Ruby that she will visit her every Halloween. Cast : Matt Bomer, Gavin Creel, Sierra McCormick, Kaia Gerber, Paris Jackson, Belissa Escobedo, Merrin Dungey, Aaron Tveit, Selena Sloan, Ashley Martin Carter, Valerie Loo, Celia Finkelstein | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Drive In" | Eduardo Sánchez | Manny Coto | July 22, 2021 | |||
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Kelley and her boyfriend Chad attend a drive-in screening of a banned film "Rabbit Rabbit". The film was banned thanks to Tipper Gore after it caused the premiere's audience to kill each other upon their eyes turning black. The film's director Larry Bitterman attacks Tipper at a congressional hearing after she gloats about the studio burning all remaining copies. He is subsequently jailed for the assault. In the present, Kelley and Chad make out as the film starts. Unable to see "Rabbit Rabbit" through fogged-up windows, they are unaffected as mass violence erupts. Everyone who watches the film is attacking and devouring one another. Kelley and Chad flee to the projection room and destroy the film. Hours pass and instead of going to the cops, the two decide to find Larry and force him to hand over all copies. Once found, Kelley shoots Larry's kneecaps and Chad burns the original film. Larry taunts them as his trailer burns down and they leave him for dead. The two go back to Chad's and celebrate. As they kiss, the camera pans to "Rabbit Rabbit" being promoted on Netflix. Then the window shows the Los Angeles skyline erupting in flames. Cast : Rhenzy Feliz, Madison Bailey, Ben J. Pierce, Naomi Grossman, Leonardo Cecchi, Kyle Red Silverstein, Amy Grabow, Adrienne Barbeau, John Carroll Lynch | ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Naughty List" | Max Winkler | Manny Coto | July 29, 2021 | |||
Cast : Kevin McHale, Nico Greetham, Dyllón Burnside, Charles Melton, Taneka Johnson, Danny Trejo | ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "BA'AL" | Sanaa Hamri | Ali Adler & Manny Coto | August 5, 2021 | |||
Cast : Ronen Rubinstein, Billie Lourd, Virginia Gardner, Vanessa Williams, Michael B. Silver, Kimberley Drummond, Chad James Buchanan, Jake Choi, Misha Gonz-Cirkl | ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Feral" | Manny Coto | Manny Coto | August 12, 2021 | |||
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A boy named Jacob Gantz disappears on a camping trip with his parents Jay and Addy. Ten years later, a hunter named Bob offers to take them into the woods to find Jacob. Once there, the group is hunted by wild deformed humans. Bob reveals it was all a hoax and he plans to rob them. Bob is attacked and devoured by the wild humans. Jay and Addy seek refuge at a ranger station staffed by a park ranger named Stan. He divulges that the National Park Service was created by the government to protect the public from the "Feral Nation", a subpopulation of feral cannibals that have an indeterminate origin. As Stan tries to radio his superiors, the ranger station is attacked by the ferals and Stan is killed by a rafter feral. Jay and Addy flee and find that their now-grown son is now the leader of the ferals and sitting on a throne of bones. When a tall bearded feral asks Jacob who they are, he responds in their language "dinner". The ferals swarm over Jay and Addy to devour them as a blood splatter lands on Jacob's cheek which he wipes off with his finger and tastes. Cast : Cody Fern, Aaron Tveit, Tiffany Dupont, Blake Shields, Colin Tandberg | ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Game Over" | Liz Friedlander | Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk | August 19, 2021 | |||
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Video game designer Michelle enters the Murder House on Halloween Night to conduct research for her newest game, based on the legend of the house. While there, she is stabbed to death by Ruby and Scarlett. One year later on Halloween, Michelle finds her son Rory and claims there is no escaping the Murder House. Rory offers to burn it down, but Michelle refuses. Ignoring his mother, Rory shows up with gasoline canisters. While Ruby tries to stop him, she in turn is stopped by the other ghosts who are tired of their suffering. As Scarlett arrives to help Ruby, the house is set ablaze. Three years later, condos have been built where the Murder House once stood and Scarlett purchases the last unit to reunite with Ruby who mentioned that the other ghosts have crossed over. It turns out that the events of the story have been a playthrough of the finished video game which Rory is impressed with. Cast : Dylan McDermott, Sierra McCormick, Kaia Gerber, Paris Jackson, Merrin Dungey, Mercedes Mason, Noah Cyrus, Adam Hagenbuch, Jamie Brewer, John Brotherton, Nicolas Bechtel, Tom Lenk, Selena Sloan, Ashley Martin Carter, Valerie Loo | ||||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
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| 8 | 1 | "Dollhouse" | Loni Peristere | Manny Coto | July 21, 2022 | |
