‘American Horror Story’ Showrunners Have Been Lying To You
American Horror Story Season 6 has been a mystery since the season finale of AHS: Hotel, but at least fans have had the string of teasers to help them in hypothesizing about the new installment. Though brief, the six teasers give valuable clues to the theme of the next season of American Horror Story and prompt theories from fans that usually are right on the money. There’s just one problem. American Horror Story’s producers have been lying to us.
American Horror Story fans Ask “Will The Real Teaser Please Stand Up?”
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That’s right. According to an American Horror Story panel at this year’s Television Critics Association summer press tour, which was covered by The Hollywood Reporter, five of the six teasers released by FX are totally bogus. The promos were fabricated to keep the mystery alive and build suspense for next month’s season premiere. In fact, FX CEO John Landgraf shared news that there will not be the usual big reveal this year. Fans are going to have to wait for American Horror Story‘s premiere to get anything juicy on the new season.
“Every year, we lay out the themes and the new genre Ryan is going to be approaching; we thought it’d be fun [this year] to keep it a mystery — so we are.”
To ensure secrecy, American Horror Story scripts are delivered with the most revealing details blacked out, and even Landgraf’s own copy was hand delivered by a trusted associate. Ryan Murphy is working closely with Stephanie Gibbons, who is the head of marketing at FX and has won a series of awards for her work in promoting American Horror Story.
“There are many more trailers than you’ve actually seen for hypothetical seasons of American Horror Story — different genres, different places,” Landgraf said of the season-six teasers. “One of them is accurate; the others are all misdirects.”
Here are the six teasers for those interested in taking a stab at which one might be the real teaser.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BIdPzsdjEqA/?taken-by=ahsfx
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The FX CEO was also asked about the future of American Horror Story, to which he replied that FX would allow the series to continue for as long as Murphy is interested in running with it.
A Charles Manson Theory Is Gaining Momentum
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While this theory was shared by Teen Vogue prior to the announcement that five of the six American Horror Story teasers are false, it still bears mentioning, because of the theory’s growing popularity and because it may still bear out to be true. To put the theory in context, we must remember that on August 9 and 10 of 1969, Charles Manson sent his most trusted followers on a murderous rampage, which involved killing Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Leno LaBianca, Rosemary LaBianca, Jay Sebring, and Donald Shea. The Manson Family murders have since been celebrated in popular culture through books, films, television, and even through music.
Previously, Ryan Murphy said American Horror Story wouldn’t explore the case and wouldn’t glorify Charles Manson out of respect for the families of the victims. More recently, Murphy has backtracked, suggesting he might revisit the idea.
So what clues are feeding the theory that American Horror Story will revisit those gruesome murders? First off there’s the demon baby’s disturbing mobile. As it spins around, American Horror Story fans have noticed that the dangling weapons seem to spell out the word “pig,” which is the same word scrawled on the walls of the Tate and LaBianca murders.
Scene from new season of American Horror Story vs message Manson girl Susan Atkins left in Sharon Tate's blood. #AHS pic.twitter.com/rqQEGUgdDG
— Creepy Catalog (@CreepyCatalog) July 30, 2016
Another clue comes with the teaser featuring spider legs reaching out from someone’s closed eyelids. It has been remarked that the scene is reminiscent of artwork created by Charles Manson while in prison. One such creation involved forming spiders out of human hair. Never let it be said that Charlie isn’t creative.
Also, a bearded Evan Peters has been likened to Charles Manson, while Teen Vogue points out that Dylan McDermott might also pass himself off as the notorious cult leader.
While these are all valid points, it seems unlikely that Murphy would sensationalize the Manson Family murders on American Horror Story, when he can easily give the case a more respectful treatment on his other series, American Crime Story.
Back to the drawing board, AHS theorists!
American Horror Story premieres on Wednesday, September 14 on FX.
[Image by FX]
