Is every season of American Horror Story connected?
FXThe best way of describing any season of American Horror Story is possibly a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma – but are they even connected?
Created by Ryan Murphy of Pose and Glee fame, the horror anthology series always keeps fans on its toes, with enough Easter eggs to rival a Taylor Swift album.
Though each of the stories featured in different seasons is completely separate, some fans have been left wondering If there are more storyline links than meets the eye.
Grab your magnifying glasses! Here’s everything we know about whether the seasons of American Horror Story are actually connected.
Is every season of American Horror Story connected?
Yes and no. Though there are no outright links between each season’s stories, there are plenty of ways that characters and locations are supposedly connected.
Out of all of the seasons, Apocalypse is the only one to feature direct crossovers – from Coven, Hotel, and Murder House.
Some characters are seen in multiple seasons, such as the cameo from the Coven witches while fighting the Antichrist in Apocalypse. To date, there is only one character who has appeared in two separate seasons without a character link – Pepper (Naomi Grossman).
American Horror Story: Freak Show and Asylum
FXPepper was first seen as a resident at Briarcliff Manor in Asylum, where Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) recounts that she was admitted from a freak show. Sure enough, two seasons later, Pepper is part of the official Freak Show act, where she’s wrongly framed for the death of a child.
Freak Show and Asylum are also linked by Dr. Arthur Arden (James Cromwell), who begins Season 2 as a key staff member at Briarcliff. In Freak Show, it’s later revealed that Arden is the person responsible for Elsa Mars’ (Lange) disfigurement for sexual gain, keeping erotic pictures of his mutations in his bedroom drawer in Asylum.
American Horror Story: Murder House and Hotel
FXThough characters from both seasons eventually appear in Apocalypse, Murder House and Hotel are subtly linked together before that.
The realtor who sold the murder house to the Harmon family is the same person responsible for transferring the ownership of the Hotel Cortez to Countess Elizabeth (Lady Gaga).
We also see Billie Dean Howard (Sarah Paulson) later check into the Hotel Cortez, who was a psychic medium introduced to Violet Harmon (Taissa Farmiga) by Constance Langdon (Lange) in Murder House.
American Horror Story: Coven and Hotel
FXAnother pairing to appear in Apocalypse, Coven witch Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe) is seen checking in to the Hotel Cortez in order to appear on an episode of The Price Is Right. In a flashback scene, Cordelia Goode (Paulson) is also seen at the hotel in pursuit of Queenie.
American Horror Story: Freak Show and Hotel
FXIn the events after the freak show folds, Elsa is seen filming a commercial for a brand of coffee in 1960.
The same brand of coffee is later seen in an episode of Hotel, with Donovan’s ashes being put in a coffee container to give to his mother.
American Horror Story: Murder House and Roanoke
FXDuring Murder House, Billie is seen recounting details of the Roanoke colony to both Constance and Violet.
Though the link is fairly weak, Billie also uses the word “Croatoan,” which is a theme later explored in Roanoke. There’s also a link in Billie’s story to the first curse on the Roanoke colony being inflicted by Coven’s first-ever Supreme witch.
American Horror Story: Freak Show and Roanoke
FXDandy and Gloria Mott (Finn Wittrock and Frances Conroy) make no secret of the fact that their family is largely made up of inbreeding.
A member of the Mott family is revealed to have been the person who built the house featured in Roanoke, coming to light in the fake documentary My Roanoke Nightmare.
The information in Roanoke also matches up with the finale of Freak Show, recounting that the house was kept in the Mott family until Dandy’s death in 1952.
American Horror Story: Roanoke and Asylum
FXThese two seasons have one of the most obvious connections, with Lana Winters (Paulson) being convinced to be interviewed by Lee Miller.
There are clear references to the events of Asylum here as well, with the final two victims of the Roanoke house being killed by Bloody Face, who terrorized Season 2.
American Horror Story: Murder House and Roanoke
FXA patient of Ben Harmon’s (Dylan McDermott) is revealed as having a phobia of urban legends. One of the legends he mentions during sessions is The Piggy Man – a story which is later recounted in Season 6.
It’s revealed that Roanoke’s Jether Polk (Wittrock) has something to do with this, claiming to look up to the ancestors who were involved with the legend.
The same patient is mentioned in 1984 in response to the legend of the Lady in White.
American Horror Story: Cult and Freak Show
FXDuring Season 7, the killer clown from Season 4 has another chance to shine.
A comic book series based on the clown has been made, entitled Twisty: The Clown Chronicles. Pepper also appears on the cover of one issue in a later episode.
American Horror Story: 1984 and Hotel
FXJohn Wayne Gacy made a direct appearance as a ghost (John Carroll Lynch) in Hotel, but was also supposedly interviewed by Donna (Angelica Ross) from 1984. Though we never get confirmation of this, the Gacy story also extends to Cult, after his house was turned into a true crime attraction by 1984 character Margaret Booth (Leslie Grossman). She had also done this to the Manson property, all of who were featured during Cult.
American Horror Story: NYC and Asylum
FXThough brief, the second and 11th seasons also seem to be linked.
During a tarot session, the Angel of Death (Conroy) is seen visiting Gino Barelli (Joe Mantello).
As Season 12 is still airing, it’s yet to be revealed if it links to any previous seasons.
You can check out everything we know about American Horror Story Season 12 here and check out our other coverage below:
- American Horror Story: All seasons ranked worst to best
- How many seasons of American Horror Story are there?
- Is American Horror Story Season 12: Delicate based on a book?
- American Horror Story names & meanings for every season
- How to watch American Horror Story Season 12: Delicate outside the US
- Is American Horror Story based on true events?