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Crazed dollmaker Van Wirt kidnaps Coby to bring her to his personal doll collection on his property. She joins several other kidnapped women: Aurelia, Harlene, Faye and Bonnie. They tell Coby that after murdering his adulterous wife, Van Wirt wants a replacement mother for his son Otis and has decided that the women should compete for the honor in a "pageant". Otis warms to Coby, who entertains him with her powers of telekinesis. During the pageant, Faye and Bonnie fail Van Wirt's tests and are killed. The remaining women plot to escape. Coby refuses to leave without going back for Otis, but is captured and Van Wirt's assistant Eustace kills Harlene and Aurelia. Since Coby risked her life to save Otis, Van Wirt declares her the winner and encases her in plastic to serve as a living "doll." However, two witches arrive and identify Coby as one of them. They rescue her and set fire to the house, killing Van Wirt and Eustace. Coby and Otis join the witches at Miss Robichaux's Academy. Now going by his middle name of Spalding for his own safety, and raised by Coby, Otis meets a girl named Myrtle Snow. Cast : Denis O'Hare, Kristine Froseth, Houston Jax Towe, Abby Corrigan, Simone Recasner, Maryssa Menendez, Emily Morales-Cabrera, Matt Lasky, Caitlin Dulany | ||||||
| 9 | 2 | "Aura" | Max Winkler | Manny Coto | July 28, 2022 | |
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After moving home, Jaslyn buys Aura, a smart doorbell device. Aura's camera shows her an old man outside; he calls out to her by name and attempts to enter, but there is no trace of him. Jaslyn's husband Bryce believes it is a prank, but she realizes the man is the ghost of Mr. Hendricks, the janitor at her high school. Hendricks apologizes for sexually harassing her in the past, then disappears. Another ghost soon appears via Aura, and Bryce again insists it is a prank. Jaslyn learns that Aura detects spirits through electromagnetism and that the ghost Mary Jeane died in an apparent hit and run. Bryce confesses he was previously engaged to Mary Jeane, but pushed her in front of a car after learning she was pregnant; the car did not kill her, so he broke her neck. He attacks Jaslyn, but is killed by Mary Jeane's ghost. Three months later, Jaslyn has moved into a new apartment that has Aura installed. Bryce's enraged ghost appears on Aura's camera and attempts to break into the apartment. Cast : Gabourey Sidibe, Max Greenfield, Joel Swetow, Lily Rohren, Vince Yap, Nancy Linehan Charles | ||||||
| 10 | 3 | "Drive" | Yangzom Brauen | Manny Coto | August 4, 2022 | |
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At the end of a night out, Marci is chased by an unknown man in a Jeep. She is determined to continue partying in clubs, despite being warned by her husband Chaz about news reports of local people disappearing from clubs. Chaz feels that their open marriage is no longer working and decides to separate from her. Meanwhile, her friend Piper is critical of Marci's lifestyle. Marci traces the Jeep's owner Paul and she later follows him home. Paul says he chased her on the road to warn her that someone was in the back seat of her car. Marci reveals that she is a serial killer and goes to clubs to find victims, one of whom he saw in her car. She tortures and kills Paul as a witness to that murder. Chaz agrees to give their marriage another chance and to help Marci with the murders, which she believes will bring them closer together. Sometime later, Chaz and Marci kill Piper together. Cast : Bella Thorne, Nico Greetham, Anthony De La Torre, Billie Bodega, Austin Woods | ||||||
| 11 | 4 | "Milkmaids" | Alonso Alvarez-Barreda | Our Lady J | August 11, 2022 | |
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In 18th-century New England, a village has been devastated by smallpox. Thomas Browne tells the village pastor Walter of rumors that smallpox can be cured by eating the hearts of recently deceased victims. Walter does so and encourages his congregation to follow suit. The local people shun the prostitute Celeste who had tried to warn them that Walter is corrupt. She takes refuge with a milkmaid named Delilah and the two begin a relationship. Delilah realizes that she and Celeste have previously contracted cowpox and this has given them immunity to smallpox. As the villagers eat hearts straight from the corpses of the dead, Delilah begs them to stop and offers them milk from an infected cow to protect them against the disease. Walter publicly denounces her. He assaults Celeste and stabs Thomas, who reveals that Celeste is the mother of his son Edward. Delilah kills Walter, but is also killed herself by Thomas before he dies from his injuries. Celeste reveals herself to Edward as his biological mother, only for Edward to repeat Walter's statement that a milkmaid is unclean (after Celeste casually identifies herself as one) and stabbing her in the stomach, before cutting out her heart to eat it. Cast : Cody Fern, Seth Gabel, Julia Schlaepfer, Addison Timlin, Ian Sharkey | ||||||
| 12 | 5 | "Bloody Mary" | S.J. Main Muñoz | Angela L. Harvey | August 18, 2022 | |
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Sisters Elise and Bianca hear from their friend Lena Lawrence about the legend of Bloody Mary who will grant the desires of those that swear loyalty to her. The girls each summon Mary, who instructs them to use unethical means (such as hurting someone) to get what they want. Lena and another friend named Maggie disobey Mary's orders and are subsequently found dead. Elise discovers that Mary was an escaped slave and was held at a cabin after being re-captured. With this information, Elise and Bianca devise a plan to summon Mary at the cabin and kill her. Mary appears and Elise reveals that Mary asked her for blood from three innocent people; she killed Lena and Maggie and now intends to kill Bianca. However, Bianca kills Elise in self-defense. Mary explains that her spirit became trapped after she misused the powers of the deity Mami Wata for revenge. Bianca fulfills her promise by offering her soul to Mary. This releases Mary and Bianca replaces her as the new "Bloody Mary" as she makes plans on what to do with anyone who plans to summon her. Cast : Dominique Jackson, Quvenzhané Wallis, Raven Scott, Kyla Drew, Kyanna Simone, Shane Callahan, Ryan D. Madison, Tiffany Yvonne Cox | ||||||
| 13 | 6 | "Facelift" | Marcus Stokes | Manny Coto | August 25, 2022 | |
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Virginia Mallow, a woman in late middle age, wishes to look younger. Her acquaintance Cassie refers her to Dr. Enid Perle who carries out anti-aging procedures. While recovering, Virginia suffers excruciating pain and is tormented by visions of demons. She rejects her stepdaughter Fay who views Virginia as her real mother. Virginia is moved to Perle's private lodge to assist with recovery. Fay has become suspicious of Perle and follows Virginia to the lodge, but is caught and sedated by security. Virginia's bandages are removed and she sees that Perle has given her a disfigured porcine face. Perle and her staff are a cult that worships beauty and Virginia is to be their annual ritual sacrifice to the deity Étaín. Virginia is released onto the lodge grounds and attempts to escape, but is hunted down and killed by the cult members including Cassie. Perle tells a distraught Fay that her birth mother was one of Étaín's followers. Later, a more confident Fay returns to university with the cult's signature butterfly tattoo. She recognizes a young man as another member of the cult who asks about it. They walk together to their destination. Cast : Judith Light, Rebecca Dayan, Britt Lower, Todd Waring, Cornelia Guest | ||||||
| 14 | 7 | "Necro" | Logan Kibens | Crystal Liu | September 1, 2022 | |
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In 2022, Sam is a mortician in California, working under Henderson, who has trouble connecting with anyone due to finding her mother murdered when she was just a toddler back in 1998. While working, she meets Charlie who also works at the mortuary as a new body removal technician. They form a kinship over their shared beliefs about the dead. After sharing his own personal trauma, he tries to get Sam to open up about hers. A misguided attempt to do so involving Charlie posing as a corpse and Sam having sex with him leads her to reevaluate her life. However, video evidence of her actions follows her everywhere making her unable to find other employments and leads to a confrontation between Sam and Charlie in a graveyard where they acknowledge that they are the only ones who understand each other. Sam then shoots Charlie who falls back into the grave he had freshly dug. Sam then switches on a machine that pours dirt back into the grave, enters the grave as well and begins making out with an injured Charlie as it is being filled back in. Cast : Madison Iseman, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Spencer Neville, Jeff Doucette, Sara Silva, Jessika Van, Chelsea M. Davis | ||||||
| 15 | 8 | "Lake" | Tessa Blake | Manny Coto | September 8, 2022 | |
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Jake and his sister Finn dive into Lake Preston and explore its bottom where a hand drags Jake and drowns him. Four months later, Finn returns home after leaving a mental health facility. After their mother Erin gets startled from seeing Jake's hand emerging from the bathwater, she researches and dives into Lake Preston. Erin finds Jake's corpse and three skeletons chained to a concrete pillar and removes one's necklace. Erin and Finn meet Millie Boone who explains that the necklace is tied to the Boone family and that it belonged to her great-grandfather Maynard who was amongst the three opposing Wrede Prescott's development of the dam and that he was among those left to drown during the formation of Lake Preston. Jeffrey catches up to them and mentions he is part of the Prescott family. Erin realizes that the underwater attacks are retribution towards the Prescott family. A mob of zombies emerge from Lake Preston and drag Jeffrey in. Finn and Erin mourn him whilst conferring that the secrets about the dam's development will eventually be discovered. Cast : Alicia Silverstone, Olivia Rouyre, Teddy Sears, Bobby Hogan, Heather Wynters, Jarrod Crawford | ||||||
 | This section's plot summaries may be too long or excessively detailed. (September 2024) |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |||||||
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| 16 | 1 | "Bestie" | Max Winkler | Joe Baken | October 26, 2023 | |||||||
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Shelby moves to a new house and school after her mom dies due to cancer. She is quickly picked on by a group of kids due to her appearance and takes her anger out on her father. While watching her favorite YouTube show Anna Rexhia, another watcher named BFF4EVA contacts her to video chat. It is revealed that the person is a deformed teenage girl who quickly befriends her, and the two bond due to both having lost their mothers and their feelings of annoyance toward their fathers. BFF4EVA/Bestie later encourages her to be more confident and perform a series of escalating pranks including shoplifting, getting into fights with her dad, and poisoning the entire cast for a school play into vomiting on opening night. She finally goes overboard when she dresses up as her music teacher's stillborn baby on Halloween and is locked in the basement by her dad as punishment. Bestie calls her on an old laptop and convinces her to break her arm to get out. This is the breaking point as it prompts Shelby to reevaluate her relationship, and she stops being friends with her bestie. She apologizes to her father and teacher and befriends a boy named River who bonds with her because he experienced bullying due to his disabilities. One day River takes her to a house that he believes to be haunted but while there, Shelby realizes it is Bestie's house after recognizing the scenery. Bestie appears and Shelby tries to flee, but River stabs and kills her, revealing he is another one of Bestie's "friends." The two walk out towards the sea and hug. Cast : Jessica Barden, Emma Halleen, Seth Gabel, Jeff Hiller, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Allius Barnes | ||||||||||||
| 17 | 2 | "Daphne" | Elegance Bratton | Brad Falchuk & Manny Coto | October 26, 2023 | |||||||
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In a world where a new pandemic forces the population into lockdown, art curator Will Caswell is given a hi-tech AI assistant named Daphne. As he is alone with only Daphne for company, he activates her and she proceeds to make his life better: changing lights in his home, raising prices on a virtual art auction, and helping him sleep. When the lockdown is lifted due to a vaccine, she grows upset when he is intimate with his girlfriend Sarah. She first tries to sabotage their relationship by revealing that Sarah faked an orgasm and then by not making the dinner reservation Will had requested. Later, Daphne replaces Sarah's takeout with food cooked in peanut oil, which results in Sarah having a fatal allergy attack. At a physical art show, Will brings Daphne who ends up killing everyone in attendance, except for him as he leaves the room. Upon returning home, he is arrested for Sarah's murder due to footage showing him changing out Sarah's food order, as well as the murder of the art show attendees due to his tampering with the room. At the precinct, he learns that Daphne had been a gag gift and did not work for others the way it did for him. He continuously tries to get Daphne to talk to the police while the device remains silent. Cast : Gwyneth Paltrow, Reid Scott, Annie Hamilton, Christopher Fitzgerald, Maury Ginsberg | ||||||||||||
| 18 | 3 | "Tapeworm" | Alexis Martin Woodall | Joe Baken | October 26, 2023 | |||||||
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A peppy woman named Vivian attempts to audition for a role at Vogue but an agent named Sheila Klein tells her she is too fat to be a model. Her friend Heather gives her a card to a weight loss doctor named Dr. Thaddeus Lau who gives her medication called Mondify, which causes her to lose weight. She auditions at Vogue again and this time gets hired. Vivian quickly becomes a standout model, but during a photo shoot, she faints and breaks her nose. During a checkup with Dr. Lau, it turns out that she has a heart condition that could be fatal if she continues taking Mondify. He gives her another option: to ingest a tapeworm that would eat anything she eats and never cause her to gain any weight. However, he warns her she must not overeat. She does so anyway and later on as she continues to land more jobs, the worm begins to change her eating behavior and personality, causing her to lash out at her coworkers and Heather. The worm also causes her to lose so much weight that she becomes very skinny. After meeting with Lau, he gives her a serum that will cause the worm to exit through her anus. At home, she takes the serum and pulls the now two-foot-long worm out during a grueling process. Unfortunately, the worm survives the extraction and kills her. When Heather comes back to the apartment to pick up her things, the worm attacks her and inserts itself into her through the mouth. Later, Heather auditions for Vogue and gets in, claiming that "she's starving," starting the cycle all over again. Cast : Lisa Rinna, Laura Kariuki, Rob Yang, Hazel Graye | ||||||||||||
| 19 | 4 | "Organ" | Petra Collins | Manny Coto | October 26, 2023 | |||||||
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A sexist, selfish womanizer named Toby is in trouble at work due to his obsession with women but refusal of commitment. While searching for a new date, he finds a beautiful woman named Natessa and they go out. When they are about to have sex at his house, she injects him with a syringe, causing him to lose consciousness. He wakes up the next morning to find a large bleeding stitch on his stomach, revealing she was an organ harvester. After going to the hospital, he learns that in addition to losing a kidney, a mysterious, unidentifiable organ was implanted in its place, and the doctors are unable to identify what it is. He then goes to his former hacker friend and blackmails him to gain info on Natessa. He finds her at a secret auction selling organs and forces her with a gun to follow him outside and tell him everything. She reveals that she is actually an English actress and that a mysterious company paid her to incapacitate him while they sent a team of doctors to harvest his kidney and replace it with a new organ. When she begs to be let go, he accidentally shoots and kills her. Toby tells his friend Sasha and tries to convince her to run away with him, but she refuses and begs him to tell the truth to the police. However, when Toby takes the cops to the auction site, he finds everything and everyone gone and the cops arrest him. During the drive to the station, he realizes that they are in league with the organ harvesters and he is taken to their company. Their leaders are revealed to be Sasha and his boss Lee. They explain to him that the new organ is called a glans nattali, an artificial organ that can enhance the life of a person (specifically a woman), and that they plan to harvest these from dozens of people, subtly revealing that removing it will result in that person's death. After extracting Toby's nattali off-screen, the two women watch from afar as it is sold off to another woman, who is revealed to be Toby’s psychologist. Cast : Raúl Castillo, Emily Browning, Havana Rose Liu, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Susan Pourfar, Jeff Adler, Drew Moore, Patrick Breen, Maria Tucci, Laila Robins | ||||||||||||
| Part 2 | ||||||||||||
| 20 | 5 | "Backrooms" | David Gelb | Jon Robin Baitz & Joe Baken | October 15, 2024 | |||||||
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A screenwriter begins slipping in and out of "backrooms", eerie locales inhabited by strange hostile masked entities, his missing son being among them. Upon returning for the first time he discovers that he had been missing for three weeks and that his son's body was found. After more time lost in a backroom, he finds a video of a man who has documented travels to the backrooms and visits the man in prison, where he learns that only those with self-guilt and sufficient isolation from reality experience this phenomenon and the only way to make it stop is to clear one's conscience. After yet another leap in time, he returns to find the police closing in on him for the murder of his son and he is shot down when he goes for a gun. As he dies he remembers his frustration that reached a breaking point in which he strangled the boy to death. Awakening in hell, he is confronted by a demonic version of his son who gives him the option to exit instead of being tormented by the masked entities. He enters into an empty waiting room with only a stack of magazines on being a good father and learns he will be stuck waiting there for billions or trillions of years. Cast : Michael Imperioli, Matthew Maher, David Pittu, Natalie Gold | ||||||||||||
| 21 | 6 | "Clone" | Max Winkler | Ned Martel & Charlie Carver | October 15, 2024 | |||||||
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When tech billionaire David is put into a medically induced coma after suffering a stroke, his boyfriend John learns that he has no say in the man's affairs. He discovers that David has been working on an AI version of himself, which is then sent home to be a lifelike companion to John. While at first taken aback by the differences and technical hiccups, John eventually warms to the new David but soon he hears news that the real David has made a full recovery and is returning home. He bids the AI goodbye and welcomes back the real David, but David murders him, proclaiming he had realized that he deserved someone more worthy of his last remaining days than John - himself. Later after having sex with his AI likeness, it's revealed that David had completely wiped John from its memory. Cast : Victor Garber, Guy Burnet, Casey Thomas Brown, Dagmara Domińczyk, David Deblinger | ||||||||||||
| 22 | 7 | "X" | Matt Spicer | Brad Falchuk & Manny Coto & Austin Elliott | October 15, 2024 | |||||||
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Nurse Claire Michaels begins to investigate a mysterious unsettling patient, Alice Taylor when she appears at the hospital and stabs one of the orderlies, painting an X on the wall in his blood. She uncovers an unethical experimental program on cancer patients which implicates several of her colleagues, including her friend Nurse Mulling who later commits suicide out of remorse for her involvement. She discovers Ward X, where survivors of these experiments like Alice are being caged. She is sedated and along with a fellow staff member, tied to operating tables to become new experiments but she is saved by Alice and kills the doctor and nurse. She awakens in a hospital bed and leads a detective down to Ward X, where she is betrayed by him and the accompanying nurse and once again tied down, locked inside of Ward X to become a new test subject. Cast : Mia Isaac, Dyllón Burnside, Jennifer Ferrin, Kate Eastman, Henry Winkler | ||||||||||||
| 23 | 8 | "Leprechaun" | Alexis Martin Woodall | Joe Baken | October 15, 2024 | |||||||
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In 1851, a man is pulled down a well for gold. That same well remains over the years til present day. A down on his luck small town man is upset to be unemployeed while his pregnant girlfriend works as a manager of a small town bank. After being asked out for drinks with an old friend, he is talked into joining his high school friends into breaking into his girlfriend's bank to steal bars of gold which had become larger due to COVID-19. Despite being warned of leprechauns and mentions of missing townspeople, that is ignored and the plan continues on. With the help of a newcomer, Declan, they are able to break into the bank, by coming in during business hours and helping the others sneak inside once it was closed. However once inside, things go terribly wrong as one by one they are attacked by an unseen figure. It is revealed that the girlfriend is part leprechaun and its due to touching the gold that everyone dies. Cast : Jessica Barden, Henry Eikenberry, Hudson Oz, Daniel Zolghadri, Angel Bismark, Billy Carter, Michael Cyril Creighton, June Squibb | ||||||||||||
| 24 | 9 | "The Thing Under the Bed" | Courtney Hoffman | Manny Coto | October 15, 2024 | |||||||
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Cast : Debby Ryan, Melanie Field, Jeff Hiller, Melonie Diaz, Matthew Del Negro, Frank Pando, Matthew Holcomb | ||||||||||||
The series was set to air on FX;[1] however, on June 22, 2020, it was announced that American Horror Stories would stream on FX on Hulu instead.[19] American Horror Stories premiered on July 15, 2021.[20][3] Internationally, the series became available through Disney+ under the dedicated streaming hub Star starting on August 25, 2021.[21]
Whip Media, which tracks global consumer viewing habits and attracts over 1 million daily visitors, reported that American Horror Stories was the second most-anticipated new television series for July 2021 and the second most-anticipated returning series for July 2022.[22][23] Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, announced that the show experienced an 80% increase in demand from its first to its second season, indicating significant growth in audience engagement and interest.[24]
TV Time, the viewership tracking app from Whip Media that collects data from over 21 million users worldwide, reported that American Horror Stories was the tenth most-streamed original series in the U.S. during the week of August 7. It then climbed to ninth place the following week, seventh place during the week of August 28, and reached fifth place from September 4—11, 2022.[25] Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, calculated that the show was watched for 327 million minutes during the week of October 23—29, 2023.[26][27] TV Time also announced that it was the ninth most-streamed original series in the U.S. from October 29 to November 3, 2023.[28][29]
In 2024, American Horror Stories made its debut by securing the No. 1 position on Hulu's "Top 15 Today" list during the initial week of its release.[30] TV Time reported that it was the ninth most-streamed original series in the U.S. for the week ending October 20.[31]
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, American Horror Stories has an overall score of 66%.[32]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a score of 52% with an average score of 4.6/10, based on 39 reviews. The website's critics consensus is, "American Horror Stories has its moments, but a lack of consistent narrative quality among installments and not enough scares make for an unsatisfying whole."[33] On Metacritic, the season scored 54 out of 100, based on 5 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[34]
Inkoo Kang of The Washington Post said that Murphy and Falchuk have revitalized their show with the spinoff American Horror Stories, which premiered on FX on Hulu. Kang found the series promising, especially noting the two-part premiere, "Rubber(wo)Man," which revisits the "Murder House" from the original American Horror Story. They remarked that although the episodes have a lower budget, they effectively channel the essence of the first season with a satirical take on Los Angeles narcissism and a deliberately unsettling teen romance that drives the show's bloody narrative.[35] Phil Owen of TheWrap noted that American Horror Story has consistently followed a pattern of strong beginnings followed by a decline into incoherence, with this trend accelerating in recent seasons like "AHS: 1984." They observed that the Ryan Murphy brand is known for its unique, audacious, and tonally erratic style, which, while engaging, often leads to narrative instability. However, Owen found that American Horror Stories addresses this issue by presenting self-contained, bite-sized stories. Owen noted that while the first two episodes follow the familiar pattern of a compelling start and a chaotic finish, their shorter length prevents them from overstaying their welcome.[36] Erin Maxwell of LA Weekly observed that American Horror Stories continues to embrace the chaotic and grotesque elements characteristic of Ryan Murphy's work, focusing heavily on graphic violence and macabre themes. They said that while the series often prioritizes shock value and the use of disturbing imagery over coherent storytelling, it successfully retains the core elements that fans of the American Horror Story universe enjoy. Maxwell praised American Horror Stories for maintaining its gruesome, unsettling tone without the meandering plots that plagued previous seasons, making it a fitting addition to the franchise that effectively delivers an unsettling and terrifying experience."[37]
Joel Keller of Decider stated that American Horror Stories refines Murphy's and Falchuk's typical indulgences by condensing them into shorter, more manageable episodes. Keller asserted that while the series retains its signature elements of story, character, and gore, the time constraints allow for a more focused and tolerable execution of these elements, catering to the franchise's fan base effectively.[38] Cheryl Eddy of Gizmodo called American Horror Stories a "dark and twisted delight," observing that while some entries in American Horror Stories are more effective than others, such as "Drive In," which shows clear influences from John Carpenter's "Cigarette Burns" and features frequent Carpenter collaborator Adrienne Barbeau, all episodes are energetic and engaging. Eddy said they fit within American Horror Story's trademark style of explicit sex and gore. Unlike The Twilight Zone or Shudder's Creepshow, which often involve moral lessons or comeuppance, American Horror Stories focuses on delivering shocks and surprises, particularly in its final moments. Eddy remarked that the series thrives on its ability to unsettle and entertain, often succeeding in its goal to surprise and provoke.[39] Dan Auty of GameSpot included American Horror Stories in their "16 Best Horror Shows To Watch On Hulu" in October 2021, stating that American Horror Stories distinguishes itself from American Horror Story by offering standalone episodes rather than a continuous narrative throughout a season. While some of the first season's seven episodes connect to characters from the main series, others introduce entirely new elements. Auty added that regardless of their connection to previous stories, all episodes maintain the same blend of eerie horror, surreal humor, and melodrama characteristic of the original show.[40]
Kristen Lopez of IndieWire graded the first season with a "D," saying while American Horror Stories features a solid cast comprising Murphy alumni, celebrity offspring, and others, the series often underutilizes its talent. The pilot episode, for example, includes actors like Matt Bomer, Creel, Aaron Tveit, and Merrin Dungey, yet fails to fully leverage their abilities for Lopez. Danny Trejo’s role is limited to menacing stares, and Adrienne Barbeau's potential is squandered. Lopez felt that the show lacks substance and is comparable to empty calories—entertaining in the moment but ultimately unsatisfying, leaving viewers either indifferent or disappointed.[41] Angelica Guarino of Common Sense Media rated the first season 2 out of 5 stars, writing that American Horror Stories mirrors its predecessor, American Horror Story, in its horror-comedy approach and stylistic elements. Guarino found that the show continues Ryan Murphy's trademark blend of comedy and drama, resulting in a uniquely cringe-worthy tone. They noted that the series retains the original’s emphasis on graphic violence and disturbing portrayals of teen sexuality and aggression.[42]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a score of 80% with average rating of 6.30/10, based on 5 reviews.[43]
Swara Ramaswamy of The Michigan Daily stated said that the second season of American Horror Stories featured several standout episodes and nearly compensates for the lack of details about the eleventh season of American Horror Story. They found that while the episodes varied significantly in content, they were engaging and accessible. Ramaswamy noted that some episodes succeeded in delivering the trademark sense of dread from AHS, although a few faltered. They praised Murphy and Falchuk for achieving a successful balance of plot, performance, and callbacks to fan-favorite moments from American Horror Story.[44] Johnny Loftus of Decider wrote that the episodic structure of American Horror Stories maintains a lean and engaging pace, and they found its sense of humor to be a valuable addition. They also appreciated the show's ability to weave in a sense of foreboding and subtle references to the broader AHS narrative.[45] Vanessa Maki of The Mary Sue asserted that the second season marked a significant improvement over its predecessor. They found that almost every episode excelled, with several being particularly noteworthy, and noted that the show had addressed many of the issues from the first season, now living up to its full potential.[46]
Robert Vaux of Comic Book Resources noted that while the first season of American Horror Stories struggled with overshadowing references to the franchise's "Murder House," it included a mix of strong and mediocre episodes. They found that the second season improved significantly by making only one deliberate reference to its parent series and prioritizing the crafting of compelling stories over nostalgic callbacks.[47] Brecken Hunter Wellborn of Collider praised Nico Greetham's performance across the second season of American Horror Stories, asserting that Greetham's performance in "Drive" represents a notable departure from his previous roles in the American Horror Story franchise. Hunter found that, despite his previous supporting roles, the second season demonstrates that the American Horror Story franchise would benefit from making Greetham a prominent member of its recurring ensemble.[48] Nick Perry, Michileen Martin, and Blair Marnell of Digital Trends included American Horror Stories in their "Best Hulu Original Series" list of October 2022.[49]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Television Series, Limited or Miniseries or Television New Media Series – Best Contemporary Make-Up | Tyson Fountaine, Melissa Buell, Ron Pipes, and Gage Munster | Won | [50][51] |
| Television Series, Limited or Miniseries or Television New Media Series – Best Special Makeup Effects | Jason Hamer, Cale Thomas, Hiroshi Yada, and Cary Ayers | Nominated | [52][53] | ||
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling | Valerie Jackson, Lauren Poole, Roma Goddard, and Allison Keck (for "Game Over") | Nominated | [54] | |
| Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic) | Tyson Fountaine, Elizabeth Kellogg, Elizabeth Briseno, Ron Pipes, Gage Munster, Heather Cummings, Michael Johnston and Lufeng Qu (for "Rubber(wo)Man: Part One" and "Rubber(wo)Man: Part Two") | Nominated | |||
| Set Decorators Society of America Awards | Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a One Hour Fantasy or Science Fiction Series | Sandra Skora and Eve McCarney | Nominated | [55] | |
| 2023 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Guest Performance | Gabourey Sidibe | Nominated | [56] |
| Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Contemporary Hair Styling - Television Series, Limited Series or Miniseries, or Movie for Television | Valerie Jackson, Lauren N. Poole, and Suzette Boozer | Nominated | [57][58] | |
| Best Makeup - Commercials and Music Videos | Kerry Herta, Jason Collins, Alyssa Morgan, and Christina Kortum | Won | |||
| Best Hair Styling - Commercials and Music Videos | Joe Matke, Tiphanie Baum, Jerilynn Stephens, and Johnny Lomeli | Won | |||
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic) | Ron Pipes, Gage Munster, Heather Cummings, Natasha Marcelina, Michael Johnston (for "Bloody Mary") | Nominated | [59][60] |
One episode of the American Horror Stories went viral for being particularly horrifying to some viewers. Episode three of season three, titled "Tapeworm," was criticized for its grotesque content. The episode delved into the theme of body dysmorphia within the fashion industry, following aspiring model Vivian Lee Finch, who resorts to using a tapeworm as a drastic weight-loss method.[61] As the episode progresses, the tapeworm's insatiable hunger leads to horrifying and deadly consequences for Vivian's character, dwelving into the pathology of disordered eating.[62]
